The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1917-05-11
DoINes AT THE STATE CAPITAL
Tallahassee, Fla, May 8, 1917

Tallahassee, Fla, May 3, 1917.
Special to Ocala Banner:
/ The house today sustained the gov
errors veto of the Blanton bill, which
abolishes the state tax commission.
Thirty-one voted for the bill and
thirty-seven against it's passage there
! by sustaining the veto by small ma
jority.
I The house refused to pass the full
crew bill, on reconsideration today,
but the general game law Jared better
and was passed this afternoon.
! The governor mas recommended
General Edward Anderson for state
disbursing agent under ruling of
the war department.
SARAH GROOM BITCH.
Tallahassee, May 2, 1917.
Special to the Ocala Banner:
The bill creating Okechobee county
passed the house this afternoon. This
bill provided for the county to be Coal
posed of parts of Palm Beach, st. Luz
cie Osceola and DeSoto but when the
! bill came up this afternoon on it's final
passage Mr.. Langford of DeSotO made
such strenuous objection to the tax
ing away of a part of his county that
an amendment submitted by him to
strike out the words "DeSoto county"
wherever they appeared in the bill
was adopted. and the creation of the
new county was accomplished without
| the coveted territory in DeSotO, leav
| ing the Kissimmee river as the bound
airy line between the two counties.
An emergency bill providing for the
organization of county guards for
home protection in each county not
exceeding four companies of one hun
dred and fifty men and officers, to
be paid one dollar per day for men
and five dollars day for officers, was
introduced by Withee of Columbia.
The bill went as far as third reading
under a waiver of the rules. when its
progress was halted by Mr. Stockton
of Duval, who opposed its passage.
The bill was under discussion with
considerable opposition TO it when the
hour set for a special order arrived
and was informally passed.
Blanton's bill providing for payment
rs -,
witnesses, an apparently innocent |
looking measure from the title, prov |
ed high explosive when it was read !
in full The measure covered the pay
ment of witness fees TO certain resi- |
dents of Madison county, who were |
summoned as witnesses in the man
damus proceedings that grew out of
alleged election frauds in Madison |
county in the Knott-Catts contest The |
bill was challenged by Mr.. Stephens
of Hamilton, who was one of Knott's |
attorneys in the proceedings, as hav
ing been introduced at the instance of |
Governor Cats to pay his witnesses.
Mr.. Gomez of Monroe said that Mr.. !
Blanton introduced a bill to abolish |
the tax commission which the house |
passed. which was recognized as an
Observation-Disclosures measure, and he !
did not believe Mr. Blanton would /
have been so inconsistent as to intro
duce this measure at the instance of
Governor Cats Il have noticed !
strong anti-Catts sentiment in this |
body. | am opposed to this bill be- /
cause | am a lawyer and appreciate |
the fact that it is a bad bill did not |
support Governor Cats nor am a /
particular friend of his, but when he |
became governor | laid aside all my
anti-Catts sentiment, and | intend to
uphold the governor of this state in
all matters for the welfare and up
building of the state"
Mr. Wilson of Pasco read the law
covering witness fees in civil cases
and disclaimed any intention of start
ing rough house with his inquiries
that precipitated the debate.
Lewis of Jackson opposed the meas
ure in dispassionare discussion of it's
legal objections and declared it's pass
age would be inaugurating a danger
GUS policy.
Mr.. Blanton, who had sat quietly
through the discussion, finally stated
that Governor Cats had no connec-
ton whatever with the bill as far as 1
he knew, and that he introduced it to
give relief to men from his county
who served as witnesses in the pro-
ceedings, and had never received paw
for the service
Upon roll call the bill was defeated
by vote of AZ to IL.