Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-10-22
#iseeIlaaeuus Readins.
PROSECUTION OF eRAFTERs.

/
Can the State, In Self Respect, Lei
corruptionists Escape.
From The Yorkvllle Enquirer. the
following timely paragraph, meritine
discussion, is taken:
I'VE may be considered a bit old
fashioned in the matter; but unless
there are some prosecutions and con-
yictions in connection with the dispen-
sary corruption we insist that the
state has made no real profit by the
investigations 1t has gone through"
| Who is to institute prosecutions? II
the answer, "the attorney general,
the secondary question arises, upon
information"
| Whether or not the testimony ad-
duced in the dispensary investigation
is sufficient TO sustain indictments Is
for lawyers to determine. That the
Investigation revealed that the state
dispensary was pervaded generally
with corruption, that frauds or irregu-
larities were the rule rather than the
exception and that mismanagement,
which may or may not have been
criminal, was conspicuous. will hardly
be disputed by men Of common sense.
That the revelations were the direct
cause CT the abolition Of the state dis
pensary Is equally well settled. In the
contest before the people last year the
candidate against Mr.. Ansel, who was
second in both primaries, and Senator
Tilman as we'll, pitched their cam
paigns on the tacit admission that the
investigating committees case had
been made out. The minority in the
state that held the state dispensary to
be a vindicated institution, IL the vote
Of Mr.. Blease represented 1t. was less
than 20 per cent Of the white Demo-
Gratis. The investigation, therefore.
killed the state dispensary. Is not that
real profit" satisfying to our contemp-
orary?.
The prosecution and conviction of
individuals, whatever the moral GER
tainty of guilt, Is not easy. The
greater the criminals the greater the
difficulty Of fixing the guilt and exact
ing punishment Is the rule, at least in
the United States. Perkins. Of insur-
ance i'll fame, is out of jail. So Is
Hartman. Rockefeller is at large and
hard to secure even as a witness. Sec
retary Bonaparte's yearning for the
punishment Of single "malefactor OF
great wealth" remains unfulfilled,
though he has at his back the resources
Of a powerful nation.
When Mr.. J. Fraser Lyon became
the attorney general he ceased to be
dispensary Investigator. Himself and
an assistant have upon their shoulders
the whole work of advising the state
in legal matters, and in representing 1t
In all litigated cases. Not a copper
Is in their hands for the employment
Of agents to collect evidence. There Is
no longer an investigation committee.
On the work Of that in which Mr..
Lyon labored to such valuable effect
the verdict has been made up by the
people and the punishment executed.
The state dispensary no longer con-
tamfnates the state with crimes nor
breeds criminals. While some honest
men, many perhaps, were connected
with the institution, it's guilt has been
doubly riveted since its abolition. The
county dispensaries everywhere are
earning incomparably greater profits.
To say that the consumption Of whisky
has suddenly increased would be ab-
surd. Who got the state dispensary
money? Where did its profits go?
If further evidence as to state dis
pensary crimes Is to be expected, 1t
should come from the board appointed
to wind up the state dispensary af-
fairs If that board, the creature of
the governor, devotes itself preferably
to saving the state money, to dispos-
ing Of the stock and properties to the
best advantage and leaves unmolested
suspected criminals stripped Of their
power to do further harm, surely 1t Is
not the fault of the attorney general.
Moreover, it Is quite possible that the
people Of the state may agree that the
great cause of the corruption and
crimes having been removed, the jail
ing of the criminals who operated
through 1t when 1t was alive Is Of minor
Importance now that 1t Is dead. Such
appears to have been the judgment OF
the general assembly. II that opinion
is wrong, the general assembly, which
failed to provide the means for fur
ther vigorous investigation and as
sembling Of evidence, must bear the
burden Of blame.
For our own part we think that
South Carolina has enough to be
thankful for in that the cancer has
gone and whether one or more rascals
escape deserved stripes is not a mat
ter to lose sleep over. The Enquirer
will not fail to observe that in Rich
land and in Beaufort counties. where
signs Of frauds in dispensary matters
under the Carey -Cothran act have
appeared. the one a shortage by dis
penser and the other soliciting by a
whisky drummer, prompt measures
have been adopted looking to prose-
cution. While Mr.. Lyon Is attorney
general, we are sure that continua-
ton of that policy may be looked for
with confidence.-News and Courier.