The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-12-22
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
CoLu MEIA, Dec. 90, 1881.

session twenty. nine days, and although
the Legislature has worried harder than
have ever seen it, very little legislation
has been placed on the statute books
The nights have been consumed in read
ing the revision Of the statute laws Of the
State which has just about been com
pletcd in the House, and will be ready 10
send 10 the Senate in few days after wc
return in January. BY the way, notice
that Mr.. Simpson has published in er-
thto his reasons for opposing the rig!,
cf amendment 10 the Commissions re-
port. and in it seeks to imply that he was
misrepresented in my former letter On
that subject, so that desire TO call at
tcntion 10 the fact that in that letter /
did not attemp, 10 give any Of the rea
sons for The majority or the minority re-
ports. merely stated the facts that
yessrs McCrady and Simpson made
minority report and that the House
almost unanimously adopted the majority
report. This statement was strictly true,
and no reflection could have been con-
taincd in il. did not have time TO g,ve
the reasons Of the members for their re-
port, and il had desired to 10 SO could
not have given Mr. Simpsons reasons,
IS he did not discuss the question, and
therefore did not know them until /
saw them in print. Al some future time
will give the reasons which ac,uated
the majority, and perhaps they may sat
isfy the people that the course pursued
on this question has been the proper one.
Very few amendments to the work of the
Commission have been adopted, bu; some
Of them have been important and, in our
Judgment, q decided improvement.
The Senate has passed the Railroad
and Election Bills, and they are now
pending before the House and will be
disposed Of as soon as we return. The
feeling towards the Election Bill has
grown decidedly mere favorable, and it
will probably pass with a few sligh, mod
ifica,iors. The Anderson delegation is
at present divided As 10 he Bill Mr..
Murray favorng and Messrs. Rucker,
Simpson and Prince opposing 1t.
The House has consumed three days in
reading and discussing the Railroad Bill
II has reduced the number Of Commits
sioners to one instead of three, Messrs
Rucker and Murray voting for and
Messrs. Simpson and Prince against the
reduction. There was spirited contest
over striking out the power to regulate
passenger and freight rates which is
given the Commissioner. The advocates
Of the Bill contending that it is wise and
for the public interest 10 vest this power
in the Commissioner, and the opponents
that it is power which the Legisla.
ture ought to exercise, and that if COM
mtted to one man or three men that it is
likely to produce confusion if not cor
ruption and rings. AIessrs Simpson and
Prince voted to give the power and
Messrs. Rucker and Murray agains. it.
The power was given by small majority.
The next contest came over molten Of
Mr.. Murray to fix the rate for passenger
travel at three cents per mile. IIe and
Mr.. Rncker advocated it because they
thought it better for the Legislature to
fix these matters than to leave il to
Commissioner. Three cents IS The rnie
in Georgia, and they could see no reason
why more should be charged in this State
than in the State just across the river.
They believed the reduction would bene-
fit the people, and at the same time The
increased travel would make it profitable
TO the railroads. Messrs. Haskell, See
gers, Hemphill and Simmons opposed the
motion, and it was laid on the table.
Messrs. Simpson snd Prince voted to lay
| til, motion on the table and Messrs. MUIR
ray and Rucker against it. Mr.. Murray
then moved to strike out section sixty,
! which undertook to allow freight trains to
run on Sunday up to O'Clock in the
morning. Messrs. Murray. Dendy, Stew
art, Simpson and Simonton spoke in
favor of striking out, and Messrs. Has.
kell, Newton, McCrady, Seegers and
Chase against striking out. The reason
urged for retaining the section was to
enable the hands on freight trains to
reach the end Of the roads and then en-.
joy the Sabbath, but those who urged
that the section be stricken out contend
ed that the Sabbath was fixed period,
which was ordained Of higher power
!han Legislatures, and that we had no
right to undertake to change its meaning.
The section was stricken out.
Mr.. Murray then moved to strike or.
section 65, which required majority OF |
the Directors, or Mt least one.third of
them, on any railroad running through !
the State to reside in South Carolina.
He did not think that any State seeking
foreign capital would be found with such
a statute. It was unreasonable to say we
will take your money but we will man.
age it ourselves. The State wanted rail.
roads, and he thought it but right and
proper when people were asked TO help
build up che State to give them the right
to manage the capital they invested in
ine State.
Mr.. McCrady thought the argument of
the gentleman from Anderson inconsist.
ent. He was in favor of capitalists com.
ing into the State, but he had just made
en- argument limiting those capitalists TO
charge only three cents q mile. Capital
I'd not come into the State on charity.
Capital never comes TO people who