The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, February 17, 1897, Image 9
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The Press and Banner.
p.vmimT wTtjSon .
ABKEflLLK, W. C^TH?rANTITRUST
BILL
PASSES THE SENATE AND AWAITS
THE GOVERNOR'S SIGNATURE.
Several Other Important Measures Pass
Their Second Reading and are In a Fair
Way to Becouie Laws?Some Bills that
Fell by the W?y SIrte.
Columbia, S. C.. Feb. 13.?The
Senate on Saturday discussed two bills
at length on their second reading.
The first, the house bill requiring the
sinking fund commission to lend
funds to the several county treasurers
of the State for the use of their counties
in preference to lending the same
to other applicants for such funds;
the second, a bill extending the powl
ers of the railroad commission to the
/ telegraph and express companies. The
I former passed wituout very aeciaea
/ opposition, while the latter came in
/' for its full share of discussion pro and
con.
Mr. Buist objected to the sinking
fund being loaned to counties. He
was opposed, said he, to lending
money on any other security than
State bonds.
Mr. Henderson said the security given
would be just as good as State
bonds. He could not see the justice
of lending this money to the banks at
' * - ?i ? j A
4-j per ceni. to reienu iu mo vuimuco
at 8 per cent. It -was not money paid
by the people and why not let it to the
counties at the 4+ per' cent., thus savin#
3i per cent, to the taxpayers.
Mr. Buist raised other objections to
the security and Mr. Moses asked him
' if he vknew of any bank in *the State
that would not lend money with the
county taxes pledged as security.
Mr. Buist knew of no such bank.
Mr. Buist moved to strike out the
enacting words. This was voted down
and the bill passed it second reading.
A bill to regulate express and telegraph
companies, and to extend the
powers of the railroad commissioneis
so as to give them power and authori-j
ty to regulate charges by express com-1
nunifts fnr transportation: to regulate |
charges of telegraph companies for
the transportation of messages by telegraph,
or charges by persons engaged
in the several businesses named herein;
to apply the powers given to said
commissioners by law over railroad
companies to all companies or persons
^owning, controlling or operating a
line or lines of express or telegraph;
and make the penalty prescribed
against railroads lor violating commissioners'
rules aDDlv to the compa
nies and persons herein named whose
( line or lines is or are wholly or in
I part in this State was killed, after several
senators spoke on it. Messrs.
RagsdaJe, Love and May field were
for the measure. They argued that
the Constitution required the passage
of such an act as this; that numerous
cases of unfair treatment by these
companies had occurred and for the
protection of the people the bill should
Messrs. Buist, Dean, Walker, Henderson
and Hay led the opposition
forces. They attacked the bill on the
grounds that there was no general
complaint against these companies;
that in the case of express the companies
were kept from charging exorbitant
rates by their powerful competitor,
the United States mails; that if
losses did occur they were always
paid by the companies; and finally,
Messrs. Buist and Dean opposed the
measure upon the broad ground that
legislation was becoming too paternal.
The vote resulted in the bill being
" killed by 18 to 10.
A house bill to prevent the employment
of other than convict labor on
any State farm was debated on very
much the same lines as in the house.
Messrs. Moses, Hay and Connor spoke
of the demoralizing effect on free labor
of having the State to compete with
the farmers. The State paid more
for labor than the farmers could afford
and of course secured it.
Messrs. Archer, Norris and Gaines
objected to the bill. There were cer *?-?
V.rni/I fV*att '
UUU UUUCS uuriug uarvcoi, aaiu wcj,
that it was almost a necessity to have
the cotton picked. Unless free labor
was employed this could not be done
and a heavy loss would be inflicted by
having the cotton exposed to the ravages
of a storm. Mr. Norris also
wanted to amerd by striking out, the
proviso against hiring out convicts
except when there was no work on
the State farms to be done. By a vote
of 20 to 9 the amendment was rejected
and the bill passed.
On Mondoy the House anti-trust
bill with the committee amendments
came up after the disposition of several
special orders. The only amendment
of importance of these was the
change of title. Mr. Henderson
moved to amend by adding a proviso
that "nothing in this Act shall affect
the Dispensary law." The bill was
then passed. The bill declares unlawful
and void all arrangements, agreements,
trusts or combinations made
with a view to lessen, or which tends
to iessen, free competition in the importation
or sale of articles imported
into the State, or in the manufacture
or sale of articles of domestic growth
or of domestic raw materials; to declare
unlawful and void all arrangements,
contracts, agreements, trusts
or combinations between persons or
corporations designed, or which tend
to advance, reduce or control the
price of such product or article to producer
or consumer of any such product
or article; to provide for forfeitureof
the charter and franchise of any
corporation, organized under the laws
of this State, violating any of the provisions
of this Act; to prohibit every
corporation violating any of the provisions
of this Act from doing business
in this State; to require the Attorney
General of this State to institute
legal preceedings against any
such corporations violating the provisions
of this Act and t d enforce the
penalties prescribed; to prescribe penalties
for any violation of this Act; to
authorize any person or corporation
damaged by any such trust agreement
to sue for the recovery of such damage
and for other purposes.
