The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-02-01
'DEFIEO STATE LAWS
Advance is a Town in
Name Only.
Prominent Physician, An Advocate Of
Temperance, Was So Oppressed
by the Liquor Traffic, That He
Had to Leave the Town.

To the Editor: 1nere are TWO
churches. a public school and, I be-
lieve, a private school building, within
the cooperate limits of Advance. The
sale of liquor has been prohibited by
Jaw tor many years, within one and a
half miles from one of the churches
There are within the corporate limits
OF the town not more than Al or Az
voters unless the number has recently
| increased by reason of the increase
| OF the employees at the diStilleries. In
| MAY, 1903, or soon thereafter an
| election was called by the town gov
| eminent to vote upon the question of
whether there should be distilleres
toperated III the town; there were at
| that time about 81 or SO voters in the
town and about 20 of them were OPP
posed to dist.lleries, the election was
held and it was seen that there was
clear majority in opposition to the dis
tilIeries no wet" votes were cast.
There were irregularities in the cleo
ton and after a careful investigation
t was decided that the election was
void. The wet people moved in a
few wet citizens, and in about six
months had another election called; al
this election, there was a majority
favoring the establishment of the dis
% votes cast at thas election by the
| ''WetS."
The annual license tax fixed by the
town government to be paid by the
dlstlIeries was $40 or SIS, as u re-
member it, Seven or eight large dis
tileries were in operation about two
or three of this number failed to OBJ
tain any license from the County Conn
miss. oners until bills of indictment
were obtained against them and near
IL all of the distilIeries which have OPP
Grated in Advance, so far as | have
been able to obtain proof, have failed
to obtain from the county q license
tax authorizing them to operate dis
tiileries of the daily capacity which
they actually operated. For Instance;
one small dstlllery obtained license |
to manufacture from three TO five
and three-fourths gallons, when in
fact the daily capacity was some ten
or twelve gallons the county State .
and school fund only Obtaining one-
half the tax TO which they were en-
titled.
Now, every distillery was, and is,
enclosed with a fence some five and Il !
half feet high. and no one is permitted |
TO enter the enclosure except a Fed |
eral officer. Some OF the distillerles |
are wholly or in part outside of the |
corporate limits Of the town, and When |
sent survey or under direction Of the |
court 10 survey the boundar es of the |
town, he was not permitted to make !
the survey by the land owners, butt
driven away, and. as ! have been in |
formed threatened with violence.
Bills. OF indictment were obtained |
against the operators of the distiller-
les which began operation soon after |
the election. and it MAS With much dif- /
fculty and with considerable effort
that bills were obtained, and details |
of which. il is unnecessarily to go into /
here. The storelleeperS and gaugers
were the only persons from whom | |
could obtain any information as 70 the
ownership and operation of the distil- |
lcries. The storekeepers and gaug- |
ers, under instruct on from the de- |
partAlent at Washington, refused to |
answer any questions which they hadI
received by virtue Of their official po-
sition; finally. | convinced them thatl
il was best for them to obey the State
law and answer such questions that
were asked them. Bills were obtain |
ed. The cases were continued at the
next term Of the court. Finally the |
cases were called and some of those
Who were indicted pleaded guilty.
Judgment was suspended upon these
by the presiding judge. All but one
of those who pleaded guilty had gone
cut of the business. An effort was
made tc settle the other case by per-
mttinE the defendant to enter Il plea
OF nolo cOntendere and the prayer for
Judgment continued upon the payment |
of the costs. A criminal case can |
rot be settled by nolo contendere, an
less it is with the consent of the So
licitor and this | would not agree to |
do in this case. One of these cases
was called at the last term OF the
court, and the only witness the State
had. or could obtain in any of the
cases was a government officer, a
and gauger who was
splaced upon the stand, and when |
8sWorn refused to testify, stating land |
probably producing a letter. that he
had information from the Commits
sioner of Internal Revenue and from