The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1902-01-22
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
Senate and House Both Hard at
Work---Progress is Being Made.

OOluUlul6s
spent two hours and a half at work
last night and transacted a good deal
of important business.
Senator Graydon's jury bill was
given its second reading after some
debate, and Mr.. Sheppard's bill to
have only one set of commissioners
and managers for State and federal
elections was given its second reading
also.
The bill for the Soldiers Home was
introduced. Senator Douglass. who
is opposed to the soldiers home, IN
troduced a bill making it unlawful to
receive Confederate veterans into
county poor houses but requiring the
county commissioners to give aid to
INDECENT ex-Confederates at their
homes.
THE HOUSE.
There was no great proportion of
the members of the house present
when that body began the second
weeks work yesterday morning. Yet
a very good days work was done: Is
The feature was the discussion OF the ID
Schley resolution offered by MI W.
J. johnson of Fairfield. The discus
sion was a study in herolcs, SO TO
speak. The resolutions, after a num-
ber of lectures, was sent to q commit
tee, no final action being taken.
The first matter to claim the atten-
tion of the house was the bill of Mr..
Bivens relative to the sale of cotton
in Dorchester county, but final action
was postponed.
Nj. Patterson's bill to provide for
the settlement of claims against
counties prior to the creation of new
counties was the next matter taken up.
Mr.. Patterson explained the bill,
which was where an action was
brought against an old county and a
Judgment to force the new county to
be liable for that Judgment. Under
/ the present law there seems to be no
provision for new counties to inherit
judgments or litigation. There was
no objection to the bill and it was
ordered to its third reading.
Mr.. Lomax's bill to provide free
text books for poor children was then
taken up, and Mr.. Rucker defended
the measure. He thought the bill a
we'll conceived measure. 1t was pro-
vided that not over five per cent.
should be invested in any one year for
school books, and the books are to
remain the property of the school
trustees.
! Mr.. Ashley thought the bill was
right and it ought to pass. =.
/ Mr.. Lomax said be was familiar
with the school situation Of today and
he held that the bill was on the right
+, line. His whole purpose was to help
F.: the public schools Last year he pro-
posed to the trustees of his school that
| they would buy books and loan them
to the children and the result was that
every school child in the district at
tended the schools.
Mr.. Webb said he was friend of
the poor children. His sympathies
went out to the poor children. The
bill forces the children to take an
oath that they we're unable to buy
books.
Mr. Ashley and,Mr. Lomax insisted
that no oath was required. The best
thing was to improve the schools and
get them on cash basis. Books are
now very cheap.
Nj. F. II. McMaster favored the Dill
with strong speech. The bill was
then ordered to its third reading as
follows:
Section /. That whenever it shall be
made to appear to the trustees of any
school district that any patron OF such
school is unable by reason of poverty
to purchase the necessary books for the
use of his or her child or children,
then in such case the trustees Of such
school district may in their discretion
purchase such necessary books for such
pupils. Provided, the sum so eS-
pended for the purchase Of said books
shall not exceed the sum of ; per cent
of the school fund of said district in
any one year: And provided further,
That the books so purchased shall be
the property Of such public school dis
trict.