The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1917-02-14
NERAL $.AS SEMBLaY \ ON ITS
HOME-STRETCH8 OF SESSION
Sane Legislation on Liquor Question
for Charleston is Still Within the
Realm of Possibility. 6

sane Legislation on Liquor question
for Charleston is Still Within the
Realm of Possibility.
Columbia, Feb, 1.-THE general
assembly Is now upon the "home-
stretch" for the session Of 1917. I'm
less present indications should be
adjournment will be reached the last
of the coming week, and the mem
bers ought to be able TO get to their
homes, on next Sunday.
The Senate will tackle the appro-
priatioE bill this week, the house hav-
ing passed and sent the measure
over to the upper branch. AS has
been stated in detail in this corre-
spondence, the bill carries an increase
over last years appropriations of
practically two hundred thousand dol
lars, the total amount carried by the
present bill, as it passed the house,
being, $2,685, ,46o.30. The general i'm
preston is that few changes will be
made by. the senate.
The house has disposed of the Ii
quor measures before it by the pass
age of the Richey "bone-dry" meas
ure. The senate debated liquor at
length during the past week, but
reached no definite conclusion. That
there will be disagreement between
the two houses now appears newt
able. This may mean that the two
bodies can get together upon some
compromise through a conference
committee, or, upon the other hand,
it may mean that the present clash
in 'iews between the lower and upper
branches will be continued until final
adjournment, which would leave the
loS or -
or the senate seems now to be divided
between the DuRant and the D. r.
Williams measures, the former allow
ing quart per month upon the ply
sician's prescription plan, and the lat
ter allowing, as it now stands, quart
a month on certificate secured from
the clerk of court upon the payment
of twenty-five cents. The senate
k.ned several substitutes offered,
which would have provided for "air-
tight" measures in lieu of the two
propositions beforei
The whole situation seems to be
that the senate has placed itself on
record, upon measures introduced be-
the Richey "bone-dry" bill which has
passed the house. When adjourn
ment was reached on Friday night, at
midnight, until Saturday morning, the
senate has threshed out the matter
considerably, but had not come to any
definite conclusion, and on Saturday
only short session was held, at
which local matters were considered.
This will leave the. whole liquor
problem yet to be decided upon by
the senate this week.
If the senate, kills the Richey bill,
which has passed the house, and sim
ply passes a measure or its own, and
the house kills that measure, there
will be deadlock, which will mean
no liquor legislation at this session.
If either body should amend such
measure as might be passed by the
other body, SO as to include it's own
provisions, or certain. of those pro-
visions, in the measure Of the other
body, the. matter would then go to
would probably agree upon some
promise measure. What will be done,
no one can predict with any degree
of accuracy. Unless the houses agree
upon some bill, or disagree entirely,
there may be legislation by free
conference committee during the clos.
ing hours of the session, under GER
tain conditions, which would mean
legislation for the entire state upon
this very important matter, upon
which the people of the state are di-
vided, by committee of three men,
bers of the senate and three members
of the house. The danger of allow
ing the work of the session to pile
up and then be disposed Of during the
closing hours of the session by free
conferenie committees, has been call
cd attention to in this correspondence.
During the rush just before final ad-
Journment, free conference committee
reports are submitted every few min
utcs, and they are usually adopted,
and that means law placed upon the
statute books, unless it should be
vetoed by the governor, in which
event it would take two:thirds of each
house to make the measure law.
"A good many people were surpris-
ed when the house of representatives
on Saturday night cut out the item
OF $l5,OOO for law enforcement,
1917" This was fund which was
to be expended ny the governor, in
practically the same manner as the
appropriation of $40,c5o used last
year: There was a spirited fight up
on this item, which was finally cut
out by vote by the house Of Sd to
44. The section making an appropria-
tion for the governors office, which
had already been passed by the house,
provided $4,000 for special fund for
law government" and the appropria
tion of $4,000, which was killed, was
an attempted additional appropria-
ton, under the miscellaneous" item.
The various measures to establish a
state highway commission have been
made q Sppciol or1p,. IN tho ho,,eo fo,.