Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-08-01

people down there to understand that
in the event of his election he would
leave them to deal with the liquor
question pretty much as they pleased.
He also denounced N. G. Con zales as
the arch enemy of the dispensary, and
the greatest foe the people of South
Carolina ever had. He spoke of pro.
hibition as failure in Marlboro, claim
ing that as many as 20S liquor packages
had arrived at Bennettsville in one
day. He claimed it to be failure in
York also. 1t suited the rich man,
who could order his liquor all right
but the poor man, who had to depend
upon the blind tiger, had to peUure
himself and violate the law or do
without. Mr.. Patterson's speech was
replete with disclosures which evident
ly seemed to him very startling. A
gentleman who made the count, said he
used the expression, "What do you
think of that ?" 70 times.
Governor McSweeney followed Mr..
Patterson. He expressed his pleasure
at meeting the people of York county,
and said he would much prefer to dis
cuss questions other than liquor {; but
as, Mr.. Patterson had devoted so much
of his time to the dispensary law and
had sought to impress the people with
the idea that there was no one else in
the state competent to enforce it, he
would have to address himself to that
subject. 81 have beendoiDg all in my
power to enforce the dispensary law.
My first official act was to address
letters to the sheriffs, mayors and
magistrates of the state calling their
especial attention to this law and ask
ing them to put forth. their best efforts
to secure its proper enforcement. l re-
duced the constabulary one-half, thus
saving the state $4,000 year with
out any material reduction of the eff
cheney of the force. l assert that the
law has been enforced, during my ad-
ministration, better than at any time
previously since it has been on the
statute books, and with less friction.
l have no apologies to make for any
thing 1 have done in connection with
this law. 1t has my most hearty ap-
proval as the best possible solution of
the liquor question, and I propose to
continue to use my best endeavors to
have it enforced. Everybody who
knows Charleston, knows that there is
no sympathy there for the dispensary
law; but when Charleston grand
jury refuses to return true bills on in.
dictments for violation Of the dispen-
sary law, how am to proceed further ?
And after all, the Charleston grand
jury is only on a par with the Barn.
well grand jury that refused to return
true bill, on Mr.. Patterson's affidavit,
against blind tiger. But I am doing
all in Charleston that I could be ex-
pected to do. I am willing to apply
every known instrument of the law to
punish the guilty; but I am not going
beyond or outside the law. am not
going to allow constables to enter
houses on vague suspicion or do any
other unlawful act. I thank God for
it that during my administration there
has been no bloodshed in conrec-
lion with the dispensary law, and
that there has been no lynching. The
dispensary law is more popular today
than it has ever been. The people
are realizing that there is great deal
in the dispensary law, aud | do not
believe they will give it up. Even if
you had Prohibition under Colonel
.Hoyt-and you will never have it
what is to prevent the people from
sending to Augusta, Charlotte, and
other places to get their supplies of
liquor for personal use" 1 say that
prohibition has been failure wherever
it has been tried, and you cannot show
me a single instance in which it has
been success. 1 believe it would be
better for you if you had several we'll
regulated dispensaries in this county.
[Laughter.] The failure in Kansas
will be the failure in this state, and if
you try prohibition and find it failure,
as you will, it will take 10 years for
you to get back where you are now."
The governor said it was the duty of
the mayors, magistrates and police to
enforce the dispensary law, and be
read a large number of letters from
mayors of different towns and cities
throughout the state, all of them show
ing more or less effort to secure the
proper enforcement of the law. He
said that he has invariably sent con-
stables to places where they were re-
ported to be necessary. Then he re-
viewed few incidents of his admins
tration like the Pons case, in which he
refused to pardon a bigamist, notwith.
standing the petition of judges, juries,
lawyers and others. He referred to a
very strong petition from this county
in behalf of Shuford. He had refused
to pardon Shuford, and he proposes to
let him remain in the penitentiary to
the last day of his term. Great
Applause. He spoke also of the de-
mand Of the Florence people that he
return TO the sheriff of their county a
Negro rapist who is now safe in the
penitentiary. He had refused the re.
quest or demand, and he would see to
it that that Negro is dealt with only
by the law, if he has to send troops to
the trial and guard the Jail until the
day of execution, in the event of the
Negroes conviction. [Cheers. In
conclusion, Governor McSweeney
spoke of his advocacy of the common
schools and of his approval of appro-
priations for higher institutions. He
had become governor on the death OF
Governor Ellerbe, and had tried to
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