The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1898-09-21
JoAB EDWARDS ANSWERED.

our position on the whisky question
during the late primary canvass Our
reason for publishing it day after
the feast, as it were, is twofold. Ihe
first being to relieve ourselves OF be-
ing charged with attacking what we
considered an erroneous position ana
denying the use Of our columns to
those who might differ with u.s. and
the second to defend our position ana
prove beyond cavil that we mlsrep-
resented no one in any Of our utter
ances. The appearance of his artl-
Gle in this issue proves concluslVeiy
that we are not open to the charge
stated in ihe first reason, and we
will now proceed to calmly discuss
the second. But before doing SO,
however. we wish to state, inasmucb
as the impression seems to exist IN
the minds of some that we are op-
posed to prohibition, that such was
not the case. We were only discuss
ing the best means of controlling the
sale of intoxicating liquors. The ques
tion was whether the means provided
by the dispensary system or those
proposed by the Child's bill, which
was the only essential plank IN the
late movement led by Mr.. Feather
stone, would best subserve the cause
of prohibition and morality. Remem-
Der this, please.
In our former article we contended
that the late movement did not pro-
pose to prohibit the sale OF intoxicat'
ing liquors; that it only proposed TO
restrict their sale to three purposes,
to wit: mechanical, scientific and me-
dicinal, and to place their sale IN
drug stores instead of the dispensa-
ries. This in nutshell is the Childs
bill and the Child's bill was the prin-
ciple and only issue OF the movement
led by Mr.. Featherstone. 10 accept
;no the nomination at the hards Of
the drug store faction he endorsed
that principle and confirmed that en-
dorsement from the hustings in this
State during the recent canvass; and
vet Rev. Edwards would have intelli-
gent people believe that We wrong
fully placed him. Now, had the
Child's bill succeeded in receiving the
endorsement of majority of the
people, under its operations it would
have been possible for the establish
ment of a drug store anywhere.
There is no law to prevent the open
ing of a drug store. The only requisite
needful being cross road, about
pound of salts, some gum camphor,
a few bottles OF patent medicine and
a barrel of whisky, and there you
have your cross road bar room drug
store, and MIR. Featherstone, had he
been elected Governor, would have
been utterly powerless to close it up.
It is idle'to say that those men who
desired to sell whisky would not have
seized this loop hole with avidity.
Before the first primary We clearly
stated on several occasions our rea-
sons for supporting Governor E'lerbe
for reelection, which is we'll known
to our readers, and in referring to the
necessity for his re election we did
not deem it expedient to thrash over
old straw. His platform was broad
and liberal, high toned and honest
and we so stated as one of the rea-
sons We supported him, and when
the Rev. Joab Edwards states other
wise he simply nisrepresents
known fact.
That Mr.. Featherstone was sup
ported principally by Conservatives
and whisky men is clearly evidenced
by the large vote he received in those
places where the opposition to the
Reform Movement and the dispen-
sary was the strongest. This fact is
so patent that it speaks for itself.
The Columbia Register, now edited
by Conservative, taking the same
view of the result, says: 1T was clear
that many who voted for Mr.. Feath,
erstone were ss much opposed to
prohibition as he was to the dlsper-
sary system. Numbers besides voted
for Featherstone simply to beat Ell
lerbe. They would have voted for
almost anybody else quite as will
ingly." This paper accounts for the
defeat of Featherstone because ne
represented but one idea, and that
was, not prohibition, but the defeat
of the dispensary. Saying this we do
not wish to be understood as claiming
that all the Conservatives, and all the
whisky men, and all the Reform Pro
h;bitionists who voted for Mr.. Feath-
,x.,, 1;1 so from impure mo-