Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1900-07-25
PROHIBITION. OR DISPEN'
SARY, WHICH?

sARY, WHICH?
Mr.. Editor: The experience OF
men and tbs wisest statesmansolp
demand that whiskey making,
selling, aud drinking be restricted.
To what extent and how to do this
is problem now prominently be-
fore the people to Investigate and
decide as duty impels. The three
methods permitted by the present
State Constitution are prohibition,
dispersary, and local option with
license but without the barroom
feature Of selling by the drink, etc.
Prohibition is an ideal theory
nd probably would be the cendl-
on that would give best results to
.ne human race. But the fact that
two-thirds or more of men in even
our Southland are at heart op-
posed to absolute prohibition pre-
sents condition of sentiment too
loose and irresolute to enforce
such a law against the schemes OF
the many whiskey interests. Laws
not upheld by conscientious pub
lie sentiment are surely not the
best that an intelligent stateeman-
ship can device for current needs.
l repeat if men in South Carolina
vote prohibition IN this State
thinking that adjoining states will
supply their demands for whls-
key, these same men are not pro-
hibitionist at heart and will be 80
irresolute as to allow the wiles of
whiskey men to scatter the stuff
throughout our State under the
law they vote, the State at the
same time bearing the expense of
such conduct without any returns
for such sales. Why most men
whether they indulge in7drlnking
or not, desire a source of whiskey
supply located somewhere con-
venient, is something that | will
not tackle, yet from long observa-
lion 1 assert it as a fact. Hence I
conclude that until n fai' controll-
ing sentiment shall become really
and truly prohibitionist. such a
law is not the most expedient and
the beet that at present can be de-
vised. M
The dispeusaly theory of pro-
viding q source of supply to the
needy of full measure, of pure
quality and without the barroom
feature in surely great improve
ment over unlimited barrooms
with their dram s:.les on premises,
old and young indulging together.
Had the State in the practical, ap-
pllcation of laws to this good,
theory been content with provia-
ing this source of whiskey supply
unadulterated at lowest cost to
consumers, without any effort to
encourage sales or drinking, there
would be some ,einblance of JUS
tice to the good morals of her do
main IN having usurped individual
enterprise of whiskey selling with
the sole view of properly RESTRAINING
the whiskey evil. But when the
State demands profit on sales
greater than would be required to
provide this source of supply and
economic salaries for her dispen-
sary employees selling such stuff
her dispensers cannot guarantee
pure distilled, with view to large
revenue the excuse and right priv
ilege to usurp become untenable.
and we may say she violates a
principle of right government.
The State encouraging sales for
revenue, shutting off all competi-
tion becomes a monopolist, and
thus enriching few favorltes and
increasing cost to the consumers,
she violates the demand of real
reformers that ali monopolies
should be curbed. When she
makes revenue the controlling pur-
pose of the dispensary she over
steps her privilege rights to usurp
private enterprises in order to con-
troll and restrict the whiskey evil.
Rather weak for the State to ac-
knowledge that she must lun the
business herself in order to enforce
restriction laws. knowing that frail
humans must run both hers and
private enterprise. Man does not
attain perfection even as an en-
ployer in public or government