The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1914-02-05
LEGISLATIVE PROCEEDINGS.
Some Matters OF General Interest
That Came to the Fore Last Week.

That Came TO the FOre Last week.
Columbia, February 2::-The Sem
ate will take up this week the
Fortner bill, already passed by the
House, which forbids white persons
from teaching in negro schools, or
from nursing in negro hospitals. The
bill is now in the committee on Edu-
cation, which will probably report it
to the Senate unfavorably and then
will come the battle. The bill has
excited opposition in influential
quarters. Some of the clergy and
most of the newspapers are thun-
dering against its passage and term
it a step backwards. They are con-
centrating their efforts in the Senate
to get that body to defeat the bill
and advocates of the measure are
equally determined to have it get
on the statute bccns.
The local option compulsory edu-
cation bill has already passed the
House and will undoubtedly get
through the Senate. 1t is believed
that there will be enough votes to
repass it over the Governors veto,
for he has declared that he will dis
approve of any compulsory school
attendance legislation.
The primary reform bill is now in
the hands of subcommittee from
the Senate consisting of Senators
Nicholson, Sharpe, McLaurin, Cliff
ton, and Sullivan. They are to re-
port a substitute for the Nicholson
bill, which seeks to tighten up" the
primary. There is reason to be-
lieve that some kind of bill safe
guarding the primary will get
through the Senate and possibly the
House, but it is certain to meet the
veto of Governor Blease.
The House overwhelmingly passed
the bill providing for fiat two cent
passenger rate on all railroads.
That body refused to exempt short
lines and made the provisions of the
bill apply to long and short alike.
That is another measure which the
Senate will have tn pass on.
The General Assembly spent Fri
day in Florence inspecting the In
dustrial school and were the guests
of that city. They have accepted
an invitation to visit Charleston,
the date for which has not yet been
set, but will probably be later in the
session.
Both Houses reconvene tomorrow;
the Senate at noon and the House
at / p. m.
Interest is fixed on the investiga-
ton into the State Hospital for the
Insane, which begins on Tuesday af-
ternoon before the joint committee
of the two Houses in the supreme
court room at 8 o'clock. United
States Senator B R Tillman, Cover
nors Cole L Blease, the board of
regents, Supt ] w Babcock of the
Asylum, DR. Saunders, the lady phys
ician at the Hospital, the secretary
of the asylum commission, Colonel
E H Aull of Newberry. Colonel John
K Aull, the private secretary of
Governor Blease, are among those
who have been summoned to appear
before the committee on Tuesday.
The announcement from Washing
onyesterday morning that Senator
Tillman had written to Secretary c
C Wyche, of the investigating COM
mittee, that he would appear and
testify on Saturday if that date
would suit the committee, created
intense interest. 1t is safe to say
that if Senator Tillman comes to
Columbia and goes before the COM
mittee that the supreme court room
will be unable to hold the crowd of
spectators.
The General Assembly begins its
fourth week of the session tomorrow.
With nearly 1,500 bills already in
troduced, it is believed that the Leg
islature will quit when the forty
days expire. The Ways and Means
committee should report the appro-
priation bill the latter part of this
week and when that bill is out of
the way the time for sine die ad-
journment will probably be settled
on. w F CALDWELL.