The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-04-04

advantages and disad vantages
Of county dispensaries and state dis
pensary. l declare most emphatically
my belief that by proper changes IN
the law along the lines suggested in
the Raysor-M Manning bill that all pos
sibility of stealing and bribery in the
purchase of whiskey for the state a
be prevented and it stands to reason
that if the liquor is purchased at whole
sale by one board, shipped by the car
load and bottled at Ole establishment
that there will be a great saving in the
The county dispensaries
would have no facilities for handling
the whiskey, but leaving all of this
out of consideration the one crucial
test of the relative merits of the two
systems. state dispensary or county
dispensaries, is simply this: Ii we
cannot by law so hedge about and con-
troll one state board as to prevent
stealing. how in the name of common
sense will we be able to watch ano
prevent thirty or forty boards from
doing it L? Because the retiring STATE
board and its predecessors has en-.
gagged in questionable practices anc
was guilty of such gross mismanage'
ment and malfeasance in office is NJ
argument to show that the law canno
be changed so as to destroy all oppor
tunity for such practices. No law vii
execute itself, and when those charged
with the execution OF the law fail ut.
terly and there is neglect from th'
highest to the lowest, 1T follows, as :
matter of course, that it is the duty o
the people to elect men who will no
finch or neglect their worn duties.
1t is therefore obvious that the pee
pie must look more to the integrit!
honesty, truthfulness Of the candidate
who ask for their votes than to IT,
mere capacity to speak glibly, and tE
plausible address of the oily POLITICAL
The people should bid fence straddle'
to get to the rear; they should deman.
outspoken declarations of policy al.
no mar who failed of his duty in tt
past should be again entrusted vii
office. Look at the present disgrac
full and outrageous condition in Co.
umbia. The old board of directors {
the state d~ispensary has loaded dow
the state with about 100000 worth T.
liquor, bought on credit, in open all
direct violation of the law. Why a
not these men arrested for malfeasanc
in office ? Why were they not remc>
ed last summer when the evidence {
gross incompentcy and mismanagr
ment were first made public? Wh
did the legislature ever elect gu"
men7 Why in the face Of absolu
proof in the letting of glass contrac
and in the purchase of labels to s.:
nothing of the purchase Of whiskr
that they were guilty Of gross MI
conduct, why 1 say did the legislator
refuse to change the law when l..
house found that the senate would H.
consent to the abolition Of the sta'
dispensary 2 1t was because Of the il
huence of the State newspaper.
There is every reason to believe IL
house stood out to the last and refa
ed absolutely to amend or. alter II
law in any particular in the hope al
intention to have the state dispense
so far disgraced before the peop
that in the coming election it won
be destroyed Did these legislatu
} discuss the question of abolishlng Il
state d~ispensary when they were RI
ming for office in 1904? Did ti,t
have any authority from the people
abolish the state ~dispensary becau'
of the Encouragement of the men Il
Legislature itself had elected? VI:
not the failure Of the house to acc
any measure of reform in order to pr
vent fraud and speculation in the i
ture due entirely to the influences
the new Columbia ring? Was it M
clearly shown that the primary objr'
was 10 destroy the state dispenSar
and thus pave the way for licenSi;
the sale of liquor in those couE'i'
which wanted it, even providing Il
whole sale license in Charlie ston vii
the purpose OF having Charleston ST
to the county dispensaries instead I
having the state aispensary supply II
necessary stock Was there moi
bargain between the prohibitions
and the old barrocm or high liceiI'
element and is there any mar in IT,
state 80 brazen as to stand up and Gu
this honest politics? Can the men wl.
with their eyes oprned to corruptin
refuse point blank 20 reform the stat
%dispensary have the impudence to a,
the people to trust them again?
Fellow-citizens, we need some h.
est politics in South Carolina we nee
some straightforward. plain speaking
we need aggressive and honest actio
by the masses to protect themsrlvp;
The people have been asleep. The
have been lulled into inaction by til
honeyed words of adroit politician
and, il is time for them to awak,
Eternal vigilance is the price OF lit
erty.
Look at the present situation ais,
A new board is elected to manage I'll
state dispenslry under the old law
That old law was fatally defectiv" i
some particulars, but it has not bee
obeyed in the last two years, at lea
with regard to competition in bidd.n
for the right to supply the state d.
pensary with whiskey and in other in
portant particulars. The new boa:
comes into office finding an iminen.
stock of liquor bought on credit, All
practically all of it bought contrary I
law. The legislature gave to the in
vestigating committee full control al
authority in regard to auditing AN
passing upon these accounts. IT,
new board then is subject to the il
vestigating committee and the situ;
ton seems to be this: The authnrii
of managing and directing tho affair
of the ~dispensary is now divided, tn
new board of directors having some &
it and the Investigating committee til
balance. There ia something lik