The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1907-01-30
TIE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
REy4EW OF THE WORK DONE
THUS FAR.
Summary of the Important Measures
That Have Been Debated and
Forecast of the Probable Fate OF
These Bills.


Tf,at Have Been Debated and a
Forecast of the Probable Fate OF
These Bills.
Columbia, Jan. 2s.-The most sig
nifcant feature of the work Of the
South Carolina legislature in the past
week-in fact, the most important So
far this session-was the action the
senate took on Friday on the SHlsn
concurrent resolution, that a Jolne
committee consisting Of the judiciary
committee of each branch Of the
general assembly shall prepare and
submit a bill to abolish the State dis
4nensary. and to submit bill for the
handling OF liquor, providing for To-
cal option in the counties between
prohibition and county dispensar1es.
This resolution was adopted by an
ave and nay vote of 10 to 16. The State
dispensary senator's present, Messrs.
Raysor and Wells, were paired VITA
Messrs. McKeithan and Haynes, 10
.eal optonists, while two other State
dispensary men,, Senator'S Johnson
and Hough, were absent and not pair
ed. Had all been present the vote
would have been 81 to 20 for the res
,oluticn.
senator Talbert, prohibitionist, vot-
ed with the dispensary people. The
state dispensary people are counting
son him to stick, and they expect Mr.
Smith to come to them, which VIII
give them a majority. But their hope
appears to have scant foundation 1t
seems certainty that the senate,
which has been the State d:spensary
factions only hope, is against the
system, and viii vote for the Carey
Cethran local option measure, which
the dispensary leaders and all others
admit will pass the house. In fact
in effect 81 out Of the II senators
have already voted for such a meas
ure.
The decisive battle in the dispensa-
ry warfare-which now gives every
promise of being carried to conciu-
sion, probably in favor of local op-
tion-was opened in the senate to-
day, when all senate dispensary olils'
were up for discussion by reason OF
their being made special orders. These
bills include Senator Raysor's Dill
abolishing the State board of direc-
tors and carrying out the publication
scheme of last year as embodied IN,
the Tillman-Raysor- Manning bill,
which the senate passed and the houes
rejected; Senator Ta1bert's three bills
providing for prohibition, and Senator
Rogers bill to abolish both the State
board and the Office Of commissioner
and place the State dispensary in
charge of one man to be known as
director Of the State dispensary.
The thunders of the dispensary
conflict in the house will begin to roll
on Tuesday at noon, from which time
to the end of the chapter the Carey
Cothran bill and the Richards puri-
hcaption bill have precendence over
all other business. The former has
received a majority favorable report
by the dispensary committee and the
latter a majority unfavorable re-
port, which was to be expected, the
house being anti-dispensary with an
-dispensary speaker.
The new dispensary investigating
committee has its report along with
a great volume of testimony in the
hands of the public printers and hope
to get the entire thing before the SEN
ate by tonight if the senate decides
on a session tonight. This report will
be of a sensational character.
AS yet the house has sent nothing
to the senate on the subject Of the
dispensary-in fact, has taken no ac-
ton itself. The Smith resolution
came 80 the house today. Whether
the house will pass it is altogether
problemat!cal. The local option house
members already have their bill
prepared after careful, close study
extending through several months,
and it is not likely that they will rel
ish the idea Of the joint judiciary
committee sending in a substitute, the
senate judiciary committee being pro-
State dispensary. Possibly the house
local optionists will be willing to
pass the Smith resolution and get
their friends on the two committees
to report the Carey-Cothran bilI, as
majority or minority measure as the
case may be.
The dispensary has been and will
continue to be the chief topic of in
terest, but affecting the farmers and
rural business interests even more
yitally is the subject Of the agricul-
turral lien law. The house by vote
of 7s to 50 passed the Richards bill
on Thursday to repeal that portion OF
the law which allows the merchant
20 advance for the coming crops.
This is a fight Mr.. Richasds has been
prosecuting for ten long years, to
repeal law which has been IN exist
ence for Al years. Strange enough
the senate the very next day by vote
of 81 to 10 killed a senate bill look
ing to the same change. Mr. Rich
ards. however, who never gives up,
saws he is not beat, that his bill Will
pass the senate when all members are