Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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C cr aW aiW 1ts. ESTABLISHED 1865 NEWBERRY. S. C., FRIDAY. FEBRUARY 19. 1904. TWICE A WEEK. $1.50 A YEAR TE WORK OF THE GNERIL ISSEBLY IMPORTANT MATTERS IN SEN- C ATE AND HOUSE. State House Litigation-Cotton Seed 9 Meal-Telephone Bill-Seed Cot- t ton Traffic-Other Measures. The house today passed the Brice a bill allowing counties to vote out dis-' pensaries. The bill was amended so that counties voting out dispensaries shall pay an annual V2 mill tax for the t enforcement of the law, said fund to 1 be used at the discretion of the gov ernor and any exce' 3 go back to the county. The bill was further amend y~t" ed so that such counties shali not re- r ceive any of the dispensary school r fund except that gauranteed by con stition to make up deficits. J.K. A. ti Bryan In Columbia. t' Special to The Herald and News. Columbia, S. C., February i8.--Ac cording to the present arrangement the Hon. William Jennings Bryan will deliver an address in the hall of the house tomorrow morning at 11:30 h o'clock. He vill be met in Augusta . early tomorrow morning with a pri vate car by a committee consisting of Governor Heyward, Senators Good- b win and Sheppard and representatives I Cooper, Ma1uldin and Aull. The party 0 will reach Columbia at io:5o and Mr. Bryan will leave for Spartanburg in v the afternoon. J. K. A. t STAFF CORRESPONDENCE. t Col.imbia, February iS.-In accord ance with a concurrent resolution adopted by both houses, the general 9 assembly will adjourn sine die on Sat urday. This consumes the forty days. u Both houses will be ready for ad journment. There are very few bills on the senate calendar. The house calendar is very heavy yet, but it probably be in this condition should the house jog along for another forty days. Each house has been in session several hours every morning and sev eral hours every night this week. The house has disposed of all the regular appropriation and supply bills, and they are now before the sen ate. The senate had up the general ap propriation bill on Tuesday night and P amended it in a number of particulars. The general tendency of the senate c was to increase the appropriations. It is a matter of note that during the whole session both houses have been a liberally disposed. The senate ame.-1 ed by increasing the appropriatio~frI the South Carolina college byant $r,ooo; providing an additional $2 Soo for the erection and equipment of a~ building by the state colored col lege; providing an additional $x,ooo for additional scholarships in the South Carolina college; raising a few salaries and making other slight in creases. The salary of the governor's I stenographer was increased from $500 to $6oo. This is a just increase. There wvas the usual fight on State college appropriations, on Tuesday night. The senate will further con sider the bill before sending it back to the house with the amendments. The Immigration Bureau. The house has passed the senater bill creating the department of ag riculture. commerce and immigration. But slight amendments were made in the bill and these have been concur red in by the senate. so that the bill is now ready for ratification. It may be that the new department, with the new offices it has established, will ac complish a great deal of good. Cer tainly: the State needs a desirable class of immigrants. But' in the present financial condition of the State, many of those who have deeply studied the xisting conditions very much doubt he wisdom of its establishment. It ; going to take money to run it, and E the ideas of many of its advocates re carried out, it is going to take lots f money. Many members would not e in the least surprised to see a big xtra appropriation asked of the next eneral assembly for the purposes of he new departmenr. Tax On Corporations. The senate on yesterday slightly mended and passed the bill propo.ed y the Tax Commission, and wh&.. as already passed the house, to re uire the payment of annual license ees by corporations. and requiring hem to make reports. The bill as - passed the house provided that re orts should be made to the secre ary of state. The senate amended by equiring that the reports be made to he comptroller general. The bill will .ow go back to the house for concur ence in the amendments, none of hich affects the main provisions of he bill. This is one of the