The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-11-09
THE DISPENSARY.
The Second Part Of Senator Tlllnan's
Speech at Ga6ney.
SAYS LAW MUST BE ENFORCED.

Which He Thinks Are Es-
sential to Its Proper
Enforcement.
Last week we published Senator
Tillnan'S defense OF the DiSpenSary
Law as set forth in his speech at
Gafney. and this week we publish
the concluding part Of the same speech,
in which heSuggesteo certain changes
in the law, which we know VIII be
read with interest by our readers.
On this point Senator Ti:lman said:
have a deep interest in the dis
pensary law; first because it gave rae,
as Governor, more trouble than
anything l have had anything to DO
with. The whole responsibility was
on me to enforce the law as it
was on the statute books, and l
pledged myself that [ would c'ose
every bar in South Carolina and would
60 the limit to see the law enforced
and the penalty imposed, and did.
There have ceen men who were so
little and contemptible, so lost to all
sense Of decency, without sclntlha
OF evidence, that they have charged
me with lining NY pockets. ana
know my fellow cit!zens have never
given any credit to it, for they have
elected me to the Senate twice since
these slanSers were started. But the
situation in the State now is certain
" one that is most unsatisfactory. .
The law, as it was written, l trieo
to enforce. I had thelaw written, as
far as I could convert the Legislature
to my ideas, as / deemed best, ano
the first session after it went into ef-
feet in 1898, we amended it. AS socn
as I left the Governors ottice 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
torney General and Comptroller Gen
eral, and they put the power OF oi-
recting, controlling and purchasing
whiSkey 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. I would not have come
here but to give you my opinion, and
T want to labor with my friends to
take this lew and key it up, and have
the machine run as a temperance
rather than as a money making ma.
chine. It was never intended to be a
machine for money making or for
prcft. They say, and 1t IS being
whispered everywhere, that certain
members Of the board had nothing
when they were appointed, but that
now they have plenty. Another man
had mortgage on everything ne had
when he was appointed, but the other
day he died and left his family a lot
Of money. They 60 not spare even
the dead in their vile slanders. Why
is this situatiorc Because the Lsgls'
lature has put it in their power. A
man is elected on a salary OF $500 as a
member OF the board OF control, anc
it is said makes s25. 900 or $50, 900 pei
year. Mib6 you, claiming for myself
that was honest in every particular:
that bought whiSkey as best couio
and never touch any Of the State s
money, / give these men who are ln
charge .tne credit Of being just as
honest as I was, and those men VINO
charged me with being oishonest are
charging the men now with being dis
honest, and that because these m5o
can get rebates, that they have got
ten them, II the question is as to
whether 1t is now possible, l say OF
course it is.
AS long as the present system OF
purchasing whiskey by the month Is
continued ard as long as there are q
6ozen men going every month to sci!
these goods, as long as there is lot
Of whiskey piled Up which doess not
come up to the proof, which cannot
be sold, ycu will hear stories that this
man or that man is making great
sums Of money cut Of it. They
charged me with having stolen BE-
cause I could have stolen. The rea-
son they charged me is because they
could have stolen If they chad had
the chance.
When the dispensary law was first
enacted we had to buy on credit uc
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 o:
South Carolina a 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 Oh, BE-
cause that puts too much power IN the
hands Of the Governor. tried to en-
force this law and l sternly repressed
any effort to nix in polit cs. I never
had any constable with me on my cam
paign when ran for the Senate. One
or two did start OFT, but l 'cusSed'
them oot, 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 a clean rscoro and only
such men have had it so far as know.
The salary Of the State liquor commits
sioner has been Increased from l,80G
to 50, 600 or So, 900, and he is required
to give a bond CT s75, 900 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 ard be
,,oare1v keenS the books aDG attends To