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SPEAKER of the HOUSE
South Carolina Representative
SOL BLATT
His Ability Has Won an Extraordinary
Record in a Tradition-Minded State
Representative Solomon Blatt
has for more than two decades
been elected to the South Carolina
House of Representatives by his
fellow citizens i» the area of his
home town of Barnwell.
He received a special honor in
January of 1957 when his portrait
was unveiled to hang on the walls
of the House of Representatives
for which at the time he had serv
ed sixteen years as Speaker.
It was by no means a swan song,
for he has continued in this post,
adding distinction to the record
for wnich his fellow Representa
tives had voted to honor him.
Participating in the unveiling
ceremonies were Former South
Carolina Governor James F.
Byrnes, who made the formal
presentation of the portrait;
George Bell Timmerman Jr., then
South Carolina’s governor; Lieu
tenant Governor E. F. Hollins, the
present governor, and a number
of other dignitaries including Rev.
George E. Meetze, chaplain of the
S. C. Senate; Rev. T. B. Landham,
House chaplain; S. C. Representta-
tive Robert E. McNair; U. S. Sena
tor Edgar A. Brown and others.
Mr. Blatt’s grandchildren, Greg,
Sheryl and Brian Blatt, unveiled
the portrait.
In his message, Mr. Byrnes de
clared:
“The House of Representatives
determines what portraits shall
be placed upon the walls of this
chamber ana of the House Gallery.
“Among those who have been
honored by having their portraits
placed here, are five men who
served as President of the United
States and a number of South
Carolinians who served as Gov
ernor and in the armed forces of
the United States and the Con
federate States.
“Throughout its history, many
distinguished South Carolinians
have served as Speaker of the
House of Representatives. The
House, realizing the natural desire
of members to honor their presid
ing officer, and realizing the im
possibility of honoring all who
serve in that high office, has
shown rare restraint.
“In fact, upon the walls of the
House there is a portrait of only
one man who served as Speaker,
the distinguished General Wallace,
who presided over the Wallace
House in 1876, when the recon
struction period came to an end,
and the white people regained
control of the State government.
“Members of the House at its
last session, with the same good
judgment, determined that Solo
mon Blatt, of Barnwell, having
served as Speaker for 16 years.
longer than any one in the history
of South Carolina, and having
rendered outstanding service to
the State, should be honored. They
had his portrait painted by a tal
ented artist, Mr. Crowson, for pre
sentation to the State, and I am
honored by being asked by the
House Committee to make the
presentation.
“Solomon Blatt was born in
Blackville, South Carolina, on
February 27, 1896. His early life
was that of a typical South Caro-
lna boy. After graduating from the
Blackville High School, he attend
ed the University of South Caro-
lna where he received the LL.B.
degree in 1917. That year he mov
ed to Barnwell to engage in the
practice of law.
“It was in April of 1917 that we
entered the First World War.
Young Blatt applied for admission
to the Officers Training Camp.
He was rejected for physical rea
sons. I was then Congressman
from the Second Distrct, in which
he resided. He came to Washing
ton to enlist my aid, not to get a
Commission as an officer, but to
secure a reversal of the medical
decision in order that he might
enlist as a private in the 323rd in
fantry, 81st Division. We were
successful and his desire to go
overseas was realized. He spent
eleven months in France and on
the day of the Armistice, his di
vision was in the front lines. In
March 1919 when discharged from
the service, he returned to Barn
well to resume his law practice.
"March 18, 1920, was for him
a lucky day. He married Miss
Ethel Green, of Sumter. This lov
able woman has shared his for
tunes and helped him along the
highway of life.
"For many years he has served
as a Trustee of Barnwell schools.
In this capacty, with the thorough
ness that is characteristic of him,
he studied the educational laws
of South Carolina, and because of
his keen interest and his superior
knowledge of the subject, has
made an outstanding contribution
to the development of the public
school system of the State.
“Mr. Blatt served as a Trustee
of the University of South Caro
lina from 1936 to 1948. When he
resigned, his son succeeded him,
and is today a Trustee of the Uni
versity. Second only to his love
for his family, is Mr. Blatt’s devo
tion to the University. And in
South Carolina there is no indivi
dual who during the last 20 years
has done more for the develop
ment of the University.
“In 1933 Mr. Blatt was elected
to the House of Representatives
and began a career in this body
which is unexcelled in its history.
