The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1909-07-28
PROHIBITION PROHIBITS
IN NEWBERRY.
Strong Letter From Ex-Mayor John
W. Earhardt.

paper in letter from Mr.. W. NJ. Will
| son, of this city, among other things
the following appears:
II am living now in the town of
Newberry, county of Newberry, which
| is so-called dry county, where lOc
beer sells for zoe per bottle, and OLD
| North Carolina white corn, that costs
$3.50 per gallon, sells for sl.25 per
quart"
My object in writing this IS not to
contradict what Mr.. Wilson says, but
from the fact that Lexington county
| is so soon to vote on the question of
''dispensary' or mo dispensary,
and also being q citizen of "south
Carolina and native of dear old Lex
| ington, and proud of it," and for fear
that Mr.. Wilson's statement, IN the
face of the fact that the election on
the whiskey question in that county
| is so near at hand, may be (uninten-
tional I know somewhat misleading,
in the fact that some may infer that
whiskey and beer are being sold pro-
miscously in Newberry under our pro-
hibition law.
That some whiskey is illegally sold
here 81 all not question. But l want
to say to the People of Lexington
county that today the city of Newber-
ry is as near "ideal'' from prohibi-
ton standpoint as it is possible to
make it-so much so that one never
hears mention of going back into the
liquor business-such seeming to be
foreign from all intentions.
In 1888, when only boy of Is, l
left Lexington and come to Newberry
to cast my lot with her people, who
have treated me more than kindly and
honored me to every position to which
I have aspired. I have seen Newber-
ry under the old bar-room laws,
through the days of the dispensary,
and for the past three or four years
under the prohibition law as now ad-
ministered in this State, in those
counties which see fit to adopt it. l
am not a fanatic on the question Of
probibition-in fact have never been
strongly inclined in that direction,
and my only object in writing this is
to state the facts as see them.
Under the old dispensary law, and
while Newberry county had dispensa-
ries, during the years 1904, [ was
mayor of the city; for several years
previous to that was alderman. I'm
der my administration as Mayor,
while the dispensary was was running,
the mornings after Christmas in 1904
it took about 81 hours to hold the
Mayors court-between 20 and 80
cases-mostly for drunkenness. The
Christmas last past, on the eve be-
fore, under prohibition, scarcely an
arrest was made for drunkenness, and
the morning after Christmas the may
or had very light court. The chief
of police of this city has recently got
ten up statement which shows that
the first three months of 1905, under
the dispensary law, III arrests were
made, 40 of which were for drunken
ness, and for the first three months of
1909, under prohibition, 81 arrests
were made, of which were for drunk
enness. These figures themselves tell
wonders, and for any one to he here
and see for himself the Improvement
in the peaceableness and good order
of the town, I am free to say that l
do not see how there can be any COM
parison of conditions at present with
those under the dispensary law. True,
my observation is confined alone to
the city, but one hears little or no
complaint from the country, and there
is no reason in the world why condi-
tions should be any worse in the coun-
try under the prohibition law than it
was with a dispensary in our midst.
Only about ten days ago secret de-
tectives were brought to Newberry
and kept here for several days and
made every effort to catch all the
blind tigers they could, and as result
only two negroes were caught. That
doesn't look like the illicit sale Of
liquor is carried on to any great ex-
tent in Newberry!
Only few days ago an excursion
from Columbia brought four carloads
of negroes to Newberry, ard a more
quiet and orderly day mas never been
seen in the city; not one was seen
intoxicated and not an arrest was
made. One of the officers Of the city
in mplimenting one of then. on the
good behaviour OF the crowd, was
told: "Doss, you got dry town; if
you had liquor here you sure would
have 'rested some Of u.s.
We haye in Newberry a splendid
set of officers--po!ice, constables,