The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1905-01-11

ou. uo iiot neSitate 10 ADD that much
yet remains to be done. In some To-
calities. as ia well known. juries refuse
to convict. thus necessarily placing the
entire burden OF enforcement upon the
csonstabulary This complieates and
increases the difficulties which are al
rehdy sufficient in themselves, and in
such localities it seems impossible to
| nave the law strictly enfogced.
| Without seeking any explanation OF
these reasons. prejudices and obtec-
| lions, the fact remains that they DO
exist, and Furthermore. they present
the most serious obstacles toward
ieGitimately carrying out the spirit Of
the law. In considering this problem
believe that the time has come when
we should be perfectly frank in dealing
with 1t. Nothing can be lost by this.
and such course will in the end lead
to better understanding. In the first
place, / wish to be fully understood.
1t Is the duty OF the governor to en-
force the laws as they appear upon the
statute books. making them apply alike
TO every section. This have endeavor-
ed to do, and this l shall continue to-
do, so long as the resporc.. 'itics OF
your chief executive t.vol upon
me.
With no desire to cvade thi:. !. pom
sibility. deem it my duty to 'uantion
one aspect of the dispensary s.uation
as experience has revealed L 10 me.
Since have been i'm Office I nave done
my utmost to strictly enforce this law
. IN Charleston. with the result that +
have been able to improve conditions
only by the suppression OF fragrant and
open violations. Mayor Rhett has
given official aid, but our combined ef-
forts have not apparently accomplished
more than is above Indicated.
There are few In Charleston who fu-
Vor the dispensary, which, although
1t has been In operation for more than
! a decade is strongly opposed and has
made but few converts. There are
those in Charleston who favor it's en-
: forcemen. because it is the law, and
In my efforts to enforce II have been
{ accorded by them II strong moral sup
port, for which / am deeply grateful.
I The location of the city. with it's ex-
tensive water front: the inability OF
{ the constables to mako sei2urc. ts..o:l.
Y signee; the large number Of places
t where liquor Is Illegally sold; these and
e many others, make Il combination of
: difficulties which 1t seems impossible to
o overcome. Trials by juries have proven
o ineffectual, and the resources of the
3 law have been appealed to, time and
: again. but the illegal sale OF liquor
i continues. In giving you information
t ns am required to do, l have thought
e 1t best to state these facts to you plain
ly. 1t is my conviction that this is
also part OF my duty: and. though
t for many reasons I would prefer not to
e do SO, the situation has been brought
S to your attention.
: The chief constable calls my atten-
! ton to the fact that he Is much hin
l dered In the general enforcement Of
r this law by the, existence Of so-called
y social clubs" etc. These clubs pretend
t to operate under charters granted by
s the secretary OF state, but in reality
J. they are only places for the promis-
8 cuous illegal sale of liquor. In grant
s ing charters, the secretary of. state
t acts in ministerial capacity, and
must, therefore,, grant a charter for
1 any expressed purpose. recommend
that the laws governing the granting
v of such charters be amended so that
: they shall not be granted until 60
o days published notice has been given,
3 and that the secretary OF state be
i given authority to refuse such char
e ter upon an affidavit by the chief State
: constable that he has reason to be-
!feve that the applicants intend to vio-
G late the dispensary law. Should the
g officers Or employees OF any such club
: or organization be convicted of violat-
G ing this law, would further recon-
c mend that the secretary OF state be re-
: quired to revoke any such charter
> heretofore granted u,..
at the last session of your body
: sent special smessuge upon the sub
: jects of lynchings and lawlessness.
: This conceived to be my duty Mt the
j time, and I regret to add that subse-
. quent developments have not changed
: my opinion. SO important should be
the consideration given to this ,sub-
Ject. that must again bring the mat
, ter to your attention. Before making
any further statement. I shall here
, quote from the snacissii ::sGsSaEe re-
! ferred to. and renew my former. recon-
t mendation. 49,
"The governor is popuiariy credited
= with power to prevent ard punish OUT
/ RACES against the State. In reality he
Is practically powerless. When noti-
, fled, he may sometimes frustrate the
| n0nh hV tho or nj Of I,,,f
{ when the crime has been committed,
. his hands are really tied. In the means
{ time. the spirit Of lawlessness Is un-
checked. A band of lawless men may
{ feel secure In taking the life Of II eei-
low being on almost any pretext.
This deplorable condition should be
. remedied. To compel greater respect
the proper respect-for the majesty Of
tho law, recommend the enactment of
, special Legislation, In reference TO lynch
inGs. in n.-:.e- t!:tst the great. RESPONSE
bility OF officials directly charged with
, the enforcement of the law may be
2 effectual measures be taken for the
, apprehension of persons who take the
. law into their own hands" ."f,
i am convinced that this matter
should receive more considerat ton than
was given to it at your last session.
!. There la nothing so important to any
State as to have It's laws properly re-
spected, nothing which strikes deeper
Ut tue TOOtS OIL us ClSIIiHatlOA IMAM
, to have these laws disregarded. 1t is'
absolutely necessary that all crimes OF
. whatever nature, should be punished
through the legal channels--through
this source alone. The power and ma
jesty of the law should be brought to
bear, as far as possible. upon lynching
for any and for all crimes. There is
no alternative.
Lynching for one crime leads tO
lynching for other crimes. and thus
!awlessness is substituted for law.
Surely experience leads to this inev-
liable conclusion.
Since your last meeting haze had.
on several occasions. to order out
troops for the protection of prisoners.
4 While have been almost forced to do
this, owing to the nature and urgency
Of the requests, I consider this by no
means desirable. The services of the
militia should never be called upon
until the civil authorities shall have
exhausted every means in their power
to uphold the law. I am firmly con-
! vinced that. were this stand taken,
calls upon the governor for the SER
Vices Of the militia to protect prisoners
/ would cease entirely.