The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1904-11-02
Tillman's Sick "Baby."

IiilHlan'S SICK "baby."
Senator Tillman has called the dis
pensary law his "baby." The Senator's
speech at Gaffney was confession that
his "baby" can not stand on It's legs
and that it will die unless 1t is nnrsed
according to The Tillman nursing.
Moreover, the Senator virtually said
that he is the one and only competent
dispensary nurse to be had.
The Senator discerns that the life
OF the dispensary is threatened. , he
danger lies, he declares, in the peril is
tence Of rumors that its administration
is rotten. BE declares that, true or
not true, the rumors must be stopped
and the confidence of the people in the
honesty of the dispepsary' control es-
tablished; otherwise 1t will not long
survive in an atmosphere of suspi
clon, He gives no credence to these
rumors. His own honesty, he says,
was impugned when as governor he
managed the dispensary and he knows
that he WAS slandered. In the abb
sence Of proof to the contrary, he be.
iieyas in the honesty of the dispensary's g
present administrators.
To save the dispensary he advises
that first the board OF control should
be abolished and the bu. mess plac ced ip
the hards of the governor or other Off
GERS elected by the people. This was
the law as he framed it. The law as he
framed It was in general the only wise
law. Others are responsible for
changes which make graft possible. In
the statute as devised by Tillmsn, to
which the state should return, graft
was no. possible.
Meanwhile Senator Tillman admits
that "slanderers" charged him with
di- honesty in dispensary affairs. 1t is
suspicion, he says, that, nticuing,
Will damn the system out of exis;er ce.
Suspicion, unjust, rested upon him
This he admits.
How then can return to the law as
devised by Tillman expel suspic on
from the public mind?
How? Why?
LII even Tillmsn, white souled
Ben Tillmsn, cou d not escape "the
tongue OF caiumpy," when the law was
as Tillman would have it now, VIII 1t
shall We expect with Smith or a
Jones or a Brown as the dispensary
head?
The Senator advises that the dis
pensary cease to deal in cease good !. F"
Would that destroy the demand for
case goods? Would it or woald it not
multiply importations for personal COM
sumption and Indirectly "boom" the
tiger" business? If yes, how much
o. profits will the state lose?
Abolish beer dispapsaries, which
largely satisfy the cravings of moder-
ate drinkers, AMI how far will a stimu-
lus to the "tiger" business be thereby
provided? There are those who be-
lieye that the beer dispeusaries have
done more to "kill the tigers" than
even the constables.
The Senator would have the dispen-
sary to be the customer of q single liu-
uor house. BY entering into virtual
partnership with one great whiskey
dealer In another state rather than by
purchasing from many competing deal
ers, is The promise of purity and hon
esty made brighter? We do not like to
accuse Senator Tilman of utterine AN
absurdity, but some absurdities are
obtrusivelY patent.
has the governor, the comptroller
general or supreme court Justice
time to purchase some millions of dol.
lars In whiskey each year aud to over
see the managen ent OF three million
dollar annual business, "as side
hne!' Yet this is the astounding pro.
position of the Senator.
III, let us concede 70, the sake OF the
argument. the germs of corruption are
inherent in ~the whiekey business,
would even supreme court Justice be
impu !e from infecuon?
Senat n Tiliman must recall that the
opponents OF the dispensary were
warned in 1892, when the system was
In The th~oes OF leg slstive birth, that
t"e ol>honesty was Inherent and self
propagating In stse socialism and that
no more fruitful soil for grand, yes
magn hceft, larccDcy c}uld be CON.
ceived than state m rcantile monopoly
OF wh ssey. Senator Tiliman's GafYney
epeech Ia fair sep wards confes.
Sion t at bis scc;aiisLic struc ure f.
about to t"pple. 1t Is half confession
that tho cpfononts of the dispensary
have been r ght rom the frat.
Jtis ev, n possible that, seeing the