The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1914-07-16
RECHECKING
PETITIONS
HUGE Joke!


Garroting is defined in
Webster's dictionary as
an ancient Spanish tor
ture by which the victims
were throttled and chok-
ed until they could not
speak.
Garroting is carried on
the penal code of the state
of Washington as a most
serious and grave offense.
Yet a group of three or
four men, controlling the
state Of Washington
through their political
powers, have been CARROT
ing the people for many,
many years, and have got
ten away with it.
But the gag that these men
have SO diligently placed in thu
public's mouth has begun to slip,
and the most drastic measures
are being taken by the "rulery
of Washington" to keep the pub.
lie under foot. They are spend.
ing 1850 a day of the public Is
oWp money In an effort TO con-
tfntfe the gag. They are spend
ing thousands of dollars of their
own money to make the people
attempt for freedom look ridic-
ulous.
And the public rs struggling
and writing in it's most strenu-
Gus effort for freedom,
How They Are Doing IL.
In the house of representatives
which il supposed to be closed
from one session to another, are
$50 hand-picked men and wom-
en-, busily clicking typewriters at
a rate of $3.50 per day. They
were chosen by Il. A. Sims, the
fish man, J. X. McArdle, the
oyster man, and Jimmy Davis OF
Tacoma, the republican leader OF
tht bOho0s anu w Sec
rotary of State Howell.
Their duty is to copy the sig
natures of all of the initiative
bills that the public has so care
fully prepared, pick technical
flaws in the petitions, scratch
out names that are questioned
In their own minds, and use ev-
cry technical effort to cut down
the number of signatures on the
Seven Sisters bills so as to in
validate the petitions.
1t is the rankest piece of polit-
ical work ever attempted In
Washington And the political
riumvirate--Sims, McArdle and
Davis-with the aid of Speaker
TAYLOR and a few other trusty
knsves, appropriated the enor-
nous sum of 100000 from tho
public's coin last year for this
very purpose.
Spending Il Like Their Own Coin
il the state can manage to
spend 100000 in checking off
less than a dozen initiative petit.
tfdns-and the ring leaders are
seeing TO it that the thre hundred
thousand will be pretty nearly
exhausted by the work-these
same leaders figure that the pub
lie will become disguised with
the initiative law and leave IL
alone in the future.
The standpat boss-controlled
legislature of 1913 did not spena
s3p0, 600 merely out of the good
ness of its heart. II had q pur-
pose, and that purpose is to
| brighten the people into further
meek submission.
Every signature on every pc
ltition that went to Olympia Ia 4
been checked by registration
clerks or election officers before
Il left its precinct or county
Every duplication OF signatures
or false signature had been
| checked off.
40 Clerks Do the Work.
Yet Secretary OF State Howell
has hired $50 clerks. and he is
working them In three shifts OF
efkht hours each, burning thu
midnight oil at the state capitol
to do over again the very wors
that each respective county paid
for when the bills were first pre-
scented for initial checking.
Howell has worked hand-in
hand with the leaders of the leg,
islature. He has attempted ia
throw out whole bundles Of petit
lions. merely because the petit
lions for one bill had becoma
mixed with those of another. Aud