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VOL. XLII. NO. 36 NEWBERRY, S. C.. FRI DAY F BlL-UARY 10. 1905. TWICE A'WEEK, S1.50A Y PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE PASSES LOCAL OP TION BILL. Senate Passes Ten-Circuit Bill With Amendments-Bill For a State Reformatory. Special to The Herald and News. Columbia, February 9.-The end of next week will witness the close of the session of the general assem bly and both houses are this week hard at work. The senate has pass ed the ten-circuit bill and sent it back to the house with amendments. The measures of most general inter est, probably, in the house during the past several days were the Toole bill to allow each county to vote for pro hibition or dispensary, without the provision imposing a tax upon a county voting out a dispensary, the measure being practically the same as the original Brice bill of last year, and Mr. Patterson's bill to establish an industrial school for boys and to provide for its government and main tenance. Both bills were passed by the house. The Toole local option bill received its third reading in the house on Wednesday and has been sent to the senate. The Ten-Circuit Bill. . The ten-circuit bill, which was passed by the house last week and sent to the senate, provoked a great deal of discussion in the latter body. The bill was finally passed by the senate, but was amended in a number , of particulars, several of the propos ed new circuits as constituted by the house being changed, and the num bering of the various circuits being changed. The section providing that no special terms of court shall be held was stricken out by the senate, as being in conflict with the state constitution. The bill as it passed the senate now goes back to the house with the amendments. The house bill was publish in the last issue of The Her aid and News. Following is the bill as it passed the senate and as it goes back to the house: Text of the Bill. Section 1. That the state be, and is hereby, divided into ten judicial cir cuits, composed as follows: The 9th circuit shall be composed of the counties of Charleston, Colle Sand Beaufort. The 1st circuit shall be composed of the counties of Berkeley, George town, Dorchester anld 0Orangeburg. The 2d circuit shall be composed of the counties of Hampton, Aiken, Bamberg and Barnwell. The 3d circuit shall be composed of the counties of Clarendon, Flor ence, Lee, Sumter and Williamsburg. The 4th circuit shall be composed of the counties of Chesterfield, Dar lington, Horry, Marion and Marl boro. The 5th circuit shall be composed of the counties of Kershaw, Lexing ton, Richland and Edgefield. The 6th circuit shall be composed of the counties of Chester, Fairfield, Lancaster and York. The 7th circuit shall be composed of the counties of Cherokee, Spartan burg, Union and Laurens. The 8th circuit shall be composed of the counties of Abbeville. Green wood. Saluda and Newberry. The 1oth circuit shall be composed of the colties of AndArson. Green ville. Pickens and Oconee. Toole Local Option Bill. The Toole local option bill, pro viding for striking out the tax pro vision in the present Brice law for the enforcement of the dlispensary in a countyvoing out the dispensary, Mr. Toole's measure being practi callv the same as the original Ir:ce bill of last year, was brougI t : iin the house on Tuesday morning. A number of argunents were made dur ing the morning session and the de bate was contiaued at the night ses sion, the house refusing to kill the bill by a vote of -i to 68 and finally passing it. Mr. Higgins voted to kill the bill, Messrs. Earhardt and Tay lor voting in the negative on the mo tion to strike out the enacting words. What the senate will do with the measure remains to be seen. The senate has already killed one bill very much along the same line. At this session of the house the salary of the clerk to the historical commission was reduced from $1,200 to $i,ooo. The reduction had already been made by the senate. Reformatory and Industrial School. The bill passed by the house pro viding for the establishment of a re formatory and industrial school is one of the most important matters of the session. The proposition as it passed the house carries an appropri ation of $5,ooo and convict- labor for the erection of the necessary build ings. The movement, it will be re called, was inaugurated some time ago by Mrs. Martha Orr Patterson, of Greenville, who has recently visit ed a number of cities in the state, in cluding Newberry, as the representa tive of the women's clubs throughout the state which have declared in fa vor of the movement. The bill was introduced in the house by Mr. Pat terson, of Greenville, who is a son of Mrs. Martha Orr. Patterson. The vote by which the bill was passed was decisive, the house refusing by a vote of 20 to 77, to strike out the enacting words. Of the Newberry delegation, M-lessrs. Earhardt and Taylor voted to kill the bill. Mr. Higgins's vote was not recorded. The bill as it passed the house places the institution under the man agement of seven trustees, three of whom shall be women, besides the governor, the superintendent of edu cation and the attorney general, who shall be ex-officio trustees. Section 4 of the bill provides: "Section 4. That it shall be the duty of such school, and it shall have the power, to receive, care for and pro vide f' r the welfare of white boys be tween the ages of 8 and 16 years. who, because of their conduct and surroundings, are likely to become base or criminal, or hurtful to the state or to the best interests of so ciety, and who may be committed to said school by a judge or magistrate, under the