The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1905-08-18
1T DEBAUCHES MORALS.

question Dy lowering 1T to tho plane
of partisan politics.
1T DEBAUCHEs MORALS.
That the administration of the
dispensary system is corrupt any
fool can see as he runs. But | go
farther than that, even at the risk
of having you charge me with cant
and hypocrisy. No matter how
high your purpose may have been
in adopting the system, in it's origin
it seems to have been a cunningly-
devised scheme to chloroform the
public conscience. No Jesuitical
attempt to dcbauch morals by using
the end to justify the means could
have been more successful, if the
system had been honestly admins
tered. The corrupt administration
will save us from the system itself.
WHAT 1T TEACHES THE CHILDREN.
Gov. Hoch of Kansas tells me,
we arc rearing a new civilization
here. / believe there arc more than
a quarter of million young people
who have never seen q saloon. Pro-
hibition is the only logical attitude
of law toward the liquor traffic, and
the whole country will some day
recognize the fact" What sort of
civilization are we rearing in South
Carolina? Our supreme court, in
its famous decision upholding the
constitutionality of the dispcnsary
law, laid down the following as
fundamental proposition and said
that if this proposition is not true
the law is unconstitutional: THAT
liquor, in its nature, is dangerous
to- the morals, good order, health
and safety of the people, and is not
to be placed on the same footing
with the ordinary commodities of
life, such as corn, wheat, cotton,
tobacco, potatoes, etc" Kansas
says to her children, "The liquor
traffic is dangerous and ought to be
prohibited" South Carolina says
to her thousands of school children,
The liquor traffic is dangerous to
the morals, good order, health and
safety of the people, and therefore
will sell liquor and get all the
meney we can for the schools. E"
You may call it can't if you will,
but in effect here is an insidious
attempt to wed public education to
the liquor traffic. 1t is an unholly
alliance and God will put them
asundcr. We cannot afford to
lower the ideals of our schools.
We must not poison the fountain
that nourishes the heart and brain
OF our people.
VICIOUS AND DANGEROUS SCHEME.
The business of the saloon keeper
was becoming disreputablt in this
State, and saloon keepers were be-
ginning to find it difficult to Justify
the business in the eyes of their
children. The dispcnsary system
attempts to make the traffic re-
spectacle and reputable. How can
the children in our schools answer
the sophistry of the argument, that
whatever contributes to the support
of the schools is good and wise? |
lay it down as little short of an
axiom, that any restrictive scheme
that takes control of traffic that
is dangerous to the morals of the
people, and controls it in such
way as to make it reputable, is
vicious and dangerous scheme.
BETTER THINGS THAN MONEY.
Let me suggest an historical
parallel. A great leader was COM
manded to 60 down against the
Amalakites, standing for immor-
ality, and destroy them and theirs
utterly. When he was called to
account by the old prophet and
asked what meant the lowing of
cattle and the bleating of sheep,
his lame excuse was that the people
had kept the best of the sheep and
oxen to sacrifice to the Lord. The
prophets answer was as swift and
withcring as lightning, Behold, to
obey is better than sacrifice. F."
Sacrifice is good, but there are bet
ter things than mere sacrifice. The
government of a great State was
commanded by the moral sense of
the people, expressed at the ballot
box, to go down and destroy the
liquor traffic. And when called to
account it makes the pitiful plea
that while it has not destroyed the
traffic it has managed it so as to
get money for the taxpayers. Money
for the schools is good, but there
are better things than money for
the schools. The blight of Gods
curse falls upon the people that re-