The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-02-24

That 1t would never again see lHe AS I
of day, but it yesterday shot upwards
out of the sea of uncertainty -on which
it was drifting, nor stopped until II
had ran it's course.
And there was cause for it all. 1t
did not happen. It was the result OF
a revulsion Of feeling on the part OF
the Legislature, left by an unfeellng.
brutal caricature attack by the san
Francisco Cali" on Assemblyman
Grove L. Johnson of this city.
On Wednesday last the anti-cartoon
bill was beaten in the Senate, and
though a notice of a motion to recon-
slider the vote was given, the staunch-
est friends of the measure could only
hope
The "Call' and its cartoon, changed
all that. and Senators who had opposed
the bill gathered in knots and agreed
that the newspaper had gone too far
Nfost of them were not backward in ex-
pressing the opinion that the attack
was brutal and outrageous.
For all that the Senate lost none of
its stilted dignity. The afternoon ses-
sion opened as though nothing out OF
the usual was expected to occur. But
Cutter, the author of the motion to re-
consider was very busy. He fitted
from seat to seat for a few minutes, and
then Strengthening out, called up his
notice to reconsider.
The decorum of the Senate was away
above par Nobody objected; nobody
appealed to the rules; nobody RAISED a
point of order, and nobody marred the
serenity of the occasion by injecting
Flew remarks" Every Senator I'M
derstood that to reconsider the bill
meant to pass it. and all understood
that it was to be reconsidered.
The opposition to the motion to recon
slider was so slight that it scarcely de-
served the name. twenty-four out of The
tnirty-two members present voting aye.
Now the silence thickened, and even
Shortridge the irrepressible, who had
fought the measure in season and ont
of season, had nothing to say The
preliminary portion of the matter was
settled, and as the founts of oratory
seemed to have failed as the crucial test
approached, Senator Smith, who was in
tie chair, ordered the roll called on the
final passage of the bill
1t soon became apparent that num-
her of Senators who on Wednesday hal
opposed the bill intended to stand from
under until the matter had been settled,
among the number being Doty Of Sacra-
mento, Smith of Kern and Dwyer of
San Francisco. They sat still and said
nothing, and the roll call went on with
out them
But when the names were all called,
there was a fiutter and a hasty bunch
ing of heads and comparing of notes.
The Senate was very near to losing its
dignity. Just twenty votes were On
record favoring the bill, and 20 pass it
one move must be secured
A half dozen Senators were on their
feet, and each of them were demanding
action had arrived, and the third house
was wondering which of the Senator's
who had not voted would cast his ballot
upon and bring down the beam in favor
of the bin. But the deciding vote was
from neither of Them.
Bulla had persisently voted against
the bill from it's first arrival until that
moment, but when the hubbub was at
its hight and the dignity of the body
was actually in tatters. he arose in
his place and in a conciliatory, insinuat-
ing tone, which meant a great deal
more than his words, said:
Hold onl We don't want to take up
the time of this body with a call of
the house Rather than allow that,
I'll change my vote from no to aye"
1t was not an artistic effort, that of
Bulla's. but 1t was extremely meaty.
1t meant body blow to the caricatur-
ist and his craft; it meant that the
Calls" cartoon and his vote had
passed the bill and that the battle was
won.
Then the Senator's who did not favor
the restriction Of the cartoonist, came
down of the fence and had their votes
recorded. and nothing interviewed be-
tween the announcement Of the vote
except Shortridge.
Shortridge wanted to change his vote
in order to move reconsideration. but
Smith who was still in the chair init
mated that while he would not object
to the changing of the vote, he would
object to notice of a vote to recon
slider. Shortridge was persistent, but
Smith was firm, and as the former did
not care to appeal from the decision of
the chair he subsidized and the vote
was announced. 1t follows:
Aye - Ashe. Bettman, Bulla
Burnett, Chapman. Curtin. Cutter.
Dickinson, Feeney. Hoey, Jones.
Leavitt, Maggard. Morehouse. Nut.
Pace, Simpson, Taylor, Trout and
Wolfe-21.
No-Braunhart, Davis, Doty, Dwyer,
Gillette. La Rue, Luchsinger, Prisk.
Rowel, ehortridge. Sims, Smith and