The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1905-07-13

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I faith in prohibition than they have had
all these past years? | do not think
So Are the advocates of high license
! any stronger than they have been? l
do not hink so. | am bound to believe
that the existing dissatisfaction ana
desire 10 destroy the d!spensary comes
from the well-night universal bellef
of the people that there is corruption
in its administration and because the
last Legislature failed TO take any ac-
ton other than that 10 appoint COM
mittee to investigate. There were
charges, with how much truth they
were made | don't know, that the dis
pensary influence in the Legislature
was paramount Anyhow, the friends
of the dispensary and its enemies
ioined forces at the last session to pre-
vent any action, and nothing was done.
and unless public opinion shall drive
the Legislature at its next session TO
some reform action which will purify
the atmosphere there is no possible
doubt that all elements of opposition
to the dispensary. aided by many OF
its old friends. will combine in the
next election and kill the system. |
do not hesitate to tell you frankly that
if il has become. and is to remain c
corrupt political machine as is charged,
| cannot defend it and will not do SO.
but will join the ranks of those who
seek to kill it. believe it can be re-
organized and purged of corruption.
with safeguards thrown around 1t to
prevent the recurrence Of the present
unfortunate and disgraceful condition
of affairs. | cannot now go at length
into the details and give reasons. but
will state briefly the causes as see
them which have produced the present
situation.
, The purchase of liquor by any board
eX-officio or otherwise, should be stop
ped. The original scheme which was
hastily gotten up made the Governor.
attorney general and the comptroller
general ex-officio the State Board OF
Control. This was changed very soon
after l left the Governors Office ana
the Legislature assumed control by the
election of the board and in no IN
stance since has my advice and opinion
had any weight in shaping its manage
ment though l have tried to preVen.
I some things being done and nave urseu
! others without success. 1t stands 10
reason that men who have TO depehu
I uoon the suffrage of the whole people
: to get high office are or ought to be OF a
higher type with better characters and
: in eyery way better fitted for reaspon-
( sible positions involving the handing
: of public money than those who with
petty salaries are elected by the Legs
, lature. Politics always enters into
! legislative election. People who vote
! for Governor vote for him because
of other qualifications than that he
would make a good dispensary direc-
tor, and for this very reason the Gov
ernor is the best possible man to place
/ in such a responsible position. But
the law is fatally defective in regard
to the purchase Of whiskey in not
! specifically defining in the most minute
and binding manner just what kinds
/ of LIQUOR shall be bought and how 1t
( shall be bought without leaving 1t to
! the discretion of any board. Every
detail should be worked out and then
the law would execute itself as far as
that feature is concerned. The board
Z would then need only to supervise the
1 conduct of State and county d1spen-
saries the same as the asylum and
penitentiary are run.
/, Now as regards the proposed cleo
ton to vote out the dispensary. II the
dispensary is to be voted out it should
! and must be voted out of the State. not
ont by individual counties. or course
recognize the deep seated love OF our
! people for local self government and L
would rot compel any county to retain
the dispensary or have one estaDllsheo
nf tho ritiZpnS
want prohibition with its acknowlegea
failure to prohibit. But judging Simply
by the facts in the numerous electiohs
that have been held on the subject
believe that large majority Oh the
people of the State are as strong De-
! levers in the dispensary system as
am: and that they are only casting
about now for method OF relieving
themselves of the corrupt machlne
which is said to be in charge in Colum-
bia. Many States in the Union have
had corruption in their State govern
ments and their State treasurers nave
defaulted-have sometimes stolen nun
dreds of thousands of dollarS-but no
man has ever thought OF abolishlng
the machinery of taxation because OF
this. We have got TO deal with liquor
in some form and provide for us le-
ultimate sale or we know it Will ma
illegitimate sale.
Shall we have high license? l say
No. That gives the monopoly 10 the
wealthy man as against the poor man
and we know from experience with
bar-rooms that it will be impossible TO
give any man the right to fill his store
with liquor to sell and then have MIN
comply with the constitutional require
ments and not sell it at night and not
have it drunk on the premises. II the
dispensary is abolished / will stump
the State for prohibition rather than
see high license. have said this and
it is the reason probably that the story
is going the rounds about my stumpins
for prohibition. But before we have
prohibition or high license either ex-
pect if my health continues good, 10
give a very earnest discussion to the
subject of how to reform the dispen-
sary instead of destroying it and TO
showing the true inwardness OF the
present movement.
Let us suppose that the present cam
paign against the dispensary by county
elections, shall progress victorlously as