Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VHgSt Era JW tS. SVOL. XLII. NO. 28 NEWBERRY, S. 0., FRIDAY -JANUARY 13, 1905. TWICE A WEEK. $1.50 A YEAR AT THE CAPITOL. Legislature Fully Organized and Down to Work-Officers Elected -Many Bills Introduced Senator Blease's Re solution. Columbia, January i2.-The legis lature has formally organized now and is down to work. The officers of the house were elected without op position. Hon. Mendel L. Smith is again speaker and Col. Tom. Homer is clerk again. Mr. Altaont WMoses, -of Sumter, was made chairraan dur ing the organization. J. Fred. Schum pert was re-elected sergeant-at-arms. A. H. Booth has been appointed clerk of the senate judiciary committee. Senator Cole. L. Blease has been ap pointed a member of the following committees: Dispensary, federal relations, incorporations, privileges and elections, legislative library and military. The house committees will be announced today. Among the first resolutions in -troduced was one by Senator Blease which is as follows: Be it resolved by the senate, the house of representatives concurring: Section i. That a joint committee, .consisting of two senators and three -members of the house of representa tives, be appointed by the presiding <officer of the respective houses to in ves-igate the affairs of the state dis pensary. Section 2. That said committee be, and is hereby, empowered to. send for papers and persons, to swear witness es, to require the attendance of any parties whose presence shall be deemed necessary to appoint an ex pert accountant and stenographer, and to investigate all transactions concerning said dispensary and its management, and to take testimony either within or without the state, and shall have access at all times during their service to all the books . ani vouchers and other papers of said institution, especially in investi gating the following facts: (a) Whether or not it is a fact that houses represented by agents who are near relatives of the mem bers of the board of directors re ceive large orders at each purchase. (b) Is it a fact that members of the board of directors are or have been agents for certain wholesale houses from which large purchases are made? (c) Is it a fact that parties to whom large orders are given are not wholesale dealers, but brokers, and that the orders are filled by third persons, thus making the state pay the commission of the middleman? (d) Was it~ necessary to purchase the large quantity of liquors ordered in December, 1904, to fill demands? (e) Are the s'traordinary heavy pur chases mad.e necessary to the best business interests of the dispensary system? (f) What is the financial standing of the business and is it run on the best principles for the interest of the law as originally passed and amended? (g) Is it a fact that the state, through the dispensaries, is violating the constitution of 1895, in that it is selling whiskey in less quantities than one-half of one pint? (h)Is it a fact that the state is selling fifths in case goods to its cus tomers and charging them for one quart? (i) Is it a fact that certain agents are traveling over the state and of fering special inducements to coun ty dispensers to "push" certain brands,~of liquors, and, if so, is it a fact known to the members of the state board of directors? (j)Is it a fact that certain require ments of the law are dispensed with by the county dispensers by order of or by the consent of the members of the state board of directors? (k) Has the whiskey which has ed out from the dealer or is it held in reserve for future delivery? (1) What is the indebtedness of the dispensary fur liquors which have been bought but not delivered? Sec. 3. That said committee may at any time they may deem it advis able call to their assistance any of the state officers or employees of the state dispensary, whose duty it shall be to render the said committee any reasonable service that may be re quired of them within the scope of its functions as prescribed by these re solutions. Sec. 4. That the said colmmittee shall have the power to sit during the session of the two houses and to re port its findings, if practicable, to the present session of the general assem bly not later than the first day of February, 1905; that said committee shall serve without compensation, and that the sessions of said commit tee be open to the public. Sec. 5. That nothing herein con tained shall be construed to deny the said committee the power to apply at any time to the general assembly for such power and authority as the cir cumstances arisin during this in vestigation may seem to require. Sec. 6. That said committee shall have the right to punish for contempt as courts of common pleas and gen eral sessions, and statements made by witnesses shall not be used against them in any criminal proceeding. Sec. 7. That said committee shall have a marshal to serve its processes and keep order at its sessions, and his pay shall be fixed by said committee. The pay of the witnesses shall be the same as that of witnesses in the court of com mon pleas. for Richland coun ty, and all expenses shall be paid on the warrant of the chairman of said committee by the liquor commission er out of the general dispensary fund and charged as dispensary expenses. On motion of Mr. Blease the reso lution was referred to thf dispensary committee. * * * The governor's message was read ixi the senate Tuesday and in the house yesterday. It is a lengthy document. By some it is considered the best of any similiar paper which has