There was some discussion over the
claim for Solicitor's extra charges in
the Broxton Bridge case. Mr. Scarborough
thought the charge should be
against Colleton County. Mr. Henderson
explained that they were
charges incurred at the instance of the
Governor and the State was the proper
one to pay them. There was a
sharp debate by various members and
the aye and nay vote was called for
on Mr. Scarborough's motion to in- t
definitely postpone the resolution. The t
debate proceeded with spirit until Mr. i
Kagsdaie announced mat u was wbji i
that it was the nrinciple of the bill t
that was being debated, for the Senate <
had already consumed enough time in (
discussion to discharge the obligation. (
He called for the vote. It was 1 to i
19 against the motion. i
A message was received from the s
Governor recommending that the ap- f
prapriation asked for by the State f
Fair Association be granted. The 1
f?f Mr. L. D. ChildS S
showed that the society had paid back e
the loan of Jast year and that the bal- c
ance of cash in the treasury was not i
sufficient to enable the society to car- ?
ry out its plans this year. The mes- t
sage was referred to the Finance t
Committee. ^
There was some debate on the reso- c
lution to appoint a committee to ex- e
amine into the Sinking Fund Commission.
It was argued by some that c
the affair had been argued enough, t
others thought that the mere fact of its t
having come to the public through ?
the newspapers was argument for the c
investigation by the General Assem- r
bly. The Senate passed the resolution
ommriiiiff H tn thaItp the committee c
(tUJbUMiUf^ ?v MI -v
consist of five instead of three mem- c
bers. ' t
On Tuesday on motion of Mr. Archer
a house bill to require all county {
officers of the counties of the State to s
keep open their offices during each j
week day was indefinitely postponed
Twenty-nine counties had asked to be i
exempted from the provisions of the I
bill before it was killed. a
Mr. Buist called for the special or- a
der of a joint resolution authorizing p
fwaacni*ai? ir\ ifcQiiA to r
UiC UiaiQ uvaoMivL KV r
Samuel Lord, as receiver of the presi- t
dent and directors of the State bank, 1
or his duly appointed successor, consolidation
bonds or stock equal in 1
amouat to 50 per centum of s
the par value of certain 6 per cent, t
State bonds and interest thereon ?
(which bonds were taken and lost or a
destroyed by Federal soldiers during s
the late civil war, and to which the a
said receiver by decrees of the court, a
has been adjudged entitled), and to ?
permit the refunding of the same un- c
der the acts for the redemption of the
State debt. p
Mr Archer moved to indefinitely a
postpone the joint resolution. He v
spoke nearly an hour along the line of a
argument that there was no proof that e
these bonds had been stolen. s
Mr. Gaines spoke against the reso- t
lution. "Strenuons efforts," said he,
"are made to impress this general I
assembly with the idea that the courts c
have investigated the whole matter; i
" ' " " 1 < IU?;. _
mac me vanauy ana justness ux men u
claim has been'established beyond all p
question; that our duty is simply to
take action to remedy a little legal de- f
feet. Now to my mind nothing that b
has transpired in connection with this t
matter imposes even any equitable or p
moral obligation upon this body. The t
courts have simply authorized these ?
parties to come here and ask the gen- j
eral assembly to go outside of the law b
and "make good their loss." Mr. y
Gaines spoke along this line, and in ij
conclusion said that this loss was noth- s
ing more than one of the casualties of t
the war. It would be as just for those t
who had lost their slaves and other s
property in the war to come and ask ^
pay for such losses as for these claim- s
ants to ask for reimbursement for lost c
bonds. r
Mr. Buist, in the course of his a
speech for the resolution, said he
wished it distinctly understood that he 0
was not interested either directly or j
indirectly in the matter. As the senator
from Charleston he had intro- j
duced the resolution, and after a study g
nf th? nnpstinn hfi thoucht it should f
pass. y
Mr. Dean and Mr. Ragsdale spoke f
against the passage of the resolution, u
Mr. Henderson made a clear expo- r
sition of the matter in favor of the n
passage. f
The aye and nay vote was taken, re- i:
suiting in the indefinite postponement fa
of the resolution by a vote of 22 to 7. A
All the senators voted in favor of in- t
definite postponement save Meesrs. s
Buist, Henderson, Moses, Mower, Ragin,
Sloan and Talbird. t
In the Senate on Wednesday when f
Mr. Brown's bill to require all parents s
or guardians to compel their children J
or wards to attend school for eight fc
1 - 1 1 J tkA _
weeKS m eacn year was reauucu uu wo v
the calendar. Mr. Ragsdale moved o
to strike out the enacting words, say- a
ing that it was going too far for the c
State government attempt to su percede t
the government ?f the family. After t
some discussion Mr. Ragsdale's mo- t
tion was adopted by the following 1,
vote: c
Aye?Alexander, Archer, Connor, t
Dean, Dennis, Douglass, DuBose, t
Gaines, Griffith, Love, McDaniel, Mil- *
ler. Mower, O'Dell, Ragsdale, Turner, c
ttt: 11 is t.
VY tUlfllUC, ?Y AliiOliia lUi
Nay?Brown, Buist, Mauldin, May- c
field, McCalla, Moses, Norris, Petti- 3
grew, Ragin, Sanders, Scarborough, v
Sloan, Talbird?13. s
Mr. Moses' bill to provide that all ^
suits arising between citizens of this r
State and foreign corporations shall F
be tried in State courts and not trans- s
ferred to the United States courts, n
elicted [some discussion when it came t
up for a second reading. t
Mr. Mower moved to strike out the
enacting words. He did so, he said, s
not because he was opposed to the bill, c
but bscause he thought it would be in i
contravention of the United States a
Constitution and laws and hence nu- s
gatory. It would lead to costly liti- ^
gation, and besides would become a
a dead letter. . (
Mr. Moses in reply, said if there 1
was a doubt of the bill being uncon- (
stitutional, then the benefit of the c
doubt should be given to the State. ^
If this State was good enough for for- (
foreign corporations to do business in f
then our courts were good enough to a
have their causes tried in. He cited s
instances of the cost of trial in United 1
States courts, and as a means of pro- ?
tection against these great costs he r
hoped the bill would pass.
