The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-02-17
LOCAL OPTION BILL
Passed by the Senate and Sc to
the House,
AFTER ALONG ANIL BOT DEBATE.

the House,
AFTER ALONG ANIL hot DEBATE
Under Its Provisions ANY Count
Can Vote Out the D'spensary
but Such Count: Must
Enforce Prohibition.
Senator Brice's bill to am I'd th
dispensary law by granting cor-itie
the Tight to vote out an established
dispensary was brougt up as specia
order on Monday night Of last week
Senator Brice made a vigorous attacl
on the dispensary law, alluding tt
many OF It's best known and, to some
its most obnoxious features. Senato
Sharpe, an advocate Of the Law, de.
fended it, and opposed the bill
Senator N ,1ver made clear, thought
fu speech for the bill and Senators
H rdin and Peurifoy suggested
a. endments. Debate was adjourned
at 10 o'clock, until Tuesday morning
at II. The suggested amendments
will be printed In the journal.
When the bill was brought up Sen
ator Shar ;e moved to strike out the
enacting words. Senator Brice il
res oonse s,id that though ne had once
voted for the dispensary he nov
thought it iniquitous. Instead of be-
ing the oest solution Of the liquor
question" It is the worst ever con,
cei7ed by man." Under the barroom
system a lower element sold liquor
but under the dispensary system it is
the Palmetto State.
He did not thing that communities
who woul'l vote out the dispensay
would san ction blind tigers. York.
vile has ,:iven the dispensary a fail
trial and has enforced the law. He
believed tlat all the senators would
vote consGientiously on the bill and
asked then to point to him a part
Of the bill doing wrong to anyone. II
the bill passes Yorkiville will abSo.
lutely do away with the dispensary.
He would oe willing for a purely local
bill but he knew that other communi-
ties wanted their dispensaries remoy-
ed.
Senator Sharpe, who spoke next,
was one Of the committee who report
ed the bill unfavorably. He aunounc-
ed at the outset that be was in favor
of dispensary law. The reason why
the dispensary law has apparently
never reduced the taxes is that
large expenses have been incurred
each year. He alluded to the expendi.
ture for Winthrop in Senator Brices
own county. he had always been a
Democrat but this is State PROPOSE
tion. Senator Sharpe denied that the
courts In bis section Of the State had
been corrupted by the dispensary or
any other influence. He said that be
had been asked by some one in York
county to fight against Senator Brice's
bill. he knew from personal observa-
tion that the dispensarY was run well.
he did not believe that the news
papers had been bought up by the
dispensary. There were some in Co
lumbia which still preserve the free
and untramelled right to fight 1t. he
wanted the bill defeated.
Senator McIver said the bill was
an attack on the dispensary system.
That is too fixed for anyone to expect
an attack upon it. The bill offered
by Senator Brice is good one, and
be hoped that it would be adopted.
The people should have the right to
vote out a dispensary should they
wish. II a community that voted for
the system, thinking it good one,
wished to rid itself it should be so
allowed. The bill is essentially
Democratic. The agcument that
some Of the larger towns, by voting
out the dispensary, deprive the State
OF revenue, should not be used as it
is not Democratic. Practically speak
ing, few Of the larger towns which
derive considerable revenue from the
dispensary, would vote it out. Still
all should have the privilege. The
advocates Of the system seem to fear
that any bill upon the dispensary is a
direct attack at the whole system.
Senator Peurifoy wished to amend
tbs bill by allowing town to vote
GU. the dispensary without submitting
tht. quest on to the entire County.
He thought the bill admirable but
th..t this amendment should be in
sci led. Often town and county pre-
jut ice is divided. he also thought
th,: dispensary law is here to stay,
bu: the privilege should be granted.
It is not right that this Democratic
measure should be refused in this
boasted seat Of principle.
Senator Hardin asked Senator
Sharpe to withdraw his motion to kill
the bill so that an amendment might
be read. This was assented to for
the time being. Senator Hardin's
motion was that in counties or COM
munities where there are no dispen-
saries and where the officials will not
enforce the laws as to Illicit sale OF
liquors, the government shall enforce
the law at the expenses OF that COM
munity or county. Senator Hardin
Offering this amendment said that
though he had been one Of the COM
mittee who reported the bill unfavor-
ably. he would feel that he must vote
for it If it was not so amended.
Senator Sharpe's motion to kill the
bill WAS then put to vote, resulting
as follows:
Aye, Senator Aldrich, Blake, Dean,
Gaines, Herndon, Hydrick, Sharp,
Williams, s.
Nay, Senators Brice, Brown, But
Ter, Carpenter, Douglass, Hardin
Holiday, Johnson, Marshall, Mccall,
McI7er, Mcleod, Peurifoy, &. W.