East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1910-11-05

way the Ross interests wanted them
shaped are broadly intimated in
publication in the Oregonian on
March 10, 1908.
On this date the Oregonian publish
ed the story of the "Joinder' tele-
grams in detail, and added significant
comment on the meaning of the Sc
cret messages in cipher passing be-
| tween Ross and his ieutenants in
Portland and the members of the
, Ross lobby in Salem.
One Of the bills which excited the
anxious interest of Ross was intro
duced by Representative Jackson,
and would have authorized a court
review of the suit by which Judge
Marquam sought to recover the Mar
guam building from the clutches Of
Ross and his associates of the Title
Guarantee & Trust company
Oregonian Tells Story.
The Oregonian thus told the story
Of its defeat.
| This bill was referred to the COM
mittee on judiciary, was favorably re-
| ported February and was passed
by the house February IL. Three days
later it was indefinitely postponed by
the senate on motion of Senator Bow
erman of Gillian, chairman of the
committee on revision of laws, which
reported the measure adversely. The
Ross lobby was busy all the while in
each house"
This is the bill concerning which
7. II. Burkhart wired a cipher mes
= ,fF. 1, L FaII Al.
yers Of the Ross lobby in Salem, on
February IL, the day it passed the
house. Ross had just been notified
Of the passage of the bill by the
house, and it was at once decided to
send William A. Munly to Salem to
reinforce the lobby. Burkhart's tel
egram, after telling Kollock to meet
Munly and provide a room for him,
added: ASK Joinder (Bowerman)
to watch namesake (Marquam re-
view bil) vigilantly."
The Oregonian of March 10, 1908,
adds this comment:
Whether or not Senator Bowerman
consented to watch the review bill
when it appeared in the senate, next
day when 1t came up it was sent to
his committee on revision of laws
on his motion.
Success in having the bill referr-
ed to Bowerman's committee in the
senate next day was telegraphed to
Ross by Aitchison, as follows:
'Namesake 267 referred nonus,
p. m. blouse bill 267 referred to re-
vision Of laws committee. p. M -
Deposit Bill Held.
| What Bowerman's committee did
to the bill regulating deposits of state
funds in the banks is told in the Ore
gonian of the same issue. 1t should
be remembered that "Joinder" Bow
erman was chairman OF the commit
tee on state and county government
officers. and II was he who present
ed the draft of the amended bill tC
the senate. The Oregonian's account
follows:
The deposit bill was held by thu
senate committee on state and county
officers more than three weeks be
fore it was reported. When it came
back to the senate it was wholly
changed.
Senator Miller had drafted tn,
bill in a way that would have pre-
vented Steers favoring the Ros
, bank, by vesting authority to max,
deposits in the state board. In tn,
substitute bill, this authority was Civ
en- solely to the state treasurer. Th'
use he made of it is shown by thu
1896. 900 deposit OF state money il
, the Ross bank, when the bank failed
The deposit bill introduced Janu
ary 10 was reported February IA anC
passed by the senate February Is. l
passed the house February 22.
Writes Letter to Ross.
THE day before the senate com
mittee reported the bill Treasure
Steel wrote Ross letter telling of thu
success OF their desires as to the de
posit bill, and saying that IL the bill
a copy of which he enclosed, SHOULD
go through, 4 am sure we will hav
cause for congratulations. However
added the letter. the session of tn
l legislature is rapidly drawing to
close and we will soon know what tn
sure thing looks like. Yours faith
fully, George A. Steel
steel meant particularly that tn
educational funds should be exempte,
: from the regulation OF the law, whicl
would allow the Ross bank to us
those funds without paying interes
and without any regulation what
( ever.
: The deposit bill passed the senat
and the house without trouble an
appears on the statute books in tn
: form that made Ross and Steel con
3 gratulate themselves.
1T will be observed that the Ros
bank did all its lobbying in the sen
ate and that in that body 1t did it
effective work"
? Favors Ross Bank Lobby.
6 This amending OF bills to suit tn
Ross bank lobby in senate commit
tees presided over by Bowerman lie
the Oregonian to make the followin
4 editorial comment on March 23, 1908
4 Were the members of the legisla
= ture of 1907 making laws for the peo
pie or for the Title Guarantee 4
Trust company? They drew thei
i salaries from the state, and not fror
' the trust company. But the trus
, company had cause for congratula
tions when the sure thing was en-
I acted"
r Another bill handled in committe
2 and tempered through the efforts G
the Ross lobby was the bank regula
ton law OF that session, introduce
by Senator Haines. 1t was sent to tn
Q banking committee for treatment. c
0 which John S. Coke. now n circu
i,Jva N tho Coos-CurY.,, ,3istrict ,yo