Mr. Mower's motion to strike out 1
the enacting words was defeated and s
the bill ordered to a third reading. t
Mr. Gaines' bill to amend the dis- t
pensary law as it relates to distilleries 1
passed a second reading. Under the 1
present law distilleries can be estab- i
tished anywhere in the State by a per- s
mit granted by the State board of con- 1
trol. Mr. Gaines' amendment pro- ?
vides that such permits shall not be ]
grantfc'l unless accompanied by a peti- 1
1 tion signed by two-tnirds of the free
holders of the locality in which it is 1
proposed to establish the distillery. 1
1 Mr. Mower's bill relating to town- J
ship assessors passed a second reading. ]
, It provides: "That from and after 1
the passage of this act the governor ]
shall appoint, upon the recommenda
ion of the senator and tha members of
be house of representatives from the
r.ounties. thwe discreet elec
,ors in each ircorporated city and
own in this State having a population
)f not less than 500 nor more than 10,)00
who shall be known as the board
)f assessors of such cities and towns,
whose term of office shall be coterminil
with that of the governor by whom
such assessors have been appointed
md until their successors have been
ippointed and qualified. The duties
leretofore devolved upon the townihip
board of commissioners as asseslors
shall be devolved upon the board
if assessors herein provided for with
n the limits of their respective cities
tnd towns. The chairman of such
joard of assessors shall be a member of
he county board of commissioners
vhile performing the duties heretofore
levolved upon the county board of
iqualization.
An invitation to the senate from the
:ity council of Charleston to attend
he reception to be given Secretary of
he Navy Herbert on the 18th inst.,
ind to visit the war vessels, was revived
just before tbe hour of adjournnent.
On motion of Mr. Moses the presilent
of the senate was instructed to ac:ept
the invitation and appoint a comnittee
on arrangements.
Mr. Connor wished to amend by
>roviding that the per diem tof the
enators and attaches should 'oaot be
>aid that day.
"I have no objection, but I consider
i 1? m ?u- Uamo
L mure uuuuumuc, daiu jjuli xxjl^ouo.
^.fter this hasty reply he arose
md said he did object to the
imendment. It looked little and
>icayunish and .?as if the peo>le
of the State had no confidence in
heir representatives and were always
laggling over small amounts.
'"And," putin Mr. May field as Mr.
loses took his seat, 4,I just want to
ay that there it no law against a senaor
turning over his per diem to the
5tate treasurer if he has any scruples
ibout accepting it." Mr. May field
?ent on to say that the legislature was
l hard-working, good tempered body
.nd he was sure the people of the
itate would not grudge them this day
iff.
Mr. Archer said whence went in a
tarty on such a trip he wished to go
ilong with a dignified bo^y of men,
?ho were unsurrounded by rabble
-nn hummers. He obiected to bum
aers and others because they could
ave Jk little money flocking along with
he legislature.
The president appointed Messrs.
Joses, Henderson and Pettigrew a
ommittee of arrangement after assurng
Mr. Archer that outsiders would
lot be permitted to encroach upon the
irivileges of the senate on this trip.
There was nothing before the senate
or discussion after the invitation had
>een accepted, so Mr. Archer seized
he golden moment to enter a comilaint
against the beggars who infest
he State hcuse grounds and the sideirnllra
us t.hfl sRnat.nrs leave after ad
ournment Qe saidjhe was tired of
eing attacked on all sides by beggars
nth their tales of woe. He was willog
to help them, but preferred to do
o as he saw fit. He suggested that if
he city was unable to care for them
hat a collection be taken up; by the
enate to ship them out ci the way:
Vhile he was in the midst of his
peech Mr. Ragsdale rose to a point of
>rder, his point being that there was
lothing for discussion before the sen,te.
Mr. Archer deftly turned the laueh
in Mr. Ragsdal%by replying: "Well,
rise to a point of personal privilege.''
Vhen Mr. Archer had finished stating
tis point of personal privilege, Mr.
Iloan, as the representative from
Columbia, replied to him, saying it
7as sadly true that Columbia was inested
with beggars just now, but he
mderstood they came from the surounding
country. Some of them were
aill operatives and he was reliably inormed
that many came from the mills
a Spartanburg. He and the city wpuld
e only too glad to have Senator
Lrcher care for his own poor and send
hem home. He would aid in the
enator's proposed contribution.
In the Senate on Thursday when
he house bill to require the sinking
und commission to lend funds to the
everal county treasurers of the State,
Ir. Mayfield offered an amendment
o strike out all after the enacting
rords of the bill and insert in lieu thereof
eight sections,practically making it
, new bill. It provides that the comaission
shall, whenever it is unable
o purchase State bonds at par, lend
he money in its hands at a rate of in
x X 1 xT rt i. CI. L
Brest noi less man o per com. oucu
oan shall be made upon the seurities
of the several counies,
or upon the note of any county
reasurer and subervisor who shall
oake application for a loan not in exesss
of one-third of the tax levy of
heir county; said note to be paid out
>f the taxes collected for the fiscal
'ear in which the money is loaned,
vith the provision that the commis
ion can renew the note for one year.
