The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1907-01-17
SOME LEGISLATIVE DOINGS
WHAT THE LAWMAKERS AREDO
ING AND MAY DO.

WHAT laE LAW.TlAkERS AXE DO-
ING AND MAY DO.
A Resume of Last Weeks Session OF
the General Assembly-Impor-
tant Legislation Expected.
Special to The HERALD.
COLUMBIA, January 14.-The con-
vening Of the the General Assembly
of the state has already begun to re-
open most of the questions which
were threshed out in the compaign
last summer. The opening of the
present session last Tuesday marked
possibly the most interesting and
aggressive fight for the speakership
of the House which has been seen at
the state house in a number of years.
There were three candidates for this
high honor, and the the result of the
election was in doubt until the last
man, practically, had voted. Mr.. R.
S. Whaley, of Charleston, D. D. Nc
Coll, of Bennettsville, and J. w.
Nash, of Spartanburg, were the men
who announced their candidacy, and
all day Monday there was spirited
canvass for votes for the respective
aspirants. 1t was conceded that Mr..
Whaley had the best chances for
election, as the result of the election
verified, for he was elected on the
second ballot by a vote of GA to SIS,
Mr.. Nash withdrawing. Mr.. Whaley
makes an admirable presiding officer,
exercising dispatch and judgment.
His opponent for the honor, Mr.. Nc
Coll-who, by the way, made a most
excellent showing for it's put down
as conservative dispensary man
since his entrance into the House.
There are some who say that the dis
pensary was not an issue in the elec-
ton of the speaker, while others
maintain that it was dragged into it
at the last minute. But view of
the vote shows that some strong
opponents of the dispensary voted
for Mr.. McColl, while some advocates
of the state rum mill voted for Mr..
Whaley.
Hon. Frank B. Gary, of .Abbeville,
was elected chairman Of the conven-
tion of representatives elect, and
presided during the election of
speaker. Mr.. Whaley at once de-
voted himself to getting the House
into good working trim, and the busi-
ness of appointing the several COM
mittees was postponed until the day
following. Hon. Tom c. Hamer was
elected clerk, with Jno. S. Withers
reading clerk, and R. N. Pratt chap
lain, none of these old officers having
opposition. Jno. S. Wilson was elect
ed sergeant at arms. The message
of Governor Hayward, who went out
of Office Tuesday, has been read in
both branches of the General Assem-
bly,, while the first message Of Gov
ernor Ansel is awaited with inter-
est. 1t is expected that he will re-
commend a local option bill fashioned
after the Morgan bill of last year,
together with several other of the
measures he advocated on the stump.
The Inauguration took place Tuesday,
when both houses will convene in the
House of Representatives, to listen
to the ex-augural and inaugural ad-
dresses of Hayward and Ansel.
Several bills have already been intro
duced in the House.
In the Senate Governor Sloan
presided at the opening, and the
work of election of a president pro
tenn was Immediately taken up after
the new senator's had been sworn in.
The caucus of the hold over senators
had the night before nominated Cole
L. Blease for the honor, and he was
nominated-several senators, how
ever, doing something without pre-
cedent in the senate, namely, not
voting at all when Blease's name
was called. Subsequent develop
ments showed that there is a hitch
somewhere as eight of the senators
in the caucus say they voted for
Gov. Mauldin-and there were