Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-04
HOTFIGHT FOR TILLMAN
TO SAVE HIS DIsPENSARY SYS-
TEN.
Founded When He Was Governor Of
South Carolina---Control Of
Liquor Traffic.

| Special Dispatch to The Star
COLUMBIA. S. c.. July 4.-Polticians and
those who study affairs In South Carolina
predict for Senator Tillman the warmest
| fight of his life in the next six months. The
fight will not be for reelection. which
| comes up soon, as 1t is conceded that there
Will be little opposition to him, but the
fight will be to save his established and pet
institution-the dspensary
The dispensary is an institution that con-
trolls the liquor traffic of this state. Found
ed by Senator Tillman the governor of the
state. he more than any one else wrestled
with courts and the people who were OPP
posed to the law and finally won out. Then
state politics were left for national politics.
and the senator left the institution in the
hands of his party-the refOrmers. as they
are called. At first they kept faith. The
law was obeyed. except in the larger cities
of the state. and an effort was made to
stamp out all Illicit traffic in whisky There
is a central or wholesale institution in Co
lumbia where all WHISTLES are bought and
shipped out to the retail dispenSarieS all
over the state. This central institution is
at the bottom of all the trouble. The
whisky business amounts to nearly three
million dollars year, and all of this is
bought by three men elected by the legiS-
lature. The salary of the central board of
purchasers is $500 year each. Men have
been known to give up positions paying
several thousand dollars annually in order
to get on this board. The hints of bad
management and grating have been rife
for three years. and the last session of the
legislature passed resolution providing
for an investigating committee to look into
the charges. The duty was to find out III
supplies had been purchased at the market
price. and If there was truth in the state
ments that wholesale whisky houses had
paid large sums to certain members of the
sy&fr duo IN In
whisky. So powerful had the dispensary
machine become. however that the resolu-
ton, when passed, contained the names or
several on the committee known to be
friends of the institution 1t is now al
legged to stand, and some of the members
even coming from the same counties as
the members of the purchasing board.
Claim Sensational Evidence.
1t is only fair to say. however. that other
members of the investigating committee
are working hard. and claim to have some
sensational evidence to present at the next
session of the legislature.
All of this talk of corruption and graft
ing however had its effect on the people,
and. under recent law, several of the
counties voted the diSpenSarieS out and eS-
tablished prohibition. There are forty-One
counties in the state. and If the talk of
corruption keeps up it is thought that at
least half Will vote out the retail dispen-
saries and go dry
Senator Tillman has now come home for
the express purpose of saving the dispen-
sary although he will. of course. look after
his political fences also. He believes hon
estly that the dispensary system is the
best solution of the liquor problem. and
will use all of his powerful influence to
stem the tide that has set In toward pro-
hibtion. In his usual blunt way he VIII
not spare some of those now holding office
at the dispensary, and certain OF them are
beginning to get uneasy. He has in let
tiers written to friends stated that re pro-
poses to save the dispensary If possOie, and
that he believes that the best way 10 save
1t is by cleaning all of the present admin
istration, change the laws to where they
were when he was governor and strictly
enforce the law. Senator Tillman Is "a
brainy man. swell as successful and
pra cticaI politician, and he does not want
the prohibitionists to put ticket in the
field, as they are threatening to do 1t VIII
take all of his efforts to stop the agitation
now going on. and only by following his
directions as to the administration of the
dispensary law can the institution be saved.