Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1909-02-15
LEGISLATIVE GOSSIP
LOCAL OPTION QUESTION Set.
tiled LAST week.
a Strongly Organized riajoritv Stands
by the FaICOner-rfCr Local
Option Bill Which PASSES the
House by a Decisive Vote of Sc
tOyS

OLYMPIA, Feb. 13.-The local op-
tion question, as far as the house is
concerned, was settled this week. Af-
ter stormy afternoon the Falconer-
McMaster local option bill, mesure
drawn by the Anti-Saloon League of
Washington-was passed on Wednes-
day by vote of 56 to 3S and the
next day was transmitted to the sem
ate for approval.
There were no important changes
made in the bill. The number of
petitioners for an election was chang
ed and the time for securing names
to a petition was decreased. Brew
cries will be allowed to operate in
dry territory and physicians will be
allowed little more freedom than
originally provided in issuing pres
criptions for liquor.
The passing of the bill in the house
is the story Of a majority of fifty
one who held firm during three days
of attack directed from every angle
by the minority. Amendment after
amendment was submitted to the bill.
Some of them were broadly humor-
Gus. Others had a string in them or
drew the fangs of the bill, but the
majority, following Frank =. Jacnsun
on the floor and voting as John An
derson, chairman of the public NOR
ais committee and head of the house
roll call, stood with solid front and
bore the attacks without wavering.
The close organization of the ma
jority was begun early in the session
when the McMaster bill, recommend
ed to pass by the committee on pub
lie morals was re-referred to the judi
ciary committee. The friends Of the
measure realizing the fight that the
called a caucus of the men friendly
to the bill and elected Frank c.
Jackson, of King chairman, and
Hugh c. Todd, of Whitman, secretary
This caucus held daily meetings dur
ing the progress of the bill in the
house and every parliamentary move
that was liable to be made against
the measure was anticipated and eX
planned and a defensive move to meet
it outlined.
On this account there was not a
stage in the progress of the bill where
the unanimity of action was not ap-
parent. While there were few diff
ferences among the members of the
majority on various features of the
bill it was developed that the Nc
Master bill expressed more than any
other the ideas of all.
The organization of the minority
was as lax as the majority organiza-
tion was strong. With the exception
of their leaders, they were unprepar-
ed, and seldom voted as unit on any
measure. They failed to agree on a
minority report when the bill was
reported from the judiciary commit
tee, and the substitute bill which was
offered was handed to the members
with the ink still damp fifteen min
utes before the house convened to act
on the measure.
The difficulty in holding the min
ority was that there were but few
that were against local option. Many
of them felt that the stringent pro-
visions of the McMaster bill were un-
fair and too drastic and ahead Of the
times. Rather than vote for meas
ure which they declared was prohi-
bition in spirit and which was not
aimed at saloons any more than il
was at the stopping of the use of
spiritous liquors, they voted against
the measure. The sections of the bill
which prohibit express companies
from carrying liquor in the state, and
which restrict the issuing Of pres
criptions for liquor by physicians ex-
cept in cases Of extreme necessity, the
restriction Of the amount of liquor
which may be kept on hand, and
other parts of the bill which make it
an effective prohibition measure, held
the minority together.