The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1905-08-10
DISCUSSES DfsPENsARYAI length

Tulman Made No Direct Charges
Against the Administration But
Puts the Responsibility On Investi-
eating Committee.
Edgcfeld. Special-Senator Tillman
spoke here Saturday to large crowd,
/ discussing the question of dispensary
| or Prohibition fer more than two
hours. The length OF the speech pre-
! cludes our giving ii IN full, but the
leading points are covered in the fol-
lowing report:
TILLMAN'S SPEECH.
Mr.. Chairman. Ladies and Fellow
| Citizens: 1t is six years since | have
had the pleasure OF addressing a pub
lie meeting in this my home county.
On that occasion the issue was the
same one which we have today.
The people have passed on this ques
ton five or six times and settled it
by overwhelming majorities. That year
the aggregate vote for the two candi-
dates who were running as disreasary
candidates was 2S,000 more than the
| prohibition candidate got, but there
are some people in South Carolina who
| have never been willing to submit to
the rule Of the majority. They think
| Trey know more. that they are better
than the masses Of the people, that
| they have the right to dictate to them
what they shall do. So here we have
again this same old bone of contention
brought forward for politicians to
| gnaw on.
THE PRICE OF SILENCE"
am here today to discuss this ques-
ton. Some have said it was improper
and out of place for United Sates
senator to meddle with local affirs.
These men have felt aggrieved becaae
l will not consent to shut my mouth,
and close my eyes to the condition in
which | am as much interested as you
are, and they have demanded OF me
the price of silence. l amt built that
way. Thank God l amt built that way
daughter and applause.) When l get
to cowardly to stand up in your midst
or anywhere else and speak the truth
as l see it and understand it then
will have become too cowardly and
worthless to represent you any
where.
| know d shall make enemies. I
know many of my best friends are to-
day lined up in antagonism to the
liquor system which l devised. Be-
cause they have changed am l to sur
render my conviction? again say l
amt built that way. The Office of Uni
ted States senator is a high and noble
one. but the Office is not worth the
price which some men demand Of
me-
Therefore | am here in asnwer to
your invitation to tell you what l
think, not to dictate know you are
not built that way, you do your own
thinking, and not as I say. What is
the issue? How shall we sell liquor
or whether we shall sell it at all? That
is the whole proposition stated in a
brief sentence.
There are three systems that have
obtained in the State, not in the State
as whole, but in parts Of the State:
one is the license system, the old bar
room system, the second is the dis
pensary system under which we are
now working. and the third is prohi-
bition. The ingenuity of man never
devised any more than those three
systems for the liquor control. Which
one of those is the best? You have
heard eloquent and strong arguments.
facts and figures as they were pre-
sentel in favor of prohibition.
| confess to you as between prohi-
bition and the barrooms. saloons or
tionists But will prohibition prohibit?
tionists But will prohibition prohibit?
| say no. These other gentlemen
say yes. Let's give the facts.
Here Senator Tillman gave stats.
tics from Maine and Kansas to show
that more spirits are sold and drunk
and more arrests are made for drunk.
enness in prohibition territory than
in South Carolina, in proportion to
prohibition.
My objection to prohibition is, we
are not yet Angels, more the pity; |
do not see any wings sprouting on any
body's shoulders; we are sinful hu-
man beings, made by God Almighty IN
His wisdom with shortcomings and
the weakness CT man; we have our
appetites. and it is IN the nature OF
the beast to crafty that appetite for
stimulants, and if he cannot get 1t
lawfully he is going to get it some
cher way. There has always been and
always will be demand for liquor
as a beverage, simply because man
likes the taste and its effect, not be-
as a beverage, simply De-
cause man like the taste and
its effect, not because ne
needs it as a medicine, but simply for
his stomachs sake as Paul said TO
Timothy, and somebody will always
be ready to supply it for the money.
That being the case, have tried TO
deal with this question as true man
and from a common-sense standpoint,
+o traat mon as T find them and not as