several measures roposed by the Tax Commission ap ointed by the last general assembly o look into the financial condition of he State and to devise means where y the deficit in the treasury could be iade up. The commission proposed everal measures but this and one ther were the only two to get hrough the house. The other bill refered to passed the ouse yesterday, but has not yet ome to the senate. It is a "bill to nprove a tax on gifts, inheritance, de ices, bequests and legacies in certain ases." The main provision of the ill is that a tax of one per cent. shall e levied on all estates or inheritances f the value of $o,oooo and over. The bill to impose a license on cor orations, already referred to, de eloped some lively opposition in the rs who characterized it as an effort rs who charactized it as an effort D raise money by imposing on the orporations because members of the eneral assembly were afraid to im ose anymore tax on their constit ents. In a strong speech Sen'ator Valker, of Georgetown, called it rank discrimination.,' It was also rged that it would work hardship on he small merchantile establishments, ho are in active competition with idividual merchants, uponwhom the ill imposes no tax. The bill, how ver, passed the senate by agood ma ority, and only awaits concurrence y the house in the minor amend wents. No Income Tax. The house on yesterday killed the ill proposed by the Tax Commission roviding a graduated tax on incomes. he bill provided for a tax on in omes of Si,ooo and over. For Tax Dcdgers. The ho.se has passed the TaR Com ission's bill to provide additional aeasures and remedies for the col ction of past due and unpaid taxes pon certain property which has es aped taxation. Slot Machines Outlawed.. The senate on yesterday passed the iill, already passed by the house, out awing slot machines The bill as mended by the senate provides that shall be unlawful for any one to :eep or permit to be kept a slot ma hine on his premises. Automatic eighing, measuring and vending ma hines. which give a uniform and fair eturn for each coin, and in which here is no element of chance, are xep.ted from the provisions of the .State House Litigation. *Snator .Mann:ing stated in the sen. e yestereb'y that Attorney General hnter had requested him to state on he toor oi the senate that Mr. Gun. er was very moth gratified at the ac ion of the general assembly, in the doption of a concurrent resolution hich was proposed by Senator Al. rich, providing that special counsel e employed to conduct the litiga ion against the architect and con ractors who completed the addition o the State House. Attorney General un had told him, said Senator Manning, that had such action not been taken he would have requested it. It will be recalled that Mr. Gunter was assistant attorney general under 'Mr. Bellinger, who was a member of the commission for the completion of the State House. Cotton Seed Meal. A very important measure, which had already passed the senate pa'ssed the house yesterday. The measure amends the law in reference to the inspection and sale of commercial fer tilizers. so as to include cotton seed meal within the provisions thereof. ... . . The Telephone Bill. . . . ... The house has passed the bill to give the railroad commissioners juris diction'over all telephone lines in this State. The telcphone companies were not very much averse to the passage of this measure, but claimed that the first bill proposed. which provided for the fixing of rates, woul'd practically drive them out of busihess in South Carolina. Interesting Miscellaneous Measures. The house has passed the following measures, which are of interest and importance. To regulate the giving of security for loans under $25 and the charges therefor. This measure is aimed at the small money lenders, who charge negroes especially high usury. To authorize and empower mayors and other officers to grant warrants to break and enter gambling rooms in cities of 5,ooo population and over. To prohibit the granting of par don upon the condition that the per son pardoned shall leave the State. Making a small appropriation for laying off and beautifying the State House grounds. 