Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1904-07-27
BlenR'al sssio1s and !6'

The Colambia correspondents Of tn,
Charleston News and Courier, wsitine 4
that paper under date of July 18th, 1904
has the following TO say about two i'm
portauts issues now before the people o.
South O,tfp!iua Tor their consideration
aud adjudication. He writes pertinent,
aad forcefnlly of these issues as follows
There is practically no interest takcr
In the State campaign aud very it'll,
, more in the selection of the members oI
the General Assembly. There are no
State officers going before the peopl,
with important issnes, and no issues
have 30 far been presented to the people
There are two issues that Ought TO b,
discussed from every stump, and i,
would DO great pity if the campaign
should continue to go by without the
candidates for the General Assembly
calling attention to these issues and let
ting che people understand the situation
as to these two matters.
BIENNIAL SESSIONS
AT the recent session of the General
assembly authority Was gwen by 6, two
thirds vote of the House and Senate foi
the voters of the State TO decide wbe-
ther they wished biennial instead OF
annual sessions of the General Assem-.
bly,. The candidates for the General AS.
semDly ought to urge upon the voters
the importance of voting intellieently
upon this subject in the general election
not the primary-if they really want
biennial sessions of the General Assem-.
bly,. Then it ought to be made perfectly
plain that the candidates for the Gcneral
Assembly are in earnest in CARRYING ou,
the wishes of the voters, il expressed In
favor OF biennial sessions, and that no
legislative clog be placed in the way OF
passing the necessary legislation to pro
vide for tho change and for biennial ses-
sions of the Legislature.
There does not appear to be the gene
general elections. The light vote i'm the
general elections is a matter of serious
concern, especially in the Congressional
contests. Ii large vote can be gotten
out, with an intelligent understanding
OF the constitutional amendment as ta,
biennial sessions, there will be no doubt
as to the authority for changing the
present constitution, which provides for
annual sessions OF the law-making body.
THE BRICE DIsPENsARY BILL.
The other question on which the
masses ought to be informed and ON
which there should be an expression of
the General Assembly, whether for the
House or Senate, is upon the Brice bill.
Senator Brice, of York county. intro.
duced bill at the last session which
provided, in substance, that, when a
people no longer wanted the dispensary
system, or it was a jeopardy to their
peace and good order, they could vote it
out of the county. If upon vote of the
people the dispensary was no longer
wanted, then the machinery was proyided
in the Act for its removal. The bill was
cieVerly amended by the friends of the
dispensary, 80 as to paralyze it and prac.
tlcally make it dead letter. The law as
passed now says if county is disgusted
with the dispensary and no longer wants
IT for any reason, it can vote it out of
the county, but, with big b.; if it no
longer wants the dispensary it must pay
stated tax upon all property in the
county for that privilege. This tax. ID is
alleged, is for the purpose of maintain-
ing the constabulary force in the county.
after the dispensary is removed. 1t was
clever piece of legislation on the part
OF the dispensary advocates. They ar.
gued that without this tax feature, if
counties could vote the dispensaries out
OF their boreers, it would be the means
OF breaking the backbone of the dispen.
sary, as the profit making counties would
perhaps vote the system out of their
borders. AS matters now stand, without
paying special tax for the privilege, no
county once having a dispensary can get
rid of it according to law. Saluda peti-
toned for the closing of it's dispensaries
but the board said it could not be done
according to law. Those who advocate
the Brice bill insist that it is simply home
and self-government. The fight will no
doubt be again made at the next session
OF the General Assembly, and every
member of the General Assembly ought,
before the people, to say how he stands
upon this measure, and whether he
thinks each county ought to regulate it's
own liquor affairs, or whether it ought
TO be State matter, and what applies to
one county must apply to all, and that if
dispensaries be in vogue in one county
they must be forced on every othel
county in the State, and that the step to
prohibition that was promised can never
Ge taken, unless tho people stop buying
liquor, as the dispensaries once being
opened are never to be closed.