Newspaper Page Text
i1 A YOLUME XLIX, NUMBER 10. -EERI,SUHCAROLINA, TUESDAY, JANUARY 31,1911. TIEAWE,seAnx REVIEW OF THE WOR OF ENERAL ASSEMBLY -WHAT HAS BEEN DONE DURING THREE WEEKS. Confronted by Few Matters of More Than Ordinary Importance, Leg islature Has Jogged Along. Columbia, Jan. 29.-The legislative machinery is moving along steadily and without friction. There has been no jar, no breaks, no sudden orders tc stop and no red flags. It has been a quiet and steady gait-one that accom plisftes results without excitement or friction. If there is ony one thing that has thus far distinguished the present session of the general assembly it has been the equanimity and poise with which it has met conditions and with which it has executed its work. Caused no Excitement. nWhen Governor Blease sent 'in -his compound investigating message there -was hardly a ripple; yesterday when he sent. in another special message, relative to d6ubl- office tholding, that affected members, the message was quietily referred and that was about all. Nothing seems to have excited the general assembly and it has gone along, plodding with the mass of measures that it has before it. - The indications are that -there wi.ll be but little general legislation enact ed. School Law Bill May Pass. The general revision of the school laws may be accomplished. The bill proposed by the special commission has a favorable report, both in the house and in the senate, and this would indicate favorable action, but there have been some indications of disapproval and it has not been de veloped how serious these objections -may be. If the vote came up tomorrow the bill would pass. Sentiment as to Clemson. It is manifest that there is a feeling of unrest with regard to the privilege tax and Clemson college. Mien whc lhave never before suggested that Clemson was getting too much fromr the privilege tax have dared 'to get up and say so, and say so in commi.;thee and in conversation. The prospect is that the fund will remain intact this z'year, so far -as Clemson is concerned, ~but the real friends of Clemson col ege had better hefed this feeling and~ ~* und'ertake to get the college 'in closer touch with the people. Clemson has tc do more than education6.1l work with in its coll-ege wal-ls. The Browning Bill. The Mitchum bi.l1 and others along this line, limiting the amount that Clemson should receive, did not fur nish the:real basds for the fight that is coming. The Browning bill is the message that Clemson will 'have tc -watch. This bill providies that all the priv.i-lege tax should go -direotly into the State .treasury and be appropriated from there, as other funds are. Inbkeritance Tax Bill' The most important matter passed by the house dyring the present ses sion is t$~beritanlce tax" bill, pro pose y Mr. Remb ert. 'The bill met Wid some strong opposition in the o'nse, but members generally approv ed it and it is now before the senate, . and, of course, 'there is no telling what will be the fate before tbe more criti c-al and smaller body. 30-Day Session Sentiment Growing. The smate some time ago passed a resolution fixing the 10th of February as the day for final adjournment. This would provide for a -thirty-day session. There is a growing sentinient on the ~-bouse side to adopt this resolution; d what can h~?' done up to the 10th, pass tthe general supply and appropriation bills, quit and -go home. with the sat isfaction that "the least done the-soon est mended" is a good rule in legisla tion. Members are making their lans tc gect away at this time. Of course. there may be a material change in the situa tion. Associate Justiceship Election. The associa.te justiceship election has not yet been scheduled. The house an~.d senate think they have passed the necessary legislation, but the election has not beten definitely scheduled, chiefly because Gov. Blease has not had the opportunity of app)roving the nec court. It is expected that he will have approved the act by Monday and the tiie for holding the election can then be agreed to. The house has indicated Wednesday as being agreeable for the election, and this time may be selected. Too Many Bills. . There have been more bills intro duced during the present session than in many previous years. It is curious that so many bills are introduced when there is little or no hope that they will be enacted. The observation of the most experienced miembers is that those who introducel one or two bills and concentrate their energies on