The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-01-31
Some Dispensary Claims.
The StatG


The Stats(
Noting the recent criticisms of The State
and the RichmoSarfimes on the dispensary
system, the Al6bevile Press aud Banner, one
OF It's m2Sedevoted admirers, presents ID rea-
solSf%hy the dSpensary is good thing. Let
e3s examine them:
! II gives absolute prob ibiiion from sunset
to sunrise, every day in the week, ana lsotn
sunset on Saturday until sunrise on MONDAY
The dispensary sytem cannot be considered
spart from the blind tiger system which 1t
enpendered and now sustains. While the dis
pensarles are playing prohibition during Ger,
tain hours and days the blind tigers, surpheo
from the dispensarles, are meetlne all ue
mands for liquor.
o The drinking saloons have been closeu'
and no place exists today In Noulh CH[oi,u"
where men lawfully assemble TO drlnk liquo'' ;
lawfully is good! Men assemble day ana
night to drink liquors at blind tiger estapilsn-
ments-dfspensary liquor, "law'ully SOU
and unlawfully resold.
g. When the law went into effect one nous
and barrooms were closed, an immense cap-
tai was taken out OF the business; d raady and to
thousand men were out OF q JOB, ana reauy 70 10
align themselves on the productive SIDE OF
the political economy.
We question these figures but most of the
former licensed liquor dealers seem TO ne no"
engaged In unlicensed traffic, and great
many new ones are in the business
l. The State has only about lUo dispense
ries and the number OF men engaged III tne ie
business has peen reduced 10 perhaps ooo
persons.
State men, perhaps but the number selling
nlicitiy is several times as large as this.
3 The barrooms as a rule we believe, sold
"sixes" for Quart bottles, and the plnts or nan
pints we're in like manner snort III measuie
tits a common complaint among those VINO
buy from the dispensary that It's hasks are
frequently "short measure This has been
proved by measurement in cases within our
knowledge.
6. The quality Of the liquor was doubtful,
and the price was high. For lis purchase,
credit might be given, or collaterais couiu De
deposited.
The quality OF much Of the dispensary
LIQUOR Is not "doubtfuI''-it Is unmistakably
, infamous. AS for credit, while dispensaries
= may not allow it, no consideration of that
sort restraints their adjuncts, the blind tigers.
7, LIQUOR that is bought from a State dis
pensary may be relied upon as being pure,
and as being of the quality and strength LOT
which 1t is sold. This OF itself ls enough 10 ~
commend the law 10 people VINO ouy III
medicinal purposes.
There can be no such reliance. DlspensarS
samples, sent by the sellers are analyzed
but are samples taken for analysis In the way
that fertilizer samples are? Not that we ever
heard. Therefore there is no protection put
the advance samples, which may not be
aetual samples. Our belief is that liquor
more impure than any sold under the "old
barroom system is being imposed upon the
people through the dispensarles.
b, a u,
and this or ltself has great restraining III
fluence.
See answer to No. 6.
9. Dispensers have no interests in the
profits, and therefore do not push their sales.
Their salaries are graded in proportion to
their sales and they show an active interest
in Increasing sales by ordering the brands
which "sell fastest"
TO- The habit of treating has been broken
up, root and branch. Gentlemen and decent
people, as rule, have an aversion TO sneak.
ing around q corner to drink raw liquor out
of the neck OF q bottle.
This is an arraignment OF the army OF good
"Reformers" who habitually treat one
another in this fashion. ALLEY parties are
fashionable among the elite of the country
dispensaryites.
II. We have positive proof that drunken
police OF any town in the State is the merest
fraction of what they were under the old law,
when liquor was sold at night, and on Sun
day, under the license system.
Nonsense. A man addicted to into4icants
will driuk more freely out of a bottle he has
paid for than he will out OF little glass that
has to be paid for every time 1t is emptied.
This is fact based on human nature.
l2. Admitting that half dozen liquor men
quilt the State because their business had been
destroyed, at least QUO former liquor dealers
are now contributing to the wealth OF the
State by giving their labor TO other. pursuit,
and as a rule, they have accepted the situa-
tion as honorable men.
See answer to No.3.
10. We have left, after giving 100 places
to the dispensaryies, 900 business houses, for
other lines OF trade. In Abbevile, that
poItio Of the town which was once given up
TO the bar trade, clothing stores. millinery
stores, jewelry stores. and so on are no"
found.
Has Abbeville then, not grown enough 10
warrant the establishment of new stores ?
Isit the dispepsary or the cotton mill that
has made this change?
IA. Under the liccuse system. ladies, as a
rule, remained off the public square on Satur.
days and sale TIys, but now they come on the
square with perfect impunity, and day Of he
week.
This is q reflection on Abbeville only. In
Columbia ladies have always been able TO
walk on the streets with impunity."
, Is. Evidence of Sunday drinking no long
er appear.
Small thanks to the dispensary Any man
can get his bottle or jug on Saturday for Sun
day use.
We have here met only the claims OF good
made for the dispensary system and have
touched incidentally on but few ofits evils. If
the friends Of the system cannot make any
better argument for 1t than this their idol