The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-01-18

late election cannot be considered en-
tirel y an endorsement Of prohibition,
for there is excellent reason to cou-
cIude that the prohibition candidate
polled the full prohibition vote in the
first primary, while in the second he
polled the vote of the ltagouists OF
the dispensary sy stem, from whatever
cause that antagonism arose, and, in
addition, the strength of all the ''sore-
heads and di>grunted Office seekers
aud politicians of both factions. The
election iu Charleston is striking
evidence of this. 1t will hardly be
disputed that, if the eoplc of Char
lesion want prohibition, as their votes
would seem to show, it is because they
feel sure that under that system there
will be practically no restraint on the
sale of whiskey.
Turning now to the practical con-
sideratiou of the di~peusary, do not
think whlskey should be sold iu any
county where majority of the people
favVr prohibition. therefore recom-
mend the submission of the liquor
question to the qualified electors OF
e,ch county, that each county may
Vote as it prefers. Any county, how
ever, that votes for prohibition should
be made to bear all expenses Of en-
f"rci & the prohibitory law; aud such
should not receive any of the profits
from the dispensary Uuder the Cou-
s,itution, the profits accruiug from
the sale Of liquor go to the support Of
our f ee schools. Now, the county Of
Marlboro, which never had dispen-
sary, aud which is now under the most
rigid form Of prohibition, with no pos
sibility Of legal liquor traffic within
its borders, receives its proportiouate
share Of dispensary profits, while at
the same time the State is charged
with maintaining constablcs in that
county to enforce the law and prevent
the sale cf liquor. | submit that this
is unfair to the other counties. The
same thing obtains in the county OF
York, where the ouly dispensary, the
one at Tirzah, has been discontinued,
leaving the county without any place
where liquor can be legally bought.
You will call to mind that these two
counties are close to the North Caro-
liua boundary, and it is well known
that there is large iuAux Of whiskey
from the distilleries across the line,
by wagons aud other conveyances.
OF course, these counties may have
liquor imported for personal use with
out restriction, but it can not be sold
legally. l believe that it is but right
and just for those counties which
have prohibition, or may hereafter
adopt it as the means of controlling
the liquor traffic, to be taxed to en-
force such Law, nor should they re-
ceive any part of the profits arising
from the sale of liquor in the other
counties, to add to their school funds.
If the county officers, magistrates aud
sherifs, enforce the law, we'll aud
good-there will be no need for con-
stables; but if they do not; the Gov
ernor should be given the authority,
upon petition setting forth such vlo-
latlon, to appoint constables, and to
require levy in such counties sufi-
cient for their maintenance.
Now let us consider matters con-
cerning the administration of the law
other than those mentioned as dealing
with its violations. When the dis
pensary system was first inauguratcd,
the State board was composed of the
Governor, the Comptroller General,
aud the Attorney General, ex-oficio,
aud in these was vested the power to
appoint the State Commissioner and
the County Boards of Control, aud to
exercise general supervision over the
working of the dispcnsary in the
whole State. After the retirement of
Governor Tillnau, in the middle Of
Governor Evans term, the Legisla-
ture changed this provision, and
created new State Board of Control,
consisting of five members to be elect
ed by itself. The Governor was left
without official connection with the
dispensary, except the right to appoint
and control the constables. The sys-
tenn has now been in force three years,
and, in my opinion, it has failed to
accomplish the purpose OF its advo-
Gates. The idea was to divorce the
dispensary system from politics and
to put it under strictly business
m ,uagement. No such result has IL