Applications for these loans shall be
eceived until March 1st, with the
irnvisinn that for this vear the time
hall extend to May 1st. The amendaent
provides a penalty for county
reasurers violating the provisions of
he act
The matter disposed of at the night
essionof the senate was Cherokee
ounty. It was up for a second readng.
Mr. Douglass of Union read an
.ffidavit from Col. James GL Q-ibbes
tating that the area bf Union county
vas about 600 square miles as in Mill's
,tlas. The area cut off to form part of
Cherokee county is 122 square miles
eaving but 478 square miles. The
Constitution requires that 500 square
niles shall remain in the old coiinties.
similar affidavit was read from
3ol. John L, Young of Union, his
igures differing slightly from thu
ibove. He estimated that after the
irea was cut off 496 miles wou'd renain
in Union county. On this
jround Mr. Douglass submitted the
natter to the senate for disposal.
Mr. Mower on behalf of the comnittee
submitted from Colonel Young
aying that the above estimate quoted
>y Mr. Douglass he had not taken ino
consideration the area of incorpo ated
towns and one-half of Pacoiet
iver. This area taken in left in Unon
a few square miles over the conititutional
500 square miles. Affidavits
from other surveyors were read,
showing that Union would have 12 or
L5 square miles over the constitutionil
requirements.
Mr. Hay of the committee dissented
"rom the majority report and said he
ivas not satisfied that Union would
aave 500 square miles left. Further,
le did not think the Constitution had
jeen complied with in selecting a
name for the new county.
Mr. Henderson of the committee
I
showed that the constitutional objeci
tion of Mr. Hay to the selection of the
name was unfounded. As to the area,
Mr. Henderson read affidavits from
two civil engineers who had calculated
the area of Union county from
Mill's atlas, the same as Colonel
Gibbes, and both said that the area to
be cut off from Union was 114 square
raileiii, leaving in the old county 507
square miles. In conclusion, Mr.
Henderson submitted that the people
had established their county by a fair,
honorable election, comulying with
the Constitution in every detail.
Mi*. Archer ooDosed the formation
of the county. He did not think the
requ ired area was left in Union. Messrs.
Ragcdale and Mower spoke in fdvor
of the bill. The aye and nay vote
was then taken on the motion of Mr.
Archer to strike out the enacting
words. The motion was defeated by
a voi;e of 25 to 5, Messrs. Archer,
Brown, Connor, Hay and Sanders being
the only ones vote against establishing
the county.
A Sensation Id Union.
Umon, S. C., Feb'. 10.?One of the
most astounding sensations that has
ever been sprung upon the people of
Union was awaiting the citizens Tuesday
morning. The particulars, as
near as I have been able to gather
them from parties concerned, are:
Monday nigbt Dr, W. M. Meador, one
of the most; highly respected citizens
of our town, closed up his drug store,
which is in the handsome new bank
building, by far the finest building on
Main Street and in which is also the
Merchants and Planters Bank and
several county offices. Dr. Meador
was seen to return a short while after
leaving the store and enter the door
without striking a light. He came
out after some time and left. The
door was then opened by the d rug
clerk and in company with the police
he went in and made a search, finding
a lighted candle in the cellar,
roit.Vi Hohrips saturated with
kerosene oil; also a trail of rosin leading
into the room where the oil barrels
were kepi. A barrel of rosin was
near by, also saturated with oil, and
an oil tank was a few feet away. A
few minutes more and the greatest
conflagration ever witnessed in Union
would have resulted. A policeman
was left on guard. Dr. Meador came
back to the store at 5:30 Tuesday
morning. Finding the policeman on
duty, he asked him what he was doTlin
nnlirtamon QQl/1 Vlfi Vl Qfi
4Ug IIUV&O* JLUO J^/VllVUmMU UM&MMV .NX?
been put there to watch, as some one
had tried to break in. Tne drugstore
is run by the Union Drug Comply,
composed of Dr. Manning J. Smith
and Dr. Meador. The drug store is
only about half insured. I understand,
about $3,000 being the amount
car ried. It is very hard to believe
such charges against a man of Dr.
Meador's high standine. Dr. Meador
in a card in the New Era to-day most
em phatically denies that he had aaythinor
tr? /'In with thft Irarnsane OI' can
die and denies that he came back to
the store that night, but says he came
back at 5:30 the next morning to get
some medicine for a headache and
found the policeman on guard and
questioned him as above and did not
know what was tbe trouble until he
saw Dr. Smith next morning. It is a
seriouf charge and the doctor's friends
would be glad if developments would
show clearly that he is innocent. The
matter has been the talk of the town
to day. No arrests have been made
and developments are anxiously
awaited by all.?Columbia Register.
* Famine tin India.
