The Greenville times., 1907-03-09

public officials, nor detective to dis
cover lawiessncss, nor prosecutor
OF Offenders against the law; but an
educator of the public conscience;
and as coadjutor of legislative and
executive officials should suggest
such remedial agencies as will tend
to lessen vice and crime. and promote
morality and good citizenship.
His ministry in homes of sorrow,
trying to comfort those brought to
heart-rending grief by their loved
ones being caught in the snares of
wlckedness that are set all about our
city for unwary feet, drives him with
boldness to expose and condemn
these Vaccinations of the devil, and
seek to utterly destroy them.
Concerning the immoral and law
less condition of our city, there is
much in truth TO be said. The diff
Guilty is to know where to begin and
when to stop.
First: As to the prevalence of wide
open gambling. A gentleman Satur-
day afternoon, in search of two ne
groes, walked into three wide open
crap dives on East Washington ave
me, | was invited a week or two ag9
to take a stand at places that would
be suggested to me, where I would
not be seen, and see files OF young
men, and some OF them not of age,
going in and out of gambling rooms
One man is as bold with his crap
game in the rear of his store on Wal
nut street as he is with his little
business he processes to
carry on in front. and the common
talk is that he says he has the Off
GERS fixed SO they can't pull him.
| am authorized by a citizen or
Greenville TO say, if any police Off
cial Of our city will say to him that
he (the officiaD does not know that
gambling is going on or where it is,
he will tell him that he is either an
idiot or liar.
But what if these dives are brok-
en- up, and the boys and negroes are
for a little while interrupted in their.
gambling? What about some OF
these so-called "Clubs," and the wide |
open bucket shop gambling of our
city, These are the taproot of this
vice. The law prohibits them, and
prescribes punishment both by fine |
and imprisonment for its violation. /
As long as these gambling places, So !
sailed Clubs and future dealers, are /
tolerated, the moral conditions of our |
negroes, now a constant menace TO |
society, will not improve: and the I
boys of our homes will be enticed to +
shame and ruin
Second: A few words about the |
1ram shop lawlessness 1t is some
times remarked that the saloons OF |
are run according to law
make bold to say there is not one !
saloon in Greenville that has legal |
-ighf of existence, nor one that is rin |
according to law. I have always
contended that the petitions on which
the licenses for years have been
granted have not contained the sig
natures of majority of the qualified
voters Of Greenville as the law re
quires This contention has been
amply proven recently when a citizen
Of Greenville took the trouble to
check off a petition and found that Of
43I sIgners, there we're I47 names Of t
those who were not qualified voters. /
Think OF it! A petition presented, /
sworn to solemnly before a notary
public one-third of the alleged sign /
ers disqualified by law! So much for I
the start of these law abiding (9 (
dram shops. Now how is their bust
ness conducted? The law says, "If (
any person having license to retail |
liquors shall violate any of the pro-
visions of this Chapter. his license
shall thereafter be void" The Chap |
ter referred to forbids:
(I) Sale of liquor to minors.
(2) Selling on election day. (Sa
oons all over Greenville openly vio-
ated this law last election day..
60 Sending drinks out of saloons
20 be drunk elsewhere. q saw drinks
carried from a saloon in Greenville |
At ten O'Clock one morning to next |
ioor restaurant, and to my astonish-
nent, saw that these two gentlemen,
being thus served by the saloon por-