Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1899-03-18
Miseellaasuas &sadiag.
"PARENT OF CRIMES" t"
Ex-senator Butler Writes Against the Dis
pensary.

Ex-senator Butler Writes Against the Dis
pensary.
TO the Editor Of the Greenville News.
South Carolina has received some
very hard blows in her past history
but they have come from without, ant
the united front of her white people
has enabled her to successfully parry
and often return them.
1t has remained for her own chill
dren, white native children, to infic1
upon her the deadliest blow of her ex
istence. When she was put in the cat
egory of a whisky seller for gain
the steel of humiliation and degrade
ton went to her heart and her life
blood has been flowing in streams from
the wound ever since. The last and
saddest episode of the disgraceful trsg
edy was reached, when a mother, ar
innocent woman, was shot down in hel
own home in the presence of her hus
band and little children and sent tc
her long account, for what2 Had she
committed any crime for which she
must be destroyed like a mad dog
Had she violated any law; had she
done any wrong to justify this ruthless
Invasion of the sanctity of her house
No; only the suspicion" of wrong
What has disgusted me 30 with the so.
called execution of this dispensary law
is the cowardice and prudence and par
tiality of its execution. These gallant
and conscientious executioners gen.
orally select some victim unable to de-
fend himself or herself for the mani
festation of their proves and courage
and then proclaim through the news
papers and from the housetops how
they had searched this house or that
this trunk or that, generally defense
less woman's, and brag how they had
found and confiscated for the good Of
the state and its revenues, contraband
whisky and goods which the state
never gets the benefit of. They are
usually samples" which are conven
iently appropriated by dispensary off
cials and divided among their friends
and families. They have not dared to
offer to search the house of man who
would meet threats at the threshold
with force enough to protect his castle
and repel the insolent invasion with
ball and cartridge. Not much This
is a very sweeping statement, and
Intend it to be. There may be, ano
doubtless are, some exceptions who are
entitled to exemption from its scope
but the exceptions prove the rule o.
1t will not do to say that the dispen
sary is the best solution of the liquor
question. No problem, however In
volved or difficult, can ever be proper
" solved in the blood of the citizen
No law for public policy can be sound
which destroys the privacy and sancti
ty of the home and authorizes the
Selling and confscation of private
property, and its arbitration among
lot of legalized bandits. No admins
tration can be tolerated which shields
these legalized bandits in their schemes
of plunder and criminal invasion o.
private right.
1t will not do to bolster up this imi
tation of law of European mon
archy-the Gotenburg system of Nor
way and Sweden-by saying it has di
minished drunkenness. In the hrs,
place don't believe this is true; bul
conceding this, there are some things
worse than drunkenness, bad as thai
lis. Among them are murder, cor
ruption in Office, perjury and false
pretenses. Each of all these can be
charged to the dispensary, and wha
is worse, the crimes committed in its
behalf, as a rule, have been condonec
and the guilty allowed to escape. The
blood of its victims is upon the hand'
of those who have insisted upon cram
ming it down the throats of unwilling
people. Two of the highest officials
of the state have been openly charged
with having "lined their pockets
with dispensary money, and no salts
factory evidence has been produced tt
disprove it. Scarcely week passes
without the disclosure of some hagran
shortage or corruption among the dis
pensary officials, and so the carnival o
crime runs riot in the state.
The truth of history is that thi'
monster humbug was foisted on tht
state under false pretences. 1t was
sop thrown out to the prohibition Ger
berus. The sincere and earnest tenn
perance people fell into the trap ano
let up in their warfare on the liquor
traffic. A whisky ring, headed by
time serving demagogues, became en-
trenched at Columbia, with outposts ir
almost every county, backed by al
army of subsidized officials, armed with
the ready revolver and Winchester te
shoot down all opposition, and rig b
thoroughly have they done their work
Unoffending men and women have
been waylaid by staggering, ire
sponsible constabulary and shot tt
death. The private baggage of ladie:
has been searched without even proba
BILE cause and improperly confscateo
on suspicion and converted to the use
of dispensary officials, contents o
trunks divided among them as high
wavmen divide their booty and plum