these measures accomplish -the real results. Members with twenty or thir ty bills- have difficulty in concentrat mg. Given Good Advice. One of the most distinguished law makers who ever came to Coluqnbia was Solicitor J Monroe Johnson of'Ma rion. He prepared the celebrated ori ginal dispensary law and knew how to draw bills that held 'n the courts. He met a young member on the. step9 of the State house whom he knew very well and undertook to give him some friendly and fatherly advice. In a word, it was that the best 0ing he could do was to introduce no birrs, un less they were absolutely necessa.ry, help to kill nine-teiths of those that were proposed and go home as soon as possible. Appropriation Bill Nearly Ready. The ways and means committee has practically completed its work on the general appropriation bill, and the an-, nouncement was made by Chairman 3rowning that it would be presented on Thursday. If this should be done the -house can~finish on this important bill by the end of the week, as there need be but little difficulty in accept ing the house bill, as the committee has worked with such care and exact ness in' getting the bill in the best and I most economical shape. Railroad Bills-"Merger" Resolution. There have been a great many bills proposed affecting the railroads and the business of that branch of activi ties. The Callisle-Dixon bills, relative to .the -pulling of mileage by -the con ductors on the selling roads, has not yil.t been taken up in esither branch. Bothi of these bills have divided comn mittee reports.' - The senate resolution providing for the discontifiuance of the "merger"~ suit has been referred to the house* judiciary committee. A -similar reso lution, by Dr. Saye, has been acted up on by the railroad committee, where it has received a practically unanimous report -in favor of thie adoption of the resolution. The sentiment of the house is in fav or of passing the resol-ution 'and stop ping the appeal. For Highway Comimission.I There is a strong lilcelihood of a highway commission bill passing andI becoming law. The only difficulty is in getting together on some one defi nite plan. The sche. : is to raise the fund fo-r the support of the engineers and the work by a direct tax on auto "'d~es. The idea is that a graduated tax on automobiles, based on the horse' power, will -raise considerable money.I The plan is to havie the tax begin at $10 for all automobiles of 20-horse power or less, and for' this entire fun d to be used in the employment of corn petent engineers and exclusively for highway road work, and not on the! general road work of the county. Dispensary Salvage. The house has passed the bill pro viding for 'the distribution of the sal vage- from the old State dispensary. The fund will run between $400,000 and $300,000. The general appropriation bill will probably run more in the aggregate than in previous years. on th.e ground that the State is growing. One thing has be:&n settled, and that is where the general assembly will go on Lee's birthday of next year. The Institute for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind and; Spartanburg have been the early bird's. August Kohn. Mitchum Bill Killed. On a yea and nay vote tebill to limit the income of Clemson from the priviil'ge tax to $17~>,000 was killed by a vote of 73 to 24.. IHouse Passes Notary Bill. Notaries public who may be appoint ed to fill the places of those now serv ing who r.ommissins become vacant proclamtion, will serve for ten years, instead of "at the pleasure of the gov rnor" as heretofore, will register with the clerks of court in their respective ::ounties and will pay $2 each for their -ommissions, under the aniended Mow ?r bill, as passed today by the house of representatives. Several -hundred ap pications for appointment as notary public have already been fi-ed. The present fee is $,3.25. The Winding-up Commission. The senate has not acted on Mr. Kibler's concurrent resolution to ap point a commission to investigate the winding-up commisiDon of the dispen mary suggested by Governor Blease. rhe senate has discussed the matter .reely and seems ,to favor the appoint m-ent of a commission under a joint resolution, which would give the com :nission greater power, and the judi iary com'nittee of the senate has pre pared a joint resolution to that effect. In the title it is explained that the investigation shall covier the acts of: 1. The State dispensary commission. 