The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1905-03-15
Entered at the pos Office at Laurens
8. G. as second class mail matter.
LAURENS, S. c., Mar. is, 1905.
To The Press and Banner.

porary forgot to tell us that thirteen
years ago, the State of South Carolina
had licensed 900 bar rooms, in which
the News and Courier stated that 5000
men were employed.
"When about 100 or los d~ispensaries
were opened, the 500 bars were either
closed or kept open unlawfully, the inn
mense capital, 900 houses, and 4,5Oo
men removed from the destructive side
of the public economy, and were ready
to enter upon the industrial or useful
pursuits.
eff any State has closed more than
nine-tenths of its barrooms in the last
thirteen years, we are not informed of
the fact.
"We entirely agree with The Lau-
rens Advertiser in believing that good
men see this liquor business from a diff
ferent point, and, like the Advertiser,
we yield equal honesty and conscien-
tiousness to all who speak their con-
victions, be they what they may.
Another great benefit to the So
briefly of the different communities lies
in the fact that liquor is not sold by the
drink. 1t is not sold on a credit, and at
shutdown the dispensaries are closed un-
til sunrise next day. They are not open
at all on Sunday.
"It isn't possible that 100 dispensa-
ries could sell more liq.vr and could
make more ~drunkards than would 1,O0C
barrooms, kept open until late hours at
night and where it could be bought on
a credit.
"The increase in the sales may be ac-
counted for by the diminishing opposi-
ton to the ~dispensary. The dispensary
sells liquor cheaper han the bars sold
1T in former times, but the opposition
to the dispensary was SO great that
many people sent to other States for
it. The Interstate Commerce so pro-
tects the drinker that there is no such
thing as depriving him of liquor, if he
wants it.
"The apparent evidence of the in
creased consumption of liquor in this
State is accounted for in realization of
the fact that cheaper and better liquor
can be had at the ~dispensary than can
pc a in the barrooms of other States.
Another matter. The ~dispensary
gives full measure, which was not al
ways done by licensed bars in afore-
times. "SiXes" and not quarts" we
believe, was the rule in many cases.
The fair treatment of it's custom
ers, the cheapness and the pureness of
the liquor, has broken much of the
former opposition to the dispensary.
The dispensary gives us prohibition
Tor half the time.
I'VE do not know whether the Lau-
rens Advertiser favors prohibition or H.
cense system.
But here's three cheers for the news
paper that can be fair"
We regret that actual figures are
not available with which to answer
The Press and Banner but those we
shall use will be within the range of
accuracy. Let us examine The Press
and Banners argument.
AS to 1899 barrooms." Admit. Whis-
key is now sold in about 50 of a. COIN
ties. Before the Dispensary days there
were more dry countless several
more. Whiskey is sold from about rs
dispensaries. There are probably as
many more ''beer privileges" and tour
ist hotel privileges. In considering the
success of the ~Dispensary scheme, ac-
count must be had of the tigers" In
Charleston the number is estimated at
from 25O to 400. Large and small,
there are probably an average of from
rs to so in Greenville and Columbia.
The Press and Banner would testify to
their frequency in Greenwood. Judg-
ing from the number of seizures re-
ported each three months by the con-
stables there must be at any and all
times from 8 to 20 men engaged in
handling "contraband." In Abbeville
town there is perhaps not one. But
take the coast and border towns
Beaufort, Port Royal, Georgetown,
Conway and villages along the North
Carolina and Georgia lines-is there
any in which whiskey is not always to
be had for money and at all hours?
Unless conditions have changed, whis-
key is sold freely by "tigers" in Green
vile and Columbia. We know that it
was a few years ago. Several thou
sand dollars worth of whiskey was
seized in Greenville county at one place
about two years ago. An average of
five tigers to each of SO counties aggre-
gates 100, Add $50 for Charleston, Co
lumbia and Greenville and you have
$40. Include $50 d~ispensaries of one
kind or another and you have a total of
500 places where liquors are sold.-
Meanwhile a large percentage of the
people are ~patronizing the barrooms
and liquor stores beyond the State who
formerly bought within it. Our opinion
is that there are perhaps 1000 "ti-
gers" big and little, amateur and pro
fessional, black and white, in the State.
AS to the men employed. The sub
dispensaries employ about 300. The
tigers" perhaps 500 to 1000 a part OF
all of the time of each. Indirectly en-
gagged in the whiskey business are 129
members of county boards of control.
About 70 regular constables. How many
extra c~onstables, paid by the job, as in
formers, ETC., we can't guess. Add the
members of the State Board of Control
and the employees of the big Stat. dis
pensary and you have some hundreds
more.
Due solely to the existence of the dis.
pensary is a distillery in Columbia the
expenses of which are said to be about
ten thousand dollars a working day.
One-third Of this goes to the Govern.
ment for stamps. We do not know how
MANY mon n a,,,ployg po,;Joo 49,