The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1908-02-21
HOT SENATOR
Charges Extravaganza on Part
of Dispensary Commission.
What He Said, What He Reiterates
and Irresponsible for What I Say,
Here and Elsewhere

There was another personal priv
| ilege statement in the State SEN
ate Tuesday, anent the dispensary
winding up commission and Attorney
w. F. Stevenson, over the irrepressi-
BILE Clark purchase. Senator John
son was the speaker, he said:
Mr.. President: In my remarks on
Thursday last on bill No. 669, Mr..
Christensen's bill, to appropriate the
sum of $4,000 to enable Mr.. Lyon
to secure counsel to prosecute alleg-
ed grafters, l stated in opposition of
the bill that the Investigating com
mittee had already spent $4,000 of
the peoples money without any re-
suits. That the winding-up commits
sion had spent $4,000 during the
year Of their existence, and if state
ments and charges in the public
prints were true and to be relied
upon, in refusing to accept an offer
that was said to have been made by
firm or corporation outside of the
state, to take over the entire stock
of liquors, wines, etc., including dead
stock, odds and ends, at their origi-
nal invoice price, and having subse-
quently sold the stock at discount
of 20 per cent on the dollar, which
resulted in another loss Of 100000,
to the people of South Carolina, I
dio not say how or for what pur-
pose the $4,000 was spent, but, l
simply said that it had been spent
by the commission. and any state
ment to the contrary is false. But
it now develops, and is shown by
their own record that S59,3S9.56 was
spent by them, insteau Of $4,000 as
stated in my argument, and :Ae $15,-
900, given them by order of Judge
Pritchard, and the $4,000 spent by
the investigating committee, togeth-
er with the $4,000, carried by the
Christensen bill, will make an ag-
gregate of the enormous sum of
$4,000 in round numbers of the
dispensary fund that has been got
ten away with in one way or another,
which is over one eigth Of the total
amount of the entire assets of the dis
pensary.
Nov comes one, W. F. Steven
son, who is said to be the attorney
for the commission, and who claims
that no such offer was ever made ex-
cept in jocular way, by Mr. Bull,
Of Peoria, III.
''This alleged offer and loss caused
thereby will however, be investigat-
ed, but Mr.. Stevenson says, if such
an offer had been made it could not
have been accepted under the act
This is most remarkable PROPOSE
ton to come from man who claims
to be lawyer, but not altogether
surprising to others in view of the
fact that if an offer had been made,
and accepted, it would have been fol-
flowed by the loss of some fat legal
fees. do not believe, however, there
is a real lawyer in South Carolina,
who would read the act creating the
commission and place any such con-
struction upon it.
"Now I have presented the facts
and figures relative to the matter,
just as they appear, and have repro
duced my remarks upon the subject
just as they were made, and any
charge or intimation of unfairness on
my part is false and without founda-
ton no matter by whom made. 1
will further state that I am respon-
sible for what I say, here or else
where"