CHAPTER XLIII WASHINGTON A PROGRESSIVE STATE-FACTS THAT LED UP TO RECENT BROADENING of people's AUTHORITY—NOTORIOUS SENATORIAL ELECTIONS—NOMINATION OF GOVERNOR MEAD IN RAILROAD MAN'S PRIVATE CAR-THE ABERDEEN CONVENTION -J. E. FROST TELLS HOW THE STATE'S ACTIVITIES HAVE BROADENED UNTIL ALMOST EVERY PHASE OF THE CITIZEN'S DAILY LIFE IS AFFECTED. The State of Washington has been notably progressive in her law-making, though her legislators have indulged scarcely at all in the freakisms of some sister states. Four facts have had much to do with the working out of laws designed to give the people the very limit of the powers which free government implies. Those facts were: The existence in Olympia for many years of a venal lobby which sought not only to deprive the public of self-expression, but which sought to deflect the public will at the polls. There was a series of senatorial elections which disgraced the Legislature and on one occasion deprived the people of representation in the halls of Congress. After "Ankeny money" began to flow freely the situation was grossly unpicturesque. The election of Addison G. Foster to the United States Senate by the State Legislature, February 1, 1899, closed a long and bitter contest, in which twentyfour ballots were taken. Foster received eighty-one of the eighty-three republican votes of both houses. His opponents were United States Senator John L. Wilson and Levi Ankeny. In order to defeat Ankeny, Wilson sacrificed himself, threw his votes to Foster, and an agreement was signed by enough legislators to guarantee Foster's election. One of the candidates was reported to have said that he had $200,000 to spend on his campaign. Senator Wilshire, of King County, objected to the combination. He said it was being held over King County as a threat to force its delegation to vote for John L. Wilson—and King County at that time had little love for Wilson. Wilshire bolted the caucus, and was followed by twenty-three other legislators, representing eleven counties. Among the bolters was Speaker Guie, chairman of the caucus. It was a bad break for the combine. Wickersham, of Pierce, nominated Allen, of Spokane, and thus prevented disruption of the meeting. The bolters later came back into line and voted for Foster. One of the most interesting episodes of a political nature in Washington's history was the nomination in Tacoma in 1904 of Albert E. Mead, of Whatcom County, for governor. It created much excitement, chiefly because it was alleged that John D. Farrell, factotum in this state of the Great Northern Railroad Company, came in the dead of night to Tacoma in his special car to dictate the nomination. Sensational stories of this lost nothing in their repetition, and the occurrence became almost a state scandal in many minds. John C. McBride posed as the farmer's candidate. Much had been said in his behalf against the alleged domination of state affairs by railroad and other interests. The delegations of both King and Pierce counties were opposed to McBride. Several of the outside counties favored B. D. Crocker, of Tacoma, for the nomination. Crocker for many years was a large figure in Northwestern politics. Thurston County came up with C. J. Lord as a candidate. Lord dropped out when he learned that, if he received that nomination, the state treasuryship would go to some other county. The contest quickly developed into a fight of the field against McBride, and the delegations conferred and schemed for a day or so before Farrell came to Tacoma in his private car. He asked B. S. Grosscup to have dinner with him in his car. Grosscup accepted and asked Harry Fairchild, an able lawyer of Bellingham, to join the party. At dinner they discussed the problem that was on all tongues. Farrell had no candidate. In the course of the discussion Fairchild brought up the name of Albert E. Mead, the county lawyer, who was then a candidate for Congress. He was not objectionable to Farrell and Grosscup. The word was sent out and Mead's candidacy at once took shape, steering committees from anti-McBride counties quickly formed and the nomination of Mead became a certainty, though conferences lasted all night long at the Tacoma Hotel in the placing of the other nominations for geographical advantage. Mead repaid Fairchild for this service by making him chairman of the state's first railroad commission, the predecessor of the present public service commission. These episodes and a score of others were followed by the Aberdeen convention of the republican party in 1912-a convention which it was rather extravagantly alleged, aimed at the return of a political feudalism of ancient days. The question was whether the delegates should be chosen by the voters at a primary election or "handpicked." They were "handpicked" and rebellion bulged the party walls until they split asunder. As in all radically evolutionary episodes some