The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1899-12-13
D0UTHIT ON TOP.
The State Board Exonerates Him
from Blame.
HIS POSITION WAS RESTORED
Mr.. Robinson, Of the Committee
Which Brought Charges
Against Him, Offered
the Resolution.

The State board of contro: has re-
versed its former action in dischargiDg
Mr.. j. B. Douthit, commissioner, and
that official was reinstatei Friday when
it met at II "a m., and took up the
consideration of the case Of Commits
sioner Douthit, all members eff the
board being present.
The pending question before the
board was the consideration Of the
resolution offered by t1r. Haselden
Thursday evening, 20 the effect that,
inasmuch as Judge Aldrich had decided
that the removal of Commissioner
Douthit was Illegal, the charges against
that official be Withdrawn and that the
entire matter be referred to the general
assembly at its approaching session.
Mr.. Robinson stated that he was un-
willing to support the resolution, iuas
much as he thought the board was COM
pctent to handle the matter, and that
he felt indisposed to shirk any respon-
sibility, and that he thereafter offered
the following as a substitute for Mr..
Haselden's resolution:
Whereas, certain charges have here
tofore been made against j. 8. Douthit,
commissioner: and whereas the board
Of control has since become thoroughly
convinced that the charges cannot be
sustained be it, therefore,
Resolved, That the said charges be,
and they are hereby, Withdrawal.
In support Of his resolution, Mr..
Robinson stated that, acting with Mr..
Haselden as committee of in7estiga-
ton, he had Joined in report to the
board of control making number Of
charges against Mr. Douthit. This re
port was based upon ex pa1te testi
mony, submitted along with the report
to the board, aud that he had voted to
remove Mr.. Douthit from Office, believ-
ing the charges preferred to be true.
Srnce that time, however, he had in
=, gated for himself, and found that
TIC charges could not be sustained, and
that he then considered it his duty to
himself, to Mr.. Douthit and to the pub
lie to say so by proposing this 'resolu-
tion
Mr.. Williams said that Mr.. Douthit
was either guilty or innocent of the
charges preferred against him, and in
sisted that the charges be either proven
to he true or that the board should con-
fess that he is innocent. He co1ld rot
support Mr.. Haselden's resolution, be-
cause, if Mr.. Douthit was guilty and
not removed from Office by the board,
he (Mr. Williams could not continue
to serve as his superior officer, ard he
stated that if the charges we're not
abandoned by the committee who pre-
ferred them, he (Mr. Willians) would
himself press an investigation of them.
He said, however, that Mr.. Haselden,
being the chairman Of the investigating
committee, and having withdrawn the
charges, and Mr.. Robinson proposing
by resolution to do so, he (Mr. VII
liams) could have no objection to its
being done. and that he was willing to
vote for Mr. Robinson's resolution or t,
proceed with the trial. He said: Now,
let US take up the charges seriatim and
examine them. The first charge is that
Mr.. Douthit placed xxx labels on \
corn liquor, thereby perpetrating a
fraud upon the consumer. " The facts
in the case, he declared, were sfollows:
One Mr.. Groves Of North Carolina Of
fered to the State board eight barrels
of old corn liquor at certain price.
This was not offered as \, or AA, or
xxx corn liquor, but simply as corn
liquor. 1t was at once recognized by
the board as bargin, and it was pur-
chased. Mr.. Douthit stated, in the
presence of the board, that he would
label and sell it as XXX.
Mr.. Williams stated further that Mr..
Haselden asked that he be permitted
to take the sample home to his father,
who was fond Of good corn liquor, which
request the board granted. He said
that under this condition Of affairs,
there could have been no deception
practiced by Mr.. Douthit. Therefore,
this charge must fall to the ground.
He said that the other charge was that
Mr. Douthit had retailed liquor at the
State dispensary, contrary to law and
in violation OF the rules of the board Of
control. 1t was unnecessary, he said,
to reeite in detail the various resolu-
tions of the board upon this subject.
Mr.. Williams stated that he himself
introduced the resolutions under the
terms of which it was proposed to con.
Wet Mr.. Douthit on this charge, said
resolution designing to expressly order
him to sell goods at the State dispen-
sary, and to invoice such sales to some
local county dispenser monthly, turning
over the cash collected along with the
invoice, intending by this means to
comply with the requirement Of law
that sales Vi Ijq1Hr should only be made
to the consumer Il am convinced
now" he said, that this proceeding
was contrary to law, but that if any
party was gnilty, the State board was
more so than Mr. Douthit. Mr..
Williams said, further, that if Mr..
Douthit's case was up for trial by
jury, Mr.. Douthit would not need ANY
other evidence than that Of the members
of the board Of control to secure his
acquittal; and that having this personal
knowledge of the facts, he was willing
to support Mr.. Robinson's resolution.
Mr.. Boykin stated that Mr.. Williams
had fairly, clearly and fully related
the facts in the case, and that ne was
willing to support the Robinson rcso-
luton, or that the board should pro-
ceed to the trial of Mr.. Douthit; that
he had 40 inclination to shirk any duty
or responsibility in the matter, aud he
therefore seconded MIR. Robinson's
resolution.