The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-02-20
Wayne's Senator One Of the
Few Members of Minority
Independent of the Bi-par-
tisan Machine.
.HEVOTES RIGHT ON
ALL OF THE BILLS
BY His Actions He Has
Thrown Away Any Chanc-
es He Might Have of Pass
ing Personal Bills.
palladium Specially

<A SP11iiiJ
Indianapolis, Feb. 20.--One of the
few men of the Republican minority
in the state senate who stand out be.
cause of their independence of the bi.
partisan machine that runs the sen.
ate, and especially the Republican
members of it. is Walter S. Commons
Republican senator from Wayne and
Union counties.
With the Republicans in the minor.
ity about all a Republican can do is
to vote right upon questions and this
Commons has consistently done. BY
SO doing he has. along with the 9TH
ers of the senate who have steadfast-
ly refused to permit the bipartisan
machine control them, thrown away
chances he might have had of getting
any personal bills through the legis-
lature.
1t is miracle for even Democrats
like Carleton or Shively to get meas
ures through the senate because of
their refusal to sell their birthriglrt
to the corporation clique that runs
things with high hand in the upper
house of the legislature It was be-
cause of this that Shivcly's recall bill
was slaughtered. 1t was because OF
this that Carleton's bill giving Evans
vile 75 cent gas has been laid away in
moth balls by the corporation clique
notwithstanding the legislature last
session passed bill through the sen
though it was killed in the house
later.
Make Open Boasts.
The corporation machine, composed
of corporation senators on both sides
are not secretiye about their work
They openly boast that no man op
posed to their schemes will get any.
thing passed this session So Com.
mons is not made the sole object OF
their spleen when his bills are not
by the chloroform system.
That fact however, has not deter.
red him from his duty. He is always
in his seat and he makes study OF
every bill that comes before the sen.
ate. Upon the Proctor bill providing
for restrictions and regulation of the
liquor traffic, Commons voted for all
hD n fe 10 %h@ I>;N 1,4% r.,
thought would strengthen it and then
voted for the measure upon final pas
sage. Upon the CRUDE bill providing
for the referendum of public fran
chises to vote Of the people in case
of the councils action not being sat
isfactory Commons voted for it, be
ing one of the few Republican sena.
tors sufficiently free of the domina.
tion of the corporation clique led by
Senators Wood and Kane to do this.
Had Commons been present upon
the vote on Shively's recall bill he
would have voted for it, but for three
days last week he was in Richmond
attending to some private business
that required his personal and imme.
diate attention. He had an official
leave of absence issued him by Lieut.
Gov. Hall for this time. One of his
first acts upon his return was to vote
for the employers liability bill. a
Democratic measure, but a policy in.
dorsed by the Republican party dur.
ing the last campaign.
Why He Dodged It.
The only roll call which Commons
has ''dodged" during his incumbency
was one to prevent constitutional
omnibus bill is bunch of bills which
a number of senators want passed. but
about the passage of which there
would be some doubt if they were up
for passage upon their merits. In
this instance seventeen senators hay-
ing private bills" they wanted pass
ed, got together and agreed to help
each other out by putting the bills all
together and passing them on one
roll call. 1t requires constitutional
quorum. that is majority of the total
membership to do this. In such bills
there is usually large amount of
dynamite and "jokers" and Sena-
tor Commons refused to vote for a
hat full of bills about which he knew
nothing. So he left the state house
and helped break the quorum.
Other than this he has not lodged
a roll call and is making one of the
cleanest records of any senator in the
present legislature.