That career was possible because
of his ability and not due to the
rule of seniority which prevails
in Committees and often works to
the advantage of mediocrity.
“In 1935 he was elected Speak
er pro tempore without opposi
tion. In 1937, only four years aft
er coming to the House, he was
elected Speaker. With the excep
tion of four years,—1947 to 1951,—
he has served continuously as
Speaker, frequently being re
elected without opposition.
“In a legislative body, a man of
unusual intelligence, but lacking
attractive personality, may suc
ceed because his extraordinary
ability impreses his colleagues. A
man without such ability, but with
attractive personality, may meet
with success. But if one is for
tunate enough to possess both abi
lity and personality, his leader
ship will be limited only by his
energy. Sol Blatt possesses these
three qualities of leadership.
“Immediately after he came to
the House, he devoted his time and
talents to a study of the House
rules. His recognized skill as a
parliamentarian in his early serv
ice caused him to be elected to the
Speakership. But the office of
Speaker requires more than a
knowledge of the rules and good
judgment in applying those rules
to particular problems.
“The Speaker of the House
must be truthful. He must be fair.
He must be patient. Through the
years Speaker Blatt has demon
strated these qualities to such a
degree that he has won the con-
fdenee of members of the House.
Of course, members have been
disappointed by decisions of the
Speaker, but only once have they
appealed from his decisions. It
was sustained by the House.
“Under the rules of the House,
it is the duty of the Speaker to
appoint the members of Commit
tees. This great power carries with
it equally great responsibility. It
is to be expected that men with
ambition should want to serve on
the important committees. All
kinds of arguments are presented
to the Speaker to support the
claims of applicants. It is one of
the more difficult tasks a Speak
er must perform. He must choose
one from among several personal
friends. He must give considera
tion not only to the character and
mental fitness, but to the knowl
edge a member possesses on cer
tain subjects. He must consider
geographical lines. And he knows
that regardless of whom he se
lects, those who are disappointed
are apt to be unfriendly.
‘.‘Because of this, it is signifcant
that the members of the last
House who unanimously adopted
the resolution to honor Speaker
Blatt, should have acted—not on
the first day of the session, but
after serving for at least two years
while Mr. Blatt was presiding
over the House.
“If a student shall look for legis
lative measures which were in
troduced by Mr. Blatt and became
law, he will not find an impres
sive list. If in Mr. Blatt’s opinion
legislation on any subject is nec
essary for the public good, instead
of introducing it himself, he will
suggest its introduction by the
member he believes most capable
of pressing it to enactment. Then
he will give it his support.
“He has made many contribu
tions to the development of our
institutions of higher learning and
to our Highway program. He
supported the right-to-work law.
The fact is, it is difficult to recall
a bill of major importance enacted
into law during the past twenty
years without the cooperation and
support of Speaker Blatt.
“One accomplishment not gen
erally known to the people and for
which he is entitled to credit, is
the change in the rules of the
House providing that no appropri
ations bill shall be passed on third
reading unless there is attached to
it a certificate of the Comptroller
General that the total of the ap
propriations is within the estimat
ed revenues. If it is not, the bill is
automatically returned to the
Ways and Means Committee. That
rule has resulted in our State
having a balanced budget, has re
sulted in the State having a credit
rating in the field of investment
banking that enables it to borrow
money at a lower rate of interest
than most of the States. Had he
done nothing more than this serv
ice for the taxpayers, he would
deserve being honored by the
House of Representatives.
“In a legislative body things do
not just happen. Somebody must
make them happen. Speaker Blatt
makes things happen. He always
has been interested in accomplish
ments and not in headlines. He is
a team-player. He realizes legis
lation can be enacted only as a
result of compromise and coopera
tion, and he extends that coopera
tion to the State and the Chief
Executive.
“While I was serving as Gov
ernor, each week during the ses
sion of the legislature, he would
confer with me upon the status
of the legislative program. I look
ed forward to his visits and if he
failed to come in, I promptly in
vited him to come.
“Though strong in his convic
tions on legislative problems, I
have never known a legislator
more willing to cooperate with
others in order to accomplish what
he believed was bffit for the peo
ple of the State.
“Sol Blatt is a home-loving man.
He loves people and in his home
he and his gracious wife love to
entertain their friends. He so
loves that home that, with the ex
ception of the time necessarily
spent in Columbia during the
legislative session, it is seldom
anyone has been able to induce
The Southern Israelite
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