Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-02-28
THE GOVERNORS vEToEs.
Chairman Browning Discusses Matter
From Other Side.

Ol the BONeTuOT, perhaps IL VIII lOt ue
amiss for me to give my version Of the
results brought about by the principal
items vetoed.
First of all, I desire to say that the
appropriation bill was prepared by the
ways and means committee Is an un-
usually short time, on account Of the
inaugural address Of his excellency
and also on account of his utterances
on the stump prior to the primary last
summer. 1t thus reached the senate
much earlier than usual and that body
deliberated over 1t much longer than
they usually have an opportunity Of
doing, so that 1t was only returned to
the house one day earlier than 1t was
absolutely necessary.
What Senate Did.
The senate had passed what was
known as the Stewart bill, providing
for new building at Winthrop, the
authorities there preferring this meth
cd rather than taking their chances in
the appropriation bill. While l was
heartily in favor Of the new building,
opposed this bill in a quiet way In the
house, feeling that Winthrop should
come in on the same basis as the uni
versity and the Citadel, but the bill
passed the house and received the ap-
proval Of the governor. I shall recur
to this matter little further on in this
article.
Principal vetoes.
Now as to the principal vetoes-the
item Of $4,000 to the comptroller gen.
erals department was given to enable
that department Of the government to
make a thorough investigation Of the
various county offices and through this
appropriation to establish a uniform
system Of bookkeeping. During the
past few years numbers Of counties
have made haphaZard Investigations
that in most cases amounted to moth
ing, and yet they have cost a great deal
more than this general appropriation
would cost and we still have no uni
form system Of keeping the books In
the various county offices. While the
present comptroller general may not
have devised the very best system pos
sible uniform system would have been
infinitely better than no system at all,
as at present, and in my opinion would
have saved to the taxpayers Of the
state at least $4,000 over and above
this appropriation.
Veto For Aetuary.
His veto Of $1,500 for an actuary in
the insurance department will cripple
that department very materially and
especially in dealing with those COM
panies who write insurance principally
in mill villages, collecting the pre-
miums weekly or monthly. The man
who is able to take out a large policy
in an old line company Is able to in
vestigate for himself. His veto Of $15,-
900 for the Florence reformatory shows
that his excellency has reversed him.
self. We have in Lexington reforma-
tory for young negro criminals where
these young boys are separated from
the old and hardened criminals Of their
race, with the hope that they may be
discharged without contamination and
reformed. The Florence reformatory
was intended to do this and more for
the young whites, who were wayward
or had made one false step. 1t had
proven its efficiency so we'll that 1t had
outgrown its present quarters, and
this appropriation was intended to en-
large the plant that its field Of use
fulness might be greatly extended.
The Heating Plant.
AS to his veto Of the appropriation
for heating plant at the negro col
lege, I shall not argue the question as
to whether that race should be educat-
ed or not, simply stating this fact
which his excellency Is we'll aware Of,
that we have to maintain this institu-
ton to secure the funds from the ma
tional government which constitute a
considerable item in the revenue OF
Clemson college, but I shall argue 1t
from an economic standpoint, and that
is, that this institution is the property
of the state, and as such should be pro-
tected from danger OF loss by hre. A
very large dormitory was burned about
eighteen months ago, the replacing Of
which has cost the taxpayers OF South
Carolina $4,000 last year, and the same
amount this. Had this proposed heat
ing plant been In existence at that
time, this loss Of $28,000 to the taxpay-
ers of the state would not have occur
red, and without this heating plant, 1t
is liable to recur at any time. AS to
the item Of $4,000 for an artesian well
at the same institution, 1t Is only a
question of whether 1t is cheaper to pay
$4,000 once for all, for a water sup
ply, or to annually pay $500 to the
city Of Orangeburg for water.
The same argument can be applied
to the heating plant at the university.
Winthrop lnfirmary.
AS to the infirmary at Winthrop,
it was built to accommodate the aver
age sick in an institution Of 800, 1t has
now grown to more than 700. Should
an epidemic of any contagious disease,
measles, mumps, typhoid fever, etc.,
break out there, 1t would very probably
bring tears and sorrow to many homes
on account of the inadequate provision
for coping with such a contingency.
God grant that his excellency, in his
zeal for economy, shall place no moth
er Of our state In mourning garb.
While might criticise with equal
Justice most of the other vetoes of his
excellency, there are but two more
for which I shall ask space in your
columns to show his absolute incon-
sistency.
His excellency vetoes the appropria-
ton of $4,000 to the State Agricultural
and Mechanical society, giving as his
reason that such appropriations are
unconstitutional, yet these appropria-
tions were made under the constitution
Of 1858, and under the constitution
Of 1895, and I have no hesitation In
saying that no money expended by the
state has returned as large dividends,
not only developing our agricultural
and live stock interests, but also in
making our people a homogeneous
mass, and making them feel the kinship
of race throughout the entire length
and breadth of the state.
His excellency vetoes this appropria-
ton as being unconstitutional, and yet
he allows to go unscatched an appro-
priation of $4,000 for the Corn Breed
ers association, an organization but
one year old, that has held but one ex-
position, and that an absolute farce 80
far as corn breeding was concerned.
Jerry Moore with his 22S bushels
per acre could have won no prize un-
der the rules adopted by this associa-
ton. The man who produced 80 to Az
bushels of corn of the single ear va
riety would sweep poor Jerry Moore
with his measly little 22S bushels OF
prolific corn in ignominious defeat from
the field. Yet his excellency approves
of an appropriation of $4,000 to per-
petuate this organization, he Is so in
sistent upon it that he invites me as
chairman of the ways and means COM
mittee, into his office and lays the mat
ter before me, after the ways and
means committee and the house have
disallowed this appropriation.
If the appropriation for the agricul-
tural society Is unconstitutional, where
does he get his constitutional author
ity for this appropriation?
Recurring now to the Stewart Dill tor
new building at Winthrop, that Is ap-
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