The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1905-10-24
AS TO WHISKEY AND DISPEN-
SARY.
A Dead Letter in Dispensary Law
That Cannot be Enforced without
the Doniciliary Visits of Con-
stables that Caused Much
Indignation During the
Early Dispensary
Days.

Prosperity today had his attention
called to a forgotten feature of thu
! dispensary law, as it relates to the
j shipment of whiskey and storing the
i same without tags or certificates from
the commissioner. Mr. R. T. 6. Hun
ter, the. president of the league at
Prosperity, wrote Gen. Youmans, the
assistant attorney general, requesting
his opinion on the law as regards the
storing and shipment of whiskey. 1t
is presumed that Mr.. Hunter has spe
cial reference to Newberry county,
where there have been, a number Of
complaints since that county voted
out the dispensary. Gen. Youmans
pointed out that it was not the duty
of the office to advise him on the mat
ters submitted, but it gave the law as
it has been passed on by the supreme
court as follows:
R. T. C. Hunter, President Law and
Order League, Prosperity, S. C.-Dear
Sir: Yours of October IS to -A:tor-
ney General Gunter is re>eived. While
it is the duty of the attorney general,
when required by the state officers, to
consult and advise with them on ques-
1ions of law relating to their official
duties, it does not come within the
scope of his duty to adv! you as to
the matters you submit. Neverthe-
less, I will state that by S"c'ion SIS
of the Criminal Code, the manufac
ture, sale, barter or exchange, receipt
or acceptance for unlawful use, de-
livery, storing and keeping in posses
sion within this state, of any liquor
which contains alcohol and is used as
a beverage, except as is provided in
the dispensary law, is prohibited un-
der penalty.
Our supreme court held in the state
VS. McG1ee, SIS S. c., 247, that liquor
purchased from without the state for
personal use is not contraband, SIM
ply because the purchaser does not
procure and attach to it from the
state chemist, a certificate of purity
as provided by law.
The same court held later that un-
der the dispensary law it is criminal
offence to store or keep alcoholic IL
quors for personal use without hav-
ing fixed on the vessels containing it
labels obtained from the state COM
missioner.
The Dispensary Stirred Up.
Dispensary inspectors GREATER, ac-
cording to an order issued by Com
missioner Tatum short time ago,
must be prepared to swear to the ac-
curacy of their report on each dis
pensary checked up. This order is
the result of the discovery that many
shortages occur by the use of dunn
mics or half empty cases that have
been checked by inspectors as full
cases.
Mr.. Tatum said today that after the
shortage in Charleston and recent
one in town in the upper part of the
state he was convinced that the in
spectors heretofore had been too per-
functory. He discovered that cases
supposed to be full would contain
only half the number of bottles or be
entirely empty. This happened some
time ago with dispenser in Fairfield
county, All inspectors were then no
titled that every box must be inspect
ed and the Inspector absolutely sat-
isfied that the seals had not been bro
ken.
An honest dispenser will not object
20 an examination of this kind" said
Mr. Tatum, "and we want to get rid
OF the dishonest ones. Ny order makes
it necessary for the inspectors re-
port to be absolutely accurate, and
should shortage occur through any
inaccuracy in the report it is then
The inspectors fault and he is respons
ible."