Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1914-07-10
CLAIM $4,000 FOR
SEVEN SISTERS
PROMOTERS OF THESE MEAS
URES FILE EETiTN. rs WITH
THAT MAN. SIGNATURES

Seven initiative petitions for the
measures known as the "Seven Sis
! ters" were filed with the secretary of
state last Friday, the last day per-
mitted by law. Six of the petitions
purported to have $4,000 signatures
each, while the petition for the ini-
tiative fish bill had but $4,000.
Checking the petitions for duplica-
tion OF names and for improper GER
tifcation will be finished within the
next thirty days. Until the petitions
have been checked by the secretary
! of state, voters who have signed the
petitions will be permitted to with
draw their names by making applica-
ton in the proper form. Whether
the number of valid signatures on the
petitions, after the Withdrawals are
made, will be sufficient can now be
only conjectured.
Six of the petitions have approxi-
mately $4,000 names. and should the
loss be 10 per cent. the petitions will
be insufficient. The fish bill, which
met with less favor than the others,
having only $4,000 signatures, is said
to be almost certain to fail.
The seven initiative petitions were
filed by Lucy r. Case, OF Seattle. exc
cutive secretary Of the joint legisla-
tive committee of the State Grange.
the State Federation OF Labor and
the Farmers Union. Miss Case ex-
pressed confidence that the petitions
would be found sufiicient. It is known,
however, that the Stop-Look-Listen
league has kept careful record Of
the names on the petitions where they
were checked in Spokane. Tacoma
and Seattle, and that the league al
ready has secured many Withdrawals
from persons who signed through In
advertence or through a misunder-
standing of the proposed bills. These
Withdrawals, now an unknown guam
tity, and the names certain to be
stricken because Of duplication or Inn
proper centifcation probably will OK
ceed 10 per cent Of the total, accord
ing to the state officials who nave
watched the preliminary checking Of
the anti-saloon bill and the eight
hour bill.
Governor Lister and his admins
tration have avoided taking any
stand that might appear as an at
tempt to interfere in any way with
securing signatures for these meas
ures or urging such signatures. When
lit is finally determined. however.
whether these measures will 90 be-
fore the people. it Is expected that
the governor will announce the atti-
tude of the administration, II the
measures are to be voted upon, or
will propose, in several instances.
substitute measures carefully draft
ed, If the Seven Sisters" prove to
have insufficient signatures to find
places on the ballot.
According to statements made this
week by Secretary of State I. M. How
ell, based on the checking already
done. at least half of the 112,1O1 sig
natures to the prohibition bill and
about $4,000 of the $1,000 sigma
lures to the Socialist 8-hour bill will
be found valid when the checking is
completed, insuring both a place on
the ballot.
Both the "drys" and the "wets"
have filed with the secretary of state
their respective arguments which
will be Incorporated in the book to
be circulated among the voters before
the election. The former, 500 words
long was submitted by Superintend-
ent George D. Conger of the State
Anti-Saloon league, while the latter
availed themselves of the full legal
limit of arguments, one being filed
by Louis Heinrich. president of the
State Brewers association, another
by Erastus Brainerd of Seattle for the
association, and the
third by Alvin Mueller, president of
the State Hop Growers association