The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-10-11
South Carolina Dispensary Takes
Sensational Turn.

u \,
could not have caused more of sensa-
ton, had it dropped i'll the diSpensary
board of control meeting to-day, than
did the report of the special committee
of that board appointed month ago to
Investigate the management of the in
stitutiOn, which is under the direct
charge of Commissioner j. Is. DOuthit.
MI. DOuthit was elected by the legisla-
ture TO be a member of the board of
control and was then elected State
liquor commissioner.
Ten days ago the chairman of the
board, on verbal reports made TO him
by the investigating committee, re-
moved bookkceper Outse. To-day the
board did not hesitate five minutes in
removing Commissioner DOuthit. No
action has yet been taken as to prose
cutlon. The commissioner was found
short S1,155 in the contraband depart
ment-that is goods to that amount
have been disposed of by him on his
own account. But the sensational fea-
turc is what the. committee describes
as the perpctratiOn Of "i. fraud OH the
people of South Carolina"
BY order OF the commissioner, whis-
Ky OF the common zone y" brand was
bottled off by the thousand of gallons
and labeled "three X'' and ''fOur X,
the charges on the consumer being
goods OF the manufacture of one house
and inferior, were labeled with the
name and guarantee of another firm of
national reputation. This was done in
the case OF several firms that supplied
Cease goods" to the dispensary, the
dispensary doing the bottling. There
was vast, quantity of evidence and
ailidavits.
COLUMBIA, s. O., Oct. 4.-Yesterday's
Ats.i:liin;,E IL, fba 1iSnn,ca,,,
control continue to be tho subject OF
much interest. Commissioner DOuthit,
who was SO summarily removed from
Office, asks the public to suspend .judg-
ment until he has an opportunity TO
prepare his case. He complains that
ne was expected to refute in fifteen
minutes the statements and charges of
the examining committee, when they
hau been preparing their report for
three weeks. Two members of tho
board of control, Williams and Boy
kin, support Douthit in his claim that
he should have had hearing and been
given time to prepare evidence.
Mr.. Williams says he is disheartcncd;
that he has worked hard to manage the
dispcnsary decently and without refer
encc to politics OF faction, and he feels
now like giving up, hoping to make it
the success they had expected. ga
stand.n
1t is not known how long the practice
OF putting fraudulent labels on the
liquor has been going on, but it has
certainly been in practice for months,
and IN that time the whiskey drinkers
have paid for Il good deal of quality
that they have not got. Liquor that
was worth ~ a gallon has been selling
for 50 and $3.50, and other grades in
the same ratio.
The brands of famous Baltimore
house, where case goods sell for S18 n
dozen, have been used on liQuOr worth
$40. Just what action the firm will
take is not known.
A member of the examining commit
tee says:
eve deemed it our duty to report
the facts to the board as they really
appear, but the conclusion cannot be
escaped that this scheme of changing
the labels on whisky shipped out could
have been for no other purpose than to
create way for collecting more money
for the goods sent out to local dispen-
saries than the same were invOiced for
to the commissioner: and further: to
create the impression on the members
OF the board that certain brands were
becoming popular"
Then reference was made by the
committeeman to the proceedings Of
the board last month. At that meet
ing Commissioner DOuthit asked the
board to change the amount of the
order of a certain brand fixed OH, and
to order more of that brand, as that
whisky was becoming very popular
and it was hard to keep il in stock.
Now, the evidence submitted shows
that tho. whisky the commission asked
for in large quantities was the low
grade brand he was sending out with
high grade labels.
The inference OF the committees
statement is that the commissioner had
double object-onc to collect more
money from the local dispensers than
he was accountable for to the State,
and the other that he was interested in
heavy sales of q certain lOw-gradc
whisky.
Friends of the dispensary look on
these revelations as very OppOrtunc.
Suspicion has ever rested on its man
agement and when revelations are
made. by refOrmers themselves, it
'we9kens the system throughout the
State.
George Johnston and George E.
Prince, from Ncwberry and Anderson
respectively, arrived - the city to-day.
They are able lawyers and came down
at the request of eXCOmmissiOner DOu-
thit to attempt to get.the board to give
him a certificate of character. The
board has been wrangling all day, the
two friends of Douthit. having fought
for reconsideration in vain. They
have giyed up hoping for that and will
be satisfied if the majority can be per-
suaded to say that he did not contem-
plate fraud.
COLUMBIA, S. c., Oct. 5.-The attor-
ncys for State Liquor Commissioner j.
b: DOnthit, who was removed from
office by the board of control to- day,
notified the board that Douthit would
courts had passed on his case. Dou
thit was dismissed after being given
fifteen minutes to defend himself from
the charges of "perpetrating n gross
fraud on the people of South Carolina"
by selling the .commonest grade of