The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1905-06-27
ELECTION IN PIGKENS
TO Be FULLY TESTED
THE COUNTY BOARD REQUIR-
ED TO SHOW CAUSE.
Why Dispensary Should Not Be Re-
Opened-Order of Chief Justice
Pope-The Showing Made.

Upon the showing made by Mr.. W.
Boyd Evans, Of Columbia, represent
ing J. S. Wilson. a prominent tax
payer OF PickenS county. Chief JUS
tice y. J. Pope. at chambers. in this
city, on Saturday morning. passed an
order requiring the county board Of
control OF Pickens county and the
county dispenser TO show cause at
Newberry. on July 5. at II O'Clock in
the forenoon. or as soon thereafter
as counsel can be heard, why a writ
of mandamus should not be issued
requiring them the said respondents
to open and operate the said dispen-
sary as prayed for in the petition
herein
The petition, which is published
below in full. sets out that the re-
spondents unlawfully closed the dis
pensary in Pickens. Mr.. W. Boyd
Evans. when seen here after he had
secured the order from Chief Justice
Pope, said that the county board had
not closed the dispensary because an
election had been held, but because Of
letters received by the county board
from Governor Hayward. His posi-
ton is that the election was not legal
for a number of reasons which he
presented. The election, he said, was
ordered by the supervisor. the mana
gers were appointed by the super
VISOR, snd so far as was known it had
not been declared at all; whereas, it
was the duty OF the board of each
county, appointed to hold all general
elections, to hold all special elections,
the law requiring that all special elec-
tiezas shall be held as general elec-
tions. 1t was further illegal IN Pick
ems, he said, because other than citi-
zens of Pickens county were allowed
to vote. while the petitions upon
wnich the election was ordered were
never compared with the registration
lists 70 see-whether those who signed
them were qualified electors or not.
Out OF 5000 voters in the county. he
said, only about I 900 had voted. lhe
rela:o- was one OF the largest proper
tv holders in Pickens county and did
not 4ote at all. considering that the
election was being improperly held
from beginning TO end Mr.. Evans
stated TO a representative OF Ihe
Herald and News that while he was
in Pickens prominent man who
owned a plantation in the mountains
had ,old him that he had 2S6 bushels
q corn, which before the election,
was selling at 70 cents per bushel IN
Pickens. buI that since the election a
mountaineer had come to him and
told him if the dispensary was closed
he you'd give him IS cents per bush
el for it in the mountains. 1t would
have cost him. he said, 10 cents per
bushel to carry it from the mountains
to the town of Pickens, SO that the
value of his corn had risen Is cents
per bushel on account of the dlspen'
sary being voted OUT.
Mr.. Evens holds that tine Brlce
Act, nnder which the dispensarles are
being voted out. is unconstitutional
and states that the matter wllA De
tested in the supreme court.
The petition for writ OF mandamus
is made out in the name OF J. ). VIII
son and names J. Z. Cox. c. t. Ham
ilton, 5. H. Brown and t 0. Allgooc
a. :rv respondents The three hrs
named are members Of the county
board and the last named was tho
dispenser from the time the dlSpen
>ary *as opened at Pickens IN ISo-
until il was closed last week by In
spector Nichols.
In the complaint Wilson ayers tha
he IS Z citizen. resident and voter II
Pickens county and one OF the lars