The Savannah morning news., 1901-11-21
Mr.. WRIGHT'S BILL
SENATE PASSES THE DIsPENsARY
MEASURE.
THE VOTE WAS rs TO 10.
SENATOR CAM SPOKE IN FAVOR
OF BILL.

Compromise Measure Intended ia
Decrease Agitation by the Prohih
and Antis-Counties Can Choose
Dfspensaries, Barrooms or Prohi-
bition-Requires Petition by One
third of Registered Voters to Sc
cure an ElectiOn-HOuse VIII NOW
Pass Upon senate Amendin ents,
After which Bill VIII Go to the
Governor.
Atlanta. Nov. 2o.-The Senate to-day
after debate lasting three hours, passed
the Wright dispensary bill. which has
been denominated the compromise
measure on the prohibition question,
and il will go to the Governor when
the House acts on the Senate amend
ments. The vote on agreeing to the re-
port of the committee. which was Ia
vorable TO the passage of the bill. was
% to Is, and on the passage of the bill
which the bill received on it's passage
was given by Senator j. L. Boynton
OF the Ninth who voted against the
favorable report, but for reasons of his
own which he did not state voted for
the passage of the bill. OF the South
Georgia senators the following voted
for the bill;
Cam Of the First; Smiley of the Sec
end; Hops of the Third; Johnson of
the Fifth; Norman of the Seventh;
Boynton of the Ninth; Ford of the
Tenth, and Daniel of the Seventeenth.
Among those who voted against the
measure were: Mr.. Upchurch of the
Fourth, Mr.. Alexander of the Sixth,
Mr.. Bush of the Eighth, and Mr.. Carter
OF the Twenty sixth.
Several important Senate amend
ments were adopted, among them be-
ing one to require that one third OF
the qualified voters of a county must
sign a petition for an election before 1t
can be held. The present local option
law requires only one tenth. and this
change affects the law as we'll as the
dspensary provision.
Another Senate amendment requires
that the division of the proceeds be>
tween county and town, or city. be
made monthly instead of daily. 1t was
provided by amendment that this
measure should not affect any dispen>
sary already established by act of the
Legislature in any county, and that in
cities or towns of 5000 inhabitants or
more the dispensary commissioners
may establish as many dispensaries as
the public convenience may demand.
What the Bill Provides.
The bill as passed amends Section
l541 of the State Code so that it shall
read as follows:
"On petition signed by one-third of
the voters who are qualified to vote
for members of the General Assembly
in any county of this state the ordi-
nary shall order an election to be held
at the places for holding elections for
members Of the General Assembly to
take place within forty days after the
reception of said petition, to determine
whether or not such spir!tuous liquors
as are mentioned in section 1913. shall
be sold within the limits of such des-
ignated places. And upon like Pc
tition in any county. the ordinary
thereof shall order a like election to de-
termine whether spirituous liquors as
are mentioned in section l541, shall be
sold within the limits of said county, ex-
cept in a dispensary to be established
as hereinafter provided; provided, that
no election held under this article shall
be held in the month in which general
elections are held, but all such elections
as are held under this article, shall be
separate and distinct from any other
election whatever. The ordinary shall
determine upon the sufficiency of the
petition presented by the list of reEis-
tered voters at the last general cleo
ton; provided, that in the event there
are elections to determine whether the
sale of liquors shall be entirely pro-
hibited under the provisions of this
act, or an election as hereinbefore pro-
Vided, to determine whether or not a
dispensary system shall be established
is held. it shall not be lawful to hold
any other election under any of the
provisions Of this act within four years
thereafter"
This section gives the most impor-
tant feature of the bill. The other sec
lions of the measure prescribe how the
law shall be carried out, for the. APP
pointment of dispensary commissions
ers, and a manager, that all liquors
sold shall be analysed, and that they
must all be pure.
why Mr.. Cam Favored II.
The debate on the bill was an in.