The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1908-02-12

SENATE DISCUSSES REPEAL OF
THE LIEN LAW.
NiSht sessions TO BE Held All This
Week-Most OF Mondays Discus
sion Related to Special Liquor ISlcc-
tions-Union to Have Another This
d. Year.

Columbia. Feb. 10.-The house and
senate have now gotten on the Anal
stretch Of their work and begged
away today at good pace. The sem
ate managed to dispose Of most of the
third reading bills although there
was some discussion onAeveral Of the
measures
a number Of special orders have
been arranged and the statement was
made during the day that the senate
expects to hold regular night sessions
during the remainder Of the week.
with the exception Of Saturday.
| Most of the discussion today was
on the bills relative to special liquor
elections. Union county was allowed
to have her new election, as it appears
to have been agre ed upon between
those, for, as we'll as those against. the
county dispensary system. The re-
quest for n special election in Aiken,
county provoked debate and at the
time OF taking recess no action had
been taken. The statement was made
that it would be very difficult to get a
petition signed in Aiken county on
account OF the constant changing OF
residence on the part of MANY of
those connected with the cotton mills
in Aiken county, and the difficulty iu
getting the required number cf names
10 petition when the registration.
lists are so badly mixed up anil con-
tain so many names Of operatives who
have changed their residence.
A resolution was adpoted proposing
a constitutional amendment making II
possible in cities for city council to
tax adjoining property for street i'm
provements. The resolution will
have to go to the house and, if adopt
ed, will have to be adopted by the
people before Cities can assess abut.
ting property for street improve
ments.
The senate held night session
notwithstanding the horrible night
and downpour Of rain.
The record indicated that the lien
law had precedence, and it was taker
up. Senator Crouch favored the re-
peal Of the law. Senator Graydon
SAID the hue and cry advocating the
repeal OF the lien law cam. chiefly
from the newspapers and a few land
lords: Hs had never seen valid rea-
eon in favor Of the bill The only or
gumcnt he had heard was that the
repeal would mean the servituLc Of
colored labor. He felt that the negro
was free, and that any such hill would
prove an egrrgious mistake. Instead
Of forcing the negro into farm servi-,
tude 1t would drive the negro to the
West and public works outside this
State. The very men crying FOR the
repeal Of the lien law are the very
men who want immigrants He would
rather have the negro than the
Southern Europeans as laborers This
bill will bring trouble to the land
lords he said.
AS business proposition it was
better, he said, for some one other
than the landlord to take the risk of
advancing money. The white men
are not going to till the lands as
wage hands. and to pass this bill will
force the> white people either to the
cotton mills or away from the State.
The tendency In the up-country now
is for the whites to go to the mills or
towns. Thc white men is not going
to ask favors; he will 60 to the cot
ton mills. They ssy the merchant
charges exorbitHnt interest, and he
asked how much more they would
charge If thore were no security. He
wanted the merchants to know that
he for one did not brand them es
usurers and men without feeling. The
merchants as a class are honorable
men. and he doubted II they charged
as much as the landlord would. AS
certain as this issue Is put before the
people correctly they will condemn
this repeal.
Nr. Graydon has a startling array
| of figures from 81 out Of the Al coun-
ties. and these reports from the clerks
of court showed that last YEAR there
were 90.Go0 liens given. The missing
counties would run the number up to
! 100000. or an average Of 5000 liens
to the county. The record showed
that these 10000 were twenty.sevcn
millions dollars credit. He gave these
illustrations from the record Of the
liens given last year: Orangeburg,