The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-02-22
NO FIFTH JUSTICE THIS YEAR.
SENATE AND HOUSE AGREE TO
ADJOURN TO-DAY NOON.
Concurrent Resolution Adopted by
Both Branches of Legislature rrc.
vents Further BallOting for Fifth
Member of Supreme Court Until
Next Session - Governor Cannot
Appoint.

Columbia, Feb. 1.-THE judicial
election took a sudden and fatal turn
this afternoon. The balloting is over
and there will be no fifth Associate
Justice for a year. There were symp-
toms of such action this morning.,
but it was not until the afternoon
session that the final blow was given
and, as one member expressed it, the
respective nominees could "sleep in
peace tolight."
1t all happened like this: The Sem
ate adopted and sent the House a
resolution fixing noon tomorrow as
the hour for adjournment. This is
the same hour fixed for the voting to-
morrow, and the balloting and ad-
Jourhing cannot very we'll happen at
the same instant. This morning Mr..
Stevenson suggested that the adjourn
ment resolution had better remain on
tap until tomorrow. This afternoon,
when the House reassembled, he was
all agog to adopt it exactly as the
Senate had fixed it.
Mr.. Doar thought this was taking a
"Gotch hold" on the election of an
Associate Justice, and Mr.. Belser
went on to add that it looked like a
concerted effort to paralyze what was
thought to be the Fraser boom.
Mr.. Gary came to the rescue of Mr..
Stevenson and argued that members
wanted to go home on the aoon trains
and that there was no use to delay
action on the adjournment resolution.
Then came Mr.. Ashley, who has
been a Watts advocate, who insisted
that he and every one else was tired
trying to elect an Associate Justice
and that he, too, wanted to go home.
Mr.. d. l.. Smith said that he had
been very anxious to See an Associate
Justice elected, but the members had
not done SO. and the time had come
to quit and go home and he was for
going home.
MIR. Doar thought that the suggest
ion Of getting a "Gotch hold" on the
election was wrong and thought the
members ought to try a few ballots
on the election tomorrow. Mr.. Smith
said that he had positive information
that the friends Of the three candi-
dates were going to stand pat to-
morrow, and he saw no use of fur
ther effort.
Mr.. Stevenson and Mr.. Rembert
suggested that the State had gotten
along for years with four members of
the Supreme Court, and that they
supposed it could do so for another
year. The House then, by an al
most unanimous vote, (some say it
was all the Memminger and Watts
votes and many of the tired Fraser
advocates who voted for the resolu-
uon) passed the measure fixing noon
tomorrow for adjournment. All the
same, the resolution was overwhel-
mingly adopted, and then to add to
the security it was clinched, and in
That way cannot be taken up again
except by unanimous consent.
Speaker Smith, who did not seem
pleased with the Gotch hold proceed
ings, announced that when the hour
OF noon arrived tomorrow that he
would adjourn the House and that he
meant what he said.
There have beea twenty-seven bal
lots for Associate Justice without an
election. The balloting continued
pretty much the same as heretofore
and without material loss or change
in the votes of any one Of the three
candidates. Today. for instance, in
the three ballots, there was not q
change from start to finish in the
votes OF any one of the 43 Senators.
The question has been asked: What
will occur now that there will be no
election? Under the terms OF the
Act 1T is provided that the General
Assembly shall elect the fifth Assoc
ciate Justice and that is all there is
to it. The Governor cannot appoint
and the Supreme Court would have
10 continue its work as at present
constituted.