1 To exempt soldiers and sailors of the Civil War from county or other municipal licenses, as hawkers, ped dlers or butchers. To Increase Salary. The senate has passed the bill pro viding for the increase of the shlary of the adjutant and inspector general from $1,500 to $1,900. Ten Circuits Bill The senate has finally passed and sent to the house a bill to divide the State into ten judicial circuits. The bill n';y be considered by the house oday. It is proposed to conctittte the circuits as follows: 1. '!he counties of Berkley, George town. Dorch-ster and Orapgeburg shall constitnte-the ist circuit 2. Tne counties of Aiken, 'amber. 3. The counties of Cilarend- a, Flor Uarnwell, Edgefield and Hamptin shall constitute the 2nd circuit. #.nce. Lee, Sumter and Will,ansburg shall constitute the 3d circuit. 3. The counties of Clarenden, Flor lington, Horry, Marion and Marlboro shall constitute the 4th circuit. 5. The counties of Kershaw. Lex ington, Richland and Saluda shall con sttute the 5th circu.it. 6. The counties of Ches'a, Fair. field. Lancaster and York shall con stitute the 6th circuit. 7 . Th'e counties of Cherokee, Spar tanburg and Union shall constitute the 7th circuit. 8. The counties of Abbeville, Green wood, Laurens and Newberry shall constitute fthe 8th circuit. 9. The counties of Charleston, Col leton and Beaufort shall constitute the 9th circuit. Io. The counties of Anderson, Greenville, Pickens and Oconee shall constitute the ioth circuit. Seed Cotton Traffic. The senate has passed and sent to the house a bill to prohibit traffic in seed cotton between August 15 and December I5 There arc now local laws on this subject, but this bill was made to apply to all the counties. The house has killed a measure looking in the same direction, but it thought that possibly the changes made by the sen ate will cause the bill to be favorably received in the house. Anti Treating Bill. The bill to prevent treating on elec tion days has passed both houses and has been ratified. As finally passed, the bil makes it unlawful to treat a .voter" within one mile of a voting precinct on primary or other election days. Appropriations Again Discussed. The senate has finally disposed of the appropriation bill and has sent it back to the house with amendments. After reducing the salary of the gov ernors porter from $400 to $300 the senate reconsidered its action and placed the salary back at $4oo. An amendment providing for an appro priation of $1,200 for an assistant clerk to the railroad commissioners provok ed a lively debate, in which the com missioners were attacked by several senators. who said that the commis sioners now had more clerk hire than they needed and who wa-nted the coin missioners to "play clerk for a while." The appropriation was refused. The amount .:)i $t.ooo was added for a State Suimmer School. This amend ment was vigorously opposed by a number of senators, but finally pre vailed. Several other amendments were made-all of them increases. It is a fact worthy of note that not a single amendment made by the sen ate provided for a cut in any of the appropriations. Newberry's Levy. The senate last night took up the general supply bill and amended it in several particulars. Newberry's levy was reduced from three mills to 2% mills and a 4-mill levy was provided for indexing the records in the clerk of courts office: provided, should the amount received from this levy ex ceed $1,ooo. Such excess shall go into the general fund. Messrs. I. H. Hunt, F. L. Bynum, and H. C. Holloway were named to superintend this work. $25o was provided for the pay of the clerk of the county commissioners. Vagrancy Bill. The senate last night passed and sent to the house the Dean vagrancy bill. The bill provides that a man convicted of vagrancy may secure bond for his peaceful conduct and in dustry for the period of one year and that during such period of industry and peaceful conduct the sentence of the court should be suspended. The object of the bill is to allow vagrants to go back to work, if they will, in stead of being sent to the chain gang. It was argued that the bill would in duce a system of peonage in that a man could give bond for a vagrant and make of him a slave for a year. This objection was got around by an amendment providing that bondsmen shall not enter contract with vagrants except a magistrate see to it that the contract is in writing and just. Local Option Bill. The house last night devoted the whole of its session to a discussion of th'e Brice local option measure, which has already passed the senate. The bill provides that counties may vote away dispensary, but such counties shall be taxed to pay for the enforce ment of the law. Jno. K. Aull. READY FOR SEA.. Washington Dispatch Causes Excite ment in Army Circles in San Francisco. San Francisco, Feb. 16.