The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1897-01-20
THE MESSAGE.
Gov. Evans Last Public Doc
ument.
SYNOPSIS OF THE LEADING
PARTS.

Gsntlemen Of the General Assembly !:
Il is the duty of the Governor under
the Constitution to give you from time
to time Information of the condition Of
the State aud to recommend such meas.
ures for your consideration as be may
deem expedieus. I shall coo6ne N.Y.
self is this last aooual message to Civ
lag you such Information as | have
been able to obtain as to the condition
of the State. leaving to my successor to
make recommendations as to apy
future legislation or policy.
The Dispeusary law is stronger
to-day than at any time since its enact
ment, aud is better enforced. as will
appear from the statistics later on. At
the last session of yoar honorable body
I recommended a change in the laws,
setting forth my reasons fully at the
time for so doing. | showed to you
how it was impossible for the old Board
Of Coatrol, composed Of State officers.
to control, and how unjust it was to
force the Governor aud Chairman of
the Board to approve and sign warrants
about which he had no Information l
knew thas if any irregularity occurred
the enemies would at once cry corrup-
ton. Aud 10 their efforts to make cap.
ital against the Chief Executive to the
constables With wrong doing. Such
has been the case, and the wisdom Of
my advice and your subsequent pas
sage of the present Law is fully proved
This is the most important matter
you will have to deal with. aud l
would respectfully call your attention to
the excellent report of the Board Of
Control with the request that you efgdy
it and think veil before making any
changes 10 the present system.
THE DIspENsARY AS a BUSINESS.
Up to the time of my induction into
Office as Governor the Dispeosary had
been in operation about eighteen
mouths The Governor was charged
not only with the enforcement Of the
law, but as business manager in the
capacity of Chairman Of the Board Of
Control. The business bad continually
increased until it reached over mil
lion of dollars annually. Realizing
that as a business it was tentative, that
it bad not been placed upon what could
be truly called business plane. aod
that il was burdened with crudities Of
which it must be divested before it
could reach the expectations of the
public as moral reformation and a
business success. my first official act
was to give its former management a
a thorough investigation iu order to
ascertain it's financial status as we'll as
it's weak points. I was beset by many
difficulties, political as we'll as business.
To commence the business the General
Assembly Of 1892 voted au appropria-
ton Of ESQ. 900. For the first eighteen
mouths of it's existence the Dispensary
experienced many vicissitudes. and
when it vas placed 10 my hands | found
it still embarrassed aud hardly able to
stand alone. Il had not paid a dollar
into the State treasury in act earnings,
and the $4,000 appropriation vas still
unliqaidated The statements Of it's
growth aud progress a. published from
time to time by the former Commission.
er we're unsatisfactory to the public for
the reason that the system of book
keeping was Chinese puzzle. aud no
one could tell exactly the true status Of
the business.
This fact gave color to the adverse
criticisms of tho administration of the
law, and invited the terrific accusations
that we're made against those charged
With its management The last state
ment of the assets and liabilities and
profits which the former Com missione er
made was for the quarter ending jan
uary 31st, 1895. 10 that statement
the profits claimed to have accrued 10
date amounted to $151, 259 81. Book.
keepers of experience could cot cipher
this out and claims were made that the
nro6ss were fictitious I determined to
change the business management aud
to adopt full and satisfactory system
Of accounting.
An expert bookkeeper was employed
and it was ascersained that the profit
claimed mad not accrued but that the
accrued profit to that date was forty
odd thousand dollars less than the