The Northwest worker. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1915-1917, 1917-03-29
By II. l.. Hughes

it: The members for the most part
did not in any sense represent the will
Of the people who sent them there.
BY four TO one vote the people of
this state defeated the seven referred
measures and the cons l.tutional
amendment limiting the right of suf-
frage-the legislative program of the
1915 session of the state legislature,
by which it was sought to limit the
powers Of the peoplc-and yet re-
turned majority Of the men who
were responsible for that legislative
program!
For the most part the members
we're Of the same stamp as the men
Of the 1915 session. The people had
paid little attention to the material
which they sent to the legislature.
1t is now 10 days since the legislature
adjourned. That ought to be sufi-
cient time for the rough corners to
wear Off, and | feel that | can look
back and calmly survey what was
done by the body-only God forgive
me for looking back, when there is
so much in the future that might be
looked forward to. But looking back.
| am sure that we received more from
the legislature than we had any right
to expect.
We had no right to expect anything
from the legislature until we make
some effort to send forward looking
men to represent us in that body.
Only handful of the men were elect
ed to the 1917 session of the legisla-
ture were men Of vision. All others
were there as the, representatives of
the interests that exploit labor-labor
of the mill, the shop, the mine, the for
est and the farm. They We're the type
Of men who looked tQ the interests of
in all matters Of public expenditure
for human be-terment, but threw the
food-gates Of extravaganza wide open
to every demand for appropriations
for other purposes.
Passed Up Needy Children
They We're the type of men who
could spend hours Grating over the
welfare Of dogs" pass an appropria-
ton for an armory, and, although it
was the next bill on the calendar,
pass up the needy children of the state
for the want of five minutes time in
which to consider the bill to make
necessary amendments to the mothers
pension law.
They could not see the need of such
health and safety measures as the
plumbing inspection and boiler in
spection laws, yet could force through
with little effort law to exterminate
the "jitneys" of the state, in the face
of the fact that the "jitney" business
is already sufficiently regulated by
ordinance in the cities in which thew
operate. Governor Lister came to the
rescue of the jitney business by veto
ing this bill, which was introduced
and lobbied through by the traction
companies, but the refusal of the leg
lslature to pass a reasonable and just
bonding law may yet work great hard
ship upon those who are engaged in
the business of motor traffic.
The fact that this legislature die
not differ greatly from the notorious
session of 1915 was pretty well dem
onstrated by the way in which Sen
ator Palmer, the man of one idea, put
through his so-caled criminal syn
dicalist" bill. Palmer hoped to strike
the same sort of a blow at the labor
unions of the state by the enactment
Of this bill as he did with his "anti-
picketing" bill of the former session
He was cunning enough to do it by
striking through the unpopular l.. w.
w., at whose practices the bill is al
legged to aim. 1t worked like charm,
for after reading from an |. w. W.
song a ribald parody on the popular
hymn, Onward Christian Soldiers"
about everybody got excited and
jammed the bill through, even refus-
ing to give calm considerations to
amendments that were proposed to
make the bill reasonable and strike
from it its dangerous and drastic fea-
lures. 1t is not safe to trust the
liberties of the people to a body of
men who cannot dispassionately con-
slider matters Of legislation.
Labor Bill Hit Hard
The many special labor bills were
fairly and ably presented to the legis-
lators by special delegations repre-
senting the unions most directly in
terested. The plumbers inspection
law, the boiler inspection law, the
BARRIERS license bill, the two-platoon
system for tremen, and the twice-a-
month pay day law were all ably PIE
scented by delegates who worked