Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-02-16
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
A Number Of Important Measures
Disposed of Yesterday.

Columbia, February Is: The Lide
senate bill providing for an election on
the question Of re-establishing the dis
pensary In certain dry" counties.
passed the house tonight In an amend
ed form. Elections can be held Tues
day after the first Monday in Janu-
ary, 1913" The bill will not prevent
certain counties, which voted out the
dispensary under the Carey Cothran
law, from holding another election this
year on the question Of "dispensary or
no dispensary" upon petition of the
required number of voters. Amend
ments were adopted providing that, to
secure an election, a petition must be
presented signed by one-third Of the
qualified voters. An amendment was
adopted allowing those counties vot-
| ing on the whisky question in 1909 to
vote again in 1913, IL the required
number Of citizens so desire.
The house has adopted the free
conference report on the state ware
house bill, in which the two bodies
could not agree on amendments neces-
stating a reference to free confer
ence. The bill will now become law,
1t provides for commission and an
appropriation of $250,000 to estab-
| lish chain Of state warehouses for
lture of the bill is that the attorney
general. is directed to institute pro-
ceedings in the supreme court against
the commission for the purpose Of de-
Itermining the constitutionality Of the
Iact. No part Of the appropriation can
become available until the termination
of the proceedings.
After more than an hours debate,
the house today rejected Senator Cros-
sons bill to establish the office Of
state highway commissioner, to de-
fine his duties, to fix his salary and
to appropriate money to carry out the
provisions Of the act
The vote on the question was SO to
SO, and the action Of the house was
apparently q reversal Of It's attitude on
the question last night, when de-
cisive majority steadily refused to kill
the bill
The proposed establishing Of state
highway commissioner has aroused
state interest throughout the year. The
bill was introduced In the senate last
session by DIR. Crosson, senator from
Lexington, and was passed by the up
per body and sent to the house Of
Representatives at this session.
The bill carried provision for a
tax on automobiles, and on this ground
the fight was directed. The Spartan
burg delegation was especially vehe-
ment and threatened to institute a fl
ibuster against the proposed legisla-
ton. After much debating and symp-,
toms of filibustering cropping out, the
bill was tabled.
The senate tonight passed the bill
empowering the Columbia Railway,
Gas & Electric Co. to erect q dam
across the Columbia canal, and the
Broad and Saluda rivers at their con-
f1uence with the Congaree river. This
Is a large developmental scheme and
will entail the expenditure Of nearly
s2.000,000.
The bill was. introduced by Senator
Weston Of Columbia, who has fathered
1t through the session. The bill has
received strenuous opposition from
Senator Crosson, who objected to Co
lumbia being bottled up" He said
in the senate tonight that, In his opin-
lon, the Southern Power company Is
behind the bill. The bill was 80 amend
ed that 1t will require the promoters
of the scheme to extend the present
canal for fully two miles. which was
provided for in the original act when
the state turned it over to the city Of
Columbia. The time limit Is set for
five years.