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

away with.
IL will he remembered that, at the
last session of the Legislature, the
litigation instituted in the Uuited
States Circuit Court by Vandercook
had reached the supreme Court of the
United States, on appeal from Judge
Simnutou decision. For almost a
,car there had been absolutely paraly-
sis OF the dispensary law, so far as its
punitive features we're concerned, and
the cnnstahles had all been discharg-
ed. The dispen>ar'cs had been forced
to fight free whiskey, on terms of
absolute equality: yet, strange say,
they fo ght it successfully; for while
the profits were reduced by this law
less competition, there was still
euuugh business to make the dispen-
sary self supporting and leave small
uarg,n IF p'utit In May last, the
| Supreme Court at Washington handed
dnwn i,s decisien. sustaining the c"n-
stituti"naIity of the dispen-ary law in
all It's features, with the limitation
only as to Importation for personal
use. The long aud hotly contested
question of legal status of the dispen-
sary was removed. The original
package dealers at once clnsed their
shops, aud shipped their liquors out
of the State. with my permission. |
did not deem it wise or right to take
advantage of them, as they had been
doing business under the sanction Of
the Federal judiciary. The coustabu-
larry was reorgauized and put to work,
aud from that tine to this the force
as beeu kept busy trying to destroy
the unlawful traffic which has gained
fuothold in the State under the pro-
lection Of Judge Simonton decision.
Idesire iu this connection to recall
to your attention the fact that, in
1894. the State Supreme Court, by
declaring the dispensary law uncon-
stitutioual, gave the illicit liquor
dealers encouragement, aud as a result
there was widespread generalization,
with liquor selling prevalent almost
everywhere, even in the country, not
withstauding the law prohibited its
sale absolutely. After that decision
had been reversed and the dispensa-
ries reopened, aud more or less rigid
enforcement Of the law for two years
had extirpated in large measure the
illegal traffic, came the interference of
the Federal Co .rts and the imprison-
meut Of the constables for contempt.
This interference gave encouragement
to large number of illicit dealers and
induced them to contiuuc in the busl-
ness, and when the paralyzing decls-
ion in the VaudeIcook case came there
was phenomenal increase in the
number Of illicit dealers engaged in
this traffic in South Carolina. This is
| shown by the number Of the United
States revenue licenses issued. In
the fiscal year ending June Both,
1897, the number of retail revenue
licenses, or permits to sell liquor, we're
322: in the year ending June 3Oth,
1898, there were 625. In other words,
| the present unsatisfactory condition,
aud do not hesitate to say that it is
unsatisfactory, Notwithstanding the
6aal triumph in the Courts-is owing,
in large measure, to the interference
of the Federal Judge, with the conse-
quent encouragement to all who saw
iii to engage in the sale of liquor,
nothing more being required than to
pay the United States revenue license.
1t has taken months of laborious and
strenuous effert to restore the condi-
tions Of tolerably successful working
of the dispensary law which prevailed
at The time when the Vandcrcook de-
cision was rendered. The friends of
the dispensary and those who have
too readily turned their backs on it
should bear all this in mind and still
evidence hope and patience.
The Generalization produced by the
various causes mentioned can be
readily overcome in time, aud the law
will work more successfully and be
obcyed more willingly as time goes by.
| Our efforts should be especially direct
ed to perfecting the system in its ad-
| ministrative features.
There are great many people who
will never be friendly to the dispen-
sary system, or to any like regulation.
Many men are opposed to it on princi-
pie, some as extreme prohibitionists,
and some as extreme advocates of
liquor traffic. These two widely scpa-
rated camps meet on common ground