The Machine in Control.
Deliberately Held Up Measures in Committees Until the Close of the
Session, When Senate and Assembly Were Forced to Take Snap Judgment on
Hundreds of Measures - In the Confusion Thus Created, Good Bills Were
Defeated and Bad Ones Passed.
The Legislature organized, the machine and anti-machine forces settled
down to the work of the session. The situation was unique. The
anti-machine element had a comfortable majority in the Assembly and at
least a bare majority in the Senate. But the machine controlled the
committees of both Houses, had selected the presiding officers, and had
dictated the selection of the majority of the attaches. When, for
example, it was suggested that in the event of a close vote in the
Senate on the Anti-Racetrack Gambling bill, it might be found necessary
to send the Sergeant-at-Arms after Senators who might attempt to dodge
the vote, not a single attache of the Sergeant-at-Arms' office could be
named who was in sympathy with the movement against the gamblers.
Incidentally, however, it was discovered that the clerk of the important
Senate Enrolling and Engrossing Committee had been an employee at Frank
Daroux's notorious Sausalito poolrooms. These were disquieting
discoveries for the reform element.
Although the machine controlled the strategic positions of the
organization of the Legislature, it was still in the minority in each
House. This meant that the machine could not, in open fight, pass a
vicious or undesirable measure, or put through any of its schemes. The
machine's course soon became apparent. If the machine could not put laws
on the statute books to its liking, it could block the passage of good
measures. Having crafty leaders in both Senate and Assembly, and, above
all, controlling the committees, the machine was admirably prepared to
do this. By employing delaying tactics which would have done credit to a
specialist in criminal defense, the machine devoted the first two months
of the session to the blocking of legislation.
The methods employed were very simple. As soon as a bill was introduced
it was referred to a committee of the House in which it originated. The
committee would hold the measure until the reform element gave
indications of protesting[15]. The bill would then be returned. If
possible it would be further delayed by amendment on second or third
reading. If finally passed by the House of its origin, it would be sent
to the other House, where it would be referred to a committee. In the
majority of cases the committee could hold it indefinitely. In such
cases as the committees were forced to report on measures that had
passed the other House, the measure would be amended, which necessitated
its being reprinted, and again acted upon by the House of its
origin[16], all of which made for delay.
But it must not be thought that the Senate and Assembly were left in
idleness during the first two months of the session. Such is by no means
the case; Senators and Assemblymen never worked harder. The machine
leaders during the first month of the session craftily kept the members
wrangling in committees. During the second month the Senate was kept
working day and night passing comparatively unimportant Senate bills,
and the Assembly working as hard passing Assembly bills; but the Senate
passed very few Assembly bills and the Assembly very few Senate bills.
As a measure must pass both Houses to become a law, few bills were sent
to the Governor for his approval. Thus during the first two months of
the session many bills passed in one house or the other, but pitifully
few passed the Legislature.
The reform element, working sixteen hours a day not unlike so many mice
in a wheel, were apparently in complete ignorance of the situation which
they were creating. Senators whose bills had passed the Senate began to
complain that they could not get the measures out of the Assembly
committee; Assemblymen whose measures had passed the Assembly were as
loud in their charges that their bills were being held up in Senate
committees. The machine actually turned this early dissatisfaction to
its advantage. Soon it was being announced on the floor of the Assembly:
"If Senate committees will not act on Assembly bills, then the Assembly
committees will not act on Senate bills." The Senate made the same
threats as to Assembly bills. So, for about a week, Senate committees
openly slighted Assembly bills, while Assembly committees in retaliation
slighted Senate bills. The situation was very amusing; it was, too,
highly satisfactory to the machine.
About the first week in March - the Legislature adjourned March 24 - the
anti-machine members awoke to the fact that in spite of their day and
night sessions, little had been accomplished. The further disquieting
discovery was made that the bulk of the Assembly bills which had passed
the Assembly were being held in Senate committees, while the Senate
bills which had passed the Senate, were apparently anchored in Assembly
committees, and that the machine controlled the committees. The reform
members of each House had good cause for alarm. Every Senator and
Assemblyman has his "pet" measures. The reform Senators and Assemblymen
found that to get their bills out of committees they would have to treat
with the machine. Such a Senator or Assemblyman, with his constituents
clamoring for the passage of a bill held up in a machine-controlled
committee, had some claim to pardon if he turned suddenly attentive to
the machine olive branch. And the machine, by the way, always has the
olive branch out. Stand in with us, is their constant advance, and we
will see you through.
As a result of these delaying tactics, literally hundreds of bills which
had needlessly been held up in committees were forced upon the
consideration of the Senate during the last three weeks of the session.
Each House made records of passing more than 100 bills a day. There was
little pretense of reading the measures as required by the State
Constitution. The clerk at the desk mumbled over their titles; they were
voted upon and became laws. In the rush to get through, as will be shown
by example in other chapters, Senators and Assemblymen voted for
measures to which they were openly opposed. The machine minority was
merely reaping the benefits of a situation which the cleverness of its
leaders had created.
Although machine-advocated and unimportant measures could be passed in
such a situation, bills which the machine opposed could not be[17].
Machine-opposed measures were either held up in committees until their
passage was out of the question, or they were denied consideration in
Senate or Assembly, or their advocates worn out by the tactics of the
machine leaders. Senate Bill 220, which removed the party circle from
the election ballot, passed in the Senate after a bitter contest, was
held up in the Assembly until five days before adjournment, and then
denied a second reading. Boynton's Senate Bill 249, providing for the
arrangement of judicial candidates on the ballot without designation of
party affiliations, intended to take the Judiciary out of politics,
which after a long contest passed the Senate, was held up in the
Assembly until the day before adjournment, when it was denied passage.
This bill was introduced in the Senate on January 12. So popular was it,
such was the demand for its passage, that it was not openly opposed. It
was finally defeated on March 23, the day before adjournment. Thus two
months and eleven days were required to wear out its advocates.
About March 1, the machine began to crowd the anti-machine element for
early adjournment. At that time not far from 2000 bills were recorded in
the Senate and Assembly histories. The action had the effect of a good
stiff push to a man sliding down hill; the anti-machine forces had the
votes to prevent adjournment but the machine's adjournment plans added
considerably to anti-machine discomfiture. Senator Wolfe actually gave
notice that on Friday, March 5, he would move that the Legislature
adjourn on March 13. This would have given a fortnight for consideration
of nearly 2000 bills. At the time of Wolfe's motion, there were pending
the Direct Primary bill, the Railroad Regulation bills, the Commonwealth
Club bills, the Islais Creek Harbor bills, and scores of other important
measures, the passage of which had unnecessarily - albeit most cleverly
- been delayed.
As a result of clever manipulation, dating from the first day of the
session, the machine was thus in the closing days, in spite of the
majority against it, able to pass, amend or defeat measures, pretty much
as its leaders desired. The anti-machine forces, Republican and
Democratic, were during those last days, merely reaping the harvest
which they had sown when they permitted the Democratic-Republican
machine to take the organization of the Legislature out of their hands.
[15] The Senate Committee on Election Laws, for example, held the Direct
Primary bill for thirty-eight days, and finally reported it back so
amended that it had to be rewritten. See chapters VI and VII on efforts
of the machine to hold the Anti-Racetrack Gambling bill in committee.
[16] It was stated on the floor of the Assembly, that were the Ten
Commandments to be adopted by the Assembly, the Senate would find some
excuse for amending them.
[17] The most astonishing example of this was furnished by the passage
of the Change of Venue bill in the Senate. See chapter XVI.