Brookings weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1898-1903, 1899-04-13
! DISPENSARY Law
|,sp Republican Majority in the
| legislature Responsible for
tts NOn.Enactment.

49,. most serious of all omissions of
80 marty in ,owcr at Pierre was the
NC 70 enact any legislation tocarry
' :. ,ha provisions of the constitutional
.m.pdment !. adopted last fall providing
- .tata control of the liquor traffic.
- The election of 1896, the people re-
o.a,ed the prohibition clause in the
constitution. 1t was then claimed by
mapy that this was an endorsement OF
,,a license system but as license was
=, directly voted upon at that cleo
H., and in fact never has been voted
anon by the people Of the whole state,
,hore were others who held that the
vote against prohibition was in no way
N endorsement of license. However,
,hs members Of the legislature at the
session Of 1897 desired to carry out
Ina will of the people TO the best OF
ibeir ability and accordingly they en-
.cted license statute and at the same
lime submitted to the people a consti-
tutonal amendment giving them an
oDnor,nnity to vote on the system Of
tate control. This amendment Ie-
reiyed a majority Of the votes at the
election last fall. The words Of the
amendment are mandatory. They say
tho legislature "shalP' enact suitable
egislation 10 put the amendment into
pheet. The duty of the members was
therefore plain and unmistakable-
They should have enacted dispensary
law. By adjourning without action
openly defed the plainly expressed will
Of the people
There is no adequate punishment
for nalfeasance of this kind. The peo-
pie may show their displeasure at the
polls, however by defeating next year
the party whose representatives are
guilty of such a plain violation Of
their oaths of Office.
BILLS INTRODUCED.
II is claimed that there was a tacit
agreement between the two houses
that the House should enact the direct
legislation bill and the Senate prepare
bill on the dispensary. There were
several excellent bills introduced in
the Senate. The Gunnarson bill was
prepared by the Anti-Saloon league
people and represented the wishes OF
the prohibition element. 1t was not a
prohibition bill, however, but rather
almost a. literal transcript OF the South
Carolina law on the subject AS South
Carolina has had the dispensary sys
ten in force for the past FIVE years is
Is 10 be presumed that this law would
be fairly serviceable one. Senator
Hanten Of Watertown introduced a
bill with many excellent features but
which the extreme temperance people
thought was too radical or rather too
liberal. A third bill was introduced
by request by Senator Ashford.
This was prepared by populist friends
Of the dispensary, and met more fully
than the others their views on the sub
.ect
THE COMMITTEE.
These three measures represented
fairly well the diverse views ON the
subject. They We!e referred to a
special committee appointed for the
purpose of dealing with this subject,
committee. however. seemed in no
hurry TO do its work. Fully half the
session expired before the members
held meeting. The chairman was
suites, druggist from Sioux Falls. He
announced that none of the bills pre-
sented were satisfactory and he would
prepare one himself. But he was very
uehoerate about it. Fully twothirds
VI tne session We're gone before the
copy reached the printer. The remain
oer OF the committee did not seem dis.
posed TO hurry him at all. but were
cohlent to let matters drift. The
sutes Dill when it appeared proved to
ve hodge podge made up by clipping
paragraphs and sections from the 9TH
Dllls before the committee. AS
tnese other bills were prepared on
very divergent theories and often an
,agohistic the result was not at all
harmonious and the bill did not suit
sly olher member of the committee.
aediiy TWO weeks more were spent by
ue committee licking it into shape
ana nnally with but little more than
week left Of the session 1t was re.
por'ed TO the Senate 1t did not suit
.ne senator's much better than it did
as committee. Three days were spent
tHe senate trying to make 1t presen.
1oie and then 1t was passed and went
ne House. 1t reached that body on
Msuaaaay night just before ad djournment,
WIN only four days of the session left.
uD TO this time the House had done
apsoiuteiy nothing on the subject ex-
Iept that bill had been introduced by
representative Woody. This was a
duplicate OF the Ashford Senate bill
tS tua represented the populist idea Of
M .1e subject. 1t had been referred to
.se committee on temperance and all
,aempts to get 1t out Of the commit
S,,, u mad been unavailing. The Senate
soa,. ,n was promptly referred to the same
PACKED COMMITTEE.
NJ may be said In behalf of the
m mouse that under the agreement the
mpers looked to the Senate to pre-.
ma, re tne bill. This may account for
my ,1sir negligence in the matter but can.
sor AN e,cuse 1t. On looking into the per.
- Ssel OF the committee 1t now appear.
ma. OF the nine members all but
.o were opposed to the massage of