The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-04-14
REJ0IhDER OF REV. A. H. BEST.

my reply, I must ask space for further
word. For the information of the public,
wish to say that it is the editor Of the Press
and Banner and his co-workers, and not
the people of Mccormick, who are respOn
sible for this agitation on the dispensary iI
Abbeville County springing up. at McCor
mick just at this time. There has been
Chapter of temperance workers here al
Mccormick for some time. At the Febru
ary meeting we were speaking OF some
plans looking to the organization Of the
prohibitionists for the fight against the sale
of whiskey in Abbeville County, in order
that we might get the people ready for the
election in August, q report Of this meet.
ing reaching the editor of the Press anG
Banner; Il wish he would tell the people
how he got his information) and he, as
seems to have been his custom, felt called
upon to strike a blow at what he seems tc
regard the budding Of the fight for voting
out the dispensary in Abbeville County
and the bringing in OF prohibition. In or
der to accomplish his purpose, he adopts
the method Of ridicule and fun making OF
honest, respectable Christian people, work
to be one of the greatest evils Of our day
Then when I find it necessary to use plain
language to answer this uncalled for at
tack upon US, the editor begins to write
about nanifesting a gentlemanly spirit
when writing for his paper in order to get
gentlemanly treatment from him. l am
perfectly willing for the public after care
fully reading the EDITORS first article "Mc.
Cormick's Mutual Admiration Society, u
March 18th, and my reply to that, and his
to me March 31st, to say who failed to
manifest gentlemanly spirit. You speak
of lowering the dignity and high calling OF
the pulpit by methods that you do not
approve. 1 suppose some Of the people
Master said, "You scribes, Pharisees, hypo-
critics." that he was lowering the dignity OF
his calling. Those who are opposed to pro-
hibition legislation or the enactment of any
laws looking to the betterment Of the NOR
ais of the people, are constantly volunteer
ing advice as to what the ministry should
or should not do l wish to say that we
did not receive our call from them, neither
do we look to them for our commission.
Bishop Morrison, when presiding over the
session Of our conference at Gaffney, in
speaking to the report Of the committee
on temperance said that If you call work
ing for prohibition going into politics then
l want all the preachers to go into politics
AS to the success of prohibition in this
State and Georgia: gave the names of
parties. vouching for the improved condi-
tions under prohibition and the success of
the law. And now call.upon those saying
that prohibition is a failure to give the
facts and the names Of the parties vouch-
ing for the facts. If I had the space ]
could give the facts from the very best au-
thority as to the success of prohibition in
Knoxville, Tenn, where over one hundred
barrooms were closed.
Now as to the failure Of prohibition in
Abbeville: In one sentence you say that q
prohibition law is enforced better when it
is first passed. And then you say that in
less than year after the law was passed,
prohibiting the salerof whiskey in Able
Vile, a Presbyterian elder was going
around with a petition to get the law re-
pealed. Now vety pertinent question Is,
what support did the press OF Abbeville
give to the ,enfOrceme meIt Of the law? Again
YOU must remember that it must have been
over twenty years ago since Abbeville tried
the experiment with prohibition. [ sup
pose there is no question upon which pub
lie sentiment has changed more in South
Carolina in that length OF time than the
question of the possibility Of prohibiting
the sale Of whiskey. About twenty years
ago heard Methodist minister Of the S
G. Conference say, Does prohibition pro
mo" Where is the preacher in the Meth
odist Church in South Carolina who would
dare to repeat that in one of our pulpits to
day?
Again: You speak Of the time when the
Courts held up the dispensary and Of the
fearful conditions which threatened Abbe-
Vile at that time. You must know that the
political conditions were such then as tc
make that no fair test Of prohibition
Then, with the great majority Of our peo
plea Tillmanite-waS a dispensaryite,
while an Tillmanite was against the
dispensary. I understand that Abbeville
County has always been very strong in the
Tillman column, and therefore, they would
resist any interference with the dispensary
system by the Courts. But time has taught
our people some things, and one OF the
things our best and most thoughtful peo
pie are learning is, however much we may
differ on some questions, we must agree
when it comes to the suppression Of the
monster evil, the whiskey traffic. II the
people of Abbeville County are behind the
rest Of the State in this respect then must
believe it is because the press Of Abbeville
has been all on one side, and have failed tc
give the people the light as to conditions
in other places. For believe the people
of Abbeville are as ready to do the right
thing when they see it as any people oi
our State. You, Mr.. Editor, speak Of me
as a "traducer" Of the good people OF Alb
beville, You hold up the failure of the peo
pie OF more than twenty years ago to en-
force prohibition as proof OF what the
people Of today would do. You say that
the Town Council of sixteen OF seventeen
wears ago granted indulgences to a few
white men in order to suppress dozen OF
more negro blind tigers in the shape ot
restaurants, and that the people winked al
it. And the inference is that you would
have the world believe that the people Ot
Abbeville of today, if prohibition was tt
win and the dispensary was closed up
would sit down and let few negro blinc
tigers. backed as they often are by un
scrupulous white men, violate with iIlpun
ity the law prohibiting the sale OF whiskey
l have better opinion of the people o
Abbeville of today. Therefore, 1 contenc
that it is you, Mr.. Editor, not l who must
pie of Abbeville. You say, IF Abbeville il
the only place on the Seaboard Air Line
Railway from New Orleans to Richmond
where whiskey is legally sold, then it is
not true that Abbeville is the only city be-
tween the points mentioned, where liquor
is not Illegally Sold" No, can not Say
that iiuuor is not illegally sold in Able,
Vile. But can say that am reliably In,
formed that the dispensary at Abbevifle is
furnishing the whiskey Of the blind tigers
who are operating in the adjoining coun'
ties in this State and across the line in
Georgia. 1t is a noted fact that the dis
pensary is the mother of blind tigers
And Just as the dispensary of North Au-
gusta is contributing largely to making
prohibition ineffective in Augusta, SO it is
that the Abbeville dispensary is selling a
trouble to the surrounding territory.
AS to what you say OF the board of mis-
sions of the A. r. P. Church, will say that
I suppose that church is perfectly compe-
tent to take care of itself. My knowledge
of the men that constitute such board
comnels me TO say that Won will have to