The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-02-05
AN T|S WIN
ROUND IN
HOUSE
FOLLOWING A LAUNDERING,
DREARY NIGHT SESSION,
ANTI-SALOON LEAGUES LO-
GAL OPTION MEASURE is
PASSED.
up TO The SENATE NEXT
(Times Special Service.)

OLYMPIA, Feb. 5.-The petty
jealousy and the animosity when
the resident of small commun-
ity somehow feels it his duty to
bear that OF a large, is the force
that passed the anti-saloon league
local option bill in the house.
Out of such small things fire.
quently come great. The repre-
sentatives of the cities of the third
class and the towns of the state
absolutely declined to allow an
exception to be made in favor OF
Seattle, Tacoma or Spokane un-
less they could share in it. And
the result was the sudden disin-
tegration of the majority of the
house which was willing to amend
the anti-saloon league bill.
To none of the members of the
house who talked long and labor
ously for the bill, to none of the
moral convictions involved, is the
credit due, but the desired result
was obtained by a rather childish
resentment of the one story man
against the 10-story man.
The plan to make Seattle, Taco
ma and Spokane units of them
selves to vote on the question Of
local option was defeated because
Shelton, Kelso and Cowlitz were
not accorded the official distinc-
ton of being considered commun-
tiles equally as important as the
big cities of the state.
AS a parliamentary victory the
frir @
nothing Those who opposed the
anti-saloon league measure were
equally laundering; of political
astuteness in the house there
wasn't enough to ripple town
council. Aside from a half dozen
members, there wasn't a man in
the house capable of getting to his
feet and saying what he thought
or If he was, so much the worse
for his thinging apparatus.
The debate, with the exceptions
noted, was most of the time inco-
herent, Weberfieldian, and not in
frequently worthy of the linguistic
distortions of Oscar and Rudolph.
And this applied to both sides of
the question. The final debates
when they were not dreary and
inane, were ridiculous. AS to
speaking to the point at issue, 1t
was impossible. The debaters
suffered and stammered, talked
and talked, staggered through
long and involved sentences look
ing for a convenient conclusion
upon which to stop, but in vain.
The human faculty of guessing ac-
curately at the meaningless inco-
herency was all that saved the
house from beir,g tower of
Babel. One instinctiy-ly knew
what a member was driving at,
like the universal comprehension
of the sign language. 1t was
proven on the floor that but 10
of the 95 members had ever read
the bill.
And yet the house blundered
along to a creditable bit of legis-
lation. The liquor interests cer-
tainly got the worst Of it; those
who are neither prohibition or
wet" had some of their political
theories set upon, but no violence
was done them. The whole ques-
llUu Was tuC SlViu6 VI IuO IlSHt
to vote on the question to the
people and how 1t should be done.
The local option bill has the SEN
ate yet to contend with. The SEN
ate judiciary committee will rec
ommend bill excluding all in
corporated towns. and declaring
for prohibition for all unincorpor-
ated territory. ~Ihe unincorporat-
"a tfrx1foTx ssn,t going to get a
.ckGIlo9 u vote on the question. 1t
n - be dry. Incorporated cities
And towns can settle the matter
II the bill passes the senate, 1t
will come to the house and once
more the mighty battle of getting
right on the record will be fought
over. The same old speeches will
be made for and against, and very
bad speeches they are.
The Anti-Saloon leagues local
option is triumphant in the house,
by accident. But the senate Is the
nut yet to crack and then the pos
sible realignment that may take
s,yonA q. fha hnxScn