Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1905-07-26
coNsrAsLss WILL aE WITHDRAWN.
Tho Governors Policy In Regard tn the Dis
pensary and Counties Voting II Out.
columbia Record.l


As a result of meeting in Darlington
the other day to discuss the matter of
voting out the dispensary, d. r. Coker,
the chairman of the special committee,
has written the Governor asking him q
number of questions as to his policy to.
ward counties that have voted out the
dispensary. The Governors reply is
quite interesting and is published as fol-
lows:
d. r. Coker, Darlington, 8. C.-Dear
Sir: am in receipt of your letter OF the
11th instant, stating that meeting was
held yesterday in Darlington for the pur-
pose of starting campaign to vote out
the dispensaries in Darlington county,
aud that you were made chairman of the
meeting and ex-officio chairman OF the
executive committee. You ask if 1 will
let you know who will be specially
charged with the enforcement of the law
should the dispensaries be voted out, and
whether it would be my policy in that
event to entrust the enforcement of the
law entirely to the county authorities, or
would the duty still devolve upon the
oonstabulary force?
In order that you may understand my
position clearly in reference to this mat
ter beg to quote you the following ex-
tract from my last annual message to the
General Assembly:
"At your last session there was enacted
law giving the counties which desire
prohibition the right by majority vote
to close their dispensaries, and upon the
taxable property of all counties 40 voting
it was required that there be levied an
annual tax of one. half mill, this tax to be
expended by the Governor in enforcing
the law should the local authorities fail
to do 80. Objection has been made to
this law on account Of the tax imposed,
it being contended that it is in the nature
of penalty, its effect being to deter the
the people from voting for the removal
of dispensaries.
.! do not agree with this view. If pro-
hibition be substituted for the dispen-
sary law, then prohibition should be en-
forced, and when this cannot be done
through the sentiment of the people, ex.
pense must certainly be incurred. The
counties now pay for the enforcement of
each and every law, and it is not fair to
expect counties which maintain the dis
pensary to take the profits accruing to
the general school fund to defray the
expense of the enforcement of the law in
county which pays nothing. Besides
this the tax is by no means excessive; it
can be expended only when necessity re-
quires, and then solely in an effort to
accomplish the purpose for which the
people voted. That it will not deter
them from voting for what they desire
was certainly demonstrated recently in
the only election which has been held
under the provisions of the law. AL
though it is required that the tax be paid
annually, it need practically be paid only
once, for if the local authorities perform
their duty in enforcing prohibition
which they will do whenever che people
demand 1.-THE money will be refunded
to the county, and the ordinary county
tax can be reduced by one.half of Que
mill. This tax feature of the law, then,
it appears to me, instead of being re-
garded as penalty, preventing the coun-
ties from obtaining what they desire,
should rather be viewed as a guarantee
that they shall have, as far as possible,
just what they do desire"
From this statement it is obvious that
my policy towards the counties voting
out the dispensary is to remove the con-
stabulary from such counties until / an
convinced that the local authorities en-
trusted with the enforcement of the law
have either failed or neglected to sup
press the Illicit sale of liquor. Upon
being convinced of such failure / shall
not hesitate to invoke the financial aid,
provided for in the act of the General
Assembly, approved the Goth of Febru-
ary, 1904, by such means as may deem
necessary to carry out the law.
Very truly yours,
ID. G. Hayward, Governor.