This Project Gutenberg Etext Prepared by David Schwan
Story of the Session of the California Legislature of 1909
by Franklin Hichborn
The well-being of the State requires that the opponents to the machinein Senate and Assembly, regardless of party label, organize theLegislature. But back of this is the even more important requirementthat there be elected to the Legislature American citizens, with theresponsibility of their citizenship upon them, rather than partisans,burdened, until their good purposes are made negative, by theresponsibility of their partisanship.
San FranciscoPress of The James H. Barry Company1909
I. Breaking Ground
II. Organization of the Senate
III. Organization of the Assembly
IV. The Machine in Control
V. Election of United States Senator
VI. The Anti-Racetrack Gambling Bill
VII. Passage of the Anti-Racetrack Gambling Bill
VIII. The Direct Primary Bill
IX. The Machine Defeated in the Senate
X. Fight Over the Assembly Amendments
XI. Machine Amends Direct Primary Bill
XII. The Railroad Regulation Issue
XIII. Machine Defeats the Stetson Bill
XIV. Railroad Measures
XV. Defeat of the Commonwealth Club Bills
XVI. How the Change of Venue Bill Was Passed
XVII. Passage of the Wheelan Bills
XVIII. Defeat of the Local Option Bill
XIX. Defeat of the Initiative Amendment
XX. Defeat of the Anti-Japanese Bills
XXI. The Rule Against Lobbying
XXII. The Machine Lobbyist at Work
XXIII Influence of the San Francisco Delegation
XXIV. Attacks on and Defense of the Fish Commission
XXV. The Rewarding of the Faithful
XXVI. The Holdover Senators
XXVII. The Retiring Senators
XXVIII. Conclusion
Appendix
Tables of Votes
Postal Direct Primary
Dr. Montgomery's Report
The Anti-Japanese Resolution
In writing the Story of the Session of the California Legislature of1909, the purpose has been, not only to show what was done at Sacramentolast Winter, but, what is by far more important, how it was done. Tothis end, the several measures are divided under three heads, namely,those dealing with moral, with political and with industrial issues.Instead of scattering on all the measures introduced, or even aconsiderable part of them, the principal issue of each group, that whichmeant the most to The People, and upon which the machine centered itsefforts, has been selected for detailed consideration. On the score ofthe moral issues, the Anti-Racetrack Gambling bill has been taken as themost important; while the Direct Primary bill is dealt with as the chiefpolitical issue, and the railroad regulation measures as involving thechief industrial issue. The story of the fight over these bills is thestory of the session of 1909. The events attending the passage of theAnti-Racetrack Gambling bill, the amendment of the Direct Primary bill,and the defeat of the Stetson Railroad Regulation bill, with theattending incident of the passage of the Wright Railroad bill, show, asnothing else can, how the machine controls and manipulates aLegislature - and such is the purpose of this little volume.
The efforts of justice-loving men to simplify the criminal codes, to theend that rich and poor alike may have equal opportunity in the trialcourts - not in theory alone but in fact - and the successful efforts of themachine to block this reform, have made detailed consideration of thedefeat of