The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1897-03-05
Legislative Notes.

carried. by vote of 43 to %, Hicks
voting nay.
The silver republican senators have
issued call for national convention
the purpose o. which seems to be the
organization of distinct silver party,
based on the silver republican contin-
gent, "the adequate treatment of all
other issues" to await the settlement
of the silver question. This puts the
situation lid '.this way THE demo-
cracy, the populist straight-outs, the
populist fusionists, Senator Turner's
proposed "people party" the silver
republican effort at new party.
Fusion will be more complicated than
ever.-,Tacoma News (Dem.)
THE lower house of the Legislature
seems to have a blind hostility to
every local industry. 1t proposes to
ruin the salmon industry for the bene-
fit of Oregon and British Columbia,
and the grain handling business for
the benefit OF Portland. The diversion
OF capital from the state on account
of the mere threat of Populist legisla-
ton was what was feared would result
from the election of the present leg
islature. That would be but mild
evil to those which threaten from
pending legislation, which seems aimed
to destroy the existing industries of
the state on which our people rely for
their Observation-Disclosures.
THE strong objection to the passage
of the dispensary law, is the fact that
it has never been considered by our
people, it is not a part of the populist
platform, and it makes radical and
serious changes in the existing system,
affecting the revenues. If the popu-
list legislature cannot properly pass
the laws called for by its party plat
form, it certainly ought not to monkey
with new idea of the Importance of
the dispensary law. There may be
some good features in the plan, but
the taxpayers of the state should be
allowed to pass upon it first. OF
course, the temperance people are
willing to try anything without con-
sidering whether it is good, bad or in
different,-but their zeal needs check
ing sometimes. If by law the state
can take the monopoly of the whisky
business, then it is but step to do
away with whiskey straightforward
that is the fight the temperance peo-
pie should make.
THE house continues to be a bright
and shining star in the dim galaxy of
legislative incompetency. 1t begins
each morning with crowded calen-
dar, which now consists of not less
than eight or nine pages and has never
yet succeeded in clearing up the first
page. The members have not suffici-
ent confidence in each other to ap-
points sitting committee, and the
george" is on. No flood of work p1O-
misses relief. The reason for this con-
dition are plainly apparent. TIE
house practically goes into committee
of the whole on every measure. The
standing committees are simply vast
ing the peoples money and their own
time i'll their evenings. Each little
bill is examined in detail by the mi
croscopical statesman who seems to
distrust everybody. OF course the
house is too large and unwieldy body
to practice any such course with
success. Consequences of this con-
dition will be the familiar ones. AS
the legislature dies it will vomit a lot
OF half digested legislation on the dear
interests OF the trusting people.-Ta-
coma Ledger.
Gov. ROGERS says :-sI can't under
stand why our people did not go into
caucus on the first day of their arrival
in Olympia. There were ffty-six Pop
ulists and twenty-eight Silver Repub-
licans and Democrats, I believe. The
fifty-six could have controlled the
other twenty-eight. After the caucus
had been established about dozen i'm
portant measures should have been
agreed upon and everything else
barred. Most of the session should
have been given to these dozen meas
ures. urged this course from the
first. AS it is, nearly 900 bills have
been introduced and printed at an ex-
pense of thousands of dollars. The
caucus should have laid down a hard
and fast rule and adhered to it. That
Is popullsm-the rule of the people
and when men refuse to go into caucus
for fear OF the rule of the majority
they are not good Populists. If there
is failure in reformatory legislation, it
Will be because members of the legis-
lature have allowed some of the sons
OF Bellal, who have surrounded them
to fill them I'M with 1iosu