The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1909-08-12
The Improbable Liquor Law.

/ have decided convictions on the
moral aspect Of the liquor traffic, but
would leave that phase of the "un-
exalted business for my venerable
friend, Mr.. Burton, to discuss, as he
is we'll able to do. But if you will
permit me to speak through your COL
umns to the citizens Of this county,
would like to give them a few facts
and figures on the economic side of
the question.
In The State of few days ago
City Treasurer Cooper is credited
with saying that it will increase
taxes about 33 per cent. to vote the
dispensary out of this county. 1t
may increase direct or ad valorem
taxes some, but we pronibitionists
contend that it will greatly decrease
indirect taxes Look at the figures
for last year. Richland county spent
for liquor through the dispensaries
(I don't know how much through
the tigers) over s500,O0O at profit
of $4,000. Now, from a purely
business standpoint, does that pay?
To put about 27 cents into the treas
ury somebody must use one dollars
worth of the purely chemical. I am
sure it would be much better busi-
ness to pay the q cents direct taxes
and put the other 73 cents into the
necessaries of life to increase the
comfort and happiness of those de-
pendent upon us.
If 1 had to give my cow one dol
lars worth Of food to get 27 cents
worth of milk, would it pay to keep
her? Yet that is just what we are
doing with this dispensary cow that
gives chemicals instead of milk. (See
proceedings Of dispensary winding
up commission.)
But some one may say, eyes, the
cow is expensive, but we must keep
her to keep down the tigers they'd
eat US up without her." Now, would
they? Blind tigers are not willing to
risk getting into the unyielding grip
of old Uncle Sam, so most Of them
get a revenue license from him be-
fore they begin regularly breaking
the State liquor laws, and an exami-
nation of the records in the Office of
the internal revenue collector reveals
the surprising fact that there are
many more tigers in the dispensary
counties than in the prohibition
counties-561 to 115.
According to the last census
$4,000 the aggregate population of
the 21 dry counties was about the
same as that of the 21 wet counties,
and yet for the fiscal year just ended
there were SCI tigers in dispensary
counties to only lis in prohibition
counties. Don't that look like the
cow feeds the tigers instead of de-
stroying them?
Take the record in detail a little
more and compare wet and dry coun-
ties of about the same population.
Dispensary Aiken has % tigers,
while dry York has only 10; wet
Barnwell (35,504 population) has
Is tigers while dry Marion (35,1S1
population) has only three; wet
Florence (2S,474 population) has
nine tigers while her dry neighbor,
Marlboro (27,639 population), has
not one; wet Richland has 80 tigers
while dry Greenville with 5000
greater population) has only 16, and
dry Spartanburg with 10000 more
population than Richland) has only
20 tigers.
These figures ought to convince
any reasonable man that the dispen-
sary don't prohibit" and as a busi-
ness man I am for killing the un-
profitable COW. Unlike the fabled
COW that led Cadmus to fame and
fortune, she is leading our people in
to degradation, pollution, and ruin,
is as a cankerous sore on the body
polite, so I say let's knock her in the
head II NAV cost US a little more
direct taxes, but we will have more
to pay with, for all Of our merchants
will have more customers and better
paying customers and all of our in
dustries will have more to nourish
them when we keep the hundreds
and thousands of dollars at home
that we are now sending out of the
State for the purely chemical.-E. G.
Quattlebaum, in Columbia State.