The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1912-10-04

began to be talked about by this same
bunch of newspapers. 1t was motor
iously known all over the State that
when Hub Evans, who was a candi-
date for a position as a member OF the
board, was asked if he would steal, he
! boldly proclaimed, so the rumor went,
he would steal the doors off the State
house if he got chance, or something
like that. Yet the legislature elected
him to the board Of control with this
declaration proclaimed openly and
brazenly from the house tops. While
the legislature did elect some clean
and honest men, things with the dis
pensary went from bad to worse until
the stencil became so great that the
people rose in their wrath and destroy
ed it as a State institution.
But the idea had taken such deep
root that seven of the counties of the
State still cling to it as a county in
stitution, and others are agitating for
it's restoration in preference to blind
tigers. The aggregate sales in these
seven counties per annum has reach
Gu IliS ClOl 0uL4A vi pA,oVO,OOV III
round numbers. The prohibition wave
which swept over the State has So
far subsided that blind tigers are to
be found everywhere, even in these
dispensary counties. They have az
ways existed in Charleston, though l
had won the fight against them after
the Darlington riot, and only the de-
claration by the supreme court that
the law was unconstitutional kept
them alive.
] will recapitulate for your benefit
and quote from my last message to
the general assembly:
1.-TWO weeks after ne Darlington
riot the supreme court, to the surprise
and disgust Of large majority of the
people, declared the act Of 1892 un-
constitutional The effort to enforce
the law of 1898 had brought on riot
riot had resulted in bloodshed and in
surrecticn; but the law had triumphed
and order been promptly restored, so
that we had every reason to feel, and,
in fact, there was every evidence to
show, that the fight was won, and men
were ready to yield obedience and
cease to obstruct the law-not willing
ly, but from necessity and fear. l had
by proclamation taken control of the
municipal police throughout the State,
undersection 519, G. S., and ordered
constables to confine themselves to
seizures of liquor in transit, and to
watching the authorities of the towns
and cities. Conferences were held
with the mayors of those municipall-
ties where the Illicit sale of liquor had
been most flagrant, and everything
pointed to a satisfactory solution OF
the vexed question, and quiet and
efficient cooperation between the con-
stables and the police for the enforce
ment of the low. But, alas: OH my
work of nine months was undone in an
instant The Whiskey dealers, who
had closed their doors, or were pre-
pairing to quit or leave the State, open
ed up their bars in grand style. Bon
fires were kindled in Charleston, and
a triumphal procession, headed by a
wagon containing a whiskey barrel,
garlanded with flowers paraded the
principal streets Of the city. The opin-
ion by the court was illogical and
strained, and so muddy that no one
knew or could say just what was the
status established by it. In a supple
mental case brought before them, the
two Judges who had united in the de-
cision declared that the Act of 1892
was all a dead letter, except the pro-
vision prohibiting the issuing of Ii
censes; that we had in effect prohlbl-
ton, rock-ribbed and steelhooped.
While the decision was on the Act
of 1892, I knew the same general prln-
ciples underlay both Acts, and that II
one was unconstitutional the other
must be also 1 therefore ordered all
the dispensaries to be closed, stock to
be taken, and all accounts to be ad-'
justed as soon as possible.
CAS- two dispensaries were broken in
to and robbed the night after, I or
dered the dispensers to sleep in them
and guard the States property, and
offered them one-half pay for this
work and for the responsibility under
their bonds till the matter was final
ly disposed Of 1 fully anticipated
case being brought under the Act of
1893 and as decision of like nature to
the first, and as 1 had put forth all
my energies to make men obey the
law, / felt compelled to obey it myself
although I felt, as did most of the peo-
pple, that the decision was an outrage
and the result of partisan bias. 1t would
take too much tine and space to give
my reasons for this opinion, but l
will mention that the Judge of the
United States Court and five of our
eight circuit judges had sustained the
constitutionality of the law, and the
Supreme Court itself in the Chester
case had declared it was police regur
lation and not revenue measure.
"But while obeyed what I thought
was the law under the decision OF the
court, I resolved to thwart the court II
1 could, and every effort was put forth
to prevent the Act Of 1898 from coming
be1ore the court as it was then con-