The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-12
SURE TO BECOME A LAW.
LARoCHE CONSIDERS CREATION OF
CITY COURT SOLICITOR CERTAIN.

have IL Heterred mex TO tom L
tee-Fate of the Effort. to His
Mind. Indicates the Ultimate Fate
of the BiIl-Preachers WOuId Have
Helped IL Had lie So Desired-WiI-
bingham Prohibition Bill VIII Pass
the HOuSe-AIay BE Defeated in the
Senate-Good Chance for Passage
of the Hardwick Suffrage Bill.
Representative Walter P. LaRoche came
down from Atlanta yesterday morning. It
was his first trip to Savannah since he
left here on the night Of oct "A, and he IS
prone 10 confess that there have been
many occasions when he would have been
glad to be back.
The legislator was charged with a num-
Der of interesting stories relative TO the
work of the session and the probable out
come Of the various bills now pending in
which Savannahians have a more than
passing interest AS to the bill creating
the office Of solicitor Of the Ciy Court
Mr.. LaRoche was positive enough.
Il anticipate no trouble in securing its
passage" he told reporter of the Morning
News. In its present shape 1 cannot see
how anyone can consistently oppose it, fer
leaves the revenues Of the present solicitor
general to him for the remainder Of his
term. 1t creates new Office Of which the
incumbent viii take his place In January
Of 1901, and the sentiment Of the House and
Senate, so far as I have been able to as
certain. is IN hearty favor of its passage.
1t could not be otherwise"
II notice that IN my absence Mr.. o.
borne has attempted to have the bill re-
ferred back to the committee, for the al
legged purpose Of adding to it some amend
ment that he favored. have been advised
that the bill was tabled and this is the
exact course I would have asked had
been present When I left Atlanta I left
the fate of the bill in the hands of Mr..
Copeland of WGfker, and I was quite con-
fident that he was well able TO take care
of its interests. His course has shown
that this confidence was not misplaced. 1t
has shown, too, that the opponents Of the
bill were not able 10 have il follow a path
unfavorable to its ultimate passage. I
have not a shadow of a doubt that 1t will
pass"
1.-The bill in it's present shape, meets my
own ideas exactly. When 1t was suggested
by some OF my friends In the House tnat
1t was unfair to curtail the term Of office
of an incumbent who had won er a hard
fight / could not help agreeing that This |
was true, and I then stated thai should
there be shown a disposition to amend the |
bin in this particular that l would ra Sc no
objection"
Il have never felt that there would be |
any doubt about the fate OF the bin. / |
felt that in Offering 1t ! was supported by |
the best sentiment of the best people Of
this city. Had / wished ii 1 could have |
had a delegation of the ministers of the |
gospel of Savannah to aid me in securing |
its passage, but l frowned on this as
lobbying scheme, that l did not wish to
encourage. If the bill could not pass on |
its merits and by the efforts of the repre-
sentatives of the county in the Legisla, |
ture I had rather 1t would not pass at all |
/ did not desire that 1t should be pushed
through the House and Senate by the ef-
forts of those who had naught to do with
its Introduction, and were not appearing |
before the Legislature in the capacity OF |
public servants"
Mr.. LaRoche believes that the Willing |
ham prohibition bill viii pass the House |
and that II would have passed before this |
but for the flibustering tactics resorted |
10 by the opponents OF the measure. The |
Chatham delegation. he said, were oppos- |
ca TO the bill TO a man, and when it was |
put on its passage they would do all thar |
they could to defeat it. 1t was impossible |
TO deny, though. that the country men, |
YES VI AAAE 410ASE were strongly IN favor ]
OF II, and II had been shown that no con- |
slderauons Of reason, logic or experience |
were sufhcient to change their minds as |
70 the wisdom of securing its passage, |
They were for it, heart and soul
AS to Savannah" said Mr.. LaRoche, |
they care not rap. To their minds the |
city IS situated at some point outside the |
state, and they are Indifferent whether !
the interests of Savannah are subserved
or subverted by the passage Of the bill |
They believe that prohibition Is the best
ring for the Whole state, and they are
determined to use every effort in their
power to see that the whole state has IT, |
The wants and wishes of the various nor
tons Of the state are matters Of small
consideration"
Il have been tod that the bill would be
defeated In the Senate, and / think il will
be. The sentiment in that body is differ
ent from that existent in the House. and
l am In strong hope It will exhibit itself
in opposition to the measure and serve to
ensure its decisive defeat"
What are the chances for the Hard
wick bill providing for an educational
qualification for the suffrage?" Mr. La
Roche was asked.
II think they are good" was the prompt
reply. 80 far as present indications go.
there seems to be every chance that the
bin will pass the House and an even
chance that il will pass the Senate. At
oAS AoANf NfSAA oN~SAN4Aib " hlic Sti0il5 up
ponents Of the bill, it has good chance to
become law.
What is your own opinion OF that clause
of the bin that exempts from lis operation
the descendants of those who were voters
In 1872"
II cannot bring myself to favor that
clause" said the representative. at seems
70 me that If the state desires to impose
an educational qualification for the suf-
frage and am in favor of the imposition
Of such qualification, it should be opera
tive in the case Of every, prospective voter
and that there should be no exceptions.
For my own part though, If all the cities
and counties in the STATE w uld adop. white
primaries as a method of settling their
internal differences, the result, / think,
would be quite satisfactory, and the ne
cessity for an educational qualification
would be averted. The purchasa-
bic and iliterate vote would be
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