The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1919-03-05
End 0F SESSION
OF LEGISLATURE
Adjourns Sine Die 7.15 O'clock
Sunday Morning-Long Ses-
sion with Little Result.
BUT FEW REMAINED
UNTIL FINAL VOTE

IL w
UNTIL FINAL VOTE
Church Bells Calling to Early
Mass as Lawmakers Leave
State House.
Columbia, March 2.-The church
bells were ringing for early mass Sun
day morning when the few. remain
ing LEGISLATORS wended their ways
homeward from the State House Ihe
general assembly had adjourned It's
session of 1919 sine die. 1t was broad
daylight, the day light after Z O'Clock
when Gov. Cooper sent his final mes
SAGE cengratulating the. legislature
OF. its. efforts, wishing the members
weII and officially advising that ne
he'd mo further communication Tor
the lawmakers. There were over on
the senate side just six senators VINO
had Kept vigil and had the privilege
of Joining in the final amen. Four
Of tflena. Sena tors Watkins -Clltton,
Laney and Basklns went down to see
the governor officially, and two, Sen
ators Pearce and Christensen, re-
NAMED to keep company with Lieut.
Gov. Lilies and the newspaper men.
Most Of the senators, approaching
that all that was left to be done was
to witness the final adjournment had
gone to catch the early morning
{rains. the earliest of the series being
the train for Charleston, leaving here
at 3 o'clock, which carried Senator
Young, and then the trains go thick
ana fast out of Columbia, after in
the morning and they carried full
quotas Of legislators who had re-
NAMED to wait for the engrossing for
the work that had been piled up in the
last few days of the session.
It could not have been a more har-
.nenious ending. There was general
gccd will. No one waited and watch
ed Cor veto messages and when the
long free conference report from the
appropriation bill was submitted 1t
was NOT .eYen. read. so thoroughly was
egeEy.ane, satisfied and ready to go
home. -
It was even found best and safest
hy the free conference committee to
tx the maximum State levy at nine
ara a half mills, instead Of nine as
expected and no one protested or OBJ
iected 30 this The. final figures on
the appropriation bill, exclusive OF
tinexpended' balances is S3,S93,5S2.
as this amount s3s2,ooo is derived
5rS,n. special fees and the amount to
..s. raised By direct taxation is sS,5S1,-
5S2.1S. The proposed nine and
half mill levy will raise something
5yer s50,G more than what is nee
es.,aiy
The senate had a routing or raid
ing. party in the small hours OF the
night. A decided fight had been pro-
Yoked over a little bill which fixed
the salaries OF county officers in sew
eral counties and in the last moment
had an amendment attached requlr-
In; all county officers to keep an ex-
&C. and itemized statement OF all IN
comes from their Offices, from what
ever source derived. The purpose OF
Senator's Ketchen and Duncan was TO
make this requirement Statewide
and without exenapting any counties:
There is now such a starute but II
esempts certain counties and that ex-
eraptien has n2ade the law quetsicna-
BE ard not what is wanted. The
amendment to the little bill had
punch in that it was 4 general law.
Senator's Clifton and Sheppard in
sisted that the proposed act was un-
constitutional IN that the title was
not responsive to the scope Of the
bill.
Senator's Ketchen and Duncan who
led the fight for the enactment Of
the bill lost but they put up good
fight. -
The senate had attached the
amendment during the day. The
house refused to concur. Then free
conference committee was, appointed
and the house and senate committee
agreed to the senate proposition and
wanted the amendment incorporated
in the statute and then came the
fight
The senate agreed to the free con
ference report, and when it come to
the senate there were hundred and
one parliamentary tangles. Finally
about o'clock it was suggested that
a record vote would be wanted and
would be insited upon. Mr.. Duncan
thought this was as little as he could
get A poll of the. senate was taken
and It was found that 20 senator's
were present. Instructions were giv-
en- to find three additional members
to make the quorum. and several SEN
ators were routed from bed and
came to the senateSwith sleep in their
eyes and disappointment in their ex-
pressions that their slumoers had
been disturbed after they had gone
home to catch few moments sleep
in the conviction that all was over
except the final words.
The rolI-call showed voting: Sena-
tors w P Baskin, Proctor a. Bon
ham. II. L. Buck T. =. Butler, Niels