You should probably consider using css3 for this though it does include the use of vendor prefixes.
I've knocked up a quick fiddle to demo but the crux is this.
<style>
.3col
{
-webkit-column-count: 3;
-webkit-column-gap: 10px;
-moz-column-count: 3;
-moz-column-gap: 10px;
column-count:3;
column-gap:10px;
}
</style>
<div class="3col">
<p>col1</p>
<p>col2</p>
<p>col3</p>
</div>