Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1904-05-09
SENATOR TOLMAN
OF SPOKANE ON PARTY PLAT
FORMS AND LEGISLATORS
Democrats In Legislature Too Few For the
General Welfare Of the State. Republican
Party Of the State Of Washington Tool Of
Great Corporations.

1t has been nv i'll fortune in life tc
know but few democrats as legislators
Far too few
In the twelve years of my residence in
this state we have never had demo.
cratic legislature; the nearest approach
being the fusion legislature Of 1897, a
body much condemned at the time be.
cause the people expec ell more than it
could possibly perform. But az time
goes on and its record is compared with
that OF subsequent republican legis.
latures. it is beginning to be considered
by all thinking people as by all odds the
best legislature the state has so far had.
1t will 60 down in history as having
given the state an excellent revenue law,
the only revenue law worthy of the
name which has ever been in force in
this state. 1t placed upon the statute
books the only legislation this state hae
ever had regulating and controlling
freight rates, and many other acts passed
by it, which lack Of space forbids my
naming, were clearly for the general
good, and testify that while the demo-
cratic party did not control, yet that
legislature was democratic in sentiment.
But, while We have had no democratic
legislatures, we have always managed to
have few democrats in each legislature.
Not enough to prevent the passage OF
manv vicious measures, and far too few
to enact measures advocated and en-.
dorsed by our party platform, yet &C.
casionally we have been able to force the
dominant party to 60 on record. Take
for instance, the record of the last legis-
lature as contained in its journa Is, a
careful. study of which will be interesting
and instructive to the average voter.
More than three-fourths of the members
OF each house were republicans. and their
party platform bound them to enact a
regulative railway commission bill, an
anti.pass bill and legislation which
would bring about equality CT taxation
upon the corporations and the people
alike. A glance at the journals will show
that democrats introduced such bills, and
honestly and earnestly supported them,
But to no effect. The appoin,ive railway
commission bill was finally reported ad-
versely by the committee on railroads
and transportation to be promptly de.
feated by republican votes. The anti
pass bill, the three-cent fare bill, the
elective railway commission bill and
others Of like nature, all introduced by
democrats, were buried with the railroad
and transportation committee, which be-
came known as the ''Private graveyard"
and though that committee employed a
clerk all through the sixty days session,
at $500 per day, paid by the peoples
money, the comm ttee had only one
meeting, which lasted less than thirty
minutes. and refused TO consider or re-.
port upon any of the bills which l have
just mentioned. This was the condition
on the SD day OF the session, when only
eight days remained in which to carry
out the pledges which the republican
party had made to the people of this
state. A resolution was prepared by a
democrat and introduced by democrat
calling attention to these conditions, and
to the fact that the people demanded
legislation along these lines, and that
immediate action was necessary in order
to keep party pledges and the resolution
further provided that each of such
measures should be withdrawn from the
committee and placed upon the senate
calendar for action by the senate. This
resolution may be found set forth on
page 427 OF the senate journal. No
sooner had motion been made.to adopt
the resolution than the republican chair.
man OF the committee on railroads and
transportation moved as substitute that
that the resolution be laid upon the table.
A roll call was demanded upon the
motion to table, and that motion pre-
vailed by vote OF % to II, as may be
seen by reference to page 43S of the
senate journal. The remarkable thing
if the expected and foretold can be con.
sidered remarkable, is that every one OIL
the twenty-five who voted to table tina,
resolution was, and is republican, in
honor bound by his platform to enact in
to law every measure described in thai
resolution. These twenty-five votes con.
stituted exactly majority Of the senate
the number necessary to pass any de-
sired measure, and were in fact the re-
publican "push" Of that body.
What are the citizens OF Washington
to believe from an action of this sort
They can only believe that the republican
party Of this state, in and out of the
legislature, from tradition and interest il
the willing tool Of the great corporations