provision of this act, or who may be voluntarily committed to its keeping by their parents or guardians, or the persons having such boys in charge, who having no parents, guardians or other persons to care for them, may voluntarily commit themselves to its keeping: Provided, said board of trustees may, in their discretion, require the pay ment of reasonable sums to provide for the maintenance and tuition of boys voluntarily committed. That any commitment under this actc, whether by Judge, magistrate, par ent, guardian, or by any person hav ing in charge the said boy, or by the boy himself if he have no person to care for him, shall be full and suffi cient authority to the trustees, offi cers and agents of said school for the detention and keeping therein of the boy so committed. That any bov committed to said institution un der the provisions of this act, ex cept upon a conviction of crime, shall he kept therein until he arrives at the age of 21 years, nnless sooner dis missed thereirom by order of the board of trustees, or of the governor of this state. That from the tine of the lawful recepiion of anyv boy into said institution. and during his stay therin. aidl institntion shall have ex cj~.iVL are cL''t ;Lllad ontrol (if aild boy, and.( .said -zad l,all cat.: said bv to be in :-truct e! in such branches of useful knowledge as may be suited to his y-ears and capacitv: and said 1)()ard shall also cause said boy to be taught a useful trade or other means (I earning an honest ]Iliiood.' Arranging the Circuits. The house has passed a bill to pro vide for ten solicitors and to make their circuits conform to the ten circuit bill which passed the house and was sent to the senate. The sen ate having amended the *en-circuit bill, rearranging the circuits and re numbering them, it would appear that the bill passed by the'house pro viding for additional solicitors and making their circuits conform to the new bill would have to wait until both houses agree on the ten-circuit bill. No Marriage Licenses. The house has killed three bills looking to recording marriages and getting licenses for marriages. The house has passed a bill requir ing railroads, when ordered to do so by the railroad commissioners, to maintain at all passenger stations and other places where people are taken on and put off of cars, two sep arate and distinct water closets. The house ~d.scussed the ten-hour labor bill at some length on Wednes day night, but did not reach a vote. The General Appropriation Bill. The following are the important items of 'che general appropriation bill: Executive department, $92,830; judicial department, $65,300; health department, $17,145; tax department, $60,500; educational department, $141, 848; charitable and penal instittitions, $185,896; miscellaneous, $96,471; pen sions, $200,000; interest on debt, $285,ooo. Total $1,148,991. A fund of $2,500 was recommended for the governor for enforcing the law in extraordinary casces-prose cution of lynchers, etc. The comp troller general was allowed about $2,500 more on account of extra work in his office, caused by franchise tax, etc. For support of militia, changed to $15,000 from $8,ooo to meet the re quirements of the Dick law. State hospital for insane increased $5,ooo, and deficiency last year $12,ooo. Cla:ms. $8,000. Last year was $14,000. Supervisors of registration is reduc ed $6.150. Election expenses reduc ed about S2o.ooo. Historical com mission $2.500 for fireproof shevles and furnishings; same amount each for office of secretary of state and comptroller general. Two of last year's large amounts left off are: Hampton mounmen1t, S20ooo: heating plant Citadel. $1o, oo0. South Carolina coIlege, $34,650, and $3,280 for scholarships. Winthrop $55,368, scholarships $12,400; insur ance $2.400. Citadel $26,250. Color ed college $7,5,00 Miserable Weather in Columbia. The ground here is covered with ice and the weather is very cold. J. K.A. A Fine Opening for a Young Man. Youth's Compnaion. "Yes," said Mrs. Malone to the old friend who was picking up threads of family history. 'my Bobby, he's traveling with a circus now." "Pretty hard work, isn't it?" in quired the interested caller. "Never a bit of it." returned the onrotd mother of P'obby. "He'Cs liv ing like a gentleman. be is-hands in is~ pockets, as ye might say-for ti's a h:md - ome salairy he gets, and every blssed thing he has to do is to lay lis h11ead iln the liUn's mouth a mnatter ,f sme' two or three times a day or thr-bout" AR. GANTT'S ANSWER. The Secretary of State Replies to the Legislative investigating Committee. 1!b1)Ia. Febr;iary 9 - crear 1)f . hate J T. Gantt. has sent to di e ci al as.I 1 and hall d d the pre-.; tle f i ig statel'eIt in J - tificatLion of his administratioi of the office and the correctness of his rec ords. books and accounts: I beg to submit to vou herewith a full report of the finances of the of fice of the secretary of state. and a detailed itemized statement of all official receipts and disbursements during my entire term in office. "I beg to inform you that I have this day placed in the hands of the state printer, as a supplemental re port to the general assembly, a full, accurate and complete list of the persons or corporations who have paid any fees to the office, which in its every detail proves the statements handed you herewith to be correct. "In doing so I 'beg to make the fol lowing sta-tement in reply to the re port of the committee appointed to examine the books and accounts of my office: 'I have been continuously, since the appointment of the' committee, willing and anxious to make up and present this statement to them, hav ing offered to do