Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1917-02-28
THE NEW LIQUOR LAW.
, an Get Only Qunrt-a-AIonth-A Lot
of ltrd Tape to Go Through With.
Grccnyille NcwS.)

The General Assembly has at last
hTousht forth Il liquor law. replacing
he nr-gallon law OF 1915. the al
iOwancc having been reduced to one
Qnart Of whiSkey or one gallon OF
vine, to be had only by males OF age
md by women only when they are
lads OF a family. AS prerequisite
- delivery, the buyer must secure Il
u"rmit from the Probate Judge to
"hOm the former makes formal atli-
pavit that the liquor is to be used for
mrdicinal' purposes only. Beer.
- pparrnt!y, cannot be ordered at all.
Experience will shortly demon
>iratc whether or not this is an ap-
.reciablc Improvement over the exist
nG law. Since the General Assem-
~, instead Of adopting bono dry"
.rohibition has committed itself to Il
tapcring of" policy, it does seem to
aS that a reasonable allowance OF
.ccr might have been included as an
alternative for whiskcy The rxclu-
>ion OF beer altogether strikes us as
.nwisc. since the man who prefers
hat mildcr beverage must drink
something stronger and more intoXi-
ating. II !" drinks at all. There are
thousands Of people in this State who
Ike an occasional glass Of beer. but
"ho drink very little, il any, wine or
ShiSkcN. 1t seems to us that the
.OSlcal requirement OF Il "tapCring
on policy would have been Il small
|uantttN OF whiSkey. with Il larger
quantity OF wine or a fair allowance
VI beer as an Alternative.
The affidavit that liquor is to be
r.Scd for "mcdicinal" purposes will
Husc wholesale perjury. 1t is likely
mat only small per cent OF the users
will honestly desire il for hCalth'S
.akc. It will mean that large pro-
i0rtion OF the conSigncrs arc going
. have to lie to get their liquor or BE
Suddenly afflicted by lranGr and mul-
tfariOuS diseases which will not re-
..uirc medical attention. Why didn't
he General Assembly require that
Thc applicant also state the nature Of
he ailmcnt? There is going TO be
;~!arminG variance between the sta
t!Stics OF the health authorities and
The Probate Judges books. The Pro-
cate Judge is not given discretion II
'he matter-ir Il big. hearty ald
:usky fellow wants 4 certificate, he
let's ii automatically and the Probate
|ndgc cannot take his blood pressure.
pnt Thermometer in his mouth. feel
bis pulse, take the "hist0ry'' OF the
PATIENTS case or examine the COndi-
t!On OF his tongue. which ii is Dc-
Icved. would generally be found in
very dry and parched state. RE
4nircmcnt OF a physicians certificate
would have been better. even though
such Il method would have been
RELY abused by some OF the medical
profession. Our impression is that
reliable physicians very rarely now
a1ayS Indicate whiskey or wine for
any Of the ills that flesh is heir to.
Ii the prescription files could be en-
amineh, We venture the assertion that
very few calls FOR even small Jig
gers OF whiskry would be found. In
dication OF whiSkry by physicians is
lhc exception and not the rule. The
News takes the view that the rcstric-
Ion for medicinal use is farcical
The new law viii in all probability
stand without material amendment
until new Legislature is elected and
nntil after the primaries OF 1918 are
cleared away. Political fear. we be-
licvc. prevented the General Assem-
Hly from adopting "bOnc dry" prohi-
hltion. The people in 1915 at Il gen
"ral election passed upon the uues-
ton but there seems to be wide
@oubt as 10 just what they meant and
INST whether the verdict there handed
down was expressive OF the will OF all
ne people. There is no small diyiS-
!on OF opinion now as to whether or
not the majority OF the people desire
prohibition or some modification OF
he existing law. This situation has
created what will probably be the
paramount issue in the State election
of 1918 aud then shall we have
clear expression Of the peoples will.
4 Is tremendous pity that this uucS-
ZION cannot be decided once for all
and removed from the sphere OF poll
:!rS.
The auInine That Does Not Affect Tie Haau