The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-01-25
Law AS TO HOLDING
TWO OFFICES.

Capt. r. j. Brownfield Gives His
Views on the Construction Of
the Law Against Holding
Two OMcss.
Mr. Editor: / would ask space in
your columns in order to state that
the point was raised year ago as to
the organization of the County Board
under Art. II. Sec 2, of the State
Constitution.
The county attorney fled an opin-
ion which did not settle the question
a committee Messrs Cain, Man
ming and Ryttenberg were named at
the July meeting of the board to
consider the question and report to
the board.
The foregoing points in connection
with the question were submitted to
the committee in September. At the
October meeting of the board the
committee asked to refer the matter
back to the board. sBd be discharged
from further consideration of the ques-
tien inasmuch as the county attorney
had fled an opinion with the board
The board accepted the report; but
almost Immediately the chairman of
the committee asked areconsideration
Of the action of the board The
board granted the request The CON.
mistee has made no further report.
The question is still, therefore, un-
settled aud debatable.
+ Now at one time. I thought /
would do like seld Uncle Ned" in
the classic ballad, s'hang up de fiddle
and de bow, and twang Oh some
string other than the one held by the
committee. But circumstances alter
cases. The non action of the COM
mitsee, for reasons best known to
themselves. plainly put me in the
role of the "poor devil of an honest
man, who was trying to find that
there was something ..rotten in Den
mark, !" failed, and deserved the end
of all croakers.
tits not, therefore, too much to sur
mise, for she presen. at leass-indeed
il is but stating an old fact-Coin
has killed Abel, and had old Harry to
help him. The other member of the
committee was, at the fnaf ''coup de
force,n preparing to don the "Toga"
lie now ssSenatus Consultus;" aud
may help TO decree, or inspire some
action that will settle the question
The following is the argument sab
mitted BY me to the committee at the
time the question was under consid-
Grafton:
Mr. Chairman: In support of the
resolution. I will call the attention
of the committee to the County Gov
ernment Law. as enacted by the Leg
islature. and approved January, 1894.
also to an act supplemental to the
above. approved January 1895. and
an amendment approved February
1897.
In the original law. approved jan
uary 1894, Sections 10. 35 and 40
prescribe certain duties to be per-
| formed by the secretary Section 46
directs that the. Supervisor cause to
be kept record of the transactions
of the board ; Section 48 directs that
| the board at the first meeting for or,
gapization s.shall elect one of it's own
/ members as secretary thereof" !.
1t will be observed that only the
duties Of the secretary were pre-
scribed in the above Sections. No
pay was allowed directly to the
secretary, but under Section 46, the
supervisor with the approval of the
board may have allowed pay for car.
rying out the provisions of the Sec
tions But Section 4S which directs
"that the board at it's first meeting
shall proceed to elect one of its own
members secretary thereof" was
never carried out, because before the
organization of the board. the Legis-
lature passed an act, approved Jan
uary, 1895, entitled an act "to de.
clare the salary of the supervisor,
and the salary and mode of selection
of secretary as far as relates to the
counties of Sumter" &c Section
of this supplemental act repeats sec.
ton 49 of the original act, and fixes
the salary of ;he supervisor of Sum-
ter county at $500 The salary by
section 40 of the original law was
$1,000. Section of this act directs
..thst the County Board of Commits
sioners for the counties of Sumter,
etc shall at their first meeting pro.
ceed to elect secretary of said
board but the said secretary may
or may not be a member of the Coun.
ity Board of Commissioners. His
duty shall be as prescribed in the
al act op1rora1 ToD,arv 1904