The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1911-12-08
NEXT MOVE UP
TO GOVERNOR
PROGRESSIVE CONFERENCE
IN TACOMA PUT MATTER
OF A SPECIAL SESSION
SQUARELY UP TO HAY.

lu5e to call special session of the leg
islature to pass Il presidential primary
law, but he can no longer claim that
there is no sentiment in the state for
special session.
A conference of progressive republi-
cans was held in Tacoma last Tuesday
to take up with the governor the matter
of calling a special session and the next
move is now up to the governor. What
the people think of the old hand picked
convention method of choosing delegates
to national conventions was very plainly
expressed by the progressives present.
A choice lot of standpat legislators
We're present to give the governor their
moral support. These gentlemen were
all forninst a special session, but it is
significant that as each one was put on
recor d he hastily announced that he
would vote for the measure if a special
session were called. Senator Pliny Allen
of King heard no sentiment in favor of
the session from his constituents. A
woman delegate from his district i'm
mediately replied that he hadn't tried to
hear any, but if he had circulated around
among some of them he would have
known better.
Joe Smith gave the convention some
interesting party history which must
have made the stand patters squirm.
when he read extracts from their own
stand pat papers denouncing the polti
cal chicanery practised in conventions of
years gone by.
Representative j. E. Campbell pointed
out that the old guard in the legislature
apparently represented one constituency
before election and another one after
ward. He cited the session of 1909 and
the special session OF 1899 on the su.
preme iudgcship matter The lawmak
ers of 1909 took supreme court judges
out of the direct primary law. They
went home and heard from the people
and the lower house at the special ses-
sion voted to restore the judges to the
primary with only ten opposing votes.
But in the senate where a lot of fellows
sat who We're hold-overs, they turned it
down. lie opined that if legislators
would sound the people who had the
votes-the working people-as well as
business and manufacturing interests,
they might have occasion to change their
minds.
It was shown that in the matter of
cost it would not reach over $4,000 if
no eXtraneous matters were considered
and that this amount was inconsiderable
when distributed among the taxpayers
of the state.
Two written questions had been
mailed to every legislator:
First: IF a special session of the
legislature is called, will you vote for
PItslueHCldi primary
Second "Will you favor restricting
the business of the session to the en-
actment of the primary bill?"
1t was stated that replies had been
received from sixty legislators and
eighty had ignored the question. On
the first question As answered "yes,"
one mo-" and IA declined to answer.
On the second question SO answered
"yes," ten "no" and IA declined to an
swer.
Women were well represented among
the hundred progressives that attended
the conference and they did not hesitate
to express themselves in favor of the
session. One woman said: ''If every
thing we have heard here today about
machines and rings is true, we women
won't stand a chance without it,"
What Governor Hay will do in the
matter is problematical If he calls a
special session he is in bad with Big
Business. If he doesn't, he is in bad
with the progressive element of all
parties.
In a nutshell this is the situation: A
selected and organized by
the machine politicians means solid
Taft delegation TO the national conven-
ton. A presidential primary in which
the voters have a chance to express their
preference for president and elect their
own national delegates, means solid
delegation for candidate for president
who is a real progressive. The stand
pat press, the manufacturing interests,
most of the business interests, are for
the convention plan. No special session
for them. The great mass of the people
have their stomachs full of hand picked
political conventions and want to name
the men who are theoretically presumed
to carry out their wishes. The voters
want the special session because they
realize they must have the primary
method They reason that they are as
capable of saying what they want and
demanding it as the people in California.
Unfortunately we haven't Governor
johnson in the gubernatorial chariot at
Olympia not yet. But the chances are
rosy that we will get one unless Governor
Hay takes quick notice of the handwrit-
inc on the wall.