2. The acts and doing of the attorney eneral in connection therewith: 3. The acts and doing of thb. com Enittee of the general assembly ap pointed under a concurrent resolution >f the general assembly dated, Jan-u ary 31, 1905. - 4. The acts and doing of any other person, or persons connected with the ffairs of the State dispensary aind the nvestiAtion and winding up thereof. Quoting the governor's -message, the Aill provides: That whereas the attor aey general and thli winding up com nission have also asked for-an inves igation: That a committee consisting of three members of the senate to be appointed Dy the president of the senate, three nembers of the house to be apponted )y the speaker of -the house "to inquire -to the things set forth in the gover a-or's message" and to investigate the persons named above. Committee's Powers. The bill gives the committee power z investigate any doings of the com mittee appointled to investigate the ispensary in 1905. The committee may -elect a marshal. May arrest and imprisonAny person wo s-hall fail to obey any legal order f the committee. May arrest for contempt. - May require attepdance. - May pl-ace in contempt those per sons refusing to answer questions.. May require production of books and papers. . May 'administer oaths. Section 6 provides that, first of all, after organization theldomlmittee sha,1l require the go'vernor to furnish it with 1 information 'in his possession or kno ledge of whatsoever nature to estaF lish any or all charges as well is ,~ y riformation in his possession :hat in.ay throw light upon the matter *n'd hings, r:eferred to in message or fat may hav'e any relation. The co.mmittee would go forward md complete -the same as soon as pos A per -diem of $5 per day for the 3mmittee is provided while engaged .n te work. - The -act would be somewhat like, in act, almost identical as to powers with the original investigating act. WARRANTS IN SE)INOLE (CASE. Hessrs. (Clark and JIones, of Columbia, Are Served With Paper Fromt kershaw. Dolumbia State, 27th. W. A. Clark and Wilie .Jones were erved with warrants yesterday by Bheriff Cokon'a-n and appearing before lagistrate Fowles gave bond.- in -the mr of $1,000 each to a:nswer to the harge of cous-piracy. The warrants ivere sworn out byv L. L. Clyburn, of ershaw, before Magistrate Jlordein, n account of the relation of Mc'ssrs. 31a.rk and .Jones as t.rusjees of the seminiole 'Securities company, said c-ompay 'har.ing sold to Mr. Clyburn stock( amounting to $1 ,500. Mr. Cly jurn is well kn.own in Columbia. The warrants were received by sheriff Coleman throu-gh the mail yes :erday morning and he at once made irangements to serve them. Both Mr. Dlark and Mr. .Jones at once made ar r.ngements for the bonds and the trial ill be call&d for as soon as possible. \.agitrte .1ora ha nuthorized th e DEPOT SAFE BLOWN OPEN AT LAURENS SAFE-CRACKER WAS DISCOVERED WHILe AT WORK. A Secured Nothing of Value, But Made Good His Escape-No Clue. to Would-be Robber. Information received in Newberry! yesterdiay was to the effect that the safe in the union freight depot of the Oharleston and Western Carolina and. Columbia, Newberry and Laurens rail: en ways bad been bloWn open by a safe- th cracker, the attempted roibbery, how- W ever, being prevented by the discovery w of the man at work between 5 and 6 F4 o'clock yesterday mirning by a clerk d( who was going on duty at that time. t It seems that the robber was delayled ra in his work 'by drilling the first hole at the wrong place. He then drilled a second hole 'and blew off one of the 01 doors. The cash drawer, however, was at behind the other door, and the robber el was at work cutting through the wood en partition to get to the cash drawer when he was discovered. It is stated that when the clerk en-s tered the office he was asked what he -ly was doing in there, and then a dark ilantern was fiased in his face and 4e was told to get out. The Clerk, it i:3 reported, went for assistance, and u on returning to zhe office with assis tv ance the would-be robber rad made b4 good his escape. It was dark when the clerk entered the office, -and there is no -clue so far to te identity of the man. Just two years ago there was a pis tol duel in the freight yards at Laur ens between Policemen Stone and Walker and two yeggmen, Policeman Stone being shot to deeth and one-of I I se the yeggmen being killed -by Police man Walker. The oth'er yeggmag made.,,b his escape. - MILLER LEAVES STATE COLLIEv. sc Resignation Requested by Goy. !Blease .w on Grounds of "Pernicious Acti-, th rity in Politics." .. Columbia, Jan. 27.