The Elk Mountain pilot., 1901-03-05
DENVER LETTER.
Patterson as Absolute Dictator of the Al
lied Forces Opposing Republicans-The
New Revenue Bill.

of Senator-elect Patterson to be the alb
of all his parties-has been asserted
in the most definite and spectacular
manner in the matter of the Rush bill
for the consolidation of a part of Arap-
ahoe county with the city of Denver.
After a long speech by Senator Clay
Whitford, in which he declared that
the bill proposed no less than eleven
amendments to the constitution of the
state, and was clearly unconstitution-
al in many respects, the Senate agreed,
by a unanimous vote, to submit the
measure to the Supreme Court of the
state for an opinion upon it's constitu-
tionality. Mr.. Rush himself, the os-
tensible author of the bill, made the
motion to refer. This action did not
suit Mr.. Patterson, so he gave Rush
orders to move to reconsider the ref
erence to the Supreme Court, and gave
orders to the fusion senators gener-
ally to vote for reconsideration and
push the bill through. In his newspa-
per he says there is no use in submit
ting the bill to the Supreme Court, be-
cause that body will surely declare it
unconstitutional; and he wants it
passed anyhow, constitutional or not
The majority of the fusion senator's
obeyed the whip promptly, and the bill
will be rushed
fThnrl n "
to his own aggregation of parties, how
ever, whom Mr.. Patterson could not
bulldoze, and who uttered freely the
disgust which they felt at the undigni-
fed and ridiculous situation which they
had been ordered by the new dictator
to put themselves in.
"These wild-eyed, visionary PROPOSE
tons should not be railroaded through
here without transmission to the Su-
preme Court declared Senator A. II.
Stewart of Pueblo. Senator Rush,
the author of this consolidation bill,
himself made the motion to submit the
measure to the Supreme Court. Now
he wants this action reconsidered, so
that the bill may be passed whether it
is constitutional or not, so that If the
Supreme Court, after the bill is passed,
should declare it invalid, then he can
hand the Democratic party two years
from now little red flag to wave, de-
nouncing the Supreme Court. do not
believe in that kind of politics, and
urge you senators to stop and think
before you go ahead with your revo-
lutionary measures.
Senator II. II. Seldomridge of Colo
RADIO Springs denounced the proposition
to repudlate the unanimous act of the
Senate within twenty-four hours after
"The Democratic party, to which
belong" he declared, cannot afford to
ask the people to vote on this question
without making any attempt, when it
has the opportunity to do so, to ascer-
tain whether the measure is constitu-
tion8l. In Arapahoe county the Dem
ocradc party is already being accused
in the opposition press of playing for
votes with buncombe bills. The case
OF the auditorium bonds, voted for and
found to be Illegal afterward, is a case
in point. Then there were the water
bonds voted for and declared after
RADIO court, but by the United States
Court.
"The people of Arapahoe county and
the city of Denver must be getting
tired of this kind of business and this
bill should be passed upon by the Su.
preme Court in advance of any legis-
latlve action. 1t is n dangerous prop
osition to take jump in the air and
let it go at that. The expense of vot-
ing on n question of this kind is the
smallest part of the objection, in my
opinion, compared with facing the
charge of Offering to the people a
bunco amendment.
1.-The author of this bill himself Sen
ator Rush, said he doubted the consti-
tutionality of this bill, and personally
asked and made the motion that it go
to the Supreme Court. Now he wants
us to stultify ourselves and repudiate
that action. /, for one, will refuse to
do anything of the sort. Let us take
a decent, conservative stand and say
to the people that we believe that the
judicial department of this state is
equal to the legislative department"
Senator Leander Il. West of Jefferson
county said that he foresaw that the
friends of the Rush bill were deter
mined to repudiate their former action,
and added:
"And l think we are all crazy"