Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1916-07-21
REPRESENTATIVE RAMSEY, OF
coLeERT, OKLA, MEMBER
OF FARMERS CAUCUS.

(From the Oklahoma Farmer-Stock-
mani.
There is always a pretty general
complaint, when the State Legisla-
ture meets, that the city folks run
things. The complaint is well found
ed. Legislatures generally contain
a large percentage of town men.
There are more lawyers than men Of
any other profession. Consequently,
says the kicker, the laws that are
passed are nearly always for the city
man; not often for the farmer.
II is a fact that the towns often
get the best of the legislative deal;
but the real reason may go deeper
than the fact that most legislatures
are town men. There are always
enough farmers in any State Legisla-
ture to have powerful effect on the
kind of laws that are passed. but the
average farmer, when he goes to the
Legislature. is a member of his par
ty first and farmer afterward. He
votes as a Democrat or as a Repub-
lican, or as something else. Not Of
ten does he vote as farmer.
A shining example of what farmer
lawyers can do when they put their
business ahead of their party has
been shown in the Fifth Oklahoma
Legislature. There were twenty
eight men in the House of Represen-
tatives whose interests were In the
country. They got together. They
formed a farmers caucus, and
agreed to cast their votes as the eau
cTs decided, and ont as their vari-
Gus palitical parties demanded. Re-
suit: They held the balance of pow
er in the lower house in the last two
sessions of the Legislature, and wher-
ever they stood united their votes
ruled.
Besides preventing what they con-
sidered to be a number of bad laws,
this farmers caucus is directly re-
sponsible for a number of. good bills.
When the compensation law was
passed. providing that an injured en-
ployee could collect damages from
his employer. the caucus put in a
clause exempting all classes of farm
work. including threshing and silo
filling. The caucus passed the law
exempting all farm products in the
raw state from taxation. The eau
Gus cut down the shooting season on
quail to thirty days. The caucus was
responsible for the appropriation at
the last regular session of $4,000
for foot-and-mouth disease, and of
$4,000 for tick eradication. The
caucus passed the threshermen's lien
law, the stallion registration law, and
the law making it a criminal offense
to smash up threshing machines.
In the special session the caucus
fight on the registration law contin-
ued to the last. The caucus
passed the new hog cholera bill, the
prison twine plant bill, and the gross
production tax, and stood solidly
amid the amendments providing for
appeal and for automatic registration
were attached.
The members OF this caucus are as
follows; Frank Carpenter, r. B.
Fitzgerald, John A. Simpson, j. A.
Baker, L. N. Barbee. L. f. Bryant,
w. Cartwright. G. G. Chiiders, L.
Council. Johnson Crawford. w. X.
Dunn. Sam H. Hargis, Ben Harrison,
C. c. Hill, Lee Howe, j. E. Lemon, ].
o. McCollister. T. G. McMahan. H. o.
Miller, James X. Moore, r. ]. Nor
gan, r. L. Peebly, George D. Pullen,
G. A. Ramsay, ]. A. Thurmond, H.
Treadway. T. j, Welch, T. G. Wilkes,
Charles Williams, John H. Wright,
A. North.
Carpenter is chairman, Fitzgerald
secretary, and Simmons floor leader
of the caucus. All three were In tho
harness every minute during the two
last sessions of the Legislature. and
the work they did will have a lasting
effect on the farm prospects of Ok
lahoma