-On the grounds je of "pernicious activity in piolitics" and general complaints f.rom- I'egrces .of It the State as to his conduct in the1 d( manegement of the'ins'titution, Gover- s nor Blease 'today orequested the resig - nation of Thonias E. Miller, as, presi- I dent of the State negr'o college, whijeh y7 is located at Oraingeburg.- The req1udst o ) was mnade as chairmani of the boar~d of trustees of the institution, and without i reslution. Fol-lowing the request of etj Governor Blease that Miller resign JR within 24 'hours, the board of .trusteesti passed a resolution'- asking the im- bel mediate resignation of Millerm Miller .t resignied. ,m The resignation of Miller will take ' Si effect on June 30, in order that Miller in may be permitted to wind up the af- ;'fa fairs of the institution. th The board of trustees, which he.ld a th meeting in the office of Governor I Blease, decided to hold another meet- Ito ig shortly after the. adjournment of 1 the 'general assembly, for the purpose th of selecting a successor to Miller. The ar negro has been 'pr%sidenbt of the insti-.s tutioni for a. number of years. Hi's salary is $2,000. , . It i's understood that the (robability is that ,Prof. C. N. Nix will 'be named fo to succeted President Miller. It will si; be recalled that these two 'had a fight;e last yea.r, about some matters connect- fo ed with the college, and an official in- te quiry was had. President Miller re- tr tires in JIune. There were some obli gations he had assumed and 'the board to thought it best -for him to be'retainled Ish until the end of the 'ses'sion. I Miller Writes Resignation. ti< Following the request for resigna tion. Thomas E. 'Miller, the president se of thei State negro college, located. at "I Orangeburg, sent a letter of resigna tion to Gov. Blease. The le?ter of resignation follows: H-on. Cole. L. Blease, the governor of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina: A "Dear Sir-BecauF' I opposed your election to the chier office indthe gift of our beloved State. you have de-' manded my resignation, 'stating that you will not permit the Sta-te Colore.d M college to do any business until my N. resignation is in your hand. In an- Ph ireat Kontest February a t the Stroke of Twelve So Won the Handsome Pit Prize to Be Awa 25,000 Bonus 0 Time for R Do you rea-lize there are only sev teen days left in which to work for e grand prizes? You want the piano. 'ell the only way to get it is to work, )rk, work from today until Monday, bruary 20. See that your friends their ipart, too, don't hesitate to ask eier help now, for you are in this ce to win and win you must. The balloting this week discloses me surprising jumps and Tecalls the d adage "the battle is not to the swift td strong, but he who endures to. the d." Who will be thie wiffer is a testion no one can answer for as it ten occurs in these kontests, the ndidate wfho lags behind for weeks .ddeuly for.ges to the front and final taries off the prize when some other supposed to have the lead that can >t be overcome. It is all 'a question get-up-and-get-there. For some time the heavy voting be epen the three leaders apparently has en a test of strength, but none of the :re has shown the. extent of her sources. And their resources so far we can tell are not yet seriously .aired. The conflict is waged - with deteT ination and -Onergy and the end no te can tell. Miss Julia Smith is stead r pushing forward, and has made up veral thousand votes this week. de-from these four the voting has en light this week blt heavy firing ay be expected all along the linie ttil the end, which is so close at hand. .Some one is .going to 'win this. hand me Cote piano, in fact each one will In something. But we are all after i piano. Lets work to that end. Take the end of thie fiscal year, June 'th, as 'the day for my resignation. be effective. I thgnk yott over mc, ar sir, fo~r this leniency, the more; beau'se I am guilty of having beg 4d the 'voters not- to vote for you. counted the cost before I opposed u, hence I am prepared for the blow: your official act. It wilLV' be 15 ye'irs, 'June 10th, ace I was elected to .my. present po don, having been indorsed"' by .the publican, and Democratic organiza s, the judiciary, 'most of the mem er of the constitutional convention, e State legisilature, State. officials, mbers of congress ang two United ates senators. In response to they dorsement, I have put 15 