The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1888-12-13
ECONOMISTS IN THE LEGISLATURE.
The House of Representatives Passes the
Bill Reducing the Salaries of the Circuit
Judges to $4,000 Per Annum.
Especial to News and Courier. !

Especial to News and Courier.]
COLUMBIA, December 5.-An elabor-
ate dish was served up in the House Of
Representatives to-day in which Re-
trenchment and Reform, with two
capital Rs, entered very largely, and
municipal license taxes, township rail-
road bonds, liquor licenses and other
things were incidentally contained.
The result of the battle over the salaries
of the Judges, (the details of which are
given below was sweeping victory
for that class of lawmakers known as
the Economists, and these gentlemen
are celebrating their victory tonight in
great shape, but, Of course, with that
degree of dignity which so preeminent-
ly characteriZes the lawmakers of
South Carolina.
Whatever doubts there may be as to
the wisdom of cheapening the highest
office in the State in order to save 81 900
per annum, it cannot be denied that
the Economists fought the battle with
great skill and success. Opposed to
them were veteran parlianentarians,
who had spenta decade or more in the
Legislature. Their opponents had
nearly all the eloquence and oratory on
their siGe, and, in the opinion ola very
considerable number of taxpayers, a
good deal of the wisdom and the best
arguments on their side, but all to no
effect
The economic forces were led by
Messrs Fowler, of Union, andWaller, of
Abbeville. The former opened the
battle yesterday and the latter to-day.
These, with the exception of speech
by Mr.. Purifoy, of Edgefeld, were the
only speeches of note made on the
economic side during the battle. The
two leaders sat down to-day with copies
of the rules of the House before them,
allowed the enemy to do most of the
talking, and met all the attempted
flank movements of the adversary in
the shape of motions to lay on the
table, and calls for the yeas and nays.
They kept their forces well in hand,
and as roll-call after roll-call was de-
manded, voted steadily, gaining a vote
or two as each roll-call was made.
Yesterdays fight showed that they
had majority of about twenty, and
this number they never lost once dur
ing the fight.
AS stated above the fight was opened
by Mr.. Waller, of lAbbeville, in strong
speech presenting his side of the case.
Col. Haskell followed in speech of
about thirty-five minutes, which would
have carried conviction perhaps to any
set of men whose minds were not bent
upon carrying out certain project.
He punctured completely the cry of
"before the war; salaries by comparing
the condition of affairs, the changed
condition of the body polite, the cost
Of living, &C., of the two periods; showed
how that the Circuit Judges now had
ten cases to hear for every one heard by
an ante-bellum Judge and travelled
over three times the ground. Above
all he pointed out the mistaken econo-
my of trying to save $4,000 from the
salaries Of the Judges when the money
was flowing in rivers out of the thirty
two bung-holes in thirty-two counties
of the State. He called attention to
the county taxes, which were more
than double the State taxes, and ad-
vised an effort to reform and retrench
in that direction. Finally he applied
the argumentum ad holninem with
mastery hand. In Columbia now, he
said, board could be had at 81 per day
and members could travel for cents
mile, and yet year after year members
come here and vote themselves s. day
and 10 cents mile, and strive to re-
duce the salaries Of the Judges. By
reducing the salaries of the Judges 81,
600 would be saved to the State. If the
members of the Legislature would re-
duce their own pay to 50 day and
cents mile they would save the State
s13,38O. Were they prepared to face
the problem?
Mr.. Haskell concluded with one of
his Enthusiastically earnest and forci-
BILE appeals to the General Assembly to
pause before committing this fatal mis-
take.
He was followed by Mr.. Gary, of
Edgefeld, who was equally earnest and
eloquent in depreciation of this meas
ure.
Mr.. Purifoy said he was not a
preacher or lawyer or a doctor, but
he had a Judge on his right and doc
tor on his left. He loved the lawyers
because they were good to get one out
of trouble. He came here to represent
the people, but when the representa-
tives of the people came here they list
ened to the logic and rhetoric of the
gentlemen from Charleston and forgot
their promises. He had always been
ready and anxious to reduce members
pay, bu- the House would never con-
sent to it. He said now, as he said in
Edgefeld, his native heath, that be
was not in favor of tearing down the
Citadel or the College, but he came
here only to make them go slow.
Mr.. Moses, of Sumter, followed in a
practical speech, showing the unwis-
dom ofsuch an attempt to economize,
and at the close Of his remarks Mr..
Dantzler moved to indefinitely post
pone the bill.
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