The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1907-06-26
a Search After Truth.

bias. may be guilty Of presumption
when attempt to do this, but at any
rate am willing to try. -.
wonder how Mr.. Justice wrote MS
psece and why he named himself JUS
tice. Did he write down that subject,
stCounty Board Justified" and then
write the other which follows9 1t 50,
he wrote the conclusion before the
argument, and this may explain how
he arrived at that conclusion. Or,
did he write the piece and name 1t
ssCounty Board, Justi6ed?" II so,
where is the sound argument to war
rant this conclusion? In the first par
aeraph, he says he thinks he can sat
isfy curiosity and stop newspaper
articles OF people who know nothing
about the situation in Brookland.
There is evidently no argument in
this paragraph 1t is simple boasting.
IN the next paragraph he speaks Of
siinhabitants'' and majorities. He
SAYS II those opposing the dispensary
hid 800 names, they probably had
majority, but he does not know II
they had that many. He speaks OF
certain people outside Of Brookland,
but we fail to see how these could ex-
sercise the rights OF Brookland people.
He does not even try to show that
there was majority in favor of the
dispensary and surely there is moth
ing here upon which to base an argu-
ment. In the following paragraph he
even says, 'sthe friends OF the dlspen-
sary made no effort to get large Pc
tition., :, So then they did not even
consult the majority of the people
5upon this important subject; they ut
terly ignored them a1d he assigns no
reason for It except that the Carey
sCothran law authorizes and requires
the County Board to establish q dis
pensary wherever they see fit" Laws
are cften unjust many Of the great
es1 crimes ever committed were &C.
cordin0 to law. SO, then, the fact
that deed is according to law can
never justify is. In the next para-
graph he uses the profit feature as an
srRument, but it is miserable logic or
miserable ethics which says deed Is
right simply because there Is money
III it. Usually unjust business is the
most profitable In this sense and we
do not see how to draw any valid con-
cIusion from this argument. In the
two final paragraphs he does not even
pretend to offer argument. Indeed,
we find no sound premise in this en-
tire article upon which to base the
conclusion, 1.-THE County Board JUS
titled, . and we wonder how man
who is so iust that his very name Is
Justice could arrive at such conclu-
sion from such an argument.
But I want to say word further.
Let me lay down this proposition:
Whiskey is q dangerous thing. Ii
should want proof for this statement,
ucould find it in that decision of the
Supreme Court upon which the con-
stitutionality of the old dispensary
was based, but can find better proof
than that. When / see that during
the month of May the people OF Lex
ington county spent $S,3S9.oO for
whiskey: when remember the moth
ers and children who should have re-
ceived this money; when see these
drinking men wasted in health,
strength, and morality, I say know
whiskey is dangerous thing and
sheuld be handled with the strictest
care. IF it has real medicinal value,
the State, perhaps, should not take it
ont of the hands of the doctors, but it
should inhict the severest punishment
upon the abuse of this privilege. AS
to using whiskey as a beverage, |
say no man, county or State is justi-
fed in selling it for this purpose and
now speak of this use of whiskey.
ANY community of citizens like
Brook has the privilege and should
form itself into city. In this cor
poration the citizens all have the
same inalienable rights. No one citi-
zen can interfere with the rights of
another. He cannot say am going
to bring this or that to Brookland
whether the majority of the people
want it or not. This is sound govern
ment by the people. The question OF
a Gispensary arises in Brookland,
and what is the evidence before the
County Board? The Board answers,
tfthe petitioners opposed to. the dis
nansarv were very much in the ma
fority.o Now the question arises how
can the Board get around this large
petition and yet not interfere with
the rights of the people? They begin
at once to discriminate; they say
this name counts for more than that
name; and, finally, they say this short
petition counts for more than that
long one and assign no reason for this
discrimination except these names on
this short petition are business men,"
If this is the truth and the Whole
truth, this action of the Board bears
the stamp OF injustice upon its face.
But they proceed; they now come TO
the startling conclusion that a aispen-
sary is the best thing for Brookland.
Substitute in place of the word dis
nensary the word whiskey and it Will