The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1915-05-21
Grace VIII Cooperate
With Other Agencies
fayor of Charleston Wiling to Work With Sheriff in
kSuppressng Tigers Uuder Certain Conditions Which
He Lays Doov1 IN Letter to Governor.

in the darkest hours of constabulary
travail, through which our poor old
city mas been forced to pass, there
never was a time when all of t:ese
riolators were so impressed. That you
ness, l myself have demonstrated, but
can drive some of them out of busi-
l have shown you that the kind that
are willing to go are, as rule, such
fugitive characters as have no foot
hold in the business.
"But the same appetites in tie peo-
pie, the same demand, if not indeed
an increased demand, for drink re-
mains, and instantly new crop of
tigers springs up, or the old crop of
seasoned, hardened, venturesome,
might say desperate, ones remains,
having stood through every assault.
The more the community becomes de.
.moralized. by even an army of con-
stables, only the more will you drive
the liquor business down to. a lower
and more menacing level. But Gnat
you will ever accomplish, by violence,
prohibition in the city of Charleston,
especially by imported violence, is i'm
possible.
you say to me that you have put
this matter in the hands of the sheriff,
charging him with the enforcement
of te law within the city limits as
we'll as in the county beyond the city
limits. Of course, that is as you Should
do if you think judging by>results out
side the city that he can accomplish
any better results in the city of
Charleston than l nave accomplis!c ed
Section $40 of the criminal code reads
as follows:
Neglect of Duty.
"'It shall be the duty of the sheriffs
and their deputies, magistrates, con-
stables, rural police, city and town Of
fcials to enforce the provisions of this
chapter Therefore you have simply
asked the sheriff to do what he is joint
ly responsible with me for doing. OF
course, 1 can only assist him wit in
the limits of the city Of Charleston.
Within the city limits ROW, without his
assistance, considering the congestion
of our population and the character of
our urban life, l venture to say and
would be glad to leave it to a vite of
this community, that conditions are
now far and away better than the aw-
full conditions which have never ceased
to exist just beyond tue city boundary.
The same section of t1e law continues:
'If they fail to do so (mea6ing the
above officers enforcing the law, 1t
is hereby made the duty Of the gov
ernor to enforce the same, and he is
hereby authorized to appoint such dep
uties, constables and detectives as may
be necessary
cat the last session Of the legisla
ture bill was introduced by Senator
Sinkler and passed through the senate,
carrying out the principles of your
platform, by leaving to these local
authorities, without constabulary as
sistance, tie power to enforce the law.
Such law had already been passed
and is today in force as to Richland
and other counties. 1t was passed be-
fore you became governor by the
Blease administration, and the effect
of it was to prevent spies, detectives
and constables being sent into a COM
munity by the governor. You having
been elected on a local option plat
form. insisting upon your belief as far
as possible in home rule, killed Sen
ator Sinkler's bill in the house, and
left it in your hands to force upon us
constables, but under the law you can
not send them here unless the local
authorities fail in their duty. You
have already set a precedent in Ker-
shaw county for local authorities VINO
failed to do their duty and hence it
follows logically and inevitably that
the instant you send constables to
Charleston, you are obliged to follow
your own precedent in Kershaw coun-
ty; because constables, to repeat, can
only be sent here when you nave come
to the solemn conclusion that that
sheriff has failed to do his duty.
Willing TO Help.
''Now in your concluding paragraph
you say it would make this under
standing far more effective if you, as
mayor, and tie sheriff could cooperate
in this work This language, I submit,
is capable only of the inference that
the suggestion emanates from you
and etirely ignores the fact that
such was my own, my very own, prop
osition to you, which was, that when