The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1916-05-12
Everett, Wash, May 1. 1916.

10 all Local unions ana central
Understanding
But a few weeks remain in which
to circulate our initiative petitions
The court suit brought by the OPP
ponents of our measures cut down our
actual working time so that it be-
comes necessary to speed up" the
work of procuring signatures if we
are to place these bills upon the bal
lot We can put these bills over if
we will get in and work; we can't do
it if we sit down and wait for the
"other fellow" to do it.
The Seattle Star, member of the
Scripps-McRae newspaper syndicate,
has launched en- unwarranted attack
upon one of our measures. No. 10, the
"non-partisan" bill. That you may
understand the circumstances sur
rounding the adoption of this bill by
our forces, we shall briefly relate
them in this letter.
At the very beginning of our legis-
lative alliance with the farmers we
agreed that each force would support
the measure or measures put forward
by the others, after the measures had
received the approval of the member
ship. With that understanding we
went into the initiative campaign of
1914. The farmers kept faith with us
and Loyalty supported the Seven Sis
ters, both during the circulation cam
paign and in the November election.
They did the same in the referendum
campaign of last year
When the Joint Legislative Commit
tee met last fall to discuss tentative
initiative measures for the coming
campaign, the representatives of the
State Grange declared that their mem
bers were insistent for the elimina-
ton of party politics in the primary
election, for all municipal, county and
state offices. 1t was agreed that they
for approval of the membership. This
was done and the bill in full detail
was presented to our State Federation
of Labor convention at North Yakima
last January. An entire evening ses-
sion was mostly taken up discussing
this bill in its every detail. 1t was
approved by that convention and the
public press of the state published
the fact that it had been so approved.
Later the bill was filed along with
the other measures and the public
press of the state published generally
that fact. Blank petitions for all four
measures were printed and on the eve
of placing them in circulation they
were held up by court attack on two
of the bills, it being impracticable to
send out part of the measures for cir
Culation and at later unknown date
send out the remainder
About the middle of April, three
months after it was publicly known
that the Joint Legislative Committee
would initiate such a bill the Seattle
Star launched a fight upon this
measure, after having through it's own
columns committed itself to the prin-
ciple of n-partisanship in city,
county and state offices. The Star at
lacks the presidential preference pri-
mary feature and other features as
being alien to the principle of non
partisanship and therefore "cluttering
up the bill" but fails to point out any
feature in which the principle worked
out is wrong or vicious.
At two conferences held with a rep
.resentative of the Star it was pointed
out to him that it was too late to
withdraw this bill and file a new one,
conceding our bill to be wrong in any
particular, and we make no such con-
cession, and the delay incident to the
filing of a new bill would endanger
the success of our entire initiative
program, This made no impression
on the Star and on the date of writ
ing this article the Star is endeavor-
ing to arouse sentiment for the filing
of a new bill
Our bill was drawn by Geo. Cotterill
and C. ]. France of Seattle. Both
men bear a statewide reputation for
honesty, ability and a rigid adherence
to progressive and democratic prin-
ciples in government. We have never
seen a copy of a proposed bill nor of
statute enactment which was so
complete in detail nor more carefully
phrased to meet any legal attack. 1t
shows the result in every line of
months of careful, painstaking wor.
With all due Difference to the Star,
it should be borne in mind that the
Joint Legislative Committee took up