-Consider able excitement prevailed in army cir cles in this city today due to the re ceipt of a dispatch from Warhinton by Major Devol in regard to immed iately placing the transports in this harbor in condition to sail. All ves sels are ready for sea. They are the Crook. Mude. Warren Buford and Lo gan. The Sherman s also here but she has already been scheduled to sail to Manila March Iwith the twelfth infantry and 5oo recrmits. Stationed at Presidio at present are the tenth, twenty-eighth and twenty seventh regiments of infantry. These regiments have been drilling for weeks in expectation of emergency orders, and are prepared to sail on a few hours' notice. The transport Warhorse here has been loaded up with big supplies of merchandise, clothing, provisions and bedin for a cold climate. THIS WAR IS VERY HELL IN DEED 3REAT MOVEMENT OF TROOPS JAPS TO THE FRONT. Operations on Land Will Soon Begin -Two More Russian Ships Tor pedoed at Port Arthur. Paris. Feb.. 17.-An official dispatch received here today from Tokio an :iouaces that one of the most import ant movcments (4 Japanese troops yet ma.ie i.; occurring today. One of th.: .:..t .riches of wt army, consi6ti-ig of three divisions --id including . di vision of guards, is now going on board transports. The previous land ings of Japanese forces in Corea and elsewhere are said to have been small compared with this simultaneous sail ing of three divisions, aggregating ap proximately an army Of 30,000 to 50, ooo men. It is believed, but this is not sure, that the destination of this force is a point near the mouth of the Yalu river or a spot on the Liaotung pen ins-fla. flanking Port Arthur. Another official dispatch says a Japanese transport has been sighted off a town south of the- mouth of the Yalu river. Carrying Munitions of War. Tokio, Feb. 17.-Eight 'transports with Japanese troops from Nagasaki and several additional vessels carry ing war munitions are on their way to the west coast of Corea. Detachments of Japanese cavalry have already land ed at Wiju, on the Yalu river. Sixty Thousand Men. Port Arthur, Feb. 17.-The report that the Japanese have concentrated about 6o,ooo troops at Wonson (on the east coast of Corea) with the ob ject of entering Manchuria, is con firmed. Attack Made in Snow Storm. Tokio, Feb. 17-A heavy storm spared the Russians from a desperate torpedo attack at Port Arthur on the morning of Sunday, the 14th instant. During the preceding night the vessels of the Japanese flotilla of torpedo craft were parted by the force of the wind and waves, in a blin 'ng snow storm, so that only two of the larger destroyers succeeded in forcing their way through the fierce gale to Port Arthur. When they arrived there they attacked separately and the of ficers of one of them are confident that they succeeded in torpedoing a Russian warship. The destroyer Asar Ishikawa,-arrived at Port Arthur about ishikawa. arrived at Port Arthur about 3 o'clock in the morning and was met by a sharp fire from the fortress and Russian ships acting as scouts. The .argiri discharged several torpedoes at a big warship, but the result is un known. A cannonade was opened upon the scouting vessels and main tained until they withdrew. The de stroyer Heyatory. Lieut. Commander Takenou, arrived two hours after the Asargiri and ran up close to the mouth of the harbor, where she found two warships, names unknown. She fred a torpedo at one and the torpede exploded. Admiral Toga, in reporting the at tack, says although the results is un known he feels sure the moral effect upon the enemy will be excellent. Commander Nagal commanded the entire torpedo flotilla. The number of the craft in the flotilla and point of their departure is concealed. Two More Ships Torpedoed. London. Feb. 17.-A dispatch to the St. James Gazette from Kobe, Japan, in reporting the Japanese naval at tack on Port Arthur, Feb. 14, says the Russian guardship in the harbor and another Russian warship, lying outside the harbor, were torpedoed and that the Japanese retired without sustaining injury. Caused a Fire. St. Petersburg, Feb. 17.-A dispatch received here from Port Arthur dated Feb. 17, says that in the action of that port on Feb. 14. the Russian volunteer leet steamer Kherson was struck by (Continued on Page Five.)