J ubbuIjPOOR, Feb. 9?On his way
to this >c].ty tne special representative
of the Aiisociated Press, who is examining
into the famine situation in India,
visited the poor houses of Bilaspur
and Katni. The inmates were found
to be in a deplorable condition. The
buildings; were overcrowded and medical
attendance was lacking. A man
outside one of thei" was dead and another
was dying. _ "\ of five years
of age weighed only ten poondfi and
several adults were under fifty-six
pounds in weight. The skin in all
cases waii drawn over the face, stowing
the outline of the skulls, and limbs
and joinls had the appearance of those
of articulated skeletons. There i3 an
immense migration to the Assanatea
gaj*dens, 1,600 persoris going ;;Jiere
weekly, deserting their wives and
families. Jubbulpoor is the worst of
any pari, of central India. It is estims.ted
that the present famine is the
greatest of the century and will gireatly
surpass that of 1876, both in
ansa an d severity. The famine belt
extends to Rawalpindi and Bellary,
and is 1,300 miles long and 400 miles
wide, ,'rhis is apart from the scattered
districts In $11 the rice districts there
is no chance of a food supply until
September. The government will
thus be forced to support nearly aJl the
population for six months and many
of them for eighteen months. Whole
villages are deserted. The govenm ant's
policy iit first was rather to ignoro the
famine. It is, however, now alive to
the situation and strenuous efforts are
made to avert horriblei disaster. Out
of the 7:50,000 inhabitants of j ubbulpoor
about 120,000 are now receiving
relief. By the month of May this
number will be doubled. The correspondent
has just beard that the Karai
poor house in the Wentern part o f the
district,has been burned. Twenty-five
persons perished. Cholera is reported
to have broken out in the Mandaicl District
relief workn.
Killed, for Teasing.
Blocton, Ala., Feb. 10.?Elijah
Price, a well known citizen of this
place, was instantly killed yesterday
afternoon by Isaac Creel, a half-witted
boy. It has been the custom of
the men and boj's of the town to tease
and play pranks with the Creel boy.
Yesterday aerowd was gathered about
him, among them Mr. Price. The
latter had a knife in his hand and
said he was going to cut Creel, who
was carrying an axe. He kept on
teasing the bov until the latter suddenly
raised the ax and with a terrific
blow buried it in Price's head. He
was instantly killed. The half-svit is
now in jail.
More I'aolAcos Slain.
KE^ WEST, Fla., Feb. 9?A letter
received from San Ohristobal provinca
in Pinar del Rio, from a prominent
Cuban there states that a detachment
of San Martin's Spanish guerillas raided
a small camp of pacificos near
there Friday, killing sixteen men.
Eight women who were in the camp,
were forced to go with the troops. A
family named Dominez, living near
there who werj warned to move to
San Christobal last week, and who
were not moving quick enough to
please San Martin's officers, were arrested
Thursday and brutally killed.
Two of the party were women.
THE ANTLFREE PASS BILL,
REPEALED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A Heavy Week's Mb oik?Many Bills Passed
and a Number Killed?How ths Members
Toted on tbe Free Pass Bill.
Columbia, 8. C., Feb. 13.?On Saturday
last the following bills were
passed and sent to ihe Senate:
Mr. Crum's bill to save small estates
from being consumed by the
costs of administration.
Mr. Wingo's bill to require the
commutation tax to be expended in
the townships, in which the taxpayer
resides.
Mr. Rainsford's bill relative to compensation
for township commissioners
while serving as members of the county
boards of commissioners.
Mr. Ilderton's bill to provide for the
removal of any county officer for incapacity,
misconduct or neglect of
duty, pursuant to article III, section
27 of the Constitution, was ordered to
a third reading without debate.
? T~* - 1- * 1.M1 4.^
w nen rnr. rvooinsoim uiu lu ropcai
the anti-free pass act was called up,
Mr. Robinson said he was ready for
trial- He said it was a reflection on
the members to have it intimated that
they could be bought by a free pass.
Mr. Patton said it would look a little
bad for the house to do this. It
was not exactly the thing. He would
have to call the roll.
Josh Ashley believed that every
member should have a free pass on
the railroads. His people had confidence
in him. He was not afraid of
the ayes and noes. He created great
merriment by his earnest speech.
Mr. Bacot suggested that the best
way to preserve the appearance of the
thing was to amend by striking out
all after the enacting words and insert
instead a provision that should be
' * -ii 1 *-ii ?
siaiea in me uuttnor ui ?u nuy uauo
that they must transport all members
to and from the capital free of charge.
Mr. Winkler insisted on the roll
call on the motion to strike out the
enacting words. The house refused
to strike out the enacting words by a
vote of 40 to 52.
The following members voted
against repealing the bill: Hon. F.
B. Gary, speaker; ksbill, Austell, Bacot,
Bethune, Caughman, Cushman,
Gage, Gasque, Goodwin, H. P.; Graham,
J. S-; Graham, Thomas, A.;
Hollis, Johnson, Kinard, Henry J.,
Lancaster, Layton, Lester, Meares,
" 1 ?- -! Un.
miles, iUlSUUO, muure, iu^i/auxuif iuuLaurin,
McWhite, Patlon, Prince,
Rainsford, Russell, Simkins, Smith,
Jr., Smith, W, S.; Sullivan, Timmerman,
Verner, Whisonant, Wilson,
Winkler, Yeldell?40.
