The news & observer., 1905-01-22
Under the Dome.

amendments TO the Dill.
When the bill TO prohibit the catch
ing of bears in traps in Swain county
was up in the House yesterday, wag
gish member wanted to know If the
member would object to an amend
ment including "coons." yhe Swain
member said he had to decline, and
the sally raised some merrimcnt.
Senator Stephen Bragaw and Major
w. A. Graham, members OF the joint
committee which went TO Greensboro
to visit the State Normal College re-
turned yesterday afternoon. They
were highly pleased. Senator Bragaw
says that he has addressed al man
ners of assemblages from infant
classes to Confederate veterans. but
that ne was never so embarrassed as
when suddenly he was ushered into the
presence OF nearly five hundred young
women and had to make a speech.
"An of us had the stage fright" he
said, land Senator Scales added to the
misery by saying to the young ladies
that the members Of the committee
had been chosen either on account of
their good looks or their eloquence.
was called on to speak and I had to
declare that certainly l had not been
chosen on the score of eloquence."
A greater number of ladies than on
any previous day graeed the gallery of
the House yesterday. A bevy OF beauty
gathered there and many of the Rep
resentatives heads We're turned. In
fact they had to dc this to get a good
look. one beau cavalier OF the House
is asking his friends to introduce n hill
to have the members desks faced about
so that he will not have to play that
his neck is rubber.
"a caucus of the Democratic MEM
hers of the House will be held in the
Hall of Representatives at 1880 y. m
on Tuesday evening next. The prompt
attendance of every member is desir-
ed. is the notice sent out by Mr.. B. b.
Winborne, of Hertford. chairman of
the Democratic Caucus.
Solicitor j. f. Spainhour, of Morgan
ton, is in the city and was a visitor to
the General Assembly yesterday. For
merly a. member he was greeted With
pleasure
The people of the town of Advance
the Hamlet Of IIavie county--de-
sire the Legislature To forbid the
manufacture of whiskey in the place.
Here are five reasons given why this
should be done by Rev w NJ. Curtis
vance:
/. Eve have eight distilleries
which are the source of much drunk
ennesS and disorder.
2. when the Watts bill was pass
ed there were no distilleries here. a
majority of the citizens were opposed
to them, but the whiskcy men moved
I.r.i.A
voters to carry the election.
3. I'VE have no police protection.
The mayor is a distiller. We have
drunken men on the streets almost
every day, fights are frequent, there
has been one murder this month, but
no one is exc arrested fer anything.
The mayor has never tried case.
4. We want to protect our boys
and girls
1t is given out that our member of
the Legis ature, DIR. Phipps, will at
tempt TO have a very stringent dog
law passed by the Legislature tor
Watauga county. We are glad Dr.
Phipps, that you have the nerve to
make an effort along this line, Nnd
you are to be commended for it. Let
us have fewer dogs and more sheep
is the slogan.-Watauga Democrat.
1t has been suggested that we need
q better vagrant law in this state and
we do. The law ought TO be so that
the Bible injunction as TO living by
the sweat of the brow could be carried
out. for every man who is able TO
work and don't work should be put
to work in work-house or on the
chain n-gang.-Asheboro Courier.
iels. the most influential editor in the
death of an insane man in the McDow
eli county Jail is IL disgrace to the
State No more so than the living
death many insane persons are forced
to suffer in the common jails. Proper
provision ought to be made for the in
sane before another dollar is appro
priated for any other purpose whatso-
ever. VIII the Legislature do its duty
in this matter, or be niggardly in its
IL eatment of the insane asylums, while
making lavish appropriations for other
and less worthy institutions ?-Hender-
son Gold Leaf.
Judge Graham of Granville, has
introduced in the House of the Leg
ialature three bills amending the
criminal law. which ought to pass. The
first provides that in the trial of CAPT
tai cases the State and defence shall
have ten peremptoTy challenges each.
This puts each side on something like
an equal footing. Under the pres
ent law the State has four and the
defence 25 peremptory challenges, and
N about nine cases out of ten a
shrewd lawyer can pick jury that
will avoid the death penalty. The sec
ond bill provides that where the kill
ing is done with a deadly weapon
malice is presumed and the burden is
on the defendant to show otherwise.
The third provides that a jury may be
summoned from another county in a
capital case. All these are good meas
ures, designed to aid the cause of JUS
tice, and they ought to pass. If the
present law had been framed to permit
murdererS to escape it could hardly
have been more in their favor. The
fact that Judge Graham, who is law
yer of ability, has introduced these
measures, is encouraging, but they will
hardly pass.-Statesville Landmark.