The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1906-01-31
NJ. oRuSsoN on HIGH LICENSE
1;.c Case Of Urcomprcnising Pioiii-
iibitionists Again Presented From
the Standpoint Of an Ideasogist.

10 the Editor OF IQe StdtC-
: have not troubled you for space to
say anything on the liquor question
Tor some. time and though, I oppose
what yoh advocate, know you vii!
be fair enough to give me place in
your columns for what ! now wish TO
say.
The question of olacl option, or grant
ing counties the right to determine by
vote whether Intoxicating liquors
shall lie sold for beverage purposes
within their limits by dispensary meth
Cd. or under high license, or not sold
at all, is clearly now the most i,npor-
tant subject before our legislature,
and the earnest effort is being made
. get all opposing elements to unite,
Kill the dispensary and enact the local
option bill.
From {, prohibition standpoint the
thought naturally arises, what are we
to gain by sucn course? Compromise
up to the present has been the great
stumbling block to prohibitionists. II
it had not been for the compromise
vote in our legislature in 1892 the dis
pensary law would never have been
written an our statute books. What
now will result il this local option bill
becomes law? It Will bring at once a.
desperate struggle in the State be-
tween the license men for the license,
the dispensary men for the dispensary,
and the prohibitionists for prohibition.
It is more than likely that Fairfield
and Florence with some other counties
would sell liquor under the dispensary
system; Charleston, Richland and
others would sell under the license;
while good many other counties
would try to have prohibition. The
prohibition counties would become the
market for the liquors sold by other
counties and in few years the cry
would be raised in the prohibition
counties: "If we are to have the evils
of liquor selling and the expense of
trying to prohibit it, we had just as
well sell it." Then we would see
county after county, like the dog to
his vomit," return to liquor selling.
Suppose the local option bill does
not became law? Then we lose moth
inc, for we have the Brice law under
which we can vote out the dispensary
without opening the question to the
license men. Under the Brice law the
question is between the dispensary and
prohibition, while under local option
| it would be between dispensary, ~
cense and prohibition. When the
question is between the dispensary and
prohibition the license advocate will
vote with the prohibitionist, but when
the question gives an opportunity to
vote license, OF course, the license man
will support his own views. Why then
should the prohibitionists make this
l
compromise and join in the passage of
this local option bill when it will only
place another antagonist in the field?
The desire to kill the dispensary
should not lead US astray. believe
the dispensary the devils best job, but
1 also believe high license his second
best, and we should get clear and stay
clear of both.
Nebraska is credited with being the
first high license State, and Hon. H.
W. Hardy, ,ex-mayor Of Lincoln, COM
monty called the father Of high Ii
cense, after nine years trial, wrote:
There is now no longer any excuse
of being deceived as we were. The
fraud mas been tested and found want
ing. I was first elected mayor of Lin
| coin in 1877 and again reelected at
the close Of my term. I thought at the
time I had done a good thing to re-
duce the number Of saloons from %
| AAO@
lessen the curse, saw my mistake.
There are just as many stabbings,
shootings and pounded noses as ever
there were; just as many broken
homes, crying wives aA ragged chill
dren 1t is no great consolation to a
houseless, hungry, crying wife to tell
her that her husband got drunk on
| high license whiskey. High license is
one of the devils best devices to de-
ceive good temperance people. Then
to think I was his first agent on earth
to start it. Don't you think ought to
do something to atone for such con-
Guct?.'
Hon. C. B. Slocumb, who introduced
and champoned the high license bill,
and after whom the law was called the
''Siocumb law" lived long enough to
see the results of the law and gave as
his testimony upon his death bed: Il