The following members voted, in
favor of repealing the bill: All, Anderson,
Armstrong, Ashley, Bailey,
Bedon, Blythe, Breeland, Caraway,
Carson, Childs, Col cock, Crum, Davis,
C. M.; Davis, W. C.; DsLoaehe,
Edwards, Epps,Fairey, Fox. Gadsden,
Glenn, Harvey,tHaselden, Henderson,
Hiott, Humphrey, Ilderton, Kibler,
Kinard, J. D.; Limehouse, Livingston,
Mauldin, Mehrtens, Miller, Joel
H.; McCullough, Nettles, Owen,
Phillips, Plyer, Pollock. Pyatt,' Robinson,
Sinkler, Smith, E. D.; Stevenson,
Thomas, W. H.; Townsend,
Wolling, Westmoreland, Wingo,
Miller, J. E., Williams, Wyche?52.
This vote repealed the anti-free pass
act and 11 me senate concurs m wo
action of the House the members will
be free to accept free passes from the
railroads.
Mr. Kinard's bill to require all common
carriers to pay all damages for
loss, damage ana breakage of any articles
shipped over their lines, was
taken up. The committee amendments
were then adopted. Mr. Kinard,
though no one was opposing the
bill, spoke- explaining its purposes.
He tola of a case he had with the
Southern road. Then the bill went to
its third reading.
On Monday the bicycle transportation
bill was the first ,upon which any
discussion was had. '
After considerable discussion the
bill was passed. The bill provides
that bicycles shall be deemed baggage
for the purpose of transportation by
common carriers and shall be carried
under the same rules and subject to
the same liabilities as govern trunks
and other separate baggage oi passengers.
The Senate bill authorizing the Railroad
Commissioners to require all
railroads to erect at junctional points
union depots and to impose a penalty
for their failure to do so when required
caused little discussion, and was
passed.
Mr. Wolling's bill to require all
railroads to stop all passenger trains at
all stations where an agency is maintained
came up and was passed.
Mr. Sullivan's bill to require railroads
of a length of fifty mile or more
to run one passenger tram eacn way
each day was passed to a third reading
after a few minor amendments,
which do not affect the general provisions
of the bill.
Mr. Sullivan's bill to permit the
consignee to hold the last connecting
line responsible for loss or damage of
goods was defended by him. He did
not believe consignees should be put
to the expense of proving where the
damage occurred. If the last line is
not responsible, it will get damage
out of connecting lines which it had
to pay consignees. He believed it a
matter of justice to merchants, who,
as a class, are modest and don't take
much hand in politics or ask the General
Assembly for much. The bill
was passed.
The bill to amend the county government
Act was introduced primarily
to affect Kershaw county only; but
members from all counties wanted to
get in and the Judiciary Committee
reported bacK a bill. When it came
up for discussion half of the members
had other amendments to offer. As
introduced by the committee the bill
reads:
Section 1. That section 49 of an Act
entitled, "An Act to provide a system
of county government for the several
counties of the State", approved Jan
uary 4, 1894, being section (587 of the
Revised Statutes of 1893, be amended
by striking out the words "$720.00"
and insert in lieu thereof "$600.00"
so that said section when so amended
shall be as follows:
Section 49. That th? salary of the
Supervisor in the respective counties
shall be as follows: In the county of
Abbeville, $900; in the county of
Aiken, $800; in the county of Anderson,
$800; in the county of Edgefield,
$450; in the county of Berkeley, $000;
in the county of Charleston, $1,000;
in the county of Chester, $800; in the
county of Chesterfield, $400; in the
county of Clarendon, $t)00; in the
WJF
1
county of Darlingto?, $600; in the
county of Fairfield, $GlO;inthe county
of Flore. ' $600; inty<?'county of
? ^1- -
Georgetown. $/t>u; in iuu comity ui
Greenville, $600; in the county of
Hampton, $600; in the county of Horry,
$500; in the county <f Kershaw,
$600; in the county of Lancaster,
$400; in the county of Laurens, $600;
in the county of Lexington, $600; in
the county of Marion, $800; in the
county of Marlboro, $700; in the county
of Newberry, $750; in the county
of Oconee, $500; in the county of Orangeburg,
$800; in the county of
Pickens, $400; in the county of Richland,
$900; in the county of Spartanburg,
$1,000; in the county of Sumter,
$800; in the county of Union, $600;
in the county of Williamsburg, $600;
in the county of York, $500; in the
county ot saiuaa, ^ou; ana iae cuuutv
board of commissioners of the following
counties may elect clerks of
said board, and their salaries shall be
as follows.
Abbeville county, $150; Andersoa
county, $150; Aiken county, $200;
Barnwoll county, $350; Colleton county,
$150; Lancaster county, $100;
Laurens county, $160; Darlington
county, $50; Oconee county, $100;
Richland county, $250; Spartanburg
county, $200; Berkeley county, $200;
Marion county, $200; Newterry county,
$200; Sumter county, $200; Williamsburg
county, $50; Pickens county,
$50; Union county, $150;
York county, $150: Provided,
This Act shall not take effect until after
the expiration of the terms now
being served so far as relates toSunervisors.
Approved the 9th day of
March. A. I). 1896.
Mr. Bendon moved to make the
salary of the Supervisor $600 as to
Colleton county. This was adopted.
Mr. Ashley moved to amend as to
salary of clerk of the county board of
commissioners of Anderson by striking
out $150 and making it $100.
" T> 11 J
mr. jDBiauuo uiuvcu iv cAtcpt ivcr
shaw from the operations of the bill.
Mr. Harvey suggested that debate
be adjourned, but the House refused
to do so.
Mr. Mishoe moved to make Horry's
Supervisor $300 instead of $500.
