The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1898-04-20
A Third Reason.
, the Editor of the Dispatch:


The fact that the power and duty
of regulating commerce amorg the
several States has been delegated to
,be CONGRESS of the United States and
belongs to that body, does not prove
however, that State Is not a SOY
ereign body in many respects Ii
all matters not committed TO Con-
press a State is sovereign. 1t may
by it's Legislature, say what articles
usually listed as articles OF commerce
NAV not be bought and sold within
its borders, always of course, giving
the reason or reasons why it may not
be bought or sold. Congress cannot
force a State to allow her merchants
to buy and sell an article which sne
has stricken from the commercial
list, inside Of her territory. Neither
can Congress give to State mo
nopoly in buying and selling any
article usually known as an article OF
commerce. For an individual TO ask
this is to try to pervert tie high trust
reposed in Congress. So then 10 max
;oo ont a list of articles to be bought
and sold by the citizens OF q State
the Legislature of that State and not
the Cong ess Of the United States
has the right to make or control that
list. Turning now to Section of
the Dispensary law as it stands TO-
dav, let US see what it says as to tne
fitness of intoxicating liquors to be-
long to the list of commercial articles
in this State. On page 535 OF Acts
and Joint Resolutions, &c, 1897, we
read: "All alcoholic liquors IN this
State whether manufactured within
this State or elsewhere not having
been tested By the chemist of the
South Carolina College and found to
be pure, and free from poisonous,
hnrtful or deleterious matters are
hereby declared to 30 OF a detll'
mental character and their use and
consumption are against the morals
GOOD health and safety of the State.
II the law anywhere specifies what
is meant by the words pure, "pols
onous". "hurtful", "deleterious, l
have failed to see it, and am, there
fore, left to suppose that the
chemist, whose duty it is to make
the test, must lock to some law other
and perhaps different to the dispFn
sary to free (?) alcoholic liquors from
..delete,ious, hurtful and poisonous
matters and render them pure =
Il is assumed aud asserted IN the
language have quoted that ''all
alcoholic liquors in this State, which
have not been tested by the chemist
of the S G College ard found pure,
&c is of detrimental character,
and their use and consumption Is
against the morals, good health and
safety OF the State. If this be true,
(and I am not disputing ~ then we
NAV ask why not strike the sale OF
all intoxicating liquors as beverage
off of the list of commercial articles
in scr I have noticed that the
Eouors sold through the dispensarles
as a beverage produce the same con
fusion of mind aud disorderly con-
duct as that sold in former days at
the barrooms. l. my be called |
"chemically pure" but 1t breeds !
drunkenness. The chemist, the /
Board of Control nor any other body /.
Of men can by touching or handling
litduors, make them harmless or ut .
to be sold as q beverage. MWacu- :
lous power is not with the chemist OF
the S. c.. CJliege nor connected any
where with the dispensary law Tor
rendering harmless liquors soIj as a
beverage, nor will it ever Ee. lheSe
are truths discovered long ago. PIlcr
to the adoption of the dl7pensaiy
IN nisters and :iIuor men we:e co lag
together and driving tie lquor traffic
into narrow limits unl~r what was
known as the Local Option Law.
Not to 60 further, | will state here,
that 1 am proud to recall the help
rendered BY men ct DIte55uToc;, Who
once sold liquor, when We were work
ing to procure special legislation to
prohibit the sale or manufacture OF !