The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1909-10-07
TIGERS Offended BY JURY
NO BILLS RETURNED AGAINST
CHARLESTON "TIGERS."
Lame Excuse Offered by the Defense.
Dignified Rebuke Administered
by Presiding Judge.

Charleston, Oct 2.-The grand
Jury to-day, in the court of general
sessions, threw out every case of the
"a handed to them by Solicitor Peuri-
foy against alleged violatOrs of the
liquor law and the result of their
weeks deliberation over the liquor
indictments was "a nO-bills dellv-
cred to the clerk of the court this
afternoon, after Foreman Viohl had
presented some $50 names Of revenue
license holders in the county to the
solicitor for indicting and Judge
Dantzler had sent the jurors back to
consider the indictments already be-
fore them and take action upon
them.
To put it mildly, the action of the
grand Jury in refusing to find true
bills in any of the liquor cases be-
fore them was surprise, as this
very body of men, at the last term
of court of general sessions, in their
presentment urged better enforce
ment of the liquor law on the part
of the city and county authorities,
and apparently were in an attitude
to back up any efforts made by the
authorities.
Solicitor Peurifoy this week hand
ed the grand jury "a liquor indict-
ments in all, giving them IA on Mon
day and several more the next day.
Yesterday he handed them two more,
to give the grand jury wide selec-
tion Of cases, representing almost all
To-day the grand jury got from
Mayor Rhett copy of his list of rev.
enue holders in this county, and pre-
sented to the solicitor this list, with
the request that he indict all holding
these licenses, on the ground that
the possession of a revenue license
was prima facie evidence of break
ing the liquor laws of South Caro-
lima.
Judge Dantzler addressed the jury.
He told them that it would be a
physical impossibility for the solici-
tor to indict all these persons at this
term of court, and besides that the
mere possession of revenue license,
while prima facie evidence, was not
sufficient for the State to get con-
yictions on, and that more evidence
was necessary. He urged that the
solicitor did not have time to work
up this evidence, neither was the So
licitor q detective at the disposal OF
the grand jury; that it was their
duty to 60 out and get evidence
themselves, if they wished all the
holders of revenue licenses to be in
dicted. He then brought to their at
tention that they had already in their
possession "a liquor indictments and
that they should take some action on
them. The grand jury was sent back
to act on the "a.
Prompt Inaction.
It did not take the grand jury
long to act. Perhaps they had al
ready made up their minds what
they would do in case the solicitor
did not indict the list of persons they
presented as holders of revenue IL
cense. At any rate the grand jury
returned within half an hour with the
"a liquor indictments all marked
.,tt''No bill, Henry Viohl, foreman
That threw out every liquor case
brought to the grand jury by the
solicitor this term.
Fifteen Of these cases were worked
up by the police of Charleston, one
was brought in by Magistrate Royal
and eight cases were made out by the
constables, all before magistrates.
When the "a no bills were brought
In Judge Dantzler gave the jury a
sdignified talk on their action. He
declared that he was sure there were
some men in the grand jury room who
were anxious to see the law enforced,
and those who voted against the
liquor indictments would have to
answer to their own consciences. He
made some of the jurors decidedly
uncomfortable, but their action had
been taken, and the cases thrown
out.