The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-08-02
Friday, August ?, 1907.
NEXT D1sPENsARY ELECTION.

NEXT DIsPENSARY ELECTION.
A subscriber, referring to the vary
irs statements in the two local news
papers relative to another election on
the dispensary issue, asks, "When
doctors differ who shall decide?'
The Herald and News says:
"Unless the law is changed, New
berry county must remain dry until
the general election of 1910.
The Observer says:
Gas the petition fails and there is
to be no election this year, another
petition may be gotten up next year
Or any year until an election is Or
dered and held.'
We think The Observer is right
this time; or nearer right than our
cotemporary.-Observer.
We are not so sure about this. Sup
pose we look at the act itself and see
what it says. The first part OF Sec
ton 2 is as follows:
''The question whether the liquors
and beverages mentioned in Section
l Of this act may be sold in any coun-
tv in this state shall be determined at
a. special election to be held in such
county on the first Tuesday following
the first Monday in November Of any
wear in which the general election for
state and county Offices is appointed
by law to be held"
Then in the same section the fol-
lowing sentence appears:
"Successive elections under this
section are permitted, but they shall
not be held in any one county upon
the same question oftener than once
in four years.
Further on in the same section is
the following proviso:
s'Provided further, That in coun-
ties, which have heretofore voted up
on the question Of dispensary or no
dispensary, under existing laws, such
elections shall not be held prior to
the first general election held after
four years from the date said cour1-
ties vote upon said question"
Of course there are several coun-
ties in this section excepted from the
provisions of the act and among them
Newberry, providing that an elee-
ton may be held in 1907, but the
election was not held and will not be
held, and, therefore, it seems to US
that we stand just as if the exception
had not been made as to Newbery
county, and stand in the column with
those counties, which have had an
election "under existing laws" and
do not come under the general provi-
sion Of this act which permits the
general election in 1908 in those
counties which have not held an elec-
tion "under existing laws" This
position is borne out by an addition
al proviso to this same section, which
gives to Laurens and Edgefeld the
right to vote on the question at the
general election in 1908 and which
counties heretofore held elections
"under existing laws"
We are still Of the opinion that our
Interpretation Of the act is correct,
and so far as Newberry county is
concerned now, we cannot have an
other election until the general elec-
ton succeeding four years from the
date of the election, which was had in
this county, by which the dispensary
was voted out, ana that will post
'pone the election to the general elee7
ton Of 1910. Of course the leg1sla-
ture might change or amend the law
between now and that time just as It
gave us the right to vote this year
when the agreement was that we
should not vote for four years on the
question from 1905. =: