Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-08-01
MODEL PROHIBITION COUNTY.
Marlboro's Experience For a Hundred
ar Years.

Marlboro's Experience For Hundred
ar Years.
News and Courier:
BENNErrsvILLE, July 26.-Is prohi-
hilton enforced In Marlboro? Yes
Just as rigidly as the law against
theft or; arson or murder. And none
Of these crimes are allowed to go
unpunished. Wherever a jury has
proof that a man has been guilty
Of selling intoxicants he is as sure to
be convicted and punished as a horse
thief or a rapist. At the last term OF
court here a man who had been ac-
quilted on the same evidence by the
United States court in Charleston, was
tried for selling whisky out Of jug
to some boys In q back lot at Clio,
at night. Judge Townsend, In the
beginning Of his speech for the de-
fence. said that 1t was hard to de-
fend a man for selling liquor In Marl-
boro. The result verified his state
ment, for his client was convicted In
few minutes and sentenced to pay
a fine of two hundred dollars.
Such has been the record In all the
cases against blind tigers whenever
they have been caught, and 1t is hard
for them to escape, for any length
of time, the vigilance Of our officers.
Several years ago man attempted
to sell LIQUOR ION the quiet" at
boarding house in Bennettsville. He
was convicted and fined $500. He
afterward moved to Clio and opened
a store there. He was caught selling
liauor again and the court fined him
$500, the limit Of the law. He then
left the county.
The few other tigers that have
been apprehended in the county were
transients. Most Of them were
hauling liquor from Laekey's distil-
lery, on the North Carolina line,
across the county to Darlington. One
man has been convicted twice for this
offence, though there was no evidence
that he attempted to sell any In this
county. Lackey's has now been put
out Of business over in Richmond
county, and a great nuisance removed
from our northern border. Repre-
sentative citizens went from this
county with petitions to the legisla-
ture Of North Carolina and aided the
Richmond people In securing prohi-
bition for that county.
There has never been a dispensary
In Marlboro, and 1t Is safe to predict
that there never will be. This county
has always given Tillman a large
aspired, but they have considered
themselves capable Of managing their
internal affairs, and would no more
think Of opening a liquor shop than
they would OF turning loose den or
rattlesnakes In our midst.
In his campaign speech here In
1900 Senator Tillman told his audi
ence that they were fools and hypo-
critics for refusing to operate dis
pensary In this county, but not even
his most ardent supporters ever maze
any attempt to get dispensary here:
The fact Is that Marlboro has had
prohibition so long that 1t has De,
come q source Of county pride ana
q principle that Is dear to the hearts
of our people. They would no more
give 1t up than South Carolina
would repeal her anti-divorce law.
Some Of our old citizens tell an In
teresting bit Of history which was re-
called by the sale Of a lot between
the public square and the creek a
few days ago. This lot was bought
in 1922 by a man whose name was
Gilpin. His purpose was to open a
barroom, but sentiment was 80 strong
against an innovation Of that kind
that the county commissioners locat-
ed and built the county Jail exactly
in front Of Gilpin's lot, so as to cut
Off access to 1t except through the
creek. Gilpin then left. The lot was
afterward sold for taxes and was bid
off by Angus Patterson in 1887 for
s25. Patterson went to Florida anS
paid no attention to his lot. A few
years ago the old jail was torn down
and a new one built on another site.
Patterson was still living and sold
the lot to Col. c. 8. Mccall for 5000.
Col. McCalls estate has now sold ii
to ]. H. Lewis for $3.50 and he Is
building a sales stable on 1t.
This illustrates the prohibition sem
timant that has prevailed here for a
century. Liquor was sold In the
county during the lawless days OF
Reconstruction, but never has 1t been
legalized.
When Marlboro becomes tired Of
prohibition or grows lax in her ef-
forts to enforce 1t, 1t will be time to
call 1t a failure. She has had hard
fight, surrounded on all sides by
whisky selling counties, but our peo-
pie now begin to hope that Marion
and Chesterfield, like Richmond and
Scotland, across the state line, will
Join the prohibition ranks and help
us enforce our long cherished senti-
ment. r. L. FREEMAN.