Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1905-08-09
PROHIBITION ANo POLITICS.
Now Is The Best Time to Make the Fight, When
II can be Divorced from Politics.


different parts of the State, in re-
gard to voting out the dispensary
under the provisions of the Brice
bill, and would be glad to have the
privilege of answering some of their
questions through your paper:
l. They ask: "Do you endorse
the present plan of voting on the
question by counties and has this
plan the approval of the old line pro-
hibitionists in this Statep
2. If you endorse the present plan,
when would you suggest that an cleo
ton be held? Now, or shall we wait
until the Supreme Court has heard
and decided the points Of law raised
before Chief Justice Pope at the pre-
liminary hearing of the Pickens
county case at Newberry?
3. Is there any truth in the charge
made that the Prohibitionists are in a
combination with the old barroom
and blind tiger element, to destroy
the dispensary and open up blind IT,
gers again?
4. Is there anything in the report
that the present movement is in
tended, not only to destroy the
dispensary, but to injure the reform
movement and to defeat Senator
Tillman?
8. In the event the dispensary is
voted out, what will we have in it's
place?
These, believe, include all the
questions asked in the letters re-
ferred to, and in reply would say
l. The present plan of voting on
the dispensary by counties has my
endorsement, and l believe the ap.
proval of practically all of the old
line prohibition Democrats in the
State.
2. AS to the time you should ask
for an election, / would say as soon
as you are satisfied that you have
fair chance of voting out the dispen-
sary in your county l would file "a pc
tition with the County Supervisor
and request him to order it. There
is no better time than the summer or
in the early fall, this being an off year
in politics, and the question can be
considered on it's merits.
3. There is no truth in the charge
that the Prohibitionists are in
combination with the old barroom
element and the blind tigers to de.
stroy the dispensary and to open up
barrooms again. No one knows this
better than the dispenssry leaders
who do not hesitate to slander the
best men in the State to carry out
their purposes and to deceive the
people.
4. There is no doubt but what
those connected with this movement
intend to destroy the dispensary if
they can do it by voting it out county
by county, but the prohibitionists
have always avoided making it
question of factional politics.
1t has been claimed that large
majority of the votes given for pro-
hibition in 1892 were from what was
known as the Reform faction, and
sra of the strongest advocates of
the dispensary to-day are those who
voted against prohibition and for
open barrooms in 1892, and were
known as "anti- Tllmanites." The
friends of the dispensary are afraid
to let it go before the people on it's
merits, but are trying TO draw to
their support the old Reform faction
and Senator Tillman to save them
from defeat, but don't believe this
appeal to factional politics will help
their cause.
5. What shall we have after the
dispensary is voted out? There is
no reason why you should not have
what you are voting for, prohibition.
| believe where majority of the
people vote to close the dispensary
they will see that the law is enforced |
and there is no good reason why other