The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1916-09-07
MOORES SAYS HE
RIDES NO HOBBY
Candidate for Representative
Gives His Views of Duties
of the Legislator

When asked as to what he hoped to
accomplish as representative from
Benton county, should he be success
full at the primary and the general
elections, Gordon C. Moores, republic
can legislative candidate said:
.'Since filing a declaration OF my
candidacy l have met with not few
surprises, the greatest of which is the
exaggerated idea that some people, IN
Guiding my opponents, have OF the
relative Importance of the Office. This
idea seems to be that, once he is
elected, all representative from Ben
ton county has to do is to make trl-
umphal entry into the city of Olympia
send his card into the house of rep
resentatives and order the governors
signature attached to such measures
as he may wish written into the state
statutes. There is a tendency on the
part of some people TO forget that in
addition to the gentleman from Ben
ton county, there will be a lot of other
gentlemen from other counties,
among whom will be some of the best
brains and the best trained minds in
the state and men who have been re-
turned to the legislature session after
~
ability and leadership; there seems
to be tendency to forget that whoev-
er represents Benton county will
be only one among many and that at
best he will represent only one per
cent of the population Of the state.
"Should the people of this county
honor me with election, I shall carry
with me to Olympia no inflated ideas
of my Importance nor shall T endea-
vor to stampede the house, tear up
the statute books or upset the prece-
dents Of legislative procedure. Rather
I shall endesvor to merit the honor
by working tremendously, earnestly
and conscientiously with my col
leagues for such legislative enact
ment as I believe will be beneficial to
Benton county, not as municipality
within and by itself, but as an integral
part of the commonwealth Of Wash
ington. / shall endeavor to study
closely the needs of this county and
the effect which any proposed legisla-
ton may have upon those needs and to
cast my vote in the interests of the
people whom I represent. By the
people, I mean the voters and tax
payers of Benton county and not those
of any clique, faction, neighborhood
or district. The Benton county which
I shall represent will be- the Benton
county as it appears on the map.
There will be no imaginary boundary
lines drawn thru it north and south
or east and west.
81 am not seeking to ride into Of
flee on any hobby. My experience as
journal clerk in the Oregon legisla-
ture has led me to believe that the
hobby-rider has been responsible for
more fool, freak ana costly legisla-
ton than any other one cause. He
has been even a greater hindrance to
constructive, common-sense legisla-
ton than the lobbyist, who has inhab-
tied the so-called third house. The
hobby-rider who has gone to the leg
islature with his own pet measure
tucked under his arm ready to vote
either aye or nay on almost anything
in order that his pet might be safely
landed has been directly responsible
for building up practice of horse
trading and log. ;olling that has re-
tarded development by means of
freak legislation, cluttered the stat
ute books with fool measures, and in
creased the burdens of the tax-paying
public. For this reason am making
no promises which cannot make good
or to fulfill which must vote contrary
to my best Judgment on other meas
ures. The only promise I can con-