The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1906-06-27
came to Edgedeld and banded them.

| nose to see that the law should be en-
the reason that stimulated many Of
our good townspeople to similar act
ion? Rather was it it not the fact that
they recognized that conditions were
and have beera unsatisfactory"
that the law had been and was be-
ing flagrantly violated, and that the
concert of action must be had to cor
rect such unfortunate conditions and
enforce the law in the future?
heard an active and honored member
! of the organization, speaking gen.
orally, that if you don't think the law
is being violated just come down my
| way. Evidently he knew that the
law was fagrantly violated and saw
the necessity for organization and
| concert of action. You are unhappy
in your illustration in the matter OF
the burnings in our town a few years
ago. 1t only goes to establish the
| one and only one contention in my
article, viz: That it is the frequent,
fagrant violation of law that causes
people to unite as Independent bodies
TO enforce law and suppress its VIOLA
ton. In the first place there is no
analogy between the prohibition law
and the law against incendlarlsm,
| murder, theft, as I shall undertake to
show. and although it is common
argument to place them on parity,
it is none the less fallacious. But let
rs as in logic you are bound 70 do,
place them on the same footing. Was
i. one was it two, was it three nres
that so aroused our peop's as 10 cause
them to employ night .watchmen, de-
tectives and finally convict tho guilty
party. No it was when buildings
were. being repeatedly burned when
there was such continuous violation
of the law as to arouse indignation
and determined action. But, even
in that case, to the extent that it did
not suppress it's violation, it was
failure. Once admit that law is be-
/ ing continuously violated and not en-
forced, then in practical effect that
law is a failure. Have we had the
practical prohibition in our town and
county to the extent you claim? II
so, why the necessity to send for an
officer Of the law to suppress its sale?
Mr.. Ogg, the law officer alluded to-,
stated to me, and l have his consent
TO quote him, ''that when I first came
to Edgefeld it, was the rottenest town
1 ever saw" having reference, Of
course, to the sale Of whiskey The
prohibition law had been in operation
some time before he came here. I
have it from the lips Of citizen after
citizen that in tkeir communities
whiskey is sold or has been sold in
such quantities as even to demoralize
labor. But you said to me that so far
as blind tigers were concerned con-
ditions were equally as bad under the
d;spensary law. Granted. If blind
tigers flooded our county under the
sispensary law, and conditions now,
So far as the blind tigers are con>
cerned are similar to those when the
'llspcnsary law Obtained, is not this an
admission that the prohibition law
has been a failure at least in the
county? Allow ME to quote. what
Editor Carson says in his last issue
Of his paper: can organization to en-
force the prohibitory features of the
dispensary law is an acknowledge
ment of an unsatisfactory state Of
affairs Exactly the same icea I
expressed, only in different words.
YOU will hardly accuse him Of trying
to misrepresent conditions in our
county. Can any other reasonable
construction be placed on the words
unsatisfactory state Of affairs other
than that the prohibition law has not
been satisfactorily enforced. The
more the violation of the law, the
more the credit for organizing. AS
TO your comparison of the prohibition
law with arson. In every, civilized
country in the world the sale Of spir-
ituous liquors has been recognized as
legitimate subject Of commerce and
trade, legalized and accepted as such.
Have you ever heard of country le-
CALLING the crime of arson? Arson
is ma!1m in Sc, wrong in itself, the
sale OF liquor on the contrary is ma
lum prohibtum, only made wrong
by virtue Of statute. Recently we
had a vote in this county on the ques-
ton Of the legal or no sale of spiritu-
Gus liquors. Would it be possible to