The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1914-02-18

surprise Friday night Senator
Earle made a motion to have
these bills recalled from the
committee and placed upon the
Calandar without recommends
tion. He made statement that
that the committee had delayed
these bills, and he wanted action.
I could not sit idly by and let an
unjust statement be made with
out resentment, I informed the
senate of the situation, in no
uncertain language, and told
that body if they acceded to the
demand of the Greenville Sena-
tor, which it had the power to
do, I would resign from the
committee instanter, and refuse
to have anything more to do
with the committee. After some
discussion by several of the SEN
ators all urging the Greenville
Senator to withdraw his motion,
which he declined to do, the
motion was put with the result,
the entire senate sustained me,
with the lone exceptioa-the
Senator from Greenville. Then
he proposed to leave the bills
with the committee, it | would
consent for them to 60 to 2 third
reading with a notice OF general
amendments. I declined to fall
into such a bunglingly made
trap, and the matter goes over
until the committee can give the
railroads an opportunity next
Monday to advance an argument
WHY the measures should not
pass. There are many who DO
not stop to think railroads are
taxpayers and entitled to con-
sideration the same as citizens,
but as long as I occupy a place
in a law.making body, or upon
a jury, shall endeavor to treat
them with the, same justice l
would an individual. The fact
is, the people are not demanding
this legislation, it is few poll
ticlans, and some drummers who
are travelling on a commission
basis, paying their own ex-
penses; if these drummers
merited it, their employers
would pay them salaries and ex-
penses; the politician makes
this "holler" because it sounds
good in a political speech, it
makes the unthinking man feel
that it is an effort to save him a
whole lot of money, when in
fact it does not do so to any
appreciable extent. How many
citizens in Clarendon county
would be saved as much as one
dollar a year by reducing the
passenger rate from two and
one half to two cents per mile,
bnt if this one-half cent is taken
away from the railroads it will
amount to a huge sum and thus
cripple their earnings, to the
extent, they will not be in as
good position financially to meet
the growing demands of the
public or comfortable, more
frequent and safer service. The
people are demanding more
trains, better coaches, faster
schedules, the stations improved
and numbers of other things, if
the demands are at all complied
with, it takes money, therefore,
it is a serious proposition to the
railroads when an attempt is
made by the legislature to re-
duce their earnings without re
ducing their operating expenses.
It is a common expression to
hear, when man.is disposed to
be fair towards the railroads,
that he has been bought by them
or that he is under their infu-
ence from other considerations
than being sought. So far as I
am concerned, I can truly say I
have no interest directly or in
directly in railroads-I wish l
could say I owned railroads, nor
have I ever heard af a single in
stance af q railroad representa-
tive approaching a man with
regards to legislation that was
in the least improper; the rail-
road representatives go before
the committee as it is their right,
the same as they go into the
courts to present their claims,
when they have done this their
work is ended, but in not a sim