The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-01-30
COLUMBIA LETTER.
Wllat Our Law Makers are Doing at
the State Capitol.
Fivm Ouy- O~a Co,rrfyondent.

nose WHO UOpcQ lOT SIOTC session
Of the Legislature are going to be dis
appointed. There arealrcady upwards
Of 300 bills before the House alone and
more coming. Some OF them, in fact
the great majority of them, will be made
short Shift of, but it generally takes
more time to kill bill than to pass
one, so we may expect full forty day
session.
The disposition of the Legislature
this year is very plainly conservative.
The members court no change how
ever rosy may be the promise that the
proposed change offers. This was
shown in the elections rs well rs in the
course of legislation. Judges Gary and
Townsend had practically walk over.
Gary had no opposition ut all and
Townsend got 80 of the 14S votes cast.
The Aballot for Librarian and Code
Commissioner were more exciting,
there being nU 'incumbent'' in the
race. Miss Lucy Barron was elected
after several ballots as Librarian and
w. II. Townsend, Of Barnwcll, law
partner Of the Attorney General, was
elected Code Commissioner. In spite
OF tho bitter attacks made on the ap-
pointmcnt Of August KOhn rs trustee
of the South Carolina College by the
Governor in the last campaign, he was
unanimously reelected and the mem
bers OF the Legislature thought that
they had done good thing.
There have been number Of amend
mcnts offered to the more general of
the public acts, but they are almost
invariably turned down. A bill which
was generally regarded as one of the
best offered this year, that by j. p.
Thomas taking the Offices of County
superintendent Of Education out of
politics, was killed. This was bill
prepared along the line suggested by
State Superintendent McMahan, who is
nothing dauntcd by the failure. He
says that he knows that it is q good
law and he will come up smiling next
year. He thinks that tho bill was de-
featcd because many of the members
did not think that tho people Mt home
would endorse their vote, but my
opinion is that it was the all ll-pcrvading
conservatism which in this time of
prosperity refuses to risk change in
any direction.
Among tho measures That were pass
cd was tho bill making the appropria-
ton of $4,000 for the South Carolina
and West Indian Exposition which
passed tho Senate with only six in op-
position. This may be considered q
settled thing.
The lethargy of the House was bro
ken pretty effectively once over tho
proposition to cut OF the dispcnsary
profits from the schools in those coun-
ties which do not have dispensaries.
This bill passed the House though it
was very bitterly condemned as an
attempt to starve the virtuous prohibi-
ton counties into taking their ''chemi-
callyp pure" along with the rest of the
State. 1t is questionable whether tho
Senate will pass it.
The interess of tho week has centered
around the committee investigations in
regard to tho child labor law. These
Investigations have shown that the
bigger mills in the State are doing n
wonderful work for their employees;
it is n strictly paternal government
that they have established but they
are caring very strictly after the minds
and bodies of their employees. Some
of the "unregenerate" have the effron-
terry to say that it is "white slavery" as
complete as was ever the slavery of the
African. 1t seems more evident than
ever that whatI said in regard to this
law in u recent letter is true, that #
fight were to be made on it the bill
would not pass, but if LEFT as it seemed
at first it was going to be, to jog it's
own gait, 1t would go through just be-
cause everybody thought that it would.
Now really it does not seem that there
have been any very cogent reasons
presented why it should pass. There
have been no evidences of cruelty in
any of the mills OF tho least imposition
or hardship on the children. There
are many people, however, who think
that the governmental as exercised in the
mills has q very strong tendency to-
wards making children of the parents.
Another interesting matter has de-
velOped in regard to tho lighting of the
public buildings. The State had n con-
tract with t!is local company which
generated it's electricity with power
from tho States reservation In tho
canal. Now tic local light and power
company will get power from the
Olympia mills for their cars and the
city for lighting it's streets and for
commercial use. 1t is therefore sug-
gcsted that the State buy the plant Of
the local company and generate its own
power. Now the most interesting mat
ter that this question has developed is
tho fact that the new mills that are
going up on the Congaree are scorning
the wonderful falls of tho canal and
will generate electric power by steam,
just as could be done in any old place
that has no more of canal than Flor
ence has. The Olympia mills will run
the biggest boilers that anYholy in this