The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1897-05-19
THE STATE DlSPENSARY.
Mr.. LARRY GcNTT WANTS IT iNV5S-
TlGATEO.

''Lst the Light Shine and Brand Every
One who Cannot staDd It's Fo,lest Glare"
Says the Spsrrsnou-s Editor.
TIE following article appeared in
the Headlight as leading article last
week:
For the past ten Gays the air has
hesn n full of rrmors abcut the manage
mept of TIE S ats DiSceosary, and we
are glad that feed OF light is being
,urned upon that Institution. 1t IS
lust whet should hare been done dur.
ne the last session Of tie Legislature.
and which the Eea6Iis ht oensndsd
and insisted on. This investigation
started over a trunk seized By some
Charleston coDstables, and which was
yutted of the goods it coutainee. II
seems that certain officials connected
with the 6ispersary used those artl
cles, and that Mr.. Seth W. ScruSss
took some Of the cigars and olvloeo
them between two Of the members CT
the State Board, telling Them where
they csme from. Now. while no IN
tent was made TO steal those goods, as
it is said to have long been q custom
with dispenssly officials to thus use
articles seized BY corstsbles and turn
ed in, it is rep-ehensible, and demands
severe rebuke. It was right to lnves
,jeate that trunk business, for the ex.
rose will doubtless have the effect Of
checking such methods. These ON
GERS are paid good salaries for their
services, and they should be content
with their pay and not appropriate
other goods.
But that trunk mstter is small af-
fair compared with other charges
against the management OF the State
Dispensary, ard we shall call atten-
non to few reports that have resch-
ID our ears and demand s full lnves
lieation:
It has been frequently charged, aud
We believe that rigid investigation
of the books will bear out the state
ment, that during the Traxler reg me
notone dollar was turned in the State
Treasury in the way CT rebates. Che
past yeer some S41, 600 were collected
in rebates. and the present year We
]earr they will amount to S50,eOO or
more
Now, we demand to know, and the
people also demand to know, why
were not those rebates collected. and
if collected what has become Of the
money! If officers connected with the
Gispensary appropriated this large sum
TO their own use, then they should be
prosecuted and sent to the penitentia-
~. On the other hard, il the rebates
u ere not demanded from the liquor
dealers, then it shows criminal care.
3essness on the part OF those public
officers whose duty it was to look at
ter them. In managing the public
business a man should bring to bear
the same sssacity and care as If 1t
was his own affair During the period
that Commissioner Traxler was N
charge Of the State Dispensary there
,nust have been at least 500 600 lost
,athe State and It's people IN rebates
sione. Why were they not colIecteos 7
and if collected what bas become OF
The money! Who got ita This matter
Of rebates involves more than all the
blind tiger liquor and other property
seized IN our State since the dispense
~ law went into force; and yet while
we hear q great hue and cry raised
Sbout few boxes CT cheap cigars and
cans of peaches, q death. like stiffness
prevails touching the matter OF re
bates. There is no use stopping the
spigeot and opening the eug-hole.
And matter equally IS serious IS
the high price pald for cheap liquors
by Traxler-c~mpa7ed with what toe
same goods are now bought for. We
are informed-and an inspection OF
The books will show whether or not It
is true-that the present board is buy
jog x, Xxx and Xxx rye Whiskey at
from $500 to 81, 100 a car load less than
CommiSsicper Traxler psid for the
jdentical clsss of goods snd bought
from the same houses. The business
of the State Dispensary amounts to
shout one million Of dollars year,
sr6 frequently ten car loads or more
are bought at one TINA Now, don't
You see what leak there is that has
heen stopped? There is no telling how
much money the State lost during
those years OF cver.charges. This is
another matter that should be investi
gated to the bottom, and then let ex-
Commissioner Traxler explain why he
felt called upon TO pay such high
price. live are not mistaken, whls-
key is not any cheaper now than wheI
Mr.. Traxler was paying those enor
nous prices. It will be easy to arrive
at the facts, for every purchase is re
corded and the price paid given on the
books.
Taking the rebates and that over
charge for whiskey the taxpayers O:
South Carolina must have lost some
tkipg like quarter Of q million dol
lars during Commissioner Traxler' s
administration. Here is something to
be investigated, and it should take pre-
cedence over those cigars and PEACHES
And another thing that should be
looked into: Is a well known fac: that
tie corn whiskey sold TO the country
people by the dispensary-and they
are the principal patrons OF the ousl-
pess-is only too oftea as vile a decoc.
IIOO aS ever paSSeO OUNu tH0 LuiO3l VI
man. and not only this, but two
prices are charged for these mean l.
quors. The consequence is that man
Will not buy dlspenssry corn if he can
fnd blind tiger noonshine whiskey.
But we can perhaps sxplain this
drench sold to the gulllble farmers.
a few months ago Mr.. Dan Tomp
kins, Secretary of State, in the pres,
ence Of several parties, stated 10 the
senior editor Of the headligh ut that once
ae dispensary ran out OF corn wins
ley and people began to clamor for 1t.
Ia order to satisfy them, some corn
whiskey was manufactured at the dis
rensary and shipped out to the coun-
~ dispensers 4 short time after
wards some Reiormer from Lexington
Il