The Savannah morning news., 1903-07-12
PUT IT ON WATSON
BY HIS PRESENCE AND ESPOUsAL
HE UNWITTINGLY
DEFEATED CHILD LABOR BILL
SAYS REPRESENTATIVE j. FERRIS
CANN.

Antf-POpuIism Members Were In
duced Not to Follow Leadership of
Watson, Says Major Cann-Argu-
ment SpeciOus But an Effective
One-Mensure Would Have Re-
ceiVed "a Big Constitutional Major
ity, Before Watson Put in His APP
pearance-EiGhteen Votes Lost by
His Speech.
Representative J. Ferris Cam re-
turned from Atlanta yesterday morn
ing, where he has been in attendance
on the Legislature. He talked inter-
estingly of last week among the state
solons, especially concerning the child
labor bill, the defeat of which he at
tributes to the presence of Hon. Thorn
as S. Watson.
The presence of Mr.. Watson in the
interest of the measure, was used as
an argument against its passage by the
foes of the bill, says Maj. Cam. The
opposition approached those on the
doubtful list with the proposition
whether they were going to allow a
D~AAAoNi am l~CSAoldlulC " O0 ulCldlCu
to by a Popu1ist. the result being that
many who would otherwise have voted
for the measure drew the strict party
line and voted against it.
THE argument was a specious but
an effective one" said Maj. Cam. "Mr.
Watson's presence, in my opinion, did
more toward the defeat of the measure
10 K, fa7-r AIr
he spoke a constitutional majority
could have easily been secured, and the
bill would have received between so
and 100 votes. There were from IL to
Is votes changed by the argument l
mention.
THE so-called lobby against the bill
was exceedingly strong, and very
adroit Members We're not approached
directly by mill operators, but by peo-
pie from the various counties who had
apparently no interest in mills. These
people were brought to Atlanta for the
purpose of advising their representa-
ives that the measure was an unpop-
ular one in their particular sections
This induced many from the counties
where there are no large cities to vote
against the bill.
We used every effort to have the bill
passed" Maj. Cam continued. land the
vote clearly indicated that such a law
is bound to be passed within the next
few years or so. The people are de-
handing such legislation and, in my
opinion, it is only question of time
before the law is passed.
Maj. Cam said that the argument
advanced against the Endorsement of
suggestions made by the Populist lead
er appealed strongly to the representa-
tves from many of the rural counties
who, in the near gone past, had expert
enced much trouble in roofing out pop
ulism, and who, now that the third
party has been disintegrated to an ex-
tent, would rather lose their all than
have it come into power again, or have
it said that they followed the dictates
of one of it's leaders.
The argument was somewhat in the
nature of a boomerang to the advocates
of the bill since they had strongly urg-
ed the members against following the
dictates OF the Republican member,
Maj. Hanson, who was one of the most
violently opposed to the measure, said
Maj. Cam. They were thus estopped
from disputing the merit of the argu-
ments of the opposition, since they
themselves had sounded such doctrine,
and the argument in rebuttal proved a
most eff1caciOus one.