The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1898-01-19

morals. It covers the suppression o.
nulsances. whether Injurious to public
health like uowholeeome trades, or te
the public morals like gambling houses
aod lottery tickets The police ex-
tends to things not only intrinsicalIy
dangerous to the public health, such as
infected rags or diseased meat, but to
things which, when used in lawful
msnuer, are subjects of property and ol
commerce, and yet may be used 30 as
to be injurious or dangerous to the life.
the health. or the morals of the people.
Gun powder. for instance, is subject
of commerce and Of lawful use, yet,
because of its explosive and dangerous
qualities, all admit that the state may
regulate its keeping and sale, and there
is no article the right of the state to
control or to prohibit the sale or manu-
facture Of which within its limits is
better established than intoxicating
liquors" /"
There is profit to state in any form
of licenses. yet license has been held
to be a police regulation sven when
protecting license holders 10 a mono
poly Of sale till Judge Simonton's re-
cert decision above quoted allowed
liquors in original packages" to enter
state $50 long as their manufacture,
purchase or sale, or their use as beyer-
age in any from or by any person are
recognized" Interstate commerce
has according to Judge Simonton, des.
troyed the police power unless state
declares the use of liquor as beverage
to be contrary to good morals
aud against the health Of the
people. No license system does
this, we canoot therefore, get protec-
ton from free liquor" by such en-
actmest. We can. however get relief
By doing away with the profit feature,
as the following quotation from the
Vandercook decision shows: ..The
decision of the Supreme Court Of the
United States must control all Circuit
Courts By this decision it is clear
that so long as sae State herself en-
cages in the business Of importing and
selling alcoholic liquors for the purpose
Of profit, so long as she recognizes
that the uss of alcoholic liquors as q
beverage is lawful and can be encourag-
ed, so long as she seeks monopoly in
supplying these liquors for that use,
aud in this way looks to an increase in
her revenue, she cannot under her con-
sti.utiona! obligations to the other states
of this Union, control, hinder and bur.
des commerce in suoh articles between
theis. citizens and her Own
ALL THAT rs LEFT. .
Here is the Law and We must obey it
until Judge Simonton is overruled by
the supreme court or by congress
Under license system inasmuch as the
state would receive money. these ''ori-
ginal packages" would continue to come
in. and Judge Simonton would coutin-
ne to "enjoin" the state officers from
interfering with them. Let Us, there
fore, do what is left us and wait for ac
tion at Washington. The money used
in conducting the dispensaries and 10
enforcing the Law could not regarded as
profit, but as expended as purely and
solely formainsaining the moral health
Of the people. Judge Simonton might
declare this not to be an exercise of the
police power, but We will have to risk
it aod depend for our security on what
be himself has written in various decia.
iona.
THE STATES EDUCATIONAL
SYSTEM.
The constitutional three mills tax for
school purposes yields on the preseo.
assessed value of property. something
over S5O0,000. This is large sum to
collect from tax-burdened people. and
this money should be so expended as to
secure the best possible results. With
this increased expenditure Of money on
the public schools the people have the
right to expect better results than have
heretofore been secured. In the cities
and in majority of the towns the
schools are we'll sustained and meet the
demands upon them. but in the country
the results are generally very unsatis-
factory.
With better school houses and better
equipment and better teachers, boys
and girls could be prepared for college
at the common schools in the country,
without needing to take a course in
fitting schools, preparatory to entering
college. The state educational system
including all schools. high or low, pri-
mary, secondary and collegiate, looks
to one end and aim; to correct illiteracy;
30 dispel ignorance; 70 train intelligent
and patriatic citizens. It is sustained by