The High Stakes of Olympia's Final Session

House and senate members will close their desks in the wee small hours of the morning on March 8 in the capitol at Olympia and troop back home to report to the people who put them in the legislature. Some members of the legislative body are not looking forward with any degree of pleasure to the report they will be expected to file. With the end of the session in sight, the legislative program pushed through by the Republicans will be attacked by the Democrats. The program has centered on revenue and taxation, and the success of these measures will be determined by the voters in 1924. Early in the session, the legislature was divided over the tax problem, with one-half the house preferring an income tax, while the other wanted to avoid new methods of taxation and meet the situation by reducing expenditures. The income tax policy was defeated, putting the burden on the victors to cut operating expenses. The legislature will enact laws requiring county commissioners, city commissioners, and school boards to adopt a budget of expenditures before making any appropriations. It will also endeavor to limit state taxes for the general fund, county school funds, and county expenses. Failure of the public to adopt this