The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1909-08-27


people against the special interests.
Last winter a bill was sprung, and by
clever management of attorneys work
ing in the interests of big corpora
tons, the measure, which took away
from the people the right to nominate
supreme court judges, passed both
houses and received the signature OF
the governor.
THE people of this state will never
trust a supreme court that does not
trust them. 1t is to the discredit of
the governor of this state that, while
protesting to stand for the people, he
signed that bill last winter. 1t is to
his discredit that he said not one word
about restoring the law in his message
to this legislature.
Il say the time has come when you
must stand for the people of this state
or against them. 1t is up to you now
to hand back to the people what you
filched from them last winter"
Others Join in Debate.
Beach, of Mason county, declared
that it was no worse for a candidate
for the bench to lobby in a convention
than it was for the candidate to make
a gum shoe campaign throughout the
state.
Lambert, of Whatcom county, spoke
of the posters on every barn door"
put up by candidates for the supreme
court in the last campaign before the
primaries.
Palmer, of King county, said that it
was only the well-known candidate
who had chance of winning at the
primaries. He challenged any ten
members of the house to rise and
name the nine judges of the supreme
court. He spoke of the vote cast at
Wellington for r. B. Bryan, who was
a candidate for state superintendent
of public instruction.
"Mr. Bryan ran $50 votes ahead of
his ticket" said Mr.. Palmer. Those
coal miners thought they were voting
for William Jennings Bryan"
1.-THE most serious question:" said
Hugh C. Todd, of Whitman county, is
not the method of nominating judges
but the restoration of confidence in
the supreme court. The only way to
do that is to permit the people to
name the judges for whom they vote
Hanson Denounces Weak Members.
The bill was passed by a vote of Ga
to 10.
A heated debate arose over a resolu-
ton offered by Todd, of Whitman, and
Bell, of Pierce, to continue the Hal
sey Investigating committee and in
structing it to report to the governor
if the legislature is not in session
when the inquiry is finished. E. l..
Farnsworth, of Lincoln county, declar-
ed that the investigation should not
drag on unless there was some excuse
for the committee to continue it's
work. He was followed by Ole Han
son, who declared that two members
of the committee, whom he did not
name, were constitutionally and ment-
ally unfit for service on the commit
tee.
This cloud should no longer hang
over the supreme court" said Mr.. Han
son. This committee has asked to
be allowed to continue it's work when
there is nothing before this house to
show what it has DONE l object to a
committee composed of lawyers, each
of whom may have a case pending be-
fore the supreme court. 1t is not so
important to me that the supreme
people of the state"
"The report of this committee can
not but be held in discredit," said
Scott, of Adams county, when one
member has been accused of being a
go-between from the purchasers to the
purchased court. 1t is the duty of this
member to withdraw from the COM
mittee. l believe that there is moth
ing wrong with the supreme court and
that it will be exonerated.'
Haisey Committee Denounced.
''This committee was appointed on
the eighth day of the first spasm of
this extraordinary session. said DR..
Beach, of Mason, "and now on the
fifty-seventh day it is not ready to
report 1t has had all the time neces-
sary and now wants to continue the
work of listening to anybody who may
have a grudge against the supreme
court. This man De Wolfe goes out
and digs up all the despicable rumors
he can find and brings them before
this committee. 1t is proposed, 1 am
informed, to have this committee re-
port to another extra session which
the governor will call in February,
thus keeping the supreme court in the
public eye for long time, 1t seems
to be the policy to continue the stencil
uncovered by the committee indefi-
nitely."
Chairman E. F.. Halsey, of the in.
vestigating committee, said that the
members of the committee were just
as solicitous for the name of the court