The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1905-09-01
THE CALM REPLY
Of Senator Tillman to the Last
Letter of DR.. Cromer.
MAX Els A STATEMENT

Ia Reference to Charges on the Supreme
Court aud Says He Had Nothing
Whatever to Do With the Mat.
ter, and Gives His Opiu-
ion Of Present Fight.
Hon. Geo. b. Cromer.
Dear Sir: / Was absent from the
State q few days after the Anderson
meeting, and since my return home
Sunday 1 have been quite unwell,
hence delay in answering your ire.
joinder," which appeared in the news
papers OF the 18th.
j have read what you say carefully,
and with all due respect it seems to
me you are begging the question. l
quoted Pope's couplet from memory
and 1t is lucky that l misquoted it,
else you would have had little to reply
TO, but cannot agree with you that
Il miesed" either the sense or the
spirit"
1 charged existing conditions in dis.
pensary matters to Observation-Disclosures
and to legislation in changing the law
and depended upon the last line OF
the quotation to sustain my conten.
ton:
That law which is best admins,
tered Is BEST"
or course your quotation must be
verbatim and 1t IL even stronger in
sustaining my argument than my own
recollection Of the words, for If what.
ever form of government" an auto.
cracy, limited monorchy or a republic
ls better than any other when Ii ia
best administered" 1t seems to me
that you must be wrong in claiming If
there is inherent vice In the law it.
self, efficient administration OF the
law cannot cure It,"
We are rot discussing that phase
at all. You class the dispensary sys-
tenn as Inherently vicious as contra
distinguished with the licensed sale Of
liquor, and the prohibition Of It's sale
at all. According to Pope, as you
quote him, "whatever'' form the law
might Jake as among these three
would be best II it Is Administered
best" That Is all l have ever con.
tended. l believe the %dispensary sys.
tenn can be better administered than
can prohibition, and l am opposed to
any form of license, high or low, be-
cause 1T has the inherent vice" of
money making by the individual, and
this to my mind Is the most deadly
poison arising out Of the whiskey
traffic. | hardly think you will deny
that the dispersary law fe~arlessly and
honesty administered as it was origin.
ally framed would be better than pro.
hibltion not enforced.
However, 1t was not this part of
your rejoinder which gave me any con.
Germ, because 1t almost answered it.
self and l only mention 1t incidentally
AL am answering you.
The point which l wish to press on
your attention and that Of those who
may be interested in our discussion of
this question is the lame and impo.
tent conclusion at which you arrive
IN your discussion Of the dispensary
from q legal standpoint. You are q
lawyer and an able one, while l am
only q layman, but your reading must
nave been limited or your reasoning
powers at fault to rest your case as
you appear to do on the claim that she
prOhibitlonists are sustained through.
out In their views by the decisions OF
the supreme court. You quote the de,
cision In the case Of the State VS..
Aiken, 42nd S. O., o. 231.
'fnba 1inpnr In fro ,,of,,ro a., A..
gerous TO the morals, good orGer,
health pnd safety Of the people, etc.,
and then you say Mote then the Ian
guage In which you def he the attitude
OF the prohibitiOnists Is exactly the
language In which the supreme court
defines the attitude Of the law on tho
subject. That decision fixes the point
OF view from which the State Is bound
to regard the question; and from that
point Of view the State may take con.
troll OF the traf lic to police it but not
to profit by It,"
You give your own Interpretation
to h language used by the court
but to me IL 10 altogether without any
warrant, except as your Individual
opinion and in direct opposition to
the entire line OF thought and reason.
ing OF the judge who wrote the opin-
Ion In the State vs. Aiken, l quote
from the same decision, page 239:
The act shows that the Legislature
had In view the protection of the
morals, good health, and safety Of
6ho State 10 dealing with this uues.
tlon. Many safeguards are thrown
around tho sale OF liquor. The com
missioner is to be an abstainer from
intoAicauts. The liquor Is to be tested
by the chemist and declared to be
pure. The liquor Is to be sold only by
the package, which cannot be opened
nor drunk where sold. The sales can
only be made in day time. Persons
cannot be appointed on the county
board of control who are addicted to
the use OF Intoxicating liquors. No
person can be appointed q county dis.
penser who has ever been ad]ugded
guilty OF violating the law relating to
intoxicating liquors, nor who is keep.
ef or g restaurant or a place Of public
amusement, nor who Is addicted to
the use OF Intoxicating liquors as q
beverage.
The county dispenser shall execute
q bono In the sum Of 90, 900, upon
which suit for damages may DO brought
for q violation OF the provisions OF the
act by wife, child, parent, guardian,
employer, or other person. A majority
OF the voters In q township may pre-.
vent the establishment Of a dispen.
Cnru fNi,n -. -. -.