The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1921-02-18
MORRISETTE AND COOKE
ARE AT LOGGERHEADG
Morrisette Breaks With Pasquotank Man on
Bridge Legislation and Would Have 9
s Camden Build Its Own
Bridge

Representative Cookies bill pro-
viding for the acquisition by pur-
chase orr the building Of bridge
across Pasquotank River at Elz- j
abeth City to provide free ferry
for the counties Of Pasquotank
and Camden was reported unfav-
orable by the House Committee
yesterday and that probably ends
it. A bill introduced by Repre-
sentative Morrisette of Camden
authorizing and directing Cam
den county to build or acquire
such a bridge got favorable re-
port from the Committee and
probably will be enacted into law
this week. Under the Morri-
sette bill sCamden county would
issue bonds not to exceed one
hundred thousand dollars and
build or acquire a bridge across
Athe Pasquotank river at some
point to be selected by the State
Highway Commission. This
bridge would be free OF, tolls to,
residents of Camden but ali
others using the bridge would
pay tolls to Camden. The Nor
risette bill is result of the in
ability of Cooke and Morrisette
to reach an agreement on bill
by which the two counties would
jointly build the bridge. It was
known that Morrisette was fav-
orab1e to the Robinson Ferry
route and wanted a bill provid-
ing for the purchase of this
property, Cooke objected and il
was agreed to leave the selection
Of a location to the State
This agreement having been
reached bill was SO drafted and
it was understood that the bill
was to have been introduced last
Saturday and the bill was left in
Cookies hands Cooke and Nor
risette came home for the week
end, Morrisette having been>l led
to believe that Cooke had provid-
ed for the introduction Of the
bill. But the bill was not intro
duced and Cooke now says he
didn't make Morrisette any pro-
mise "Cooke is a damned liar,
and I'll step on his toes and tell
his so to his teeth" says Morri-
settle.
The discussion of the bridge
bills in the Committee Wednes-
day night was hot and hilarious.
Cooke gave a graphic history Of
the Cooke family and extol1ed at
length the virtues of his brother
Jim of Camden. It seemed that
ais chief interest in bridge legis-
1ation was to get that brother
Jim on the Bridge Commission.
Camden couldn't get along with
out brother Jim In the course of
his remarks before the Commit
tee Cooke stated that Col. I. M.
Meekins had said that he used to
control MorriseAe when he had
a mortgage on him but had lost
control of the Camden man since
the mortgage had been Satisfied.
Col. Meekins, was present and
said that that statement was as
false as the oath of Annanias be-
fore St. Peter. Mr.. Cooke apo1-
ogized.
Mr.. Cookies conduct in the
General Assembly has won no
applause for him to date. He
seems to have become inyo1Yed
in an embarrassing effort to
please E. F. Ayd1ett in all of his
acts and has lost the
confidence of his fellow 1egis1a
tors. His dream was to build
monument for himself out of his
career and the upshot
will be that he will be recorded
as the most, ignominious 1egisla
tive failure ever sent to the cap
tai from Pasquotank county or
his newspapers misses a guess.
The Statewide Stock Law bill