The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1905-06-10
Copyright, 1905. by Joseph B. Bovles.

| tai OF MS own CONSTRUCTION. IL IS al
very we'll for enthusiastic citizens to ap
| plaud the brave words Of some neWl!
elected and totally inexperienced legis.
.ator who publicly announces that he il
going TO the state capitol to pass this
or that bill or tie up the whole genera.
assembly" But the applause would bet
ter be saved until his return-if he
brings back the goods.
| The chances are against his doing il
il he puts himself forward as a kicker
| and 'flibuster. with the idea Of com
pelling the state legislature to suspend
other operations until his particular
pet measures are run through the legis-
lative mill. But if he absorbs some
practical wisdom on the way to the
state house, adopts the golden rule OF
| lawmakers as his code. pastes com
promise" and reciprocity" in his hat
and acts accordingly he probably will
take back to his constituents the statu-
tor. goods which he promised to de-
liver.
A member who has bill to pass must
secure constitutional majority CT az
frmatiye votes on roll call before that
bill is ready to so over to the other
house or to the governor for his sigma
ture. Most bills are of consequence and
importance only to the respective dis
tr:cts Of their introducers and sponsors.
Those measures which attract wide at
tention and affect the entire state are
comparatively few in number So it is
that the great majority of bills, each
concerning a single district, depend for
their passage upon the individual lob
bying" of the members who introduce
them.
Now a member who introduces one Of
these home" bills must look after his
measure hi1nself..He must watch it in
committee; have it called up for its sue
cessiye readings in the house, and on the
final vote must hustle around and get
his fellow members to vote for It and
enough Of them to give it the majority
required by the state constitution. AS
every member has one or more bills of
that kind he wants to pass the system
Of trading votes is employed, and it is
largely through this system that a
dominant clique in the house is able TO
control important legislation.
IN every legislature few men early
take the lead. Almost always they are
old members who have been in the
house and in pubic life SO many years
that they have acquired the art of hand
ling men They are men possessing
those qualities which attract other men
to them. They are ffst-class# parlia-
mentarians and know the rules of the
house from beginning to end. They are
successful politicians, which means they
are scientific compromises These
men get together and organize the
clique, gang, ring, syndicate, coterie or
whatever the opposition calls them.
Generally they call themselves the or
ganization.
This organization sometimes IS BIZ
partisan, particularly if its purpose is
graft and Doodle, for Doodle knows no
party lines. But more often than the
public can be made to believe the Or
ganization or clique is formed tt. pre-
vent boodling and sandbagging. What
ever its purpose, however, some con-
trolling organization is always effected
soon after a legislature convenes and
continues to control until some other
springs up to defeat Il.
AS soon as the clique is formed its
members canvass the situations" that
is they ascertain in one way or another
what pet bills each legislator has up his
sleeve. The clique undertakes to pass
those bills provided the introducers of
the bills agree to stand by the clique
The organization thus becomes the
clearing house for tradeable votes. and
.tradeable' by no means always ineli-
Gates purchasable votes.
An analysis of the work done by any
legislature will show that in most cases
the big bills, the important measures,
the Doodle or vicious bills are passed
late In the life Of the general assem-
bly,. Before such measures are ready for
passage tile calendar has been cleared of
the little home bills. They have been
passed and signed or vetoed by the
governor The clique first makes
good and then when it needs votes for
the bills required by its clients 1t is
id position to call upon the 'nobcaies''
to make good their promises and vote
for the big bills.
I often have seen ''blacklisted', in in
dignant newspapers the names Of 1egts-
!ators, personally known to me to be
upright and honest men
who would never dream of selling vote
for money. Yet they voted for atTs-
niogsly vicious bills which had Doodle
written all over then simply because
earlier in the session the clique had
helped them pass their little innocent
home" bills.
have served III many sessions es our
egislature-haFe seen honest men yield
to temptation and have seen dishonest
men charge and become aggressive re-
corners, and I can state It as fact
that the majority afthe members OF our
legislature ALWAYS mas been composed /
Of honest. unpurcha biz men. One gen /
aral assembly il particular had an over |
Nhelming najerity#of decent: honest
members, and this particular assembly |