The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1910-05-12
Views on Liquor Question.
Editor County Record

Editor County Record
Will you permit me in your
valuable paper to give my views as
to whiskey law in our State, the
Palmetto State, one of the greatest
States of the Union? Now, Mr. Ed
itor, some of our people believe the
great whiskey problem is settled, but
not so. In the present condition
cannot be settled, either as to n
tional laws nor State laws. Our
American people are too wise and
this age Of enlightened peoplenis too
far advanced to suffer our govern
ment to license the whisky manu-
facturers to compound, mix and
blend a so-caI!ed whisky to poison
the brain and body of every human
being who dares to drink it. either
as a beverage or as me licine. As a
case in point, a few days ago the
writer had very sick child and our
physician prescribed whisky, and it
must be of the very best quality. A
note was despatched to our nearest
dispenser by friend to send US
pint of the best whisky he had in the
dispensary. He sent me Black La
bel' at one dollar a pint, and on
this label was marked Compounded
or Blended" Just think of this!
Our loved one sick unto death and
with the price at hand we can't buy
even one drop of pure distilled spir-
| its. The old State dispensary, of
which the county dispensary is an
offspring-that institution of fraud
AMI graft was the pet of our great
statesman, B r Tillman./ Now, let's
see the picture in its true light.
Our MIR Tillman is now member of
the United States Senate, whit h
gives license to adulterate and mix
and poison a so-called whisky; in
fact, our entire national lawmakers
are responsible for this state of af-
fairs.
On June 80, 1906, those law-mak-
ers passed what is known as the
Pure Food and Drug Act" still
those lawmakers allow the mixing
and blending of the most important
and most widely used commodity of
our country.
Now, in reference to our State
lawmakers. They passed a State law
that all whisky sold by the State
must be chemically pure. Can a sin
gle law-maker say that this is true?
Is it n01c pure?
The writer advocates local option,
and where whisky is to be sold in
our State let our lawmakers pass an
act creating whisky commissioners
in each county to inspect every drop
of whisky sold or handled by his
county dispensary and make it a
criminal offense for any one to ship
impure whisky into the State of
South Carolina. If this be an expen-
sive plan then create State bureau
of examination and State revenue
collector and collect from every
shipper of whisky iuto the State of
South Carolina 25 cents a gallon on
all whisky so shipped into this State,
and where the whisky is found to be
impure or blended have the shipper
prosecuted and fined and the fine
paid over to the State as revenue
from whisky. When our State pro-
hibits the sale of poisonous whisky
then the evil of drink will be
stopped. Our lawmakers have the
power to have what people drink
made pure, as they have power to
prohibit the sale of impure food.
Let all whisky that is shipped into
this State come through the hands of
those State commissioners before it
is delivered to the consumer or the
county dispensary. The shippers
must pay for the State inspection