The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-01-13

authority or power which would MAX
his orders effective.
bedlievc that the governor should
De held responsible for the enforce
ment of law. If he is held responsible,
Tor 1t, he should be given the powe,
70 require local peace officers to dis
Charge their duties, or, upon failur,
70 do SO, to suspend such officers.
Iwiil, at a later time, make a spe
ciais'report to the General Assembl,
of events that transpired in Novembe,
IN Anderson county, where, as a result
OF the sheriff's failure to execute tn,
order of. the courts and to maintain
peace and good order, it became
necessary to call out the Nationa
Guard to: protect the civil authorities
IN executing the orders of the courts
which was clearly the duty of the
Sheriff to perform. l therefore, com.
mend this subject to your considera.
ton. -..
IT, under the constitution, these
sdefiCiencies can be supplied, I urge
snch action. If, after careful investi.
gation1and study, this cannot be done
then j. would urge that you submit tc
the people Of the State an amendment
to the C Constitution that will permit
a remedy for this condition. This
wiz require time. For immediate re.
lief, .Lssurge that authority be given
the governor to appoint cOnstables, in
his discretion, with. Statewide juris-
diction. to enforce the prohibition law
and also, in case of failure of the
peace officers in sany county, to enforce
all laws. The governor may then use
econstables for this purpose. 1 believe
that. the, people Of South Carolina de.
clnand enforcement Of law. This pub
lic sentiment should be; respected and
encouraged. The means to make en-.
forcement of. law effective should be
provided. I again pledge my best ef-
forts to uphold and enforce the laws,
National Guard.
2 The South Carolina National Guard
has demonstrated it's value during the
fpa1t Scar. both to the Nation and to
the State. Its, members have made
serious sacrifices in responding to the
call of~the Nation and the State, in
tho protection of. life and property.
heisaerifices Of both officers and men
in the emergencies of the past year
have Froved their loyalty, efficiency
and patriottsm. state frankly that
twith0ut the. South Carolina National
{ Quafdssthe governor would have been
,powerless to enforce the laws and to
rprotect life and property. +
! Esrecommend; that the. National
Guard be literally supported, re-
seard ita q verysimportant part Of the
~ ,ndSr existing ditions.
II Will communicate with you further
on this subject later.
Prohibition.
At the last session of, the legisla-
ture asked you to make adequate
provision for the pay for special con-
stables wherever and whenever need
H
ed to enforce the prohibition laws OF
the State. I repeat that the number
OF deputies now. provided for by law
VIII not be sufficient to enable sher-
IFS magistrates and other local au-
thorities to prevent the illicit sale of
liquor. Besides the inadequacy Of the
number Of officers allowed under the
existing law, these officers are not suf-
ficiently responsible to the governor
FOR their acts. To remedy imme-
diately this defect, the governor should
be authorized to appoint constables
with Statewide authority to enforce
the prohibition laws and all other
laws when necessary. The prohibi-
ton law should, in my Judgment, be
amended in many particulars. En-
,,pcrience has shown the weak and de-
fective points in the enforcement OF
the present law. It is my firm belief
that your honorable body will take a
sane and conservative view Of the
matter. The simple enactment of a
law, however ideal in it's provisions,
will not accomplish the results aimed
'at. The law itself should command
tho respect and compliance with it of
the public.
Our purpose is to minimize the
evils Of liquor. We need a law that
} can be effectively and rigidly en-
forced. From a careful survey and
observation Of the entire State, rec
ommend that the present law, known
~