The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1913-09-03
TWO MORE ARE WET
LEXINGTON AND SUMTER COUNT
ED FOR BOOZE.
The Prohibitionists Will Fight to the
Bitter End and Courts Will Have
to Decide.

| News and Courier says after nearing
one of the most interesting sensa-
| tional election contests in the history
Of the county, if not in the State, for
| more than two days and half, the
Lexington County board Of canvass
ers Thursday overruled the protest
offered by the prohibitionists over the
outcome of the election held on Au-
gust 19, on the question Of re-estab-
fishing the dispensary in Lexington
County, in which the dispensary won
by majority OF Sc.
The contest will now be carried be-
fore the State board Of canvassers,
which is scheduled to meet in Co.
lumbia on Monday, September 8, and
in the event that an adverse decision
is rendered before that body, it is
probable that the case will be carried
into the Circuit Court. This means
that Lexington will remain in the
"dry'' column for several months to
come, as it will take long time to
90 through the several processes in
cident to q final decision.
The report Of the Lexington board
Of canvassers is a very lengthy docu-
ment and Is interesting. In conclud-
ing its decision the board says:
with reference to certain testimony
that has been offered, to the effect
that certain members Of this board
had taken drink of whiskey during
the days that this contest was being
held, this board desires to say that
no member Of it is drunkard, and
that no member of it was under the
influence Of whiskey or oEher intoxi-
cants to the extent that it did or
could have pissibly affected their
judgment and conclusions in this
case, and any opinion or conclusions
to the contrary is groundless and
without foundation in fact"
Sumter "Drys" Very Bitter.
The prohibitionists Of Sumter loud
in their condemnation and protesta-
tions against the manner in which
they were treated by the board Of
canvassers, claiming that the board
was unfair to them at every step. On
the other side some Of the dispensa-
ryites say there was no discrimina-
tion made by the board, while others,
1t is said, admit that the prohibition
lists got the raw side Of the deal, and
still others will not express their
opinions. Feeling runs high against
the commissioners Of election among
the prohibition advocates.
The appeal Of the prohibitiorists is
made on the grounds that the dispen-
sary petition was not signed by one
third of the qualified voters Of the
county, and one Of them stated that
he was willing to sign an affidavit to
this effect and that the clerk Of the
county board of commissioners had
made a statement to this effect to
him.
It Is alleged by the prohibitionists
that the ballots used in the election
are not OF legal size, being two and
one-half inches by three inches, when
the law requires them to be two and
a half inches by Eve inches. The Su-
preme Court has held that the ballots
must fulfill the requirements Of the
law in this respect.
The anti-dispensary people claim
that they were not given justice and
that it is necessary for them to take
up the matter on appeal to secure
justice. They have their evidence
we'll in hand and will put up strong
showing, they claim, before the high
er Court. At the same time the dis
pensary attorneys are getting their
evidence together and will also put
up stiff fight before the State board
Of canvassers, or Supreme Court, If
the case goes before that body.
In the meantime other more sober
minded citizens, some on both sides,
regret the whole election, as the SEN
timent Of the people has not yet been
ascertained and they are not willing
to act on the matter as it stands now.
They regret exceedingly the hard
feeling caused by the election.