Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1903-08-19

law has had something to do with an
effort that is now being made by the
city authorities of Columbia to sur
press these evils. This encourages
me to ask that Charleston and other
cities and towns in the State take
decided steps to do the same i be-
lieve that the Governor d IS to en-
force all the laws of e state and
that he is ambitious to make his ad-
ministration creditable to the State,
to the people who have honored him
and to himself, but in order to ena-
BILE him to accomplish this he must
have the hearty cooperation of his
friends and of all the law-abiding
people of South Carolina.
If the people fail to give him their
support it will be too late to regret
it after he has failed to accomplish
the results necessary to improve the
the conditions existing when he was
inducted into Office. When you
think of it, there is not more than
ten per cent of the white people of
any community who are violators of
the law. These left to do as they
please run roughshod over laws and
have no regard for decency or NOR
ais. The politicians fear this class
because they generally take an active
part in politics and combine against
men who they know who are for law
and order. And good men who are
candidates for office often make con-
cessions to this class because they
are afraid to antagonize them.
There is an impression among some
of the Governors friends. that he has
not carried out his promises to en-
force the dispensary law or things
would not be run "wide open" as
they have been, especially in Colum-
bia and Charleston, because he is
looking forward to his reelection in
1904, and does not want to make
enemies. l do not believe this, nor
will not, unless 1 have better evi-
dence along this line.
1t takes time to accomplish these
things, and he has only been in
office about seven months, and it is
well known how difficult it is to en-
force the dispensary law. 1 doubt
if there is one of them that is con-
Quoted in accordance with the law,
and this being the case, you can UNDER
stand the difficult task before the
Governor. To secure for him your
support in this matter, and higher
regard for all of our laws, is my ap-
ology for writing this and my former
letter.
Now a word to the Prohibition
Democrats, temperance workers and
Christian men and women of our
State, and l will close: You have
doubles noticed the workings of the
dispensary law for the past three OF
four years the open violation of the
law; the power it exercises as po-
litical machine in politics the charges
that have been made that men prefer
a position on the board of control
and work harder for it than they do
for any Office in the State, and yet
they can only draw $4OO year sal
ary and actual travelling expenses.
You have also heard of the money
that some of the men who are con-
nected with it have accumulated out
of $400 ayear, and have felt ashamed
that South Carolina would have an
institution whose officers and their
reputation, and the good name
of the State suffer by it. Yet
this is true; and more than this is
heard in the streets.
] was talking with former mem
ber of the board in 1898, who at that
time was off of it, but who has since
returned, at the request of our.pres-
ent Governor, and as near as can
recollect, and my memory is good,
he said that it was bad thing to
have anything to do with whiskey
that he was persuaded to 90 on the
dispensary board because they wanted
mon of high character on it who
would carry out the law; that he
hesitated to accept the position, but
did accept, and that he had not been
on the board more than 80 days be.
fore he was accused of all kinds of
rascality, and he had not been there
60 days before he was ready to get
off, and that if God would forgive
him he would never have anything
to do with the liquor business again
Still he has gone back, and is ru.
mored, l don't know whether it il
true or not, but / have met some
people who do, that one of the liquol
firms who sell the dispensary, Bal
timore firm, l believe, has deposited
in his bank $4,000 with the under
standing that the bank can use tn,
money without interest until called
for. They know whether these things
are true or not, they are just as com
mon talk as the talk about every.
thing being run "Wide openn in Col.