Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1905-07-12
TlLlMAa AND THE DlsprnsARY.
1t Must be Made Clean or II Must Go-ThInks
1.-THE Best Solution Of WhIsksy Business.
[Greenville Herald ]

declares that the dispensary system
--as y eystem--is all right. To
quote from the letter, which was writ.
ten, of course, in answer to an in.
quiry:
"You ask, Have you lost faith in
the dispensary system and do you
consider it 30 inherently defective
that it cannot be purged of corrup-
tion and made to serve it's original
pose P l answer most emphati-
ca1y, No. believe the principle of
State control and the sale of liquor
through bonded officers to be the
best that ever was devised, that 1t
comes nearer to the ideal idea of
teaching men to use liquor instead of
abnsing il, and throwing around it
safeguards which will be the best
for the cause of temperance. There
is no inherent defect in the scheme
and if there be corruption and NAL
administration in the enforcing of
the dispensary law it is directly
traceable to the Legislature and to
those who have been placed in charge
of it's execution. In the absence of
any positive proof of corruption we
must await with deep interest the
Investigation which is now under
way and urge those in charge of that
important work TO earnest, thorough
HSd speedy action"
The Senator follows this statement
with the declaration that "the people
believe there is corruption and
great deal of it. Very many things
go to show that this belief has good
foundation in fact" Then he makes
sort of general appeal to the
gentlemen conducting the dispen-
sary investigation to let in the
light"
Concerning the county elections
to vote out the system under the
Brice Act, Senator Tillman says:
elf the dispensary is TO be voted
out it should and must be voted out
of the State, not out by individual
counties. OF course I recognize the
deep seated love of our people for
local self government and l would
not compel any county to retain the
dispensary or have one established
therein if majority of citizens want
prohibition with its acknowledged
failure to prohibit. But Judging
simply by the facts in the numerous
elections that have been held on the
subject believe that a large ma
jority of the people of the State a 9
as strong believers in the dispensary
system as am and that they are
only casting about now for method
of relieving themselves of the cor
rupt machine which is said to be in
charge in Columbia"
If we get prohibition according to
Senator Tillman, we will have !:
"Stills in every swamp and wagons
will peddle liquor all over the State.
The, , only fight worth enlisting in
Sossh Carolina is between prohibi.
tion as rigidly enforced as it can be
and the dispensary as honestly en-.
forced as it ought to be. High IL
cense is not to be thought of for a
moment. Yet the prohibitionists
say they prefer the dispensary to Ii.
cense and the license people say they
prefer prohibition to the dispensary,
while the blind tigers want prohibit.
tion because they know it means free
liquor"
The letter declares the Brice bill
tnhave been "shrewdly drawn for
purpose of killing the dispen.
sary )" j. e., the Senator declares he
has been told as much.
Concluding his letter Senator Till.
man announces:
81 uld advise ev'ry advocate of
the dispeDsary who is in doubt to
vote against putting the dispensary
out of his county until we see what
the report of the investigating com
mittee is and then whether or not
the Legislature at it's next session
will purge the corruption out of the
dispensary system and put safe
guards around it for the future. I
say unhesitatingly that it can be