The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1905-08-30
OF Senator Tiilman to the Last
Letter of DR.. Cromer.
MAKES A STATEMENT
In Reference to Charges on the Suprem'
Court aud Says He Had Nothing
Whatever to Do With the Mat.
ter, and Gives His Opi1-
ion of Present Fight.

lVA VI iSSeht b6hi>
Hon. Geo. B. Cromer.
Dear Sir: I was absent from the
State few days after the Anderson
meeting, and since my return home
Sunday I have been quite unwell,
hence delay in answering your re
joinder," which appeared in the news
papers OF tie 18Th.
I have read what ycu say carefully,
and NTH all due respect 1t seems to
me you are begging the question.
quoted Pope's couplet from memory
and it is lucky that I misquoted 1t,
else you would have had little to reply
to, but I cannot agree with you that
II missed" either the sense OF the
spirit"
I charged existing conditions In dis
pensary matters to mal-adminissration
and to legislation il changing the law
and depended upon the last line OF
the quotation to sustain my conten-
tion:
THAT law which is best admins.
tered Is best"
OF curse your quotation must be
verbatim and it is even stronger In
sustaining my argument than. my OWL
recollection Of tie words, for II what.
ever form Of government, an auEo-
cracy, limited monorchy or a republic
is better than any other when it is
"best administered" it seems to me
that you n4st be wrong in claiming II
there is inherent vice in the law 1t.
self, efficient administration OF the
law cannot cure it,"
We are not discussing that phase
at all. You class the diSpensary sys-
TEN as Inherently vicious as contra
distinguished with the licensed sale OF
liquor, and the prohibition Of its sale
at all. According to Pope, as you
quote him, whatever" form the law
might take as among these three
would be best if it Is administered
best" That is all I have ever con.
tended. I believe the dispensary sys.
TEN can be better administered than
can prohibition, and l am opposed to
any form OF license, high OF low, be.
cause it has the Inherent vice" Of
money making by the individual, and
this to my mind Is the most deadly
poison arising out OF the whiskey
traffic. I hardly think you will deny
that the dispersary law fearlessly and
honesty administered as it was origin
ally framed would be better than pro.
hibition not enforced.
However, it was net this part OF
your rejoindsr which gave me any con-
cern, becsuse it almost answered it.
self and / only mention it incidentally
as am answering you.
The point which I wish to press on
your attention and that Of those who
may be interested In our discussion Of
this question is the lame and impo-
tent conclusion" at which you arrive
in your discussion OF the d.spensary
from a legal standpoint. You are
lawyer and an able oae, while l au
only layman, but your reading must
have been limited or your reasoning
powers at fault to rest your case as
you appear to do on the claim that the
prohibitionists are sustained through
out in their views By the decisions OF
the supreme court. You quote the de.
cision in the case Of the State VS..
Aiken, 42nd S: c., .. 231.
That liquor in its nature is dan
gercus to The morals, good order,
health pnd safety Of the people, etc. :,
and then you say Note then the Ian
guage in which you def1e the attitude
Of the prohibitionis.s is exactly the
language In which the supreme court
defines the attitude Of the law on the
subject. That decision fixes the point
Of view from which the State is bound
to regard the question; and from thaa
point Of view the State may take con-
troll OF the traffic to police it but moi
to profit by 1t. -
You give your own Interpretation
to the language used by the court
but to ms it is altogether without any
warrant, except as your individual
opinion and in direct opposition to
the entire line Of thought and reason
ing OF the judge who wrote the opin-
ion in the State VS.. Aiken, I quote
from the same decision, page 239:
''The act shows that the legislature
mad in view the protection Of the
morals, good health, and safety OF
the State in dealing with this ques-
tion. Many safeguards are thrown
around the sale Of liquor. The com.
missioner is to be an abstainer from
intoxicants. The liquor IS to be tested
by the chemist and declared to be
pure. The liquor Is to be sold only by
the package, which csnnot be opened
uor drunk where sold. The sales can
only be made in day time. Persons
cannot be appointed on the cauuty
board OF control who are addicted to
the use OF Intoxicating liquors. No
person can be appointed county oils,
penser who has ever been adjugded
guilty Of violating the law relating to
Intoxicating l!ouOrs. nor who Is keep