The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1933-03-16
SCHOOL BILL IS
AGAIN TO FORE
Mechanically 8-Months
School Bloc Seeks
an Early Vote
The Timcs-News RnreHC
Sir Walter Hotel

RALEIGH. March 16.-After
being on the defensive for nearly
two weeks, hackers of the Mac
Lean-Bailey eight months school
bill, confident that they can push
the measure through the senate in
short order. are on the offensive
and are pressing for an early
vote. They have succeeded in get
ting the bill set for a special or
der in the senate Thursday, but
it is problematical whether it will
come up at that time because of
the Constitution bill. which may
give the upper branch of the gen.
eral assembly all it can do for the
next few days.
The significance of this move
by the proponents of an eight
months term, however, is the fact
that they are loudly demanding
an early vote, and that they are
confident that the way is charted
for the passage of the bill by the
general assembly. 1t has been chi
bernating" on the senate's calen-
dar for nearly three weeks while
its sponsors waited for the psy-
Geological moment to press for a
vote upon it.
That moment has come. Three
weeks ago Senator A. D. Mac
Lean, who managed to get the six
months term bill through the
1881 session and thereby held the
assembly here for five months try
ing to find way to finance it,
kept asking that a vote on the
measure be delayed. This, obvi-
ously, was done because of the
inability of the joint finance COM
mittee to get together on the
question of an eight months term
and a sales tax. although the sem
ate branch of the committee ap-
parently was in favor of both.
Then came the national finan-
cial crisis which temporarily
threw a scare into the camp of
the eight months term propon-
ents. Opinion seemed to be divid-
ed as to what effect the banking
situation might have on revenue
and appropriations. But now,
they declare. the way is plainly
charted. Governor Ehringhaus'
advocacy of an eight months
term in his special message Mon
day night gave them the cue.
| The senate, at the time the
MacLean-Bailey bill was intro
duced three weeks ago, was con-
ceded to be favorably disposed to-
ward an eight months term. To-
day, after Governor Ehringhaus'
| message, there is no doubt that
the senate will pass the bill, in
the opinion of observers here.
, Expressions from individual SEN
! ators indicate that a majority of
them are willing to support the
governors program, eight months
school term and sales tax and
everything else. ....
However, opposition is already
lining up in the senate, with in
dications that it will be led by
Senator Gwyn OF Rockingham.
who has announced that he will
fight any new form of sales tax,
which is regarded as inevitable if
an eight months term is adopted.
There are others in the senate
who are opposed to the eight
months term, but they are al
ready conceded to be in a minor
ity, leaving the principal fight
over the MacLean-Bailey bill to
be settled in the more doubtful
house of representatives.
The Mechanically bill is
merely a declaration of policy and
carries no machinery. Its adop-
ton, however. would force the
assembly to adopt some new form
| of tax to support it. No provision
is made in the committee appro-
priations bill, now on the house
calendar. for an eight months
term. but such an amendment
could be offered on the floor, and
lit is expected that the house may
act on this item before the Mac
Lean-Bailey bill gets across the
hall.
Senators Bailey and MacLean
are making hard fight to get an
early vote on their bill, but cir
cumstance happened to be against
them. After Governor Ehringhaus
charted the way for the bill in
his Monday night address, the
senate found itself ensnarled the
| following day in the new Consti'
tuition bill, which had been set as
a special order. Consideration OF
| this bill is likely to consume sew
eral days, and although the eight
months school measure is set as
a special order for Thursday, the