The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-02-22
Initiative and Referendum Given
an Anaesthetic.
Senate Again Administers the
Quieting Potion.
WASNO GENTLEAFFAIR
Lively War of Words Preceded
the Action.
George King, the Expert, Has a
Bad Half Hour.
WASNO GENTLEAFFAIR

After the signal victory of the morn
ing session, the administration organ
fzation went to pieces Tuesday atteF-
noon and the initiative and reteren-
dunn and recall were again slaughtered
IN the senate. Following these defeats,
the insurgents split on the amendment
for a three-fourths jury and all oul
ahelved this document.
The I. and r. fight was staged before
a big crowd and the battle was worthy
Of attendance The same tactics thae
mt the former bill to sleep downed the
measure passed in the house Re"
DAYS ago Gradually the bill was load
I'd with amendments, but the reform
contingent held their forces well IN
hand and the Democrats fought with
the insurgents for the passage of the
document. The former standpat VIC
+or,- Of 81 TO IS. was Tuesday afternoon
~1t' down to "a TO Is, but even then the
reactionary gang had two votes 10
spare. s a.,
When the measure was read, the
fight started in earnest over the per-
centage necessary to initiate a meas
ure. 1t was in the heat of the debate
that Fred Robertson stated that
George King, field secretary for the
Reform league, was in the lobby ana
asked to give him the privileges OF the
floor for a 20 minute talk Brewster
and Price objected most seriously to
stump speeches and Reed offered to
compromise by permitting the gov
errors private secretary to talk on the
subject The senate, however, wanted
to hear the Ohio man and he wadad
into the merits Of the cause Ten
minutes after King started to talk, ne
hot Democrats
had brought him to Topeka and was
hoping that he would never again ad-'
dress Kansas senate.
Standpat members embarrassed the
Toledo man and derisively pointed 20
the seven foot South Dakota ballot.
with cutting sarcasm Senator Price
asked King why he had not first re-
formed his own state before coming
to Kansas. He asked the referendum
advocate if the states that were trying
the theory had better laws than the
Kansas homestead maximum freight
rate, two cent fare, prohibitory and
other laws on the Kansas statute.
Then he Jared the visitor with statis-
tics from the states where the law was
in force and Brewster asked pointed
questions that added to Kings dis
comfiture. When Senator Carnbern
mentioned that the 20 minutes had ex-
PRED. King was glad to take the count
and retire. He watched the remainder
of the battle from a safe distance in
the rear of the lobby and was about
as we'll pleased with the proceedings
as was Prof. L. L. Dyche when the
senate extended him the privileges Of
the floor for discussion of the fish
and game bill
A dozen amendments were nailed OIL
the original bill and twice as many
more were beaten. AS usual Hamilton,
of Shawnee, led the fight for the adj
ministration. Hamilton has stepped
into the floor leadership of the reform
camp and he has defended the platform
promises in a devout and worthy man
ner. He personally inspected the stand
pat amendments and annalyzed them
before the entire senate. When an OBJ
jectionable amendment came from
questionable source. it was Hamilton
who called the senates attention to
the author of the bill and urged the
defeat of the proposed change in the
interest Of advanced government
Senator Cambern. the red-haired
and lanky Erie banker, found a num-
Der of bad features in the bill and he
sent his stenographer to the commit
tee room to write a few amendments.
Cam bern explained that he really was
opposed to the bill. but was willing to
give the people a chance to go on rec
ord for or against the measure But
before that record was made he
wanted the bill waterproof and air
tight. He chung to his theories like
mlstletoe to tree and the good ma
tured insurgents, anxious to secure
converts, came half way and helped
him.
Glenn pointed to the fact that in it's
present form the 1900 Socialists in
Kansas would line up with an insig-
nificant and disgruntled minority in
the demand for the submission of pro-
positions to the people and that the
voting of the Kansas ballot would soon
be an all day job. Glenn did not get
all that he asked for. but he helped
change the percentages and voted for
the bill
AS usual Stewart produced a mock of
ful of amendments and most of them
were voted down. He denounced the
policy of the measure which permitted
the people to vote on appropriations
after the money had been spent nv
the several institutions but the senate
thought he was Joking and refused to
look seriously on his amendment
carey wanted a clause in the bill
which provided that only persons able
10 read and write the English lam
guage should vote on the matters re-
ferred to the people. This stirred I'm
4 half dozen brands of trouble and
Porter, F'agerberg, Fowler and Milton
declared that they would not dare to
return to their fond constituents with
such a joker in the deck The amend
ment was beaten.
When the amendments were all in.
the bill was in a battered condition.
1t provided for Is per cent to initia te
measure instead of the original five
per cent. It allowed anyone who was
a qualified resident to vote on all pro
positions whether they could read or
write. Tt required that not more than
20 per cent of the total petitioners
should be secured from any one
congressional district.
Brewster and Price made the final
arguments in opposition to the bill
and Brady. of Lawrence heroically
defended the good graces of the adj
nfnistration. Brewster found his
customary enjoyment is rawhiding
the Stubs forces and he declared
that the members of the senate were
elected on platform in direct OPP
position to the Democratic platform
l. 4 l.