Spokane Rises Against a Senate Machine
Thousands of Spokane voters and organized labor protest John L. Wilson's election to the U.S. Senate, warning Olympia that the people will not pay for a machine's contracts.
SPOKANE DOESN'T WANT WILSON.
Thousands of Citizens Are Protesting Against His Candidacy.
Spokane, Jan. 18.—Special.—The Spokesman-Review editorially will say tomorrow: "Spokane does not want John L. Wilson for senator. Thousands of her voters are protesting by petition against his election. Organized labor speaks this morning with a united, determined voice. Never in the history of the state has there been such a protest raised against the legislature. It is the voice of the people against a machine, and the vote will determine whether the members at Olympia choose the flag of the people instead of the standard of the ring. It is well that there be no delusion, no misunderstanding. It is best that it should be clearly understood by the rest of the state that the people here are opposed to Wilson and will not execute any contracts he may make at Olympia. The people here do not want those goods and will not pay for them. They have been misrepresented, betrayed by Wilson; their interests have been sacrificed to his greed and ambition; they are opposing him and fighting his machine. This is Spokane's voice regarding the senatorial combat. Its meaning cannot be miscomprehended."
“It is the voice of the people against a machine, and the vote will determine whether the members at Olympia choose the flag of the people instead of the standard of the ring.”
Before the Seventeenth Amendment, state legislatures chose U.S. senators, so the "machine" at Olympia could decide a statewide seat. The language of people versus ring still fits modern fights over party insiders, labor endorsements, and who really controls a Senate appointment.
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