s,, upon their first visit to the office, but was informed that they -desired the papers of the office turned over tothemwithout any checking. verification or statements. in the condition in which they were at the time. Presuming -the commit tee competent to come into the office. take the books, make tip a correct statement of its affairs, -the entire pa pers and books of the office were turned over to them; they were fur nished a key, which the chairman re tained for three months, and was used to gain entry to the office when none of the clerks or employees thereof were present. This was per mitted to allow the fullest and freest opportunity for full and comprehen sive investigation of the office. Dur ing most of the time of the first in vestigation I was confined to my house by sickness. During the pro gress of this investigation reports were brought to me of statements by members of this committe of a short age in the office. Upon the conclu sion of the investigation, with which during the week prior to the filing of pledges by candidates for state of fices, I secured an opportunity to state to the committee the reports I hiad heard and asked that they state to the public what they had found. In resp9nse to this request the com mittee published a communication in which it was asserted that no books were kept, which was false, and that they had colleSted certain vouchers from which they had made up a set of books, which was equally untrue as there is not now and never has been any "vouchers" to be collected and the original declarations and re turns of corporations could not be so designated, and principally from these I understood the committet had made up its statemen-ts. As I was assured that the committee had found nothing which they especially criticized. I supposed the statement they had sectired to be accurate. I had repeated assurances given me that no wrong had been found. Con sequently my astonishmeiit at the re markable statements made therein was as pr6found as my surprise at the partial, incomplete and inaccur ate statement of the financial affairs thereof . "Whe~n redulced to its logical con cusion and freed from the insinua tion and( im: enido in which it is cloth - ed, the report charges that no ade ,ate b..oks are kept. or proper rec (Continuecd on Page Five.) COMITTEE SEVERELY CRITICIZES RECORDS .N THE OFFICE OF THE SEC RETARY OF STATE. Long Document Filed in the General Assembly by Committee Ap pointed to Examine Cer tain State Offices. Columbia. February 8.-The re port of the legislative committee, ap pointed to examine the offices of the secretary of state, comptroller gen eral and state treasurer, which has been submitted to the general assem bly. criticizes the records as they were found in the office of the secre tary of state. The committee con sister of Senator T. B. Butler and Representatives Richards and Rains ford. The report says of some of the offices: "That they have examined the book of accounts of the above named officers and find the offices of state treasurer, comptroller general and sinking fund correct, with proper vouchers, the office and the books neatly and well kept, and the commit tee, with pleasure, commend -the effi ciency of the officers and assistants in these several departments." The report then recommends that the comptroller general be supplied with file cases for the ke,pin- of the records of the office. The report on the secretary of state's office is in part as follows: This office has not been included in the examination heretofore, but last year this additional duty was placed on this committee, and it has been an enormous, unpleasant and extreme ly difficult matter to ascertain the ex act and true condition of the finances of this office-due to many reasons which we will attempt to show later. When we first went to this office in April, 1904. we were informed that we could conclude our labors "in ten minutes" and were shown the bank books and a mere statement of amounts, aggregate, received in that office, and amount paid state treasur er. On insisting that we came for a real examination, we were begged for time to prepare books. etc. However your committee went back to work but soon found, on account of the ab sence of books and in proper entries of cash received, wvrong and improper enteries made in the books furnished which had been badly kept. Your committee feeling the need of a thorough examination adjourned, and secured the services of an accountant, Mr. 3. C. H oli. of Gaffney, S. C., and with his valuable assistance made up a book of every item we could find1 and was furnished by Mr. R.'W. .\leCown, the assistant clerk, said book being now in the possession of vour committee. After adjourning, and( beforo our return wvith Mr. Hol lis, many erasures and corrections were made on the books attempted to be kept. The only way we could do was to handle each declaration of charter, return, application for notary public-in fact, every paper during Mr. Gantt's administration. Seeing that considerable time would be con sumed in this examination, we did not feel justified in going back of his term without express authority, so we did not do so. but feel nowv that this should be done by the ccmmittee to be appointed. in comparing the return of corp.or ators to the charters *zat were re corded, we found some unrecorde'd and others erroneously recorded, such as where a charter had been granted in the sum of $15,000, same was recorded as having been issued in the sum of $50.000. This work we did not complete onl account of a very magaing fire in the oFice where prin cipa:ll. all rec'rds were kept, and , sinc that time we have been unable