Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1915-03-05
COUNTY OFFICIAL PAPER.
CITY OFFICIAL PAPER.
LITTLE ATTEMpTED-LITTL DONE.

With only few days of the fourteenth |
legislature remaining, it be safely predicted
that the 1915 session will pass down chiefly re-
,arl.able for mc5iocrit O. achievement, for fewer
bills have been submitted and fewer laws have
been enacted than in any preceding session IN
many a bennium. Peculiarly, too, it now appears
that the most important of the legislation it will
enact will be in the nature of return to the
t..good old days. of party conventions, with
practically nullifed primary and sorely clipped
initiative and referendum and an abrogation of
VARIOUS civil and political rights the people fought
for for years and only just recently won,
Early in the session it was tacitly recognized
that no crying need existed for any large number
>Of new laws. Statesmen who had treked all the
way to Olympia began to feel almost in the predic
amant of that famous army that resolutely
marched up the hill only to ANONYMOUSLY march
down again. Then the leaders, especially the
honse leaders, became suddenly alive to the pot
zeal exigences Of the situation and in doing
straightway grew largely oblivious to other issues
With both houses overwhelmingly Republican
and a smoothly working organization in the
saddle nothing was to be feared in the nature of
snaEs-even vetoed bills could be passed with
whOop and hurrah over gubernatorial disap
prevail But the administration being Democratic
and in fair way-unless radically discredited-
to return itself power, if it desires, the para
mount issue with the majority organization evi
denced itself. Immediately in hilarious endeavors
TO twist the tail of the Democratic mule.
Every measure, which, reckoning from any
~,CJo ,ronId ey;vo Covprnnr listers adminiStra
tim more substantial footing by rejecting credit
for constructive handling Of the state affairs was
expedtiously side-tracked while measures were
framed and passed that members of both houses
frankly admit were for the sole purpose of taking
patronage from and discrediting the Lister adj
ministration. In this way the session has likely
been more purely political in character than any
preceding one since statehood
With to the ground, statesmen in Olympia
from different parts Of Washington have been
listening to the tramp Of the voters in November,
a916, and trying to so handle issues now that re-
sEiits then would be attained though even in this
light some of the acts Of the Republican organiza-
tion seem mighty strange. Of course all this has
heen done on the premise that Governor Lister
viii be.a candidate in 1916, on which point he has
NOT yet declared himself This fight between the
I0O HOUSES Oh one Sue, anu TIE SONtfIOr DdtCllug
single-handed on the other, has been the feature
that, more than any other has given life and color
to the session. The fracas has revealed the COVER
n political fighter with 42-centimeter
wallop of a~Jack johnson brand.
From the outset the liquor issue has been to the
fore, and it likely will remain the boards in
some form or another until the session closes
With manifest majority Of the statesmen num-
bered in the 'swet' contingent, booze has
nevertheless needed friends at every stage and in
each instance seen rough weather when 1t showed
It's head. 1t would have Jared immensely better
had not Governor Lister been so sharply set
against meddling in any form with the initiative
prohibition law passed by the people last Novem
Der.
Remedial and amendatory legislation shows
here and there the surface of the session, but
in the main the statute books will be little bur
,dened with new laws If there has been no par
ticularly creative, salutary fostering legisla
.tion, there has been little unsavory vicious,
except the attacks on the election laws, the
initiative and referendum, and labor laws, which
nny develop some of the habits of chickens that
come home to roost'
The session the whole may likely acquire
come such reputation as that king who cursed
with mediocrity in both morality and vice, was
never great enough to do good act or bad enough
I'D eummit vicious one