The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1908-07-23
There seems to be a wrong impres

There seems to be a wrong impres
sino passing over this part of tn,
state In regard to Ex-Governor Nc
Brides attitude towards local option
1t is probably due to the fact tina,
he vetoed local option bill while gov.
ernor of the state, 1t is the express.
ed opinion of friends of the bill and
those who know the Diet 'ails of the
affair. that the governor did not veto
the bill because it was a local option
bill but because 1t had been SO tam
pered with by the whiskey ring that
it bore no semblance to the original
bill. Its purpose was SO crossed that,
had 1t been enacted. 1t would have be-
come a boomerang in the rumsellers
hands to throw a the heads of law
abiding citizens every time they at
tempted to interfere with the rumsell-
ers nefarious business. and. thus, in
stead Of being an honor to its SUD-
pOrters. it would have been a deem
humiliation.
William H. Lewis. of Seattle, who
Ms member Of the 1903 session of
the legislature was the father of the
local option bill which Henry Mcbride
then governor, vetoed, has made q
public statement In which he upholds
the governors veto and declares that
the bill was defective. Mr.. Lewis,
who Is one Of the leading business
men Of Seattle. says he Is supporting
Governor Mcbride in the present con-
test. Mr.. Lewis public statement fol-
lows:
While introduced the local op-
ton bill. was never satisfied with
Its form and especially after it was
amended to require q so per cent pc
tition. l believed its only advantage
was to put the principle of local op-
ton on the statute books of the state
making 1t easier to make the bill ef-
fective by amendments in the next
legislature than to pass an entirely
new bill. At the time Governor Nc
Bride vetoed the bill was satisfied
that his veto was justifiahle on the
grounds which he stated. These OBJ
tecti0ns to the bill had not been clear
~ brought out in our discussion In
the house. l nave always believed
Governor Mcbride vetoed the bill a. q
matter Of public duty. and that had
the bill been effectively drawn and
one that would have effected the pur-
poses for which it was drawn. the
governor would have signed IL and
we should have had local option six
years earlier than we shall have 1t.
Il am more confident Of tkis be-
cause Of Governor McBridea- action
In connection with two other import
ant bills which l introduced in that
session one was the nickel-in-the-slo
machine bill and the other a bill max
ing gambling a felony. AS you will
remember there was an organized ef-
fort to defeat these bills by trickery
and jobbery when 1t was known we
had enough votes to pass them. We
the bills were passed by the senate
and sent back to the house. Cover
nor Mcbride sent for me aud told me
he knew there was an INSCRIPTIONS
lobby trying to corrupt the house
and senate clerks to lob the sup
porters Of these two bills. He advised
me to follow the bills personally and
not let them out OF my sight until
they had been signed by the speak
er and president Of the senate. and
to bring them to him personally. SO
he could sign then without chance Of
their being altered. This ! did, and
believe it is largely Through the gov.
ernor's interest and cooperation that
these bills were placed ON the stat