Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1912-04-17
An Expression From Good
Citizen of the Eastern Side
of the County.

WOulo uS onJ Shoio w ~ n
the dispensary in Edgefeld countyb
but our hopes have been blasted.
The friends of the dispensary are
already busy with their petitions.
What are we who opposed it going
to do? Are we going to sit with
folded hands and do nothing? No:
1 know the people of old Edgeheld
county too well to believe that OF
them. I know that there are a great
many of our people who love our
country too we'll to sit down with
folded hands and let this curse, for
| it is curse and no one can success
fully dispute it) be voted upon us
again. 1t is very evident that there
is going to be a very determined
effort made to re-establish a dis
pensary in Edgefeld county and 1t
is also certain that we who oppose
it must do so with all the strength
and courage we can command.
This has been a very cold and
wet winter and the roads have been
just awful, but we are going to
have plenty of men to champion the
cause of good roads now. l have
heard it already, they say: Give US
the dispensary and let the profits
90 to the building up of our public
roads. 1 too am in favor of good
roads. If it takes money to make
good roads, and it does, then let US
pull the money out of our pockets
and have them.
Why do you, who favor the dis
pensary, wish to pay five or six dol
lars for whiskey that probably will
injure your health and possibly dam
your soul in order that yeu may
contribute to the building up of our
country's roads. Or is the drinking
of whiskey such an evil that when
you have bought and drunk you
try to clear your conscience by
saying that you are contributing to
good cause. All! my friend, BE
not deceived, for wine is a mocker,
strong drink is raging, and whose
ever is deceived thereby is not WISE"
And again the friends of the dis
pensary argue "let us have it and
the profits thereof go to the schools" }"
Oh my friends! have you become so
selfish that when you give dollar
to educate your child, your own
flesh and blood, that the dollar must
first go down your throat in the
form of alcoholic liquor? Away
with the idea that we need the
profits from the sale of whiskey to
help out our schools. Are not our
school houses better equipped now
than they were when we had dis
pensary in Edgefeld county. Do
we not pay our teachers more than
we did then? And is not the attend-'
ance better? Ny friends it takes
something besides money to. run a
school. It takes children too. And
when you vote to have a dispensary
in our county you provide the mon
ey to run a school, but at the same
time you vote many a poor child
out of school privileges, for no
provision has been made to furnish
the drunkard's child with books and
clothes.
Now you will be met with this
kind of an argument. Men have al
ways drank, drink now, and will
continue to drink whiskey. This is
all very true, but aat the same time
any one, though he may be fool,
knows that the more there is and
the handler it is the more there will
be dunk. Ifyou owned horse that
was made sick on corn every time
he ate any would you not feed him
on something else, or would you
just open the barn door to him and
let him eat all he wanted? Now you
have neighbors who will get drunk
whenever they get whiskey. What
are you going to do about it? Are
you going to vote to put whiskey
out of their reach as far as you can,
or are you going to vote to put it
right under under their nose so they
may get drunk at any time.
must stop, but l am indeed, in
earnest about this matter. 1t con-
Germs me and my children and you
and your children very much. What
are you going to DO about it? If
you will do this, THAT is if it comes
to an election, if you who are men,
bers of some church, and therefore
professed followers of Christ, will
get down on your knees and in sim
ccrity and in truth ask Him to di-