Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-11-15
Misrepresentation.

AS a result Of the Cherokee election
| Senator Brice Is quoted as being In
favor of abolishing the wholesale dis
pensary altogether and having each
county manage a local dispensary.
The proposition offered was published
| in THE YoRKvnLB ENQUIRER, and
was shown several men prominent In
public life this morning. All OF them
are Of the opinion that no measure OF
that kind. would ever pass.
Even those opposed to the dispen-
sary," said one, would not care to
have an entirely new element intro
duced In their county politics" The
matter, however, Is regarded as one
of, the issues which will be thoroughly
discussed in the political campaign Of
| 1906, and may result in candidate
| for governor on new platform.-Co-
lumbia Record.
If there is one paper in South
Carolina that is more than any
other to be regarded as an or
gan of the state dispensary machine
the central establishment Of the big
Richland distillery-that paper is the
Columbia Record. We make this OBJ
servation not out Of feeling Of hos
tility to the Record; but as a fact
about which we do not think there Is
reasonable doubt, and in order that
the remarks we propose to make In
connection with the above may be
the more clearly comprehended.
Following the introduction quoted
above the Record reproduces a por-
ton of the interview that was pub
lished with Senator Brice In THE
ENQUIRER; but we note that 1t was
careful to eliminate from that inter
view no less than three very import
ant propositions. These were: l. The
speakers unalterable personal opposi-
ton to the liquor traffic under any cir
cumstance. 2. His recognition Of the
right Of the majority to govern. 8.
His belief in the rottenness Of the big
central establishment. But this Is not
all. Not satisfied with holding back
part of Senator Brice's clear and
concise statement Of his staunch and
uncompromising position, the Record
seeks to represent the senator as de-
string to establish county dispensaries.
Taken in connection with the obser-
walton we made above, all this Is very
significant. 1t Is recognized through
out the state that Senator Brice Is the
leader of the opposition to dispensary
corruption and debauchery, and no.
body fears his leadership more than
the members of the state board OF d.
rectors and the owners of the big
Richland distillery; for they fully un-
derstand how the senator Is In fair
| way to put them all out Of business.
We can easily imagine how, when
TILE ENQUIRER containing Mr.. Brice's
interview reached Columbia, there was
more or less anxious conference
among those most interested in pre-
serving the existing status, and what
ever else may have been decided upon,
The Record prepared a garbled and
incorrect version of the interview In
the hope that not only its own readers
might be temporarily deceived as to
facts; but that some Of the colr
papers might be misled into repro
ducing it's production as coming prac-
tically straight from Senator Brice.
We say that we only imagine all this;
but it might easily be fact.
Everybody almost who reads this has
read Mr.. Brice's interview as publish
ed last Friday. Those who may not
have read the interview are invited to
look up their papers and go over 1t
carefully. Then, admitting that the
senator is in favor of abolishing the
state central machine in Columbia we
would ask anybody who may be able
to do so to point out where the sena-
tor said he was in favor Of having
each county manage a local dispen-
sary." In words that admitted Of no
possible misconstruction, and In the
clearest of clear English he said that
he was in favor Of abolishing the state
central machine and leaving counties
that insist on selling liquor to handle
their business as they see proper, un-
der constitutional limitations.
with this arrangement? Couldn't Dis
penser Snider, for instance, order his
liquor in bottles from the big whole
sale dealers direct as well as from the
state central establishment. The CEN
trail establishment gets its liquor from
the wholesalers and has 1t shipped to
Columbia from whence most of 1t Is
shipped in the very same cases to the
county dispensers. If the county dis
pensers should buy direct they would
not only save the freight to and from
Columbia and other expenses incident
to the conduct Of the big central bus
mess; but this arrangement would
clear the central establishment Of all
suspicion Of receiving rebates, commits
sions, etc. The county dispensaries
might fall under more suspicion 1t Is
true; but the people being closer to
them, would be able to regulate all
that much better than now.
Yes, Senator Brice is right. Prohi-
bition Is the best thing for any coun-
| ty in South Carolina but where the
people of county are not educated up
to prohibition let them run their own
| liquor business under constitutional
limitations. And whatever we do, let
us wipe out the absolutely unnecessary
central state establishment.
NoTE-Since the foregoing was put
in type, we have received a copy Of
the Spartanburg Journal, containg a
reproduction Of the Records version Of
Senator Brice's interview and without
any credit whatever. This circumstance
goes to confirm our suspicious Of the
purpose Of the dispensary people to
deliberately misrepresent Mr.. Brice,
and all we have had to say Of the Rec
ord applies with equal pertinency to
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