The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1904-11-11
THlE DISP ENSARY.
The eeoand Part Of Senator Tillman's
Speech at Gafney.
SAYS Law MUST BE ENFORCED
And suggests Some Changes In 1t
Which He Thinks Are Els. $
sential to Its Proper

q 4
Which He Thinks Are Els.
sential to Its Proper
Enforoement.
Last week we published Senator
Illlman's defense Of the Dispensary
( Law as set forth in his speech at
Ga1ney, and this week we publish
the concluding part of the same speech,
In which he suggested certain changes
n the law, which We know will be
read with interest by our readers.
= On this point Senator Tillman said:
have q deep interest in the dis
pensary law; first because 1t gave me,
as Governor, more trouble than
anything have had anything to do
with. The whole responsibility was
on me to enforce the law as it
was on the statute books, and
pledged myself that would close
every bar in South Carolina and would
go the limit to see the law enforced
and the penalty imposed, and did.
There have been men who were SO
little aud coutemptible, SO lost to all
sense Of !decency, without a sclntilla
OF evidence, that they have charged
me with lining my pockets, and I
know my fellow citizens have never
given any credit to it., for they have
elected me to. the Senate twice since
tneSe ISLANDERS were started. But the
situation in the State now is certain.
~ one that is most unsatisfactory.
The law, as it was written, l trle
to enforce. had theta written, as
far as l could convert the L. Lrgslature
to my ideas, as l deemed best, and
the first session afte: 1T went into ef-
rect In 1898, we amended it, AS soon
es LEFT the Governors Office hardly
three or six months had elapsed be.
fore they char ged it. They took the
system out Of the control OF the State
board, composed Of the Governor, At.
SSorney General and Comptroller Geu-
e&al, and they put the power Of d.
re(rting, controlling and purchasing
wfAtskey in charge of the State board,
appointed by the Governor. That
THEY have changed twice, and now the
State hoard is elected by the General
Assembly. l would not have come
here SSat suit to give you my opinion, and
I want to '}faabor with my friends tt
take this law and key itup, and have
the machiue run as a temperance
rather than as money making ma
chine. 1t was never intended to be {
machine for money-making or fol
pre- fl. They say, and it is beinf
whispered everywhere, that certain
members Of the board had nothing
when they were appointed, but tina
now they have plenty. Another maj
had mortgage on everything he hat
when he was appointed but the othe
day he died and left his family 10
OF money. They do not spare ever
the dead in their vile SANDERS VIII
is this Situatiort Because the Legis
lature has put il in their power.
man is elected on a salary OF $400 as
member OF the board OF control, an
1T is said makes SO 600 or $50, 900 pc
year. Mid you, claiming for mySel
that was honest in every particular
that bought whiskey as best coult
and never touch any Of the State
money, l give these men who are il
charge 'the credit OF being Just n
honest as Twas, and those men wht
charged me- With being dishonest ar,
charging the men now with being dis
honest, and that because these mcr
can get rebates, that they have got
ten Them, Ii the question is as Il
whether 1t Is now possible, | say O
course 1T is.
AS long as the present system O,
purchasing whiskcy by the month is
continued and as long as there are a
dozen men going every month to sci
these goods as long as there is lot
OF whiskey pi!e1 up which dce,d not
come up to the prJOf, which cannot
be sold, you will hear stories that this
man or that man is making great
sums Of money out OF 1t. They
charged me with having stolen b.
cause l could have stolen. The rea.
son they charged me is because they
could have stolen IL they chad had
the chance
When the dispeusary law was first
enacted we had TO buy on credit to
600, and we had to buy on credit to
do business. Fifty Thousand dollars
would not have bought enough whis
key to have given each OF the men OF
South Carolina q drink apiece. am
ready to quit the defence Of the dis
penrary law when you can say truth
fully, it is a political machine. 1t
was not political machine in my
hands.
The governing board used to be the
Governor, the Comptroller General and
the Attorney General, but they said.
we must not allow that to go on, be-
cause that puts toO much power in the
hands OF the Governor. | tried to en-
force this law and j stcrnly represSed
any effort to mix in politics. / never
ha any constable with ME on my cam
paign when | ran for the Senate. One
or two did start out, but l 'cusSed'
them out, ran them back and told
them to attend to their duties as con-
stables. No man should be allowed TO
have the appointment OF commissioner
unless he has clean record aud only
such men have had it so far as know.
The salary OF the State liquor comrniS
sioner has been Increased from S 800
to 1000 or $1,000, and he is required
to give bond of S75, 600 think it is
to insure the faithful discharge OF his
duties, but the commissioner is not al
lowed to have anything to do with the
Whiskey until it is bought and he
merely keeps the books and attends to
the business details. My idea, and ]
have spoken privately to the Governor