The Senate Standoff at Olympia
A legislative deadlock in Olympia pits railroad-backed lobbyists against the people's choice, fueling calls for electoral reform.
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The senatorial deadlock remains unbroken. Judge Turner is out with a proclamation stating he is the one altogether lovely, good man whom the railroads have not been able to persuade to go wrong. Senator Allen's course in the senate makes it unnecessary to pose as a demagogue foe of the railroads; he is bound to see that the rights of the people are justly protected against all corporations that come within the reach of Federal legislation. The presence and energetic efforts of notorious Northern Pacific lobbyists, who are striving to defeat Allen and elect Turner, makes the judge's proclamation about as convincing as the confirmation of an incredible bull story by a man who has 'seen the bull.' Either Judge Turner does not understand himself, or the railroad lobby misunderstands him.
“The public has seen Judge Turner's proclamation that he is the only candidate that does not wear the railroad ring in his nose, and of course that settles it.”
This 1893 struggle against 'railroad rings' mirrors modern anxieties regarding corporate influence in state and federal elections. Washington's political history remains deeply tied to the fight between populist interests and corporate monopolies.
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