The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1933-02-11

BILL OPPOSED
Commissioner Plan Has
Open Foes, Debate De-
velops
The 'rimes-News bureau

RALEIGH, Feb. 1.-THE re-
organization committee has viz
! tually succeeded in putting
through its bill substituting
utilities commissioner for the
present three-member Corpora
ton Commission, after once see
ing it defeated in the senate by
margin of two votes. But de-
bate on the issue has brought
into the open some deep-seated
opposition to the committees
whole plan of reorganization
which was accepted here to mean
that several of its major propos-
ais will have hard shedding in the
Legislature.
When the senate first defeat
ed the bill last week, it was gen.
orally believed that the campaign
to abolish the Corporation Com
mission was at an end for this
session, at least. but the next
day motion TO reconsider the
vote prevailed and the bill went
back to the reorganization COM
mittee for revamping. The bill
was reported back to the senate
virtually unchanged except that
an amendment was tackled on So
as to prevent the appointment of
any additional superior court
judges as a result Of its enact.
ment.
Although not radically chang
ed. the bill passed the senate
yesterday by q vote of 90 to l8,
and it is now virtually assured
that the bill will finally be en-.
acted, since the opposition in the
house is not expected to be as
strong as it was in the senate.
A similar bill, introduced by.
Rep. Taylor of Mecklenburg, is,
now before the house, but it is
believed that it is not likely to
be accepted in preference to the
reorganization committees bill.
The chief reason for this is
that the Taylor bill makes the
utilities commissioner a one-man
court in fact-finding cases,
whereas the senate bill provides
that two superior court judges
shall be called in when such
cases are heard. The principal
objection to the reorganization
committees bill in the senate was
that it put too much power in
the hands of one man, and it is
regarded her, as certain that
the senate would never agree to
doing away the judges.
Opponents of the reorganiZa-
ton bill, it is now almost gem
orally conceded, lost their only
chance. to block it when they
failed to apply a clincher and
table the measure when it was
first defeated. Senator HartSell
Iof Cabarrus made the motion to
reconsider the vote next day,
with the aim in view of getting
the reorganization committee to
redraft the bill so that it might
be acceptable to him and other
senators who ha dvoted against
| it.
| The committee held hearing
and invited various senators to
present their views and sugges-
tons. None Of them, however,
was able to advance any way By
which. various objections could
be eliminated, and the bill still
be kept an "r economy measure.
The bill was not changed enough
to make it acceptable to Senator
Hartsell; and he again voted
against the bill, when it came up
for second reading yesterday. -,
While the senate members of
the reorganization commit t e, e
succeeded in getting their bill
passed, the preceding debate de-
veloped the fact that Senator
John Sprunt Hill, who led the
opposition. plans to fight about
every proposal the reorganization
committee has advanced. He
served notice on the committee
that he has fired only his bird
shot" thus far. and expects to
open up with the "buckshot"
when other recommendations of
the commission, including the
highway-prison consolid at on
plan, comes up in the form of
bills.
The Durham senator declared
that twenty-nine of the commit
tees recommendations had been
contained in the Brookings re-
port, and that six others were
included in the governors mes
sage and intimated that much of
the actual wording was the same.
This drew quick denials. from
the three senate members Of the
committee. Senator'S Moore and
Hanes both admitted that they
had never read the Bookings
report, and Senator MacLean de-
clared he had read the report
only once. two years ago. They
all denied Senator Hills charge
that the report had been studied
by the members Of the commit
tee in executive sessions.