Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1904-01-27
Interesting Letter from Senator Herndon.

Columbia, January 26.-Messrs Edi-
tors: The first days of session of the
General Assembly are always more or
less full of noise and confusion. If it
be new Assembly the officers are to be
selected and sworn in, the committees to
arrange and order is to be generally
created from disorder If it be the
second year old bills carried over have
to be looked up and their provisions to
be reviewed, and their status determined
So thatit always happens that the real
work of legislation does not begin until
the second week after the convening of
the body. Then there are always the
elections to be made by the General AS
sembly, and tho candidates with their
pleas as to why, above ali others, they
shou Id be elected. SO that the first
days of tho session to the legislator, if
not few, are at least full of trouble, but
if it be true that "all things come to him
who waits,' the converse of the propo-
sition is also true; all things pass away
to him who waits.
The elections for this session are over,
and the candidates have passed away to
their homes-some exceedingly sad at
heart and some glad; old bills have been
dug up and repolished and referred and
repo rted and placed on the calendar, and
the real work of the session has begun
in earnest, and the legislator who is here
to work has but little time to spare for
outside matters, after attending to the
work of the daily sessions of the body to
which he belongs, and to the work on
committees, which do not sit while the
body to which it belongs is in session.
Some of the bills which were carried
over from last session are: A bill to
amend the constitution so as to provide
for bien NAL sessions of the General AS
sembly, instead of annual sessions; a
bill to create two new judicial cir
cults; bill to amend the pension
laws; bill to preserve the game,
fish, shell fish, ETC., and to pro-
vide revenue to the State therefrom; a
bill to prevent the shipping of shad from
the State; bill to amend the road law
a bill TO give Railroad Commissioners
jurisdiction over telephone lines; bill
special legislation in regard to the main
tenance of roads, bridges and ferries
DIR. Doyle's bill to prevent the use of in
toxicating liquors at elections. These
are only n few of the more important
bills brought over, and in many in
stances there are two or more bills relat-
ing to the same subject.
1t would take up too much space to
enumerate the new bills which have been
introduced. The following are some of
them: A bill to repeal the lien laws; a
bill to regulate the assessment of prop
erty for taxation; bill to authorize
mayors and other officers to grant war
rants to break and enter gambling rooms !;
a bill to impose a capitation tax on
dogs; bill to amend the dispen-
sary law. The bill to amend the dis
pensary law was introduced by Senator
Brfce, of York, and virtually provides
for local option. A bill has been intro
of the South Carolina Immigration AS
sociation, and there is another bill to
establish Department Of Commerce and
Immigration. Governor Hayward, in his
annual message to the General Assem-
bly,, says: 81 am profoundly impressed
with the needs of the situation, and re-
commend, therefore, in view of the adj
vantages we have to offer and of the
great need of utilizing them, the estab-
lshment of bureau of commerce and
immigration, with u secretary or com
missioner in charge of this department"
Senator Latimer was here last week
and delivered an address on the subject
of good roads. Another event of the
week was the annual meeting of the
South Caro- lima Bar Association.
K. l.. Herndon.