The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1900-08-08

| VIII hohtSluBRle 10 lnc interest
the public without discussion alon
the line whether you want prohib
ton or not. In '92 it was not whetl
, er you wanted prohibition or whctl
CT you elected Tillman governor Th
only issue today is whether the dis
, pcnSary law will stay or prohibition
take it's place. Then we will hav
free whiskey. (Yclls for IloyD.
You had better quit that ho!lcr
ing, now, if you get up that old gam
you will get pretty hot. | say thi
business is greatly in favor Of tn,
candidates and gives them this op
portunity to dodge the issue, and
will say that you will be fools if yo,
don't make every candidate for tn,
legislature in this county come out
and say if he is not going to vote fol
the dispcnsary. If the majority hav,
this right to vote for it you have
the right to have our servants tC
vote for it. You have no right to let
| them bring these boxes among you
without knowing how they stand
If they don't like it let them lump
| it.
| The question which concerns YOU
my friends, is one of vital impor-
tance. 1t is one which involves the
future welfare and integrity of our
children and grandchildren. 1t is
II question of vital Importance and
therefore is not to be lightly dis
| cuSSed and whisked aside.
Another phase of the question as
| far as | am concerned why | am in
this fight, making this issue, is be-
| cause l have been attacked person
ally, 2:G wh,:, men undertake to
slap me in the face, cali in question
actions and Nyhnn
get cowardly enough to keep silent
it will be time to send me back .
Trenton to stay.
| don't want to mention 1Ioyt'S
name in any other than in u most
friendly way, and just way. | did not
come here to Interfere as among mcn
j did not come here to say for YOU
TO vote for or against him. | am here
to discuss the issue between prohi-
bition and the dispcnsary and | don't
propose to treat IIoyt unfairly. lie
is high toned gentleman, but warn
You now the more You hollcr that
way the less YOU will like it before
you get through.
Col. lloyt declared in II speech that
the diSpcnSary law is a bastard law
and the question is how the dispcn-
Sary has come into South Carolina.
| am here now to tell you, and il is
entirely proper for me to discuss it
from the stump, but the pulpit has
taken IL up and sermons are being
preached Sunday after Sunday on it
and saying we asked for an egg and
they gave us II scorpion, we asked
for bread and they gave us stone.
What were the facts in '92, after
years resulting in county after coun-
ty going dry, and turning and going
dcd on one side to let those vote for
it or against it? The issue was not
against prohibition but it was against
TillmaniSm and antiiSm or Shephard-
ism. In those boxes were 10000
votes. $4,000 of these were for pro.
hibition. There were $4,000 votes,
and there were $4,000 not voting on
it. Prohibition never did have n ma
iority. The Legislature came to me
to get me to help them down on the
winning side, they had said whatever
WAS voted in these bovcs we will
stand by. Prohibition had failed
but they wanted to save the twenty
five or thirty thousand ma aiority,
elected governor. In '92 $4,000 ma
iority, but in spite of that fact, they
said, and you can hear it said now,
that it was great political machine
TO further my own ambitions. In the
name OF common Scncc what more
machinery did | want than yourvotes.
| had the biggest machinery organ
lied in this State or any other State.
An overwhelming majority of your
votes. and when they say I advanced
the dispensary to create Il machine,
why, how contemplate it sounds to
Il man who loves the truth.
When the issue had passed, prohi-
bition failed, mainly and truly
through my efforts who had been
elected there and the rcformers with,
and without regard to who favored
prohibition and wanted to put the
people in better condition, prohibi-
tion having failed and believing from
my observation it was an impossible
ity. However, in view of the object
lesson given from n State that had
it that whiskey ran riot, | resolved as
Il public man put in Office that it
would not be good for South Carolina
to have such al aw. 1t would prove
lesson which did not want to see,
therefore | went to work to institute
something better. | investigated the
dispensary at Athens, Ga. | found
that after the town was run by prohi-
bition that drunkenness was on the
iiiNiN ~ iSpoi
ed this to the Legislature and asked
to have dispensary for Clark coun-
| ty and n man to sell it. / reported it
to this State and got the Senate to
substitute the dispensary as enacted,
| and then got the house to accept
that. That is the straight, plain his
tory of how / enacted the dispen-
| sary.
| had conference with Methodist
minister in the conference who had
charge of the prohibition affairs. We
made several alterations in the bill
mainly at my suggestions, some
amendments, etc. When he talltcC
to me he said this fight in South Car
olina was against the saloons. / be
licve it is an iniquity and | will go
as far as any man to eXpell then
from the State and destroy tl.a
class of liquor selling.
When Colonel Iioyt says it is ;
bastard law and had disowned III.
baby i want to call his attention ant
your assertion to the absnrdity of hi
remark. Here is my version nf th
story. Old Prohibition, who hn,
been the pet of South Carolina, an,
/; an old maid named Fanaticism. IL
wanted to marry that old maid. III
thought he had her. He actually ha
the preacher ready when / found
good looking young girl called Com
\