The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1906-05-30
Consolidated Aug. 2. 1881.
DISPENSARY INVESTIGATION.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN
COLUMBIA THURSDAY.

The Revelations Seem to Be Coming
Nearer and Nearer to the Big Bugs
of the Machine-One Hundred and
Twenty-Five Dollars Carload Paid
as a Bonus for Every Sale Of Beer
by the Augusta Brewery to the State
Dispensary.
Columbia, May 24.--The dispensary
scandal continues. It is all beautiful
mess. Legislation can never cure
such conditions. It is matter Of
morals and not legislation. The inves-
tigatIon continues to be interesting,
and the pity is that the whole people
cannot read a verbatim report Of the
testimony rather than an outline. Yes
terday, today and every day much
more than can be printed is brought
out, particularly the multiplicity Of
suggestive letters. Today the evidence
of Mr.. Herman was that the Augusta
Brewery paid money with which to
buy a beer dispensary in Greenvi4le,
and to get orders for beer from the
State board. Whether that money
went as intended is another matter,
but the Augusta Brewery paid s125
to its State agent for each carload Of
beer for which it got an order, and
the manager Of the brewery swore that
he thought this the only way to get the
order in view Of the peculiar condl-
tons then existing in South Carolina.
That was last year.
What the State agent will say he
did with that money is another issue,
but he got it.
In the Greenville case the beer dis
penser, Payne, wrote himself that he
was utterly disguised. AS late as 1908
he wrote that he had just paid $500
for his Job, and ''here comes another
bother
They seem to have come right along,
and the brewery said it was ready to
take its medicine, and simply wanted
to know when the Greenville grafters
we're ready for another haul, and they
spelled grafters all in capitals.
Even no-armed preacher, named
Fowler. took Mr.. Cox over to Angus
Ia to get a. slice Of pie. They both
seem to have gotten it.
The publication Of this piecemeal
correspondence does not show how the
Augusta petople tried to save their
money or how they thought they had
to do it in self-defense, but is simply
quoted in "high'' spots, so to speak.
The old German, E. H. Herman,
who opened his record to the commit
tee, is sick and disgusted and wants to
do some good to the State. He wants
to make amends, and is intent on
having others open up their store
houses of information. He stated that
although the new board had an
nounced in the newspapers in the list
of purchases that they had bought one
carload Of beer from HIN, he had an
order for five cars from the new board.
IIe offered to reduce tie price on four
undelivered cars $500, or $325 per car,
which was what went to Slayer on
each carload.
The Lyon Christensen committee
showed that Gceenville had about as
interesting a CONDITION as Srstrtanburg.
Payne seemed to be the Ferguson or
Harman, and evidently had charge OF
three beer dispease1ies these Of Jones,
IIclcomb and himself, an;. at one time
Wilson'S
It was evident from the-file Of letters
that the Augusta Brewery was salts
fed with crumbs, and whether real or
fancied, it got out of the way Of Dun
woody, Of Atlanta Brewery fame, be-
cause they thought him to be the spe-
cial friend of Mr.. H. H. Evans.
The correspondence shows that for
years there has been a concerted ef-
fort made to save the beer dispensaries
from the board and the Legislature,
and that the beer people have had
paid attorneys to look after their in
terests. and that the bills Of some OF
these attorneys, members Of the State
Senate, appeared high. 1t was devel-
oped that the Augusta Brewery sent
$50 for a china wedding present to
Commissioner Crum during his ad-
| min;stration, and that such presents
were generally expected for this event.
The evidence taken today especially al
the afternoon session, when larger af-
fairs were considered, is well worth
studying at this time.-News and Cou-
rier.