The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1923-01-26
PREDICTS FAILURE FOR
GOVERNORS SHIP PLAN
Leaders of Legislative Body Fail to Rally To A
State Navy, But The He Law Makers
Like Fish and Oysters
BY o. ]. COFFIN
Raleigh, N. c., Correspondent of
THE INDEPENDENT.

olliPS, Sdii iiiS tiiS SlatS iiaS
up and down the Atlantic sea-
board and through the in
land waterways and freight to
and from Baltimore, New
York, Philadelphia, Boston,
Providence, Wilmington, New
Bern, Washington, Southport
and Elizabeth City and bring
ing by reason of competition
cheaper freight rates to the
shippers of this State will in all
probability fail to materialize.
The Governor won't like this pro-
phecy. Many of his friends won't.
Some of mine and yours will not
relish it. / don't know that I like t
myself; but Will Saunders has told
me that we wants the straight dope
on what is taking place at the State
Capital. The situation stacks up this
way:
The Governor is conceded q chance
to get his measure past the Senate,
although a leading member of that
body told me earlier in the week that
q members were committed against
doing anything more than creating
commission to report to the General
Assembly and appropriating something
like $1,000 for expenses. This does
not sound altogether unreasonable.
Varser of Robson, supposed to be
the Senate's Big Boy, is understood
to have declined the honor of Steering
the bill. Giles of Mcdowell, char
man of appropriations, is against il
Long of Halifax, who divides honor
with Sans of Forsyth for the rest
the leadership, has probably not bee
invited to assist. Anyhow, he doeen
seem interested. Sans is against IL
boat-line.
But conceding the bill right-Of-wi
through the Senate without one OF &
big four supporting it, when t
House is reached the breakers beg
to roar. Capt. Billy Saunders
Smithficld has the bill in charge.
Governor" Rufc DoughtOn of
lcghany Is non-committal. That's
most enough in itself to defeat a
measure carrying couple of MILL
dollars of appropriations. The
man who sometimes passes thin
over the Gentleman from Allcgha
this will be Pete Murphy of Row.
believes the measure is in oppo:
ton to the Constitution of the Unit
States as we'll as the State of Nor
Carolina.
Tam Bowie, q wheel-horse amoi
the wcsterncrs, is written dov
against it. He would be long tin
favoring anything for the cast Detor
he gets his railroad connection for tn
Lost Providences.
Connor of Wilson can't see the
proposit:on at all. That means tb"f
he will cndeavor to shoot it so full
holes that it i'll resemble an adv
tiscment of the Winchester Repeat
Arms Company's 12-gauge shotg
shells.
There arc many who are friendl,
but not one veteran legislative cam
paigner has come forward to oiier III
services to fight under the naval flag
It is probably possible TO pass bd
without leadership in the Assembly
but it isn't probable. Therefore ID
prophecy that the dream will not ma
tcrializc.
Much depends on how good spor
the Governor shows himself to be o
TO whether he gets the rest OF his Pre-
gram through. lie has unqucstionaDl
alienated some through his bawlln
out of the opposition as "chlnquapi
heads" and classifying them as elth'
uniformed or selfish. Then. too,
seeming willingness to utilize Il
mare 's-ncst pronounced by somebo'
at the first hearing to be Virgin
cities lobby with an enormous slus
fund has received reacted again
him. Not that anybody believes tn
the Governor believed the yarn
that he ever meant to say he I'll
There are some charging him WI
however, and others who profess
believe him almost wholly responSIt
aiding and abetting its g':e'atlo
for its introduction into cS'rs
ment. W
Data. nutIooL fnr Fish