very good reputations were damaged; but a great deal of worthless political directorship was dumped, not to be recovered. Since then there has been a very distinct effort at political reform in the state. In discussing recent legislation in a newspaper article John E. Frost, former state auditor, said: "To have seen vast expanses of sage and bunch grass give way to fields of waving grain, the desert under the magic touch of water become gardens of fruitfulness, tall and stately trees yield to many-storied buildings and the haunt of the wild beast become the home of man is to have been favored beyond the ordinary lot of man. More interesting still it is to have watched the formation and development of a great new commonwealth. It was my good fortune to have come to Washington when it was still a territory, its resources unknown and undeveloped and peopled only by a few pioneers. The members of the convention which framed the constitution of Washington came from many states and countries, each remembering some law or custom common to his own state, endeavored to embody it in our fundamental law, this produced a constitution that is a curious hodge-podge. Instead of a simple reservation of rights and a declaration of important principles it contains a code of legislation upon many subjects. The wonder is that under its provisions we have developed so wisely and so well. "Our state government was designed to be purely representative. During its early history many important duties were imposed upon the elective state officials. The state auditor was auditor in fact as well as name. It was his duty to check up all bills and accounts, to see that the proper contracts were entered into for supplies for state institutions and that exorbitant prices were not charged. The state treasurer was the real custodian and solely responsible for the safe keeping of state funds. The commissioner of public lands was commissioner in fact. Our various state institutions were managed by boards and trustees, selected usually from among prominent citizens residing in their immediate vicinity. Aside from the appointment of these local boards, the governor's duties were largely perfunctory. He could veto an act of the Legislature, pardon criminals, order out the militia to suppress riot or insurrection and generally look wise and dignified. It was a nice, easy, hand-shaking office. "A little more than ten years ago, however, there came the demand for more popular government. The first step in this direction was the enactment of a direct primary law which was followed by the gradual extension of the functions of state government to embrace and comprehend a multiplicity of things. formerly not the subject of state regulation. This tendency has grown until today our statute books are filled with laws regulating, restricting, prohibiting commanding, directing and supervising almost every line of human activity. The enforcement of these many laws has necessitated the creation of an army of public officials and added enormously to the expense of government. "We have now a state board of control, composed of three appointed officials in complete charge of the state penitentiary at Walla Walla, the State Reformatory at Monroe, the Boys' Training School and the Girls' Training School at Chehalis, the great insane asylum at Medical Lake, another one at Steilacoom and still a third at Sedro-Woolley, the school for deaf mutes and a school for the blind at Vancouver, a school for the mentally deficient at Medical Lake, the Soldiers' Home at Orting, the Veterans' Home at Port Orchard, the state capitol buildings and grounds, as well as many other duties. This board expends annually more than three million dollars. "We have a state highway commission, charged with laying out, constructing and maintaining our great system of state highways, which expends about $3,500,000 per year. We have a state fish commissioner, charged with the erection of new fish hatcheries, the supervision of some thirty-odd already established, who with tugs and launches patrol the waters of the Columbia River, Willapa Harbor, Grays Harbor, the Straits of Fuca and Puget Sound, to enforce the fish laws, and who is expending more than $100,000 annually; a public service commission charged with regulating and fixing the rates and tolls that may be charged by public service corporations within the state, expending around $150,000 annually; a commissioner of agriculture, expending approximately $85,000 annually; a tax commission, costing approximately $25,000, to supervise the activities of county assessors; an industrial insurance commission, costing the taxpayers of the state a trifle more than $110,000 a year, which also collects annually more than $2,000,000 from the employers of labor in this state and pays it out to injured workmen or their dependents. We have a state barber board, a dental board, a |