The remaining barrier to ending the reign of the minibottle in South Carolina is a power struggle between the liquor monoliths - the four companies that distribute liquor statewide and the 58 Class B liquor stores that sell liquor to drinking establishments and the public. Voters declared an end the minibottle era in a constitutional amendment adopted Nov. 2. But this struggle, which rages behind the scenes in Columbia, has the potential to frustrate their wishes.

In its bill to allow the free-pouring of cocktails from big bottles of liquor, the S.C. Senate allows only the 58 Class B stores to sell and deliver liquor to bars, restaurants and hotels. The S.C. House free-pour bill, passed Thursday, allows the Class B liquor stores and the liquor distributors to sell and deliver liquor to bars.

From the perspective of the Grand Strand tourism economy, the House bill is better. Allowing drinking establishments to procure their liquor from the widest range of sellers possible would result in better customer service and lower drink prices.

Moreover, the chief sponsor of the House bill, Rep. Bill Cotty, R-Columbia, makes good sense in arguing that the brave new world of free-poured drinks should be grounded in competition at the wholesale level. The market can decide which distributors, and Class B stores adapt most successfully to the minibottle's decline and fall as the preferred delivery system for drinks in bars, hotels and restaurants.

Lobbyists for the Class B stores argue that this is a competition they'll lose over time. How can it be otherwise, they say, if the law requires that Class B stores compete for bar, restaurant and hotel business with the same companies that sell liquor to them?

The answer is that no single distributor carries all the liquor brands that retail customers request at bars, hotels and restaurants. Some drinking establishment owners, we're sure, would prefer one-stop shopping from Class B stores that stock all their preferred brands to buying liquor from more than one distributor. The Class B stores whose owners perform this service well should have no problem surviving - especially because they'll still be selling liquor for home consumption.

In the end, however, it isn't the state's duty to guarantee that all 58 Class B stores remain in business, just because they thrived under state protection during the minibottle era. It's not government's job to pick winners and losers in the private marketplace. In venturing into this protectionist bramble patch, the Senate erred.

None of this is to suggest, however, that legislators should pass no bill this year if the House doesn't get its way in the upcoming conference committee to reconcile its bill with the Senate's bill. What matters more than perfect legislation is getting an acceptable bill on the books this year.

Free-pouring, legislators must remember, is about much more than the size of the vessels from which bars, restaurants and hotels dispense drinks. It's also about pouring less potent drinks than the ones that emerge from 1.75 ounce minibottles, to reduce alcohol-related deaths and injuries on S.C. highways.

Who would benefit most if legislative inaction kept the minibottle around a while longer? You guessed it: liquor distributors and Class B store owners, both of whom fought hard to retain the minibottle. That, especially, is why House and Senate conferees' foremost concern in the days ahead should be implementing the wish voters expressed last November, regardless of which liquor monolith is inconvenienced.