Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1912-03-27
OPPOSES DIsPENsARY.
DR.. M. D. Jeffries Presents
i Strong Reasons Why Dis
pensary Should Not Be
Re-established.
Editor of The Edgefeld Advert

Editor of The Edgefeld Advert
- ser:
l have sent the following to the
Chronicle and shall be glad to
have it appear also in your paper:
, Dear Chronicle: / have read with
interest what you wrote last week
about the re-establishment of&fheA
dispensary in Edgefeld. The coua
" tried it, found it curse aid
abolished it; the good stats az y
South Carolina originated il, ayts5
it fair trial, but its graft aud Vie
made the state such "a stenaa Ii hsr
own nostrils, and those Of Sther
sister states, that she wiped the dis
pensary out. VIII o9r go9d cia-
zens consent to its re7establish-
ment?
l Lave heard two reasons given
for the. .diBpensary: Itfs better than
the blind tiger, and that if it is
sold the town mad as we'll get the
revenae.
Is Il Better Than the Blind Tigera Z
Does 1egsIizing vice make it bet
ter. does IT, n5t make it worsea
Regulation does not regulate any
better than Prohibition prohibits.
Blind tigers Aare still running in
Birmingham Ala. since they voted
back The saloons, SO it is reported,
and drunkenness is far worse.
Credible Witnesses tell me that
there were blind tigers in Edge
fsld when you had the dispensary, :
that they bought the whiskey from
the dlspepaary and sold it nights
and Sundays; that your jail was
full then; it is practically empty
now Does anybody claim that the
dispenaary in Columbia has done
away With the blind tigers?
Figures tell the story that we are
selling in Edgefeld only a fraction
of the whiskey that was sold by the
dispensary. We will all agree that
the least sold, the better, whether
~ FbliGd tiger or dispensary. With
Our drunkards,-poor fellews-to
help, our boys and sober men to
protect from temptation, our wo-
men to save from the curse of
drinking husbands, and a lower
race about US, made fiends by
drink,-it is the part of wisdom
for every g1od citizen to keep the
whiskey sold among US down to the
least quantity possible.
Surely, nobody wants to build up
the whiskey trade in Edgefeld. i
have been digging up some figures.
From the most reliable sourcesI
find that there is shipped into Edge
field through the regular channels,
about 1900 gallons year. Grant
that as much more is brought in by
hand; that makes $500 gallona
enough to be sure. But an ex-off-
cial of the dispensary tells me, that,
ona fair estimate the dispensary
sold rs gallons per day for 3l3
working days, making 2S,45o gal
Ions for the year. Do we want our
whiskey business multiplied by
more than seven times with all its
accompanying danger, shame, sor-
row and ruin? Would 1t not be
better for our town government to
offer a reward of $4,000 or $4,000
for every conviction for illegal sell
ing, and pay the reward out of
heavy fines? Then perhaps as men
now sell simply for the dollars
there is in it, some others would
detect and prosecute for the dollars
there would be in it.
AS to Revenue Tor the Town From the
Dispensary.
If that's the game, why not q
lottery, as Louisiana did, until the
world and the United States Gov
ernment put her to shame? Or
why not let the town establish a big
assignation house? 1t would pay, !
and we could build roads, improve
our streets and improve our schools,
on the virtue of our women and
shame of our men. A town promo.
ting vice for revenue! Fellow
citizens, that is what you would
haveto do if you should get reve-
nue. from a dispensary. The 5000
gallons, now sold by blind tigers.
more than. enough, we all know