Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-08-03
ADDED TO FOLD
OF PROHI STATES
Drouth in South Carolina Will
Be Temporary Unless Counties
Vote for It at Local Option
Election.

COLUMBIA, s.. c., Aug. 2.-On
Tuesday of this week South Carolina
will be added to the fold Of state
wide prohibition territory which now
embraces well-nign all of he south
eastern states. However, the drouth
in this state is to be temporary
unless the voters in the 81 wet coun-
ties that are to hold local option cleo
lions on Tuesday, August II, declare
for perpetual dryness.
Due TO the strategy Of the prohibit
tionists in the South Carolina legis-
lature the drys have all to gain and
nothing to lose in the approaching
contests. Literally, this etaoshr dloi
and half" 81 counties being already
in the prohibition camp and exactly
the same number being oflcially en-
gagged in the sale of intoxicants I'M
der what is known as the county dis
pensary system. The law enacted at
the last session Of the legislature took
no account Of the territory already
dry, providing only for elections In
the wet counties to determine whether
they should remain wet or join their
sisters of the white ribbon camp.
Further. that the folk in the dispen-
sary counties might have taste OF
prohibition before depositing their bal
lots, the prohibitionists had 1t pro-
NlueO LAdI iii ulSPGuSdIACS snail SAOSO
two weeks before the elections and
remain closed until the result Of the
elections is known.
HOWL FROM VETS.
A howl went UP from the vets
when Attorney General Lyon deliver
ed an opinion to the effect that the
result Of the elections would not be
known" until officially declared by the
state board Of canvassers. which
NknN CHI mi
be closed for at least a month.
AS Governor Ansel has concurred
in this opinion. 1t islands. and any at
tempt to open any dispensary before the
vote is officially declared would unques-
tionably mean the dismissal from Office
OF the offending dispensary commission
ers.
COUNTIES VOTE AS UNIT.
In the elections each county votes as a
unit and IT is admitted that a number OF
them will set the seal of disapproval upon
the sale of intoxicants within their bor-
ders. Richland, in which Columbia IL
situated. and Charleston are among
the counties which will participate in
the elections 1t is conceded that
Charleston will remain wet.
The county dispensary is the out
growth of the late state dispensary
system Of which Governor Tillman,
now United tSates senator, is the ac-
credited daddy" and which was wreck
ed on the rocks Of political strife and
internal corruption.
After Is perilous years, at one time Gull
minating in a riot with resultant blood
shed and calling forth from the then
Governor. Tillman a proclamation OF
martial law and the mobiizing In OAR
lington, Columbia and other points Of
such of the state troops as did not lay
down their arms and colors when sum-
moned to enforce with bayonet and shell
a law which was repugnant to them; later
seeing rebellious Charleston patrolled by
state police in a fruitless effort by TILL
mans successor as governor to enforce
the unpopular state liquor system in the
metropolis of the state and followed in
succeeding years by the Staying of per-
haps a dozen citizens by armed state con-
stables and the killing of a number of
these same officials, the state dispensary
system was two years ago killed by
small majority in the legislature, after
one OF the stormiest sessions in its
history.
OFFICIALS UNDER BOND
A half dozen of the officials of the
state dispensary, charged with accepting
thousands of dollars in rebates from whis-
ky houses, are now at liberty on bonds
ranging from $4,000 to $4,000.
Since the Inauguration Of the county
dispensary system there have been no
charges of corruption against the men
who administer the law in the various
counties.
Differing from saloons, the dispensaries
are operated under control of a county
board; the bartender is known as dis
penser and is elected by the board and
is bonded; there are no screens in the
dispensaries; intoxicants are sold only
in original packages, ranging from half
pints to three-gallon demijohns, and there
is no drinking on the premises; the dis
pensary is opened at sunrise and closed
at shutdown; the purchaser is required
TO sign a request blank" for each pur-
chase, in which he must give hie age
and address; minors and drunkards are
not allowed to make purchases, and what
ever is sold in the dispensaries is re-
quired to be chemically pure.
The sales OF the dispensaries in the II
wet counties OF the state approximate
$1,000. 900 annually, with net profits to the
counties OF approximately 100000. The
loss of this revenue is the principal ar
gument urged by the anti-prohibitionists
in the hope OF defeating the effort now
being made to vote out the dispensaries.