The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1911-02-06
REPUBLICANS STAND BY
PROGRAM; DEMOCRATS SPLIT

endum bill should be referred to the
people for the INTO vote on it at a gem
eral election. In other words, he
Wished to make a referendum out of
the referendum
only few daSs before this Senator
Wood offered an amendment to the
Proctor local option bill providing for
a referendum as to whether the state
should operate under a county option
law or under the proctor law. and
Stotsen6urg fought this amendment on
the grounds that it would be uncon-
shtutionaL 1T was identically the same
question as the one in the referendum
Dill case, yet Stotsenburg took one
view of it in one instance and the other
view in another instance This only
shows how politics is played sometimes
The CRUDE bill proposed that when
ever city council granted a franchise
TO public service corporation the fran
chise should not go into effect for thirty
days In that time if a petition should
be signed by fifteen per cent of the
voters of the city asking for a referen-
DUN the matter should be referred to
the people and they should be allowed
70 vote on 1t. II a majority of the vote
was favorable the franchise should
stand If a majority was unfavorab BILE
the fra.,"hise was killed
1t Is easy to see why the public serv-
ice corporations would be interested in
killing the bill, or. at least, pulling out
its teeth. The bill failed to pass be-
cause it did not receive constitutional
majority of the votes of the senate
The democrats could have passed it had
they stood together for it. But they
allowed it to be amended out of shape.
evening assisting in the operation.
They will be compelled to take the
blaze for what happened to it.
It is not regarded here as strange
that Senator Gavit of Lake county
should oppose the bill, since he is a
traction magnate himself and interest
ed in several corporations which might
be affected by the operation of the bill.
So when he offered killing amendments
it was taken as an act of self-defense.
but it was not thought that democrats
would fall In behind him.
Friends of Governor Marshall say
that the governor has been considerab-
~ worried over the situation. He has
tried hard TO steer the democrats
straight in the matter of legislation
and to keep them from sending the
party the rocks in this state. but
there have been indications that the
leadership was slipping away from him
and that the corporations and special
interests were getting the best of him.
However. they say that he is again
getting things in shape again and that
he may yet succeed in steering the
party away from the shoals. 1t is
known that there is an element in the
democratic ranks however, that is try
ing to put the governor down and out.
and 1t is working hard. One can hear
such remarks as What's the difference
what the governor thinks p" among the
members, and this is being fostered by
some of the democrats who are work
ing the corporation racket.
Most of this trouble for the governor
exists in the senate up 10 this time, but
1t is not known yet how far it extends
; into the house. The senate has had a
chance at the CRUDE referendum bill
to show its hand in regard to corpora
ton influence, while the house has not