The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1898-06-29
Gov. Ellsrbs Defended
Against Structures and Assaults OF
"Citizen.

"Citizen."
To the Editor Of the Register:
The structures and assaults made
upon Governor Ellerbe by Watson
and Tillman are altogether uncalled
for. Pure and unseltish patriotism
may prompt them and fill them with
an ardent desire to fill the guberna-
torial chair, the duties of which they
no doubt would discharge to the best
of their ability. But charges made
by aspirants against an incumbent
are always more or less prompted
by selfish desire to get an office for
money and fame, the former gener-
ally predominant. Gov. Ellerbe may
or may not have made the mistakes
charged by these two honorable gen.
tlemen, newspaper scriblers and petty
politicians, but, upon the whole, he
has made a good Governor, his ad
m;nistration having been tempered
with a churchly and Christian-like
spirit, which, in map instances hith-
erto, has not been the case. The
church people have about made up
their minds not to support and vote
for any man who is not a consistent
member of some Christian church.
VuIgarisms, profanity, drunkenness,
failure to pay all honest debts unless
powerless to do so from causes that
cannot be controlled by the debtor,
together with resultant vices, units
the most learned men for a public
Office of any kind.
"Cit:zen,' in your issue of the 10th
inst, charges the Governor with in
competency, und says that there are
magistrates that could teach the
Governor for a lifetime. If "Citi-
zen" is or has been a magistrate it
NAV be that he could do 50, but ex
perience and observation has taught
this scribe that under the present
system of magistracy in South Caro-
lima, very little in the way OF a
knowledge of the laws can be ex-
pected from magistrates. In the
country and smaller towns salaries
range from $50 to $50 per year.
This pay is so small that it is impos
sible for incumbents to supply them
selves with necessary books and liter
ature as auxiliaries to the statutes
and devote time and study that will
fit them to properly discharge the
duties of the Office of magistrate.
The magistrates office lays the
foundation for all the criminal work
of the circuit court, and upon the
efficiency or inefficiency Of the magis-
trate very much depends the econom-
ical or useless expenditure of the peo-
ple's money. The law for magis-
trates requires amendment, and a
convention of all magistrates in the
State should be held at an early day
in Columbia. Let US hear from our
brother magistrates on this subject.
The dispensary law is more popu-
lar today than ever before, and is
here to stay. High license is rich
mans monopoly in the whiskey
trade, and to substitute it for the
dispensary law would be to take from
the poor school children money that
they so much need, give it to the
rich man and reopen worse system
than the old law was. If it is right
for rich man to sell whiskey it is
equally right for poor man to sell
it. and under rich mans monopoly
system the poor man would have a
plausible excuse, and the country
would be covered with blind tigers.
Let no candidate hope Or believe that
he can run into the Governors chair
by a fighting opposition to the dis
pensary.
Governor Eilerbe is to be COM
mended for the cool and equable
temper he has maintained under the
assaults of Office seekers and axe
grinders. and he deserves TO be and
will be elected to second term.
Magistrate.