Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-12-06

stating that it was for the use Of the
Shriners for their Thanksgiving dinner
or celebration, and that MT, Gresham
did not receive any pay for the same
and had no interest whatever In it;
that it belonged to the Shriners them
selves. told DR.. Hart that he could
get it by giving bond for 1t, or by
bringing a claim and delivery suit. He
told me that they did not know what
to do and had come to me for advice
and hoped that would help them out.
After talking a little more about the
matter, I told them to go and see the
attorney general, and If the attorney
general would give them an order for
the beer that had no objection to Mr..
Kibler turning it over, They left my
office. In a short while the following
letter, from Assistant Attorney Gener-
al DeBruhl, was handed to me;
columbia, S. c., Nov, 81, 1919
The Hon. Cole l. Blease, Columbia, S.
C.-Dear Sir: am informed that
Omar Temple Of Shriners have order
ed and had shipped to Columbia to
one Of their members, a quantity Of
beer for the use of the Shrine at their
meeting and banquet here tomorrow
and that this beer has been seized by
one Of the dispensary constables.
1.-The beer is bought by the Temple,
will be paid for with funds Of the
Temple and is to be used by them
! when assembled here tomorrow, just
as supplies OF food are to be used at
their banquet. 1t is not to be sold or
distributed among members, but SIM
ply to be drank at the meeting by the
members of the Temple present, No
charge Is made against the members
for the beer or any other article serv-
ed at the banquet-the beer is simply
to be a part Of the bill of fare.
I'm my opinion, it is not violation
of the dispensary law to purchase beer
and use it in this way.
Yours truly,
(Signed) I'M P. DeBruhl,
Assistant Attorney General
"I Immediately told Mr.. Kibler to
turn the beer over. have in my pos
session some Of the tags which were
on the kegs of beer, and they are
marked, f. B. Gresham, Columbia, s..
c., personal use.'
Now, any man who knows any
thing about the law of this state
knows that Mr. Gresham did not need
any twenty-seven or twenty=eight bar
rels of beer for his personal use, and
| for that reason the seizure was made,
THE dirty, scurrilous attempt which
is being made by some Of my enemies
to have it appear that Kibler seized
the beer because it was the Shriners'
Is a wilful. malicious and cowardly at
tempt to iniure me and is unworthy of
a man who has taken what l am in
formed is the oath that Masons and
| Shriners take. However, knowing that
there are liars in all societies, 1 give
this account in order that the public
may judge for itself.
"The Elks of Columbia, that same
day, received sixteen cases of whisky,
marked to the Elks Columbia, S. G..
1T has been said that Blease did not
take the Elks' liquor, No, he did not;
and, he did not, because il the Shrin-
ers were entitled to ship this beer In
the name Of E. B. Gresham for person.
al USE and they were allowed, under
the opinion of the assistant attorney
general, to have that beer for a ban
uuet for their fellow Shriners, then the
1 same law applies to the Elks, and they
had a perfect right to order beer or
whisky to give a smoker or banquet
to their brother Elks, who were also
Shriners visiting the city or to any
others invited.
In my opinion. the assistant attor-
ney general Is mistaken In the law
However the attorney general is the
chief law officer of the state and when
I submit a proposition to him, (Which
I have done but seldom since 1 have