Mr. Austell moved to make the salary
of clerk of the commissioners of
Spartanburg $300 instead of $200.
Mr. Colcock moved to make the salary
of the Supervisor of Beaufort
$800; Mr. Owens to make the clerk's
salary of Spartanburg $100; Mr.
Oaughman to make the Saluda clerks
saiary $100; Mr. Rains ford, the clerk
in Edgefield $100; Mr. W. S. Smith,
to make the salary of the clerk of
Hampton $75 instead of $50; Mf.
Skinner, clerk in Barnwell, $200 instead
of $300.
Mr. Glenn proposed an amendment
that the Act should not apply to present
supervisors. '
Mr. Winkler held that the passage
of the amendment would destroy the
whole effect of the bilL Mr. Cushman
expressed the hope that the amend
a 1J i ) *?,}
mem wuuiu uc auu ytcu.
Mr. Gasque held that it was not
right to cut down the salaries of officers
without notice..
Mr. Winkler said the bill was introduced
for Kershaw county alone. If
other counties don't want to come in
let them be excepted. He moved to
lay the amendment on the table,
which was agreed to.
Mr. Magill moved to recommit the
bill in order to prevent all confusionMr.
Kinard asked whether if the
bill passed now would it legally affect
the salaries of the present officers?
The Chair would not answer the
question, preferring to let the courts
decide that, but Mr. Magill's motion
was lost and the bill was passed to a
third reading.
The Senate bill to include street
railways in the provisions of the section
of the general statutes affecting
judgments for injury, was passed. It
provides that such judgment shall
have priority over any mortgage.
Mr. Johnson's bill to provide the
pupils attending the free public school
text books at actual cost, was passed
after much discussion.
On Tuesday the consideration of
Mr. Ilderton's bill to provide for a
3?A. j l- :_:i?? i.??
gracuair.u ucoiiao ur privilege ioa up*
on certain classes was taken up and
passed. The bill provides that all licenses
or privilege taxes imposed by
any municipal corporation in this
Stata upon any class or classes of persons
made subject to such tax by municipal
corporations shall be graduated
according to the amount of capital invested
or according to income or according
to the amount of business
done; the valuation of such capital
invested shall be taken from the auditor's
books.
The bill to tax the manufacture and
sale of cigarette in this State was then
taken up and passed. The bill provides
that no package of cigarettes
gold or offered for sale shall contain
more than five cigarettes, nor shall
any package of cigarette paper sold or
offered for sale contain more than 100
leaves of length and width now used,
and that every such package of cigarettes
or cigarette paper shall have
thereon a privileged tax stamp as
hereinafter provided for, which shall
be furnished to dealers in cigarettes
or cigarette paper by the county treasurers
of the counties of this State at a
cost of 25 cents each, and the proceeds
of the sales of such stamps snail be
held by the county treasurers subject
to the warrants of the boards of county
commissioners liae the funds for,,
ordinary county expenses.
On Wednesday when Mr. Caughman's
Jim Crow car bill, which had
been unfavorably reported, was called
up Mr. Meares moved to strike out
the enacting words. This brought on
a long discussion, after which a vote
was taken and the House refused to
strike out the enacting words by a
vote of 80 to 19 as follows:
Ayes?Anderson, Bedon, Childs,
Colcock, Davis, C. M.; Davis, W. C.;
Gadsden, Gage, Hiott, Hollis,Meares,
Mehrtens, Mitchell, McKeown, Pollock,
Pyatt, Reynolds, Thomas, J. P.,
Jr.; Vincent?19.
Nays?All, Armstrong, Asbill,Ashley,
Austell, Bacot, Bailey, Banks,
Bethune, Blythe, Breeland, Carraway,
Carson, Oaughman, Crum, Cushman,
Da^is, G. W.; DeLoach, Dukes, Edwards,
Efird, Epps, Fox, Garris, Gasque,
Glenn, Goodwin. H. P.; Graham,
J. S.; Graham, T. A.; Harvey,
Hazelden, Henderson, Humphrey, 11derton,
Johnson, Kennedy, Kibler,
Kinard, H. J.; Kinard, J. D.; Lan[
caster, Layton, Lester, Limebouse,
I Magill, Mauldin, Miles, Miller, J. E.;
Miller, J. H.; Mishoe, McDaniei, McLaurin,
McWhite, Owen, Paiton,
Perritt, Pnillips, Ply ler. Price,Prince,
Rainsford, Robinson, Rogers,Russell,
Simkins, Smith, J. R.; Smith, W. S.;
Speer, Sturkie, Sullivan, Thomas, W.
H.; Tim merman, Toole, Verner,Wolling,
Westmoreland, Wingo, Wink-*
r - 'M
j ler,
Williams, Wyche, Yeldell?80.
The bill provides that all railroads .
or railroad companies engaged in this
State as common carriers of panen
gers ior nire snail iurnisn separate j
apartments in first and second class
coaches, or separate first and second I
class coaches for the accommodation , J
of white and colored passengers; pro- J
vided equal accommodations shall be I
supplied to all persons, without dis- 1
tinction of race, color or previous J
condition, in such coaches. 1
An invitation was read from the J
Mayor of Charleston inviting the 1
Legislature to visit the city pf Charleston
on the 18 th instant. The inyi- .' $
tationsaid: "The South Carolina and
Georgia railroad have generously offered
a special train to bring you
down on the 18th instant, leaving
Columbia at 7 o'clock a. m,, reaching :
Charleston at 11:10 a. m., and return- i'j
ing same day, leaving Charleston at T
5:30 p. m., and reaching Columbia fet
the usual time. Immediately upon the
arrival of the train a steamer will be
waiting and you will be taken around
the harbor and see the war vessels of w
the United States fleet."