emanuated from Governor Hey ward. His advocacy of compulsory education is to be commended. He touches on the dispensary and recom mends certain improvements which might be made in the law, notably in the purchase of whiskey. It is an open question and there are those who are disposed to criticizee the governor' s views on this -subject. Senator Rasor, of Orangeburg, has introduced a bill' which embodies practically all of the governor's dis pensary recommendations. T'he rest of the message, excepting the refer ences to immigration and lawkess ness, is devoted to routine matters. The usual flood bills will result. A great many have already been intro duced. The dispensary will have an. abundance of legislation offered for its improvement, but the likelihood is that it will result finally 'n the law remaining as it is now. In other words there will be a lot of fuss, but little done. Representati,ve Morgan, of Green ville, has introduced a bill to change certain phases of county government and also a bill to regulate and control automobiles. The automobile is automobiles. The automobile is com paratively the newest thing out, but it is already a subject of much legis lation. Senator Blease has introduced a bill to reduce the present legal pas senger rate of three cents a mile to two and a half cents a mile.. .The bill will likely be hard fought. Repre sentative Josh Ashley has introduced a bill to abolish the newly created bureau of immigration. The follow ..............~ ing are some of the many bills al ready introduced: Mr. Raysor has introduced a bil to require all parents or guardian to compel their children or wards t< attend school for twelve weeks il each year. The bill further provide that such attendance shall be betweei the ages of eight and fourteen year inclusive. They may be excused b: the board of trustees of the schoo district in which they live by reason of already being proficient or illness The bill provides a punishment of no less than five or more than twent: dollars, or imprisonment for not les than ten nor more than twenty day for each offense, said fines to b placed in the school fund of sai( school district. Mr. Raysor has introduced a bil to amend chapter XXVII, Crimina Code, Vol. 2, Code of Laws 1902 regulating the sale of spiritous liq uors, pertaining to the election of board of directors at the state dis pensary. The bill provides that sai< board shall congist of men of goo< moral character and shall be appoint ed by the governor, for a period o two years and receive fifteen hundre< dollars each, annually, payable il monthly installments and further tha said board shall have general super vision over the management of al county dispensaries. The bill fur ther provides; by way of amendment for the election of a dispensary com missioner, who shall receive an an nual salary of three thousand dollars and defines the method of purchasin liquors, which shall be on covac awarded to the lowest responsibl( bidder, and not for any specifiec amount, but for such quantities an< kinds as may be actually required tc fill orders from county dispensers Said bill also provides that the coun ty board of control, consisting o three members, shall be appointed two by the state board and the thir< by said state board upon the nomina tion of the mayor or*intendant of th( county seat of that county. Mr. Kershaw has inroduced a bil to promote the attendance of chil dren in school. The bill provide: that every person having control o any child between the age of sever and fourteen years shall annuall: cause such child to attend some pub lic or private school for a period o not less than one hundred days. Mr. Raysor has introduced a bil to provide for a marriage licens< law. Mr. Kershaw, a bill to amend thi Act amending Sec. 1731, of Code per taining to tobacco warehouses. Mr. Brown a bill to amend som' Act. Mr. Whaley, a concurrent resolu tion to permit the introduction of; bill to amend charter of Charlestoi Light and Water Works company so as to allow said company to con struct a dam across Goose Creek. Mr. Von Kolnitz, a concurrent re -solution allowing said Charlestoi Light and Water company to amen its charter. A bill has been introduced to es tablish Calhoun county. Mr. Douglas, a bill prohibiting in jury to certain property. Mr. Toole, a bill amending an Ac entitled an Act to amend Sec. 7 0 an Act as to the establishment o dispensaries, repealing the last pro viso of same. Mr. Butler, a bill to require railwa: companies to construct, maintain an operate industrial sidetracks, etc. Mr. McCall, a bill to further regu late the salaries of certain cour stenographers. Mr. Gause, a bill to prohibit th shipping of shad fish, caught withi this state, beyong the limits of thi state. Mr. Mauldin, a joint resolution t appoint a commissioner to investigat the indebtedness of Greenville coun I Mr. Toole, a bill to amend Sec. 32 - Vol. 2, Code 1902, so as to reduce hours of labor per day II to 10. 1 Mr Frost. a bill for the protection ; of game. S .Mr. Nlorgan. a bill to ratify the i -.mcndment to Section 7, article 8. ; of the Constitution of 1896. relating I tO municipal bonded indebtedness. Mr. Morgan. a bill regulating r motor vehicles upon public high I ways. Mr. 