The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1914-07-03
SEVEN SISTERS" PETITIONS
DEBATED AT RAYMOND

/ that the Seven Sisters" and the eight
hour bill will fail of enough signatures
to be placed upon the ballot What
secret source of information the news
papers have we do not know. Prob
ably the wish is father to the
thought" Coupled with the assurance
that the bills are lost the voters are
reminded that they may withdraw
their signatures if they so wish by so
notifying the secretary of state. The
part that a leading portion of the press
of this state has assumed during this
initiative campaign is not at all to its
credit and is a sad commentary on the
boasted freedom of the press" | will
give the experimentation League
people credit with having shrewdness
enough or money enough which some
times amounts to the same thing-to
work the press to a queens taste. 1t
is wonderful what can be accomplished
with little paid advertising judicious-
~ distributed. 1t will apparently sway
the editorial thought of the paper and
color its news columns. OF course the
papers who have so freely opened their
columns to Stop-LoOk-Listen League
arguments will rave at the assertion
that they can be bought in that man
ner. Let EN- rave We happen to have
the goods on them. This was the
scheme. Dope from Frank Dallams
office was sent broadcast throughout
the state and the papers assured that
if they kindly gave it space they would
be given paid advertising at space
rates. One country editor told me that
he was given paid advertising but re
fused to run the news articles fur
nished and that his paid advertising
was promptly discontinued. One daily
paper in this state palmed off on its
readers on its editorial page as orig
inal editorial natter league dope
against the First Aid'' bill. The next
dav the same paper threw an editorial
fit because some correspondent had
written an article for publication with
out attaching his name and launched
forth a long dissertation on news
paper ethics" We Gods. Despite the
fact that the annual convention of the
State Farmers Union held in Spokane
repudiated by a vote of 167 to the
resolutions passed by little bunch OF
"rubber-tired" farmers in the south
eastern part of the state who had
played the leagues game in condemn
ing the Seven Sisters, papers in this
state are still carrying the long article
, sent out blythe league in which an at
tempt is made to show that the farm
ers are in dissention upon our initia-
tive program. Not all the papers in
the state have allowed their columns
to be prostituted in this manner, but
enough have to make one twiddle his
nose when they pirate about the free
dom of the press
Four months of the hardest kind OF
work have thoroughly shown up some
of the jo5ers in the machinery of the
initiative law. The whole machinery
of operation seems to be predicated on
the assumption that the average cit-
zen is inherently liar and if the
check rein isn't pulled tight he'll per
lure himself Else, why all the re-
strictions and curbs in the law? The
plenary power bestowed on checking
officers by the law seems to be with
out restriction. In Raymond the gov
ernor of the state had to be appealed
to to compel the city officials to obey
the mandates of the act and check the
Detitiops, In Colville the checking