The Raymer enterprise., 1917-08-02
SPECIAL SESSION STARTS
WITH DEMOCRATIC SPLIT
Insurgents tn and Upset Speaker Best.
But Old Organization Is Sustained
By Solid Republican Vote.

Ihe special session OF the legls-
lature opened with a row in the
majority party of the Colorado
House. Boone Best was speaker
at the regular session, and without
some action unseating him, he
would occupy the same position at
the extra session. In fact without
a change or vacancy because Of
absence, the organization Of the
legislature convening in special
session would be just the same as
when adjournment was had on the
oath day Of March, changing no
more than it would over Sunday
interval.
Best was personally popular with
the members at the winter session,
and most were satisfied with his
rulings, but the failure of some
bills to receive the consideration
their authors thought they should,
furnished q pucleous for trouble.
It is claimed too that Senator
Shafroth does not consider the
speaker any too friendly to his
desire to continue in the United
States senate.
Wednesday morning a good
number OF democrats held caucus
and decided to ask Mr.. Best to re-
sign. He of course refused. Then
they decided to offer a resolution
declaring the chair vacant. There
was nothing undetermined in the
way they went about the work
The insurgents had no secrets.
They said they had twenty to
twsnty.four votes, and OF course
they counted that the republicans
would take advantage Of such
fine opportunity to split up the op
portunity to split up the opposi-
tion party, and then it would be a
free-for.all to see who could be e.
lscted speaker. 1t was even hint
ed that the chances were good to
elect, Gill, or Scott or Cole, or
most any republican speaker.
At the republican caucus the
matter was considered, and OF the
% present, every man said in his
own way and his own language
that we were called to enact need
ed legislation. and that it was not
the time to play politics, not to
SOW the seeds of dissention, and we
would have nothing to do with
helping to boom John Shafroth for
senator nor with democratic poll
tics, that we were there to pnt
through any bills needed to make
this state efficient in helping to
win the war. 1t was gratifying to
find that the obviously patriotic
course was the one thing that ap-
pealed to the entire party. Per-
haps it would have been patriotic
to have told the insurgents that
they were mistaken in their assum-
tion that republicans could be
bought by such cheap stuff, but it
was thot best to let them 90 and
they went.
To make a long story short, the
resolution received just ~ soses,
all democrats, while the other ~
democrats voted against it and
with them voted the entire 70 re-
publicans.
Another member who was not
present stated that he would have
voted with the insurgents.
This explains why the commit
tees for the special session have
been changed somewhat, how two
republicans have chairmanships,
and two others could have had
them, and the insurgents are alb
solutely ignored.
Perhaps the last was not good
thing to do, but it is very common
way in Colorado politics. "If you
get your enemy down, hit him."
However, Best had plenty Of
provocation. 1t was an attempt to