Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1905-09-13
DISPENSERS HAD PLENTY OF LOOT.
Testimony to Show Systematic Bribery by
Whiskey Houses.


Lyon and Christensen jabbed an-
other hole in the putrid dispensary
at the opening of the Sumter meet
ing of the investigating commission
to-day and the filth and rottenness
gusbed forth in great volume in the
form of evidence of systematic brib-
cry of county dispensers in a dozen
different forms by score of leading
whiskey houses.
The point of entrance to.day was
through Mike Mannheim, dispenser at
Marion, with whom Representative
Lyon canvassed the contents of fifty
or more letters found in Manheim's 8
dispensary, from whiskey houses and
whiskey drummers, one of these lat
ter being member of the Legisla-
ture from Williamsburg, odore
B. Gourdin, who pleaded wl.n Man
helm to send in acquisitions for the
whiskey his house sold, 80 as to help
him out. These letters told of pres.
ents in the shape of silk umbrellas,
gold pens, smoking sets, extra bot
ties and cases of whiskey, and in
addition to these he admitted that
his pickings from the sale of empty
boxes at 25 cents each, and empty
bottles at So barrel, to the houses
sending them out originally, brought
him monthly income of $50. He
admitted that his predecessor, Stan
ley, received a shipment of twelve
barrels of wine direct from Garrett
& Co., at Weldon, N. c., in accord
ance with an order Stanley gave the
firms travelling man, Clark, and
there was no evidence to show that
Stanley did not sell this as a tiger.
In any event it was in violation of
the law.
The commission was informed that
Chairman Ingraham, of the Chester
field board, accused of raising his
own salary as clerk, will not respond
to the summons the commission sent
him, but Mayor khett, of Charleston,
who has been subpenaed from a
North Carolina resort, will be pres
ent, it is understood.
A letter to Mannheim, from Dis
penser j. L. Bass, at Dillon, also of
Marion county, urged joining in a
campaign to buy up the coming dis
pensary election in that county with
assistance from the State board and
the whiskey houses, but Mannheim
said nothing came of the movement,
and a letter from Bluthenthal &
Bickert said that a member of the
State board had o. X. d their scheme
to ship empty boxes to a blind ad-
dress, after the resolution of the
board forbidding dispensers to sell
the boxes any longer. The whiskey
people involved to-day as giving
Christmas presents, sending extra
stock to dispensers, or buying back
b titles or boxes were Cook & Bern
hcimer Company, Gallagher & Bur-
ton, through j. S. Farnum, Burn
helm Bros, Berheim Distilling Com
pany, Bluthenthal & Riokert, Troe-
ger & Co., Mallard & Co., Richland
Distillery and others.
A SURPRISE EXPECTED.
There were no new features of
striking Importance developed to-
day, but there are significant hints
by various members of the commits
sion that surprise will be sprung
before the session closes. The evil
dence to-day was along lines already
tapped, the object being to show that
this system of bribing dispensers
exists generally throughout the
State. In many cases the empty
boxes were not taken out of the
freight offices, though likely the
bottles were made use of.