The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-11-16
KELLEY CURE THE DISPENSARY.

Sidl tASSSl1O1S VII 1Ass SAAN >>No
pensary to contend with. and in
our opinion it will take up a large
part of the work; that the insti-
tuition needs reforming cannot
be gainsaid, but the question will
be, how can the defects be cor
rected so as to bring it back to
into popular favor. The elec-
ton in Cherokee, over Senator
Tillman's appeal, is a clear index
that the people are heartily sick
Of the alleged corruption IN the
dispensary management and they
want a change. Whether that
change is for prohibition we can
not say, but we can say with
safety that the people do not
want dispensary forced upon
them, and where such is the case
and they are given an opportun-
ity at the polls they will do as
did the people of Cherokee, vote
: it out, and this vote will not be
confined to Prohibitionists either.
Men who favor the dispensary
will vote to put it out of a COM
munity which does not want it,
and has had it forced upon them.
Senator Tillman admitted at
Gafney that the dispensary was
being :srun loose, and the screws
needed Tightening up but when
such a suggestion was made SIX
years ago, the Senator looked
upon one daring to intimate a
lack of confidence in the States
management Of the dispensary
as an enemy to the Reform
Movement" Now, the Senator
sees, although very late, what
was pointed out six years ago,
and this same light has recently
shed it's rays upon the vision of
other public men, who, when the
stAppelt Bill' was introduced
could not be induced to give the
measure consideration, bnt who
are now c1amoring for many
of the changes that bill contem-
plated. Why this change? Can
those who would not listen to
the warning heretofore be frigh-
tened by the failure Of Senator
Tillman's efforts in Cherokee?
Had the General Assembly given
heed to our warning, and en-
acted into law the bill introduced
by us, the State Board of Con-
troll would have been oblished,
and the counties voting in favor
Of the dispensary would have
had the institution under their
own control, and the counties
voting prohibition would have
had what it wanted without the
undemocratic coercion of paying
a, special tax for an effort to be
moral.
We have all along favored the
abolishment af the State Board
of Control. It has been a useless
hive Ct corruption, and as long
as it remains, no man can con-
meet himself with it without hav-
inc his name besmirched. We
are opposed to Senator Tillman's
suggestion to put the manage
menJ back into the hands of the
Governor and other State Off
GERS, because that would only be
swapping the devil for the witch.
When the management was in
hands of the State officers, it
was taken away from them be-
cause the very air became sur
charged with suspicious of cor
ruption, and the Governor him
self did not escape from suspic.
ion, and today there are thous-
ands, yes, a large majority Of
the people who are still wonder
ing what became of the rebates
the first two years of the dispen-
sary's existence. The change was
made from the State officers to a
special board, and it was not
long before the stencil from the
corruption in the institution rose
so high that the General AS
sembly legislated the e/crew out
of Office, and established a Board
of Directors. Has the change
bettered things? We think not,
it must be worse, when the pa
rent of the institution comes out
in a public utterance and con-
feses ';the machine is run loose,
and the screws need Tightening
up"
There will be something done
with the dispensary at the com
ing session of the General As
sembly, and in our opinion, the
best thing to do under the cir
cumstances, is to repeal that
portion of the present law which
requires counties voting out the
dispensary, to vote upon them
selves a special tax to enforce
prohibition, and then make pro-
visions for a time to have a gen
eral election upon the question
Of Prohibition, Dispensary, and
License; the plan adopted by the
counties to govern. If a county
votes prohibition, take the dis
pensary out of It: where one
votes Dispensary, give it the
dispensary under local control,
and where a county votes Lii
cense, then let thatcounty grant
the license under the conStitu-