Mr. Bacot explained that the in vita- >;tionwasto
the General Assembly ai j
guests of the city,and that no expense ^
would attach.
Mr. Pollock moved a, concurrent J
resolution that th? invitation beac- vl
cepted and that when the House adjourned
on the 17th it stand adjourn*- i
ed until the 19th at 12 o'clock.
On motion of Mr. Sturkie the hour J
was changed to 10 o'clock.
Mr. Cushman moved an amend- 'i
ment that members should receive no . Vpav
on the day they took a recess. Be >;
neld that the State should not pay for
such holidays.
Messrs. Johnson and Sturkie agreed ft
with him.
Mr. Gasque moved to table the
amendment, and the ayes and now |
were demanded. The House voted *
down the motion very decidedly when ^
a viva voce vote was taken,but on the ^
call many members who had voted to i
table the amendment changed andpgj
Mr. Cushman's amendment was adopted
by a vote of 62 to 38.
U. -D^ll^.1, omnlnrni ' ?
iui? x uxiuua rnuvuu KUCIH
and attaches should not receive any
pay during the day.
Mr. Rogers held that it was wrong ]
for the House to force employes who vf
-had no voice in the matter to be oat -'
off from their pay. He moved to lay j j
the amendment on the table, whion |
was agreed to.
Mr. llderton pointed out the inoonp
sistency of the action of the Hous&
They drew pay for visiting Bock Hill. i|
Mr. E. D. Smith held that nnder . 'i
the circumstances of the trip members, |
should receive their pay. The Legis
lature could on toe trip inspect uxe '
Citadel and it might be well for mem--rubers
to associate with the people of Charleston
at which all gruus had been
fired in recent years.
Mr. Williams and Mr. John P. $
Thomas held that some membert
would not and could not go, and they
held that they should not be deprived
of their pay.
Mr. Cushman's amendment was
then killed by a viva voce vote, the"
House having reversed its action.
The Clemson invitation then came
up. Mr. Pollock said no expense ?
would attach to the trip. They would v:
go and return on the same day. It waa
a legal holiday?the 22d. The invita* '
tion was uuanimously accepted.
The Dorchester county bill waa i
taken up. The reading of the bill waa ?
nearly completed when Mr. Uderton !
moved to recommend the bill to the
judiciary committee. This brought
on a long discussion, which waa not
concluded at the hour of adjourn- K j
ment
In the House on Thursday Mr^>2
Price's resolution appointing a committee
to investigate the dispensary v
was passed. The resolution ia Af:
s weeoine one. givine authority to the
committee to report at the next session.
Mr. Limehouse's' bill to declare the *
law relating to the mileage of all persdis
for the payment of whose travelled
mileage provision is made by
law was called up with unfavorable
report. Mr. Graham moved to strike
out the enacting words.
Mr. Garris said that his county particularly
needed this bill. Many peonlft
there went through Charleston
and charged 110 miles when it should
not be over 15 miles.
The bill, after this explanation,
passed. The bill provides that the
payment of the mileage of jurors, wit?
nesses and other persons required to
attend court or to travel to perform
any legal duty, said mileage shall be
computed and paid for by the shortest
practical route to be traveled over any
regular established highway.
Mr. Miles' joint resolution authoriz
ing the comptroller general to pay all
claims for elections for .new counties
was taken up again and Mr. W. 0.
Davis moved to strike out the resolving
words. He did this on the principled
hat when people want anything
thev should pay for it. There was
considerable discussion over the mat
ter?the question as to whether the I
State should pay these expenses, hay
ing made no previous provision there
for, or whether the counties interested
should bear the expenses themselves. H
The sentiment of the House, judging I
from the debate, seemed to be against I
establishing the precedent of the State
paying sucn expenses. The resolving
words of the resolution were stricken B
Mr. Jno. P. Thomas' bill to amend I
the law so as to allow aliens to own I
5,000 acres of land in this State was
ordered to a third reading, there being ' I
no opposition to it. Hj
M ri. 15urn ham's Suicide. H
Starke, Fla., Feb. 9.?Mrs. Lucy I
Barn ham was found dead in her room I
at the Commercial hotel this morning, I
having committed suicide by taking
chloroform. Mrs. Burnham left sev*
eral letters for friends in Chicago and
elsewhere and a note to the public
stating that the burden of life had H
grown too heavy for her. She was H
formerly Mrs. Lucy Van Evar, art I
critic of the Chicago Inter-Ocean. I
Eight months ago she was married to I
Dr. Burnham, the specialist, and they
cams to Florida.
Walked Into a Creek. jfflj
St. Augustine, Fla., Feb. 11.?Yes- I
terday Agnes Demere, a deaf mute H
was left at the State blind and deaf in* H
stitute here by her father who resides H
at Punta Gorda, Fla. The child was H
not ccntented and during the after- H
noon escaped from the institution. H
Search was made without avail until H
this morniug when the body of the H
little girl was found lloating in a creek
near the institute. It is supposed H
that she was drowned in trying to H
wade across the creek.