yeaTs of ithful service in this work. I now ank them for .the grzat confidence ey reposed in me. "'y official acts have gone into his ry; jI d not fear the judgment of~ r beople, white and black, upon~ em: My opposition' to you was not ,official act and I alone am respon yle to my country and to God, fol .ving oppos~ed your election to yout alted position. "Honored Sir, I n'ever slandered you r ther was no malice in my oppo :ion tc you, I felt that your announc poy against the negro was not uinded upon justice and th'e best - rest of the State; for that reasonI Led to bring 'about your defeat. "Wishing for you an administration unded upon wisdom and statesmfan i, peace, prosperity and 'happiness, hereby tender you this, my resigna m, to go in effect June 30, 1911. "Very respectfully, your obedient rvant, Thos. E. Miller> Tresident of the State Colored Col ROE LEGISLATERE TO TURN ON LIGHT trney General Lyon a.nd Mfembers of Dispensary Commission to Gen eral Assembly. Attorney General J. Fraser Lyon and assrs. W. . Murray, J. 5. Brice, A. Wood, Johni McSween and Avery~ Lttton, conposing the dispensary comn L'i - ct to th'e gener"l pyambly* Closes on rOth, At Noon rne Voung Lady M ill Have no-Summer & Hipp's rded T+ ednesday. fier-NoW the ard Work a high aim while you are at it. Public Sifrlted Merchants. The furniture 4ealers, Mesrs. Sum mer & Hipp, are always to be depend ed upon in any progressive, up-to-date venture, and have made many friends by theiv splendid offer, the Reed r9ck-, er to the -kontestant securing tle lIg est nunber of new one year subscriip tions between January 13 and Febrn ary 1. Much hustling sbould be d'ne before Wednesday to secure this ex ceptional prize. We have another splendid- offer from these popular mer chants which we will announce a Frin day's issue. Twenty-five Thousand Bonus. For every fifteen dollars sent in Thursday, February 2, will secure 25, 000 addtion!a,l votes. This is an op ortunity worth while-so get busy. Standing of Kontestants. Prosperity, S. C. Miss EllIen Werts. .........597,640 Pomaria, S. C. Miss Annie Koon.. ......-606,880 Kinard, S. C. Mrs. J. A. Domlniok ......587,090 Chappells, S. C. Miss Julia Smith.. .. ......p870 Newberry, I.' D. Miss Joe Caldwell......-1147 Whitmire, S. C. Miss kKate Hargrove........68230 Newberry, S. C. Miss Annie Laurie Lominack.. 52,050 Miss Lossie May Booier.. .. .. 9500 Mrs. G.o. Alexander.........5,300 Miss Eula Darby... .. .... 1,000 Miss Annie Bouknight.......1,000 Miss. Eunice Abrams.. .....-.7,000 Miss Amelia Klettner.. .. . 1,000 calling for prompt compliance wit. the. governor's suggestion for an. In vestigation." From,Dispensary Commission. .~ The communication from thie com mission is in the form 'of a resoluton~ signed by all the members - of the board: "Whenteas, the governor of this Stats hs seen fit to address a special mes sage to the genera.1 assembly seriously criticizing the imanner. in which this commission 'has performed its duties and suggesting 'an invi-stigation of its actions: ' "Be i-t, therefore, resolved, That tlie geneal assembly of' this State be, aind is hereby, earnestly requiested by this commission, bi 'the appointment, of a. committee or other appropriate mes ure, to make an immediate and search ing investig' ion into 'all -the acte and - doings of' 'the itispensary winding up emmission ,sines its creation until this date." From the Attorney General. .Attorney General Lyon's commu.nl cation is as follows: "To -the General Asadmbly of tbh ,J State of South Carolina: "In a recent message sent 'to yodr j honorable'body by the governor .of this Sta>te he offered insinuations as to improper conduct on my part and' - criticisms as to.the manner in which I have discharged my duties as attor nly; general in connection with wind ing up 'the affairs of the late State dis peisary; as to the disposition I have made of certain criminal cases, and also as to the manner in which I dis charged my duties as a member of the legis-lative committee appointed to in vestigate the affairs of the State dis pensary. In view of the insinuatids and charges contained in this message, I join the request of the governor that ' my conduct be inquired into and thor ughly investigated by your honorable - "J. Fraser Lyon, "Attorney General. "Columbia, Jan. 28." Mrs. J. "A. Dominick is stilal going afiter voss in the right way, and her votes- are still pilng up accordingly. Good for you Mrs. Dominick, work means win now-so just keep the good work going.