The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1897-09-24

bles ewore moro than Offset by tho
Gscord and confusion created by the
army Of constables found necessary
to enforce the law. These con,
stables being men unused to the on
forcing of law, made themselves OBJ ,
noxious. They were Tillmanitcs
and came from the country Their
duties brought thom iuto relation
with the people of tho towns who
were conservatives. In searching
for contraband spirits they invaded
private houses and frequent collisions
were the result. Tho famous and
bloody Darlington riot was brought
on by dlspensary constables who VIC
lated the rights of domicile. The
constabulary was found to be expen-
sive too, having cost the State $52,-
600 last year.
DRFRCTs AND DRAWBACKS.
These defects and drawbacks were
discovered soon after the dispensary
became an institution of the State.
The law has been amended at each
succeeding session Of the Legislature,
and every attempt has been made to
patch it up and hide it's defects. The
dominant TIllmanite faction was COM
mitted to it, and could not afford to
confess it's failure. Even when it
was discovered few months ago
that shortage existed in many of the
local dispensaries by which the State
had lost several thousand dollars,
Tillman, now United States senator,
declared that the dispensary system
was all right; that the fault was in
the administration of the law, not in
the law itself, and that if necessary
to save it, he would resign from the
senate and come back to the State
to take the stump in it's defense. In
view Of this declaration, Governor
Ellerbe's announcement Of his in
tention to abolish the State constab-
ulary, is rendered doubly interest.
ing, as seeming to oppose the posi-
ton assumed by his creator and
chief.
With it's own inherent defects and
the errors Of its administrators eat
ing the heart out of the law and
making it IN offense in the eyes and
nostrils of the body polite, it hardly
needed such a knockout blow rs the
decision by United States Judge ST.
monton, that the State could not
prevent the importation of liquor in
original packages to finish it utterly.
That decision was followed by the
establishment of "original package"
stores in almost every town and city,
until they now exceed the State es-
Establishments in nunber and outstrip
them in the amount of business done.
Representatives of Wholesale liquor
houses in the north and west and
in the surrounding States have
focked in and established "agen-
cies" where spirits in unbroken pack
ages are retailedi in direct competition
with the State bars. This destroyed
the States monopoly and made tho
cost Of the constabularly oven
heavier burden. It was not to ho
expected that such a state of things
should continue, but tho people were
hardly prepared for so radical
measure az the abolishing of the
force altogether.
THE CoNsTABULARY.
Now that tho Governor has do
clared that he will do away with the
spies and constables and leave the
administration of tho law to tho
local officials, there is diverse spec.
ulation as to what it means. Gov
ernor Ellerbe's friends say it is in
the interest Of peace and harmony, q
sort of olive branch, as it were. His
enemies say that the idea is to in
vite temporary "free whiskey era"
by giving carte blanche to original
package and blind tigers, with
Wow to causing reaction Of senti.
mont in favor of the dispensary.
Another theory is that Governor
Ellerbe has recently come to the
conclusion that the dispensary is
dead and is on the point of surrend-
ering it. In any ovent, the question
of what to do with tho system is
sure to be the biggest question be.
fore the general assembly whom it
meets in January and the vital
issue in tho next election when it
may be that Ben Tillman may havo
to carry out his threat and resign his
senatorial scat to defend his pet
scheme.
| pRoHIBITIoNIsTs HOPEFUL.
Meanwhile, the prohibitionists,
who were switched on to the dispen-