The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1900-02-28
ADDRESS OF
PROHIBITIONISTS.

Columbia on the ETH Of January, 1900
a adopted the following
/ Resolved, That Joel + Brnson. !
II j. Moilatt, f.. d. Smith, J. A. Hoyt, f
( II. Hyatt, w. c. Thomson and Jcre
i. miah Smith be and hereby are urpointc,
n to prepare an address to the people o
: south Carolina, setting forth the work
. ana issues before us, and to plan for ant
S perfect an organization of the Prohibi
} lonlsts Tor the coming campaign
In accordance with the above, we suh.
nit the following address
TO TIE PEorLN OF SouTn Carolina.
Th" ProhibitiOrists Of The State are
, encouraged TO make another appeal
TO inc voters FOR supreme effort along
the line for the abolition OF the mann.
lacturc and sale of liqnor in South Car.
DINA. For many years the men and wo
men 81 our state have tOilcd earnestly
to effect legal prohibition Of the liuuor
traffic and gratifying progress was be.
ing made not only in banishing the H.
ccnscd saloon from all territory without
incorporated towns and cities, but there
was much being accomplished in the way
OF reducing the number Of saloons here
and there, and also in securing control
OF the smaller municipal ties THROUGH
me DaIIol box or restrictive legislation.
rms progress in temperance reform in
duced an application to the regularly
| constituted authorities OF the Democratic
party in control Of the election machine.
| ry of the State for a separate box in
! Whlch 10 vote Tor or against Hrohibi
ton, and this privilege was granted in
| the primary election of 1892, rcsultinr
IN an over %helming majority for the lc
gal prohibition Of The liquor traffic. and
along with this result there was obtained
! clear ma lOrity Of members IN the lower
| House, who passed strict prOhibil0rv
measure in accordance with the verdict
of the people This measure was dc
leatcd. however, and in its stead was
substituted the dispCnsa"y law for the
regulation and control Of the tfallIc. nm
importation that was recognized as con |
trary To the wishes of the people and in
direct conflict with their asccrtancd
verdict. Thus the dispcnsary began its
career as suppuntcr, and il has made .
seven years of unCauny record, marked |
by bloody and disgraccful steps from the .
beginning.
The present condition of the liquor
business can hardly be said to be salts
factory to Il singc intelligent person i'm
the State, When the oispcnsary INV
was first adopted, thousands of our hon +
est people hoped for, and expected much
from 1t. They were told that The re
strictivc features of the law would be
enforced by sober State officials, who,
not having any financial interest nj
stake would labor to reduce the con
sumption Of liquor and make The dispcn.
sary system stepping stone to prohibi-
ton The disp nsary had been in one
ration but short time before the greed
OF gold began 10 manifest itself AMONG
hlgh officials, and pressure was brought
to bear upon dispensers to increase
sales The annual salary paid :; common
county dispenser would buy thirty bales
of cotton, and he was given to under.
stand that his dispcnsary must be profit.
able to the State or it would be closed
and himself dismissed from the service
The sales increased at once and have in.
creased month by month ever since; so
that to-day the State is selling nearly as
much liquor as ever did the old bar.
rooms in their palmcst days.
And how could ii be otherwise? The
appetite for drink is the same and every
hi hindrancc to the sale Of liuuOr has been
swept away. The door OF the disp II.
sary stands wide open to serve every
one that will buy. No knowledge Of the
purchaser necessary. no inquiry. as TO
the purpose for which the liquor is
and no slgratura to any request
simply pay your money AID take yolr
liquor rs much rs you can carry if YOU
like. So indifferent and dcmoraliIcd I
have become our State and county oil
cials that although these violations of
law are known to all Of them, thcv have
neither the manliness nor moral courage
TO try to bring the offenders 10 Justice
Tourist hotel privileges and beer shOps {
have been, and are still, conducted un
dcI the very nose Of :hc Governor of the {
State without shadow of law, and no
effort made to prevent it. Dispenser
after dispenser has stolen or lost the
money Of the State and not one has ever
been punished or even prosecuted, cN
ccpt in one or two instances Commits
siOns and rebates and brides and thcfts I
and murders have been the natural
products of this system Of State liUuOr
selling, and after years Of such work, its ,
still plead with us to give it
a fair trial y
Those who manage it say the dispcn.
sary paid last year $l3O,0OO to the cdu
cation Of the children of the State, but
they did not tell the startling fact that
the dispcnsary had drawn from the peo
pie OF the State at least twenty times as
much and spent it in fat salaries and
other expenses, purchases, &c, OF the
liquor system. 1t may be sal that in
addition to the &l3O 900, the counties
and towns received small sum each.
and to this we reply: The expenses in
Cured by the counties and towns in the
trial, punishment and support of Grim.
mails, who have been made such hv the
liquor sold them by the State, wi far
more than balance the money received
from the dispcnsary We state il mod
cs ly when VIC say the present system of
liquor selling is robbing the people Of
the Staic Of twenty dollars for every
dollar paid to the State Trca surcr for
educ ational purposes. The State Board
of Control is sending out Of our State
each year at least one million dollars
and in exchange for il bringing into the
State and distributing to our people five
times the amount i'll poverty, wrctchcd
ness, disease and death.
We appeal to every newspaper in the
State that has Il sense Cf honesty and
fairness to lose sight of the few dollars
that may come to il through those who
love liquor; TO forcgo the imaginary
pleasure Of holding up the hands Of
those who cry personal liberty" when
that personal liberty is vioativ, of the
rights Of others, and to Join with us in
the effort TO remove the aCcurscd LIQUOR
traffic from our State
We appeal to the good women Of the
State, and VIXEN have the women of
South Carplinu ever foilpJ i'm unDJ f.