The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1905-07-19
LAURENS, S. c., July 10, 1905.
The Washington correspondent G

The Washington correspondent of
the Greenville News quotes Mr.. Richard
/. Manning, of Sumter, a candidate for
Governor, as declaring himself in favor
of the ~Dispensary. This is extremely
disappointing. Senator Manning is one
of the best men in South Carolina.
When he pronounces for the Dispen-
sary his motives are clean and honora-
BILE. This makes it all the worse. 1t is
bad when al ordinary politician goes
astray. 1t is a calamity when one of
the half a dozen or a dozen high class
men with the old-fashioned ideas of
personal honor and integrity still left
in public wander afar from sound prin-
cipies. 1t is a misfortune to the whole
people that so good a mar as the Sum-
ter Senator should hope for the puri-
fication of a political machine which
breeds evil as naturally and certainly as
a foul stream breeds disease. Even
though Mr.. Manning or one Of his type
should be able to cause an amendment
in the ~Dispensary's administration he
would be followed by others who would
permit it to drop back into the easy
channels of fraud and filth. When the
Dispensary System became a law The
ADVERTISER affirmed that it's socialis-
tic character would inevitably lead to
all name of graft. The prediction has
been more than fulfilled. The people
have but the faintest idea Of the de-
moralization that exists in the Dispen-
sary system. We have heard new
facts about it in the past ten days that
have amazed us and we have never
had small notions of the extent of the
rascality. The Dispensary system in
the IL years of it's existence has
Matched more bribe-givers, bribe-tak-
ers, defaulters and outright thieves
than have been known in all the Off
cial life of South Carolina as colony
and state, exclusive of the period of
Republican government.
More than all other evil results, the
Dispensary has taught the people to
view lightly crimes of dishonesty and
breach of trust. A dispenser was re-
ported short not long ago in a little
town in Orangeburg county. Nobody
cares. He has not been punished.
Since then a scandal arose involving an
inspector and a Charleston dispenser.
Scarcely has it received more than a
passing thought. All of us expect dis
pensary scandals and we pass them by
but meanwhile what was once a high
public sentiment in South Carolina has
become and is becoming polluted and
debauched more and more. 1t will lead
some day to the hardened and shame
less condition of the public mind that
exists in Pennsylvania where good men
are not surprised or shocked OF panied
by frequent exposures of disgraceful
and wholesale ~larcencies. 1t is our de-
liberate opinion that the bar-room sys-
TEN with it's alleged excess of drunk
ards over the Dispensary is less OBJ
%jectionable han the D~ispensary with
its unquestioned excess ver all other
systems in grafters and corruptionists.
Mr.. Manning will discover that rigid
artificial rules and cunning statutory
devices will not enable a State to con-
duct grogshops honestly. Theft is in
separable from and inherent in the
Dispensary system under a Republican
form Of government.
Since the above was written Senator
Manning has issued a statement which
appears elsewhere. Unhappily he re-
mains committed to the principle of a
State d~ispensary.