The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-11-29
THE DISPENSARY.
Indiscretions MaRnided and Held Up
to Public ScOrn-The Law NullIded
by Large Cities.

"AH hAhe<s fshtA AAcA" oP
to Public ScOrn-The Law Nuliihed
by Large Cities.
By Rev. J. c. Galloway in United Presby.
terian, Pittsburg, Nov. S.
The famous dispensary law OF South Caro-
lima, regulating the sale Of liquor and wines,
was enacted abouXeight years ago and has
In the campaign preceding the enactment
OF the law. the people OF the state, by ma.
Jority of II QUO, declared for prohibition, or
for rigid restrictive law: The metnoo Dy
which this majority was obtained was some
thing like The followlng: At the state eiec.
tions separate box was placed at each polling
place and labelled "For" or Against" prohi.
bitiop, and each voier was allowed to cast
vote for or against prohibition. Many did
not avail themselves OF the privilege, but q
majority did. However, when the legislature
met, under the inspiration ana leadersnlp OF
Governor Tilliman, dispensary law was
THE D1sPENsARY "NULLIFIED
This despensary law has been on trial for
eight or more years. It cannot be said that II
has had tair trial In the cities and larger
towns. There have been two reasons for this.
Ths first reason was that Governor Tilliman
and his party were largely farmers and rural
voters. and the party opposed 10 him and
which he overthrow was chiefly In the Clues.
The cities, therefore, and the metropolitan
newspapers have bitterly opposed Governor
Tiliman and all his measures and politics
The second reason the dispensary has not
of the daily press and the Influence OF the
cities, SO bitter has been the opposition In
the cities through politics, daily newspapers,
LIQUOR men and high license, that for years
there was q second "nnllincstloprm, r, 30 s, iar as
ton 10 the cities Is but little abated. Every
lndiscreet act Of dispensary constable (and
there have been good many such indiscre'
lAnl and fhn n q
pensary held up to scorn aud ridicule. The
LIQUOR men and the daily newspapers resort
To the same line Of tactics TO beat down the
that Is 80 fam liar TO your read
ers-in their endeavor elsewhere to beat down
prohibition. t..
PRoHIBITIoNISTs IN A oUANDARY.
The prohibitioniuts In the State are at pres.
ent In Quandary. They know that dispen.
not but ihey sIST as we
overthrow the dispensary: they are uninten: ::
tionally Joining forces with the liquor men
and high license, and Instead OF prohibition
they will In all likelihood get hlgn a lcen,e
move In the matter. lest instead OF gaining
whole loaf, they may lose even the half they
now have.
THE DISPENSARY A VAST IMPROVEMENT ON
THE BARRooM SYSTEM.
e.ted in the answer to practical question
like this: What is the bearing OF the dispen.
sary system on temperance and liquor prob
lem The answer Is In general quite plain.
While the dispensary IL not prohibition, 1t is
a vast Improvement on the barroom system
and higher license. The eight years. trial has
made this most manifest. All classes testify
to this. Conductors, farmers, merchants,
have personally expressed this opinion to me
in UNQUALIFIED terms. 1t may, therefore, be
accepted as an indisputable fact that the dis
penssry is many Ways much better H.,sa plan
under any regulations or restrictions what
ever.
SALIENT FEATURES OF THE LAW.
which the dispenssry Is operated. I have no
copy OF the law before me. and reproduce
from memory It's salient features: There is
only one dispensary to the town OF not more
closes at sunrise and sunset. The dispenser
has no pecuniary interest In the amount OF
the sales, receiving salary. The incentive
10 violate the law by illegal sales In any form
on the premises, being sold ouIy IN sealed
packages. None 10 sold on credit, none is
therefore charged up to sweep away the
weeks wages on Saturday night: None can
blind doors. It is something like the railing
OF bank; you write out your application,
sing your name, and push the petition aud
money through hole ana fns PACK o5
again. There are no billiard tables or pool
rooms or games OF any kind In connection
With the dispensary; There are no loaiers 10
the place, no more drinking or dlsorder tnan
at any of the stores nearby.
The effect In decreasing drunkenness has
been very marked. Prohibitionists, living In
the State, have said to me that they believe
it has diminished drunkenness Is per cent.
In some counties there are no dispensaries,
In others none except at the county seat. l
give clipping from an Intelligent correspon-
dent OF the Aboevllie Press and Banner:
PROMOTION OF ABBEvILLE's INTEREST.
An occasional onlooker is obliged to con.
clude that The adoption OF the States at
tempted solution OF the whisky proolem-,t
dspensary-has been by no means power
less factor In the promotion OF AobeVille's In
terests.
"As proof witness the very great change for
the better which has taken place In the past
few years on the northern side OF the public
square, Then almost every door on that side
OF the square led into where the legallzed
traffic In spirituous liquors was carried on,
and on public days, the sidewalk was 30
crowded with those who patronized such
places, and whose language was not OF the
most refined kind, that ladies always passed
by on the other side Now how Is IT? Flour.
ishing business houses take up the entire
space, with the exception Of one small build
Ing In which Is the dispensary. This writer
was In Abbeville on Saturday, the last day OF
Septembe and on the following Mondsy
saiesday, ON both OF which Aboeville was
crowded with people, and no one 10 passing
up or down The sidewalk by the dispensary
could have told, without looking, where II
was, as there was no noisy, profane crowd IN
side or out TO designate Its locality, as ls
usually the case with an ordinary dram
shop
THE THORN.
But "every rose has It's thorn" and the dis
pensary furnishes striking corroboratiVe eVl'
even In sealed packages, will soon rot Out
a mans moral character. The dispensary
has furnished good many scandals. a
large one is in evidence at Columbia now
The States liquor com missioner ID NO" Oh