'organ. a bill to provide age and time which road duty shall be t porforn?d and fx commutation tax. r Mr. Morgan, a bill making certain ;"dffences in primary elections misde ;meanors and fixing penalties. Mr. Ardrey. a bill to prohibit child I marriages. Makes it misdemeanor for any minister or other. officer to I marry any couple if the man be un I der twenty-one and the woman under eighteen, .without the consent of the - parents or guardiens. L Mr. Herbert, a bill to impose a - tax on gifts, inheritances, devises and I bequests.. I -Mr. Des Chapms, a bill to establish - experimental stations of agriculture. F Mr. Des Champs, a bill further .reg I ulating the granting of beneficiary i scholarships. t Mr. Johnson, a bill to amend Sec - tions of Criminal Code. so as to ap 1 ply provisions to primary elections. Mr. Butler, a bill to amend game law, to confine the hunting of certain birds to rponths of January and De - cember. Mr. DeVore, a concurrent resolu r tion tc petition congress to repeal t the 14th and i5th amendments of the constitution of the United States. I Mr.. Blease, a bill to reduce pas i senger fare from three to two and one half cents per mile. Mr. Ashley, a bill ta repeal the de partment of immigration. Mr. Ashley, a concurrent resoluolion to adjourn sine die iith of February. Mr. Blease, a bill to amend Act protecting primary elections and conventions of political parties. Mr. W. E. Johnson, a biil to require the attorney, county board of com missioners. to represent the state at inquests of preliminary hearings of felonies and provide for his compen sation. Mr. Raysor, a joint resolution to amend Section 76. Article 4, constitu tion in reference to time at which governor may adjourn general assem bly. Mr. Sellers, a bill for the protection of birds, other than game birds. The Newberry delegation is lo cated as follows: Senator Cole. L. Blease, at Wvright's hotel; Represen -tatives Higgins and Earhardt, are at Lthe Caldwell hotel; and Representa tive Taylor is at a private boarding house on Main street. Would Fight For It. - Among the many stories that An I drew Carnegie delights to) tell of the canny Scot is one in which Lord Derby and a collier figure. - It appears that while the latter one day was wandering on certain land - belonging to Derby, the collier chanced to meet the owner face to t face. His loordship inquired if the f collier knew on whose estate he was f trespassing. - "Well, I've got no land o' my own and I'm like to walk on somebody's r Wheer did tha' get it fro'? asked the I collier. "I got it from my ancestors," re - plied the earl good-naturedly. t "An' wheer did they get it fro'?" queried the trespasser. e "Why," continued Derby, humor ing the collier, "they got it from their s ancestors." "An' wheer did they get it fro'?" y "They fought for it." e Whereupon the collier put up his - fists, and squaring up to the earl exclaimed: [ "Well, T'll feight thee for it." COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS. Legislative Committees on Which Members From Newberry Have Been Appointed. Special to The Herald and News. Columbia, S. C., January 12.-The speaker of the house this morning appointed his comnittees. The Newberry delegation is repre sented on the-following committees: F. W. Higgins-Agriculture and education. Jno. W. Earhardt-Public printing and public buildings. J. 3 M. Taylor-Internal improve ments, commerce, manufacture, and others. THE WAR SITUATION. Russians in Manchuria Losing Con fidence-The Baltic Fleet Slow ly Progressing Eastward. Tokio, Jan. 10, 7 p. m.-Informa tion which has reached certain relia ble quarters here states that the Rus sian generals in Manchuria are los ing confidence in Gen. Kuropatkin and that the Russian -situation around Mukden is a serious one. It is feared that if Kuropatkin attacks the Japa nese position along the Shakhe river he will court disaster and, that his further retreat will mean the demor alization of his army. This information goes on to say that there is' constant bickering at the Russiart Manchurian headquar ters and that the soldiers are' discont ed, dissatisfaction beginning with the series of retreats after the battle of. Telissu (Vafangow) - and the with drawal from Liao Yang when it was believed it was possible to hold.that place. The climax came with the Russian defeat at the battle of Shak he river, following Kuropatkin's strongly worded order directing the forward movement, dated October 2. This defeat brought a storm of criti cism upon the commander in chief and resulted in discord among the officers. Long inaction, the information al leged, is undermining the moral of the Russian army. It is pointed out that recent skirmishes and outpost brushes indicate that the Russian snl diers are becoming disheartened, -s they do not show their former tright ing spirit or qualities. The seige guns to be sent to Man churia from Port Arthur will proba ably be placed in advanced positions for the purpose of enabling the Jap anese to shell far into the Russian lines. The Baltic Fleet. It is rumored here that a Japanese squadron is at Diego Garcia, Chagos Islands. The Russian admiral was informed on January 2nd, that Japanese war ships were proceeding to meet the Russian squadron and that the vigi lance of the latter was redoubled. The aide de camp of the Russian admiral, in an interview at Tama tave, capital of the island of Mada gascar, was quoted as saying that the Russian squadron would require a month to cross the Indian ocean. All men who claim to be gentle men are not free from delusions. Those persons who make a spec ialty of finding fault are never out of a job. When it comes to enjoying a vaca tion a man isn't in it with a school boy. Mother--Why did you let him kiss you? Mabel-I couldn't help it. I told him to stop. Mother-You did? Mabel-Yes; every time.-Phila de1nhia TLedger.