Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1905-08-23
the methods of Ben Tillman, the par

tisan political leader. do not mean
to be offensive. You know of my
appreciation of the distinguished SER
vices that you have rendered this
State in number of directions. But
| earnestly protest that you have no
right to befog this question by low
ering it to the plane of partisan poll
tics.
That the administration of the dis
pensary system is corrupt any fool
can see as he runs. But 20 farther
| than that, even at the risk of having
you charge me with cant and hypoc-
risy. No matter how high your pur-
pose may have been in adopting the
system, in its origin it seems to have
been cunningly-devised scheme TO
ohloroform the public conscience.
No Jesuitical attempt to debauch
morals by using the end to justify
the means could have been more sue
cessful if the system had been hon
estly administered. The corrupt ad-
ministration will save us from the
system itself.
Governor Hoch, of Kansas, tells us !:
eve are rearing new civilization
here. believe there are more than
a quarter of million young people
who have never seen a saloon. Pro-
hibition is the only logical attitude
of law toward the liquor traffic, and
the whole country will some day re-
cognize the fact" What sort of civ
ilization are we rearing in South
Carolina? Our Supreme Court, in
it's famous decision upholding the
Constitutionality of the dispensary
law, laid down the following as a
fundamental proposition and said
that if this proposition is not true
the law is unconstitutional "That
liquor, in it's 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, pota-
toes, etc. Kansas says to her chill
dren "The liquor traffic is danger
GUS and ought to be prohibited"
South Carolina says to her thousands
of school children: "The liquor traf-
fic is dangerous to the morals, good
order, health and safety of the peo-
pie, and therefore we will sell liquor
and get all the money we can for the
schools"
You may call it cant if you will,
but in effect here is an insidious at
tempt to wed public education to the
liquor traffic. 1t is an unholy alli-
ance and God will put them asunder.
We cannot afford to lower the ideals
of our schools. We must not poiaon
the fountain that nourishes the heart
and brain of our people.
WAS BECOMING DISREPuTABLE.
The business of the saloon keeper
was becoming disreputable in this
State, and saloon keepers were be-
ginning to find it difficult to justify
the business in the eyes of their chill
dren. The dispensary system at
tempts to make the traffic respecta-
BILE and reputable. How can the
children in our schools answer the
sophistry of the argument that what
ever contributes to the support of
the school 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 con-
trolls it in such way as to make it
reputable, lis vicious and dangerous
scheme.
Let me suggesta historical parallel.
A great leader was commanded to
go down hagainst the Amalakites,
standing for immortality, and destroy
them sand theirs utterly. When he
was called to account by the old
prophet and asked what meant the
lowing of cattle and the bleatinp of