The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1918-11-21
DEMOCRATS DON'T
HAVE A LOOK IN
REPRESENTATION IN IOWA RE-
pucEp OVER TWO YEARS AGO.
SEVENTEEN IN BOTH BRANCHES
Twelve in House and Five in Senate
-MeFarIane Of Waterloo Most
Likely Speaker Candidate
May Be Others.

May Be Others.
/ Des Moines, Nov. 19.-Returns from
all but eight counties on the election
| of members of the legislature show
that out of 10S members in the~house
there will be twelve democrats as
compared to fourteen two years ago
and five democrats out Of the fifty
members of the senate. Two years
ago there were ten democrats in the
senate.
This condition therefore eliminates
all possible chance of alignments ac-
cording to political parties. In fact
the democrats never have been strong
enough in the Iowa legislature to en-
act legislation as a party. !
Factions have divided the Iegl.... -.
ture in the majority of the sessions.
Many times it has been a split be-
tween the vets and the drys. This
disappeared with the passing of the
Thirty-sixth general assembly. AS
is well remembered the legislature
two years ago, the Thirty-seventh, was
split over the road question, which
was carried over from the previous
| Legislature and which was an issue
in the governorship campaign in 1916.
With the defeat on the floor of the
house after two days deadlock of
the Pitt-Johnson road bill this fac
ton also disappeared. With no par
ticular issues up at the recent cleo
ton there are no special factions in
the arena at present although much
division is bound to develop when time
for organization comes.
MeFarIane for Speaker. ...
Arch McFarlane, Of Waterloo,
speaker pro tenn of the house in the
legislature two years ago, and one of
the leaders in the opposition to the
Pitt,Johnson road law, is the most
prominent candidate for speaker of
this next assembly. He was first
elected to the house as one of the
representatives from Black Hawk
county in 1914, was reelected in 1916
and again this fall. No other candi-
dates have announced themselves as
yet although a number will be in the
race when the time comes. John NJ
Wormley, of Plymouth county, one of
the leaders in the Pitt-Johnson fac
ton two years ago. has been talked
of somewhat as a candidate. T. P.
Harrington, Of Kossuth county, is a
possible candidate.
Milton B. Pitt, of Harrison county,
speaker two years ago and leader of
the Pitt-Johnson forces, has been
elected to the senate from the Craw-
observation-disclosures district He
succeeds Senator Grant Caswell, of
Denison, who was not a candidate for
reelection. Pitt defeated Ed M.
Whiting, of Whiting, Monona county,
democratic nominee, in the recent
election.
James F. Johnston, of Lucas coun-
ty, the other leader in the anti high
way commission road fight, was de-
feated for nomination at the primar-
les. Other members of this faction
who will not return include Charley
Hall of Taylor, who was defeated for
the republican nomination for secre-
tary of state at the primaries ( last
June, Johnston, of Humboldt, Roberts
of Ringgold, and Tucker, Of Clinton,
all of, this anti-highway commission
faction, have dropped out. Among
the active members of the Pitt-John--
son faction of two years ago who
have been returned to the house are
Douglas Rogers, of Manning, w. w.
Epps. of Wapello, w. e. Giltner, of
Monroe, and John NJ. Wormley, of
Plymouth.
Among the prominent progressiyes
on the house side who were reelected
this year are James B. Weaver, of
Polk county. Arch McFarlane, of
Black Hawk, D. o. Stone, of Sioux, E.
A. Larson. of Montgomery, s. w.
Klaus, of Delaware, and T. P. Har-
of Kossuth.
Leading progressives in the house
who have dropped out are Lee FL
wood of Howard, the leader of the
progressive faction two years ago,
and author of the progressive road
bill, Ross Gray, of Calhoun, David
Mackie of Benton, and Ira Nichols, of
Hardin.
Walter Anderson, of Green county.
who has been a progressive member
of the house for the past two SEES
sions, was elected to the senate this
year to succeed Charles c. Helmer.
of Carroll, as senator from the
Greene, Carroll, Sac county district.
Senator Helmer is in military SER
vice.