The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1899-11-29
KEEP IT CUT OF POLITICS.

Senator Tillnan is accredited with
having suggested several important
changes in the management Of the
dispensary system st a caucus OF some
OF the prominent advocates of hat
system held in Columbia during Fair
Week. We are not in a position to
state with any decree of certainty
whether he did or did not suggest
the proposed changes not having
been present atsthe caucus, and we
have invariably found it a safe rule
to accept the assertions of biased
and preiudiced press and individuals
concerning Senator Tillman and the
dispensary with great amount of
incredulity. Some of the proposed
changes are very good, no matter
who their author may have been, and
if adopted would have a wholesome
effect in purging the management OF
the dispensary CT its Objectionable
and obnoxious features. The dis
graceful scenes recently witnessed
among the heads and some of the
employees of that institution at Co.
lumbia will be made utterly impossi.
bic by placing the management Of
the system in the hands of State
Commissioner, who shall be under
the control and direction of a board
consisting of three State officers,
something like the management in
vogue during the first years of the
existence of the dispensary system.
Under the administration of Com
missioner Traxler there was no effort
to use the institution as a stepping
stone to political preferment. His
administration was 80 pure, and
founded upon such correct business
principles that even the bitterest
and most unreasonable opponents of
the system could find no fault with the
management and be left Office un-
sullied by the breath of scandal and
the system fourisbing and growing
in popular favor. A management
that gave such universal satisfaction
and made the system stronger each
day is most assuredly worthy OF per-
petuation and the good of the sys-
tenn demands its immediate re-estab-
ishment.
There are many other healthy
changes suggested stgg in in the system Of
management adopeted and sanctioned
by the Legislature in recent years,
the inauguration of which made it
possible for chickering's and jealousies s
to creep in and cause friction and
dissentions to arise among those
charged with the administration of
the interests of the institution, but
as they are of minor Importance and
are oyershadowed by far more weight
ier ones to discuss them now would
be illtimed as well as premature.
The other suggestions claimed to
have been made by Senator Tillman
does not bear the stamp of his usual
discernment which has marked his
political career from its beginning
up to the present time. As rule
all his acts of ststescraft have teen
those of wisdom and farsightedness
rarely seen coming from a states
man. By substituting the Iotend-
ants, County Auditors and Treas
u-ers as Board of Control for their
respective town and county and max
ing the local dispenser elective by
the people instead of by the County
Board of Control are very unwise
changes, and ones which are fraught
with great danger to the perpetual
ton of the dispensary system itself.
The very reason why change is so
urgently demanded and 50 apparent
ly necessary in the management of the
State dispensary is, that,there is too
much politics mixed up with its busi-
ness. Should these two last changes
be effected it will be the entering
wedge which will split the dispen-
sary, the rock upon which it will be
wrecked. It will not only bring into
play all the fac:ional prejudices and
neighborhood strife of county poll
tics, but will also open wide the doors
for all the evils incident to munici-
pal campaign to boldly enterto under
mind it with its nastiness, rottenness
and corruption. 1t will put the dis
pensary up as target to be shot at
by any ward politician that might
seek its downfall and substitute high
license where whisky can be better
and more safely used to debauch
citizenship, degrade manhood and
control voters. 1t will be a source
of constant irritation and breeder
of strife and contention. Judgment
and experience teaches US that the