The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1917-04-13
LEGISLATIVE
ASSESSMENT
NECESSARY
By E. P. Marsh,
President Washington State Fedora
ton of Labor

waged against any laws enacted by
the recent Legislature, | have been
asked several times if we expected
the unions to send in the % cent as
sessment for legislative purposes
asked for by the Everett convention.
have invariably replied, eyes, by
all means; let us have fund which
will enable us to be prepared in adj
vance of the next campaign to plan
aggressive work and carry on an
educational propaganda" 1t shall be
the purpose of this article to explain
the necessity for such action.
When the joint legislative commit
tee was formed some method of finan-
cling its work had to be devised. Our
receipts from per capita tax were all
expended in carrying on various
phases of State Federation activity
Our share of the expenses of the mi
tiative campaign of 1914 were met by
voluntary assessment. Just after the
1915 legislature adjourned it was de-
cided to refer seven laws. Another
organization was formed, known as
the State Referendum League, which
co-operated with the joint legislative
committee and bore part of the ex
ponse, making it possible for the Fed
Grafton to pay it's proportion from
the general treasury without neces-
sity of special assessment.
In 1916 we conducted two distinct
campaigns: First, campaign to
initiate four measures, which failed;
second, propaganda campaign
against the seven referred measures,
which was eminently successful.
Again a voluntary assessment of 10
cents per head was asked for and
quite generally paid.
Not Cent Wasted
l don't believe labor ever spent a
dollar in the world to better purpose
than was expended by the joint leg
islative committee in the several cam
paigns. Not cent was wasted or
wrongfully expended. want to state
it as my firm conviction, however,
that if we could have doubled or treb-
led the amount in the hands of the
legislative committee not only would
we have carried all the initiative
measures we lost, but many of the re-
dictionary gentlemen in the legislature
would have been left at home to at
tend to their private business. Funds
for a proper educational campaign
have always been lacking. We ought
to have been able to have covered the
state knee deep with literature, an
swered every call for speakers. The
people were hungry to know the
truth, but couldn't get it save in
limited quantities.
Last year l had numerous people
come to me at the close of an address
and say, "Why, didn't know our leg
islators voted for or against such a
measure" Right now as I am going
about the state | am having people
ask me if we are going to publish the
record of the late legislature. This
week in Ellensburg a gentleman came
to my hotel to get the roll call vote
of legislators from Kittitas County
on labor bills. We did not issue a
legislative record last year. We felt
we needed all our money for the cam
paign to defeat the referred measures.
If we could have plastered this state
with half million pamphlet copies of
the re-actionary record of the 1915
observation-disclosures it home to the
voters in each legislative district Just
how their own hired men voted on
important measures-we might have
materially changed the complexion of
the 1917 session.
Pay Assessment Promptly
By all means, then, pay promptly
the voluntary assessment of Is cents
per member asked of you. We are
not asking for a continued monthly
assessment, but just one levy of 25
cents per member. Unquestionably
we will use the initiative in 1918 to
obtain a popular vote on needed leg
islation. We ought to build up fund
in advance of that time. If our Joint
legislative committee can know be-
forehand just what it has to work
with financially, much more effec-
tive plan of campaign may be laid.
Not cent of this fund will be ex-
pended for the routine work of the
State Federation, but will be kept
separate for legislative work.
Let us not enter the campaign of
1918 with only the merest guess as to
what our financial resources are 60
ing to be, but with war fund raised
and ready for use.