The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1907-04-17
The Lexington Dispatch.
Wednesday, April II, 1907.
RIcHLAND MAY VOTE
OUT THE DISPENsARY

RNdSaAaN - Ma SSA6
OUT THE DIsPENsARY
Petition for An Election in that County
If the Required Number of Names
Can Be Secured There Will be an
Election.
For the first time since dispensaries
were established in South Carolina an
effort is being made to secure an cleo
tion in Richland for the purpose of
voting them out of the county. The
question of securing special election
on this question has been under ad-
visement by some prohibitionists of
the city for the past several weeks
and yesterday the petitions were put
into circulation.
Under the Carey-Cothran act the
election may be held in this county at
any time after the requisite number
of signatures has been secured. The
general terms of the act provide that
the question of dispensary or no dis
pensary in any county shall be de-
termined at a special election to be
held on the first Tuesday after the
first Monday in November of any
year in which a general election for
State and county officers is appointed
by law to be held, upon the petition
of one-fourEh of the qualified electors
sof said county, but there is a special
&kpvision which reads: ''That during
b year 1907 such election may be
held upon such day as may be ap-
pointed by the county supervisor,
upon similar petition and notice, in
the same manner and by the same
officers
If the election should be ordered
and the opponents of the dispensaries
win out, it means that the dispensaries
will. be closed forthwith. The law
says that if an election results in the
disestablishmen of the dispensary
system in any county the county
board in such county shall immediate
ly close the dispensaries therein, di-
spose of the stock on hand for cash to
some other county dispensary board
or to purchases outside of this State,
apply the proceeds thereof, with any
other assets, to the payment of out
standing obligations, and divide the
net proceeds as provided for dispen-
sary profits.
Section 81 of the Carey Cothran act
provides for the holding of an election
upon the question of manufacture
upon petition of one-fourth of the
qualified electors, the election to be
conducted in the same manner as pro-
vided for the election oi dispensaries,
except that the ballots shall be "For
manufacturer and against manu-
facture.n
If the special election asked for on
the question of voting out the dispen-
sary does not also make provision for
voting on the question of manufacture
the dispensaries may be continued
and the Richland distillery and the
beer bottling plants allowed to con-
tinue their operations.
The petitions read as follows:
''To the County Supervisor of Rich
land county:
"We, the undersigned duly qualified
electors of Richland county, hereby
respectfully petition you to order and
hold an election in said county for
the purpose of determining whether
or not alcoholic liquors and beverages
shall be sold in said county, under and
in accordance with the provisions of
the act approved February 16, 1907,
entitled AN act to declare the law in
reference to and to regulate the man
ufacture, sale, use, consumption, pos
session, transportation and disposition
of alcoholic liquors and beverages
within the State, and to police the
same.'"
Copies of these petitions have been
placed in a number of public places
for signatures. The State, 18th.