Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1904-10-13
APPEAL TO VOTERS
CHAIRMAN DEMOCRATIC STATE
CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Addresses Electors on the Issues in the State of
Washington. Do Political Promises Mean
Anything? Shall the People or Railroad
Lobby Govern?
Headquarters Democratic State
Central Committee,

Headquarters Democratic State
Central Committee,
Seattle, Oct. s, 1904.
To the Voters OF Washington:
The democratic party of Washington,
in appealing to you to support the demo
cratic state and county tickets, does so
upon the declaration that the dominant
issues in the state campaign are:
First. Do political promises mean
anything; shall political parties, legisla-
lures and public officials be required to
fulfill the pledges sacredly made by the
party in convention assembled; shall
"party performance be made to square
with party promise?"
Second. Shall the people regulate the
corporations or the corporations dominate
the state; shall our political conventions
express and our legislatures carry out
the will Of the people, or shall they con
tinue to be dominated by a corrupt rail.
road lobby; shall we have a primary
election law which will bring the state
and local governments into closer rela-
tons with the people?
Third. Shall we establish in Wash.
ington partisan, appointive, regu.
lative railroad commission?
Fourth. Shall we attempt, in good
faith, to more equitably adjust the bur.
dens OF taxation?
Fifth. Shall the next legislature pass,
and the next governor sign, an effect We
anti pass law, carrying out the provisions
Of our state constitution, as means of
closing one OF the avenues to official
malfeasance and corruption?
We hold these truths to be indelibly
written in the political history Of Wash.
ington: that the republican party in its
state convention Of 1902 sacredly prom
ised the people railroad commission
and an anti-pass law, and that the re.
publican legislature, acting under the
orders Of the railroad lobby, failed and
refused to carry out those promises; that
every republican state nominating con.
vention, since the admission of the state,
has promised the people regulative rail.
road legislation, and that every republi.
can administration has failed and refused
to pass any such legislation, except such
as received the approval OF the railroad
companies; that the recent convention
at Tacoma. which pretends to have rep
resented the republican party, was not,
in fact, representative convention and
did not in fact, represent The voters OF
the republican party and seek to reflect
and promulgate their wishes, but, on the
contrary, took its orders direct from a
railroad boss; that acting under those
orders that convention refused to promise
the people Of the state regulative railroad
legislation which the people demand;
that the so.called republican organiza.
ton in this state has fallen completely
under the domination of the men and
the influences responsible for the be
trayal of the convention promises of
1902 and all previous convention prom.
ises OF this character; that the rcpubll
can party, ii it shalt be returned to
power, will not create railroad com
mission, nor will it seek equitabIy 10
adjust the burdens Of taxation. nor will
it throw off the influence, OF the corrupt
railroad lobby, now so firmly fastened
upon it; that fourteen republican hold
over state senators are, on their public
records, opposed to reguative railroad
legislation, and that eight republican
nominees for the state senate are, on
their public records, also opposed to such
legislation, rendering it absolutely inn
possible to secure such legislation from a
republican legislature, should one be
elected; that the republican candidate
for governor is, on his public record, OPP
posed to such legislation, except such as
is approved by the railroad companies,
and that he Is under obligations to tbs
railroad lobby for his nomination; that
the managers OF the republican campaign
and the republican candidates for office
refuse to say that they favor regulative
railroad commission, but evade the ques-
ton; that if the republican party were
honestly in favor of such legislation it
could easily induce the republican gov.
ernor to assemble the republican legisla-
ture in extraordinary session and pass
it, thus redeeming the promise Of 1902,
sacredIy made to the people.
We present for your consideration the
following facts: that the democratic
party has declared itself on these issues
in language which is incapable of double
construction; that it has nominated
complete ticket OF men whose public
records show them to be in sympathy
with these declarations; that it has
nominated for governor statesman and
jurist OF national and international repu.
tation, a man whose whole political life
has been consistent protest against the
evils which now beset and threaten our
state government; that the democratic
party has carried to full fruition, when.
ever given the power, all the promises it
has ever made Of railroad legislation;