Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-02-06
THE MORGAN BILL.
Features of the Important Measure
Which Has Just Passed the House.

ueVOleu 10 lne COlslueTdllOl VI the
dispensary situation. 1t has beel the
absorbing issue during the entire ses-
sion and will be until the close of the
work for the year 1906. 1t was not In
the least surprising except to the dis
pensary advocates, that the house
should have indicated its approval of
the Morgan bill. This ought to have
been plain to almost any one. The
dispensary advocates were routed in
every way and have about accepted
the situation. They sti.l boast that
they have a majority in the senate, but
that remains to be seen, because even
senators who favor the dispensary as
system are realizing that they can
not pull the state dispensary through,
and that delay may mean state prohi-
bition, and rather than take chances
on that, they had better accept the
county dispensary idea.
There has been good deal said
about the alignment by which the To-
cal optionists won. and there has been
some sneering at 1t, but 1t is exactly
what was pointed out in this cores
pondence as necessary to win the
fight. There are some who want to
eer at the Prohibitionists who voted
FOR the Morgan bill. The Prohibition
vote knows from experience what It
has to expect from the dispensary. The
Prohibitionists know to whom they
owe the tax and penalties in the Brice
BILL and they know how ten years ago
dispensaries were actually forced on
Williamsburg. Horny and other coun-
ties that tried to maintain prohibition,
AID 1t Is these same Prohibitionists
who have not forgotten. The cry Of
the dispensary advocates all along has
been that the system ought to be
forced into every county in the state
for the profit and to keep down tigers.
and the vote on the Morgan bill has
been their reward,
The vote on the Morgan bill ought
to be carefully studied, 1t shows a
great many interesting things. The
bill is gaining votes and senator's who
have favored the dispensary commits
tee bill are now favorable to the MoF-
gan measure,
There are a few points IN the btll
house which are to be noted.
| 1t abolishes the state dispersaFy,
1t provides for q commission to be
appointed by the speaker Of the house,
the president of the senate and the
governor, to wind up the business OF
| the dispensary, and II is expected to
be wound up by August, as their pay
stops then.
1t maintains the status in those
counties that have voted out dispepsa-
ries under the Rrice act, In counties
that have voted under the Rrice aet to
abolish the dispensaries, that prohibi=
ton status must be maintained for at
least two years after the date Of the
election. At the end Of two years from
the time of the election these counties
may, upon petition. vote on the quess
ito! Of county dispensaries or to retain
prohibition,
In those counties that now have dis
lpensaries the abolition Of the state dis
pensary results In the establishment Of
county dispensaFies. In other words, all
counties with dispepsaries at this time
operated through the state will have
L
The county boards Of control are TO
be appointed through suggestion from
the delegations In the general assem-
bly,. All county boards are to be re-
sponsible for the government of the
county dispensaries. Business mel
should be selected.
The county boards are to do the
buying. 1t is pity that provision
should not have been made at the eut=
set denying to any. board the right to
buy case goods,
not dependent on the sales. All pFofits
are to be divided into three parts; one
part to the public school fund, ene=
third to the county fer general pur=
poses and the remaining third to the
town or city in which the dispensary
Is located,
Charleston is the only county that
has the option Of a license systemi
$1,000 is fixed as the retail license,
and all sales must pc made under the
constitutional restrictions, II Charles
may elect to have q county dispensary
system OF even prohibition,
The argument is already being free-
ly made that the counties will, and
ought to make great deal more net
profit under county management than
has ever been made by the state sys-
| tenn. This, 1t Is said, can be done
| without meaning the sale of more lie
uor, but because the counties can be
more economical and will not spend
home money with that degree Of Feck-
state dispensary, and then, strangest
| Of all, 1t is freely claimed that the
counties can buy cheaper than the
state dispensary actually did. This is
a remarkable statement, but 1t is
stated that the investigating commit
tee will undertake to prove that the
same extravaganza, or lack Of busi-
ness care, that was shown In the puF-
chase Of labels, the state paying si4
or seven times what the order could
be duplicated for, will be shown in
the purchase Of liquors for years. The
claim has already been made that any
individual could buy certain brands Of
case goods for so per cent less than
the state was paying for the identical
goods for the dispensary by the huns
dred cases. II this be so, and II Is
simply business. matter and refers
not to graft, and the counties do their
own bottling, as they should, the prof
its ought to be much heavier than the
counties now derive on the same
sales,
The Morgan bill ought, II there
should be no delay, receive its second
reading on Tuesday and then be sent
to the senate on Wednesday. The
matter has been so thoroughly dis
cussed and is so well understood that
the senate would save time by fight
ing 1t out on the floor and not refer
ring the bill to a committee at all. or
place it on the calendar without ref
erence.
What some would like to see done
Is for the senate to. take up the Ray
sor-Manning dispensary bill and act
on that. Over on the house side Mr..
Hemphill punched the dispensary bill
until 1t was black and blue in the
face, but no one defended that meas
ure after he had given 1t a drubbing
and shown how utterly unavailing 1t
really would be.
AS has been stated the dispensary
has been the absorbing theme. There
has been no other strenuous fight
Compulsory education attracted some
debate and interest. The view Is
gaining strength, but still lacks suffi-
cie-t strength to become law.
The house has not yet taken up the
matter of taxation In any Of its phases.
Mr.. Jones has made series Of sug-
gestions and whatever he may have
to recommend Is in the best interests
of the state He has no axe to grind