Thirty Ballots and No Senator: Olympia's Republican Caucus Breaks Apart
After thirty futile ballots, Wilson's supporters bolted rather than back Ankeny, leaving Washington's Republican legislative caucus deadlocked and King County's delegation exposed.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Olympia, Jan. 22.—Special.—After thirty ineffectual ballots the Republican caucus adjourned tonight sine die, on the motion of Senator Devkehach, one of the Wilson leaders. It was carried by a vote of 44 to 35, the Wilson men voting aye almost to a man. The result is an indication that Wilson is beaten, and in revenge his adherents have thrown a stumbling block in Ankeny's way. If the promises made him had been kept he was sure of 41 votes at least, but it is, of course, more difficult to secure a vote of 57, the number now necessary to elect him.
Allen gained nothing in strength, but his followers, including Jefferson, Goddard, McDonnell, Lewis and Williams of King, held out and helped the Wilson people break up the caucus, although some of them voted against adjournment. Those who realize the effect on King County as a political factor feel chagrined that they should have been made tools of, but their bad political judgment served its purpose and the Pierce County people are excusably jubilant.
When the caucus was called all were present except Curtiss of Klickitat, a Wilson man, whose postoffice address is The Dalles, Or. Eighty members were present, and the roll was called without any preliminary work. The first ballot of the night was the nineteenth of the caucus, and there were no material changes until the balloting terminated with the thirtieth ballot, making twelve for the sitting. Wing of King changed from Allen to Ankeny, and Hatch kept voting for McMillin. The other King county votes remained unchanged. Ankeny kept his strength to the last. Wilson fell off from 29 to 27.
Only once were the roll calls interrupted, and that was after the twenty-eighth ballot, when Garniy of Spokane moved to adjourn, but the motion was voted down. The King county delegation held a meeting in the afternoon to try and unite on a candidate, but to no purpose. Lewis, Williams and Albertson refusing to budge. Hanford, McDonnell and Goddard seemed disposed to change to Ankeny if Allen's election was out of the question, but their good resolutions were not put into effect.
There was great excitement in the lobby tonight, and Judge Dunbar and half a dozen others were talked of. Any hope of a settlement of the question on joint ballot tomorrow is now out of the question.
“The result is an indication that Wilson is beaten, and in revenge his adherents have thrown a stumbling block in Ankeny's way.”
In 1895, Washington's legislature elected U.S. senators, so a party caucus deadlock in Olympia could leave the state unrepresented in the Senate. The King County-versus-Pierce County bloc politics and the willingness of a defeated faction to stall the whole body will look familiar to anyone who has watched a modern legislative leadership fight. The tools change; the leverage does not.
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