The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1924-10-30
Benton County's Percentage
Will be Largest Since
County Seat Scrap
INITIATIVE BILLS
TO SWELL TOTAL
This County and State Still
Claimed for Coolidge
and LaFollette

Unless all signs fail, Benton coun-
ty will next Tuesday cast the larg-
est percentage of it's registered vote
since the big county seat battle in
1912 when some of the precincts
rolled up larger vote than they
have ever cast before or since that
time.
While there are only two contests,
representative and commissioner, TO
arouse local interest, the national and
state tickets and the initiative and
referendum measures are going to
exert big pulling power to bring
the voters to the polls. Voters who
are not specially interested in the
national and state tickets Of any par
ty are showing very lively interest
in one or more of the initiative mea-
sures.
Augmenting the voters interest
are the activities of the party work.
ers and the organizations which are
actively supporting or opposing the
initiative and referendum measures.
In practically every precinct the re-
publicans and the LaFollette support
ers are organized, have made poll
lists and will be on the job to see to
| it that every one Of their voters get
to the polls.
In the national campaign Benton
county and the state of Washington
are disputed territory. Republicans
are claiming the state for Coolidge
by 40 to 80 thousand while a press
bulletin issued yesterday from La
Toilette state headquarters claim the
state for the Wisconsin senator by 35,
900. As to which of the two really
means it and which is merely whist
ling to keep up courage the results
Of Tuesdays balloting only will tell.
The election of Roland Hartley
governor is practically conceded ev-
erywhere excepting at Ben Hill's
campaign headquarters. In the gub-
ernatorial contest party lines largely
have disappeared and the qualifica-
tions Of the two men are being con-
sidered by the voters. In his cam
paign Mayor Hill has more and more
pulled away from the democratic par
ty and he is now openly bidding for
the LaFollette vote. But the LaFol-
lette supporters are quite generally
holding aloof from state politics and
bending their every effort to swing
Washington into the LaFollette coll
umn in the electoral college. Bob
Oman, farmer-labor candidate is not
regarded as a factor in the race.
The reelection Of Congressman
John w. Summers appears certain,
although he is receiving the cross
fire of old line republicans and the
more radical elements in the LaFol-
lette group. The LaFollette party
has withdrawn it's endorsement from
him and given it to Knute Hill, the
farmer-labor candidate, because they
say the congressman has said unlzind
things about LaFollette while some
of the republican leaders are pam
ming him because he has dealt too
gently with the Wisconsin senator.
Then too, Mr.. Bolke the democratic
candidate who has held aloof from
the rest Of the democratic state tick
ct and camping on Summers trail
in all Of the IL counties Of the dis
trict, is making some headway. Yet
the congressman has a large follow
ing especially among the farmers,
who are standing Loyalty with him and
who have sufficient numbers TO put
him over.