Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1900-06-28
JOSHUA ". A5HiEY OH LIQUOR.
Tho Anderson Legislator Fayors County
Local Option.

70 tho Editor of tho News and
Courier: Please allow mo littlo space
in your valuable columns to state my
views on tho liquor question. l want to
| say in tho first place that l believe in
local self government. | am opposed to
the State dispensary, because it is u cor
rupt political machine that has too much
political power l believe we should
close up tho State dispcnsary and lot
each county control it's own liquor; lot
them elect their own board of control
and dispenser, and make them give bond
like all other county officers, and don't t
believe it is right to force any county to
have Il disponsary that don't want it, but
have no objections in tho world to q
county having disponsary that wants it.
1t takes about ono hundred and seventy
thousand dollars a year to run tho State
dspcnsary. Why is it necessary to kcep
Il machine that costs that much a year to
run, besides tho freight on rcshipping tho
liquor? Now, docs anybody bcliovo
that it is necessary to spend SO much
money and centraliZc SO much power at
Columbia in ono informal political ma
chine to control the liquor in South Car
olna? Don't common scnsc teach q
man that tho counties could control
their own liquor better by having tho
power in their own hands than by hay
ing the power in the hands of tho Board
of Control in Columbia?
Now, tho people abuse the people of
Charleston because they do not enforce
the dispcnSary law; the only reason why
the law is not enforced in Charleston, as
well as in other counties, is because
there arc Il bigger majority opposed to
the law in Charleston than in any other
county. That within itself proves that
you cannot enforce n law in any county
where the majority of tho people arc
opposed to it, and another reason why |
am opposed to the State disponsary is on
account of the free liquor that is given
away to influence legislation.
was talking to ono of the members
of the Board of Control at Orangcburg
on the llth about giving away sample
liquor and he said that tho liquor be-
ongcd to them, as it was shipped to
their homes, and did not belong to the
State, and free liquor seemed to bo in
evidence at the meeting at Orangcburg.
Now appeal to the good people of
South Carolina to not listen to the politi-
clan and vote to move the State diSpcn-
sary from the State Capital, as it is there
for no other purpose than to control poll
tics.
am surprised ut some of the candi-
dates in their arguments against prohi-
bition. Show up the failure Of prohibit
ton in the State of Maine, is that any
argument against pr ohibition? Do they
enforce the dispcnsary law with all their
constabulary force? Why don't those
gentlemen talk about those counties inst
across the river in Georgia that have pro-
hibition not. Is it enforced as well as
any other law? They say that prohibi-
ton cannot be enforced. Can you cn-
force any law to the letter? We have
prohibitory law against murder. Is it en-
forced, or will anybody claim that the
great dispcnsary law is enforced? And
| want to ask the gentlemen if the pro-
hibition law in Maine is not good
thing why don't they repeal the law?
Why have they kept it forty years? But
| want it understood that | would not
force any county or State to have prohi.
bition when the ma ajority Of the people
did not want it: but if you will give it to
the counties that want it it will be
enforced without IN army of constabcs
JOSIUA w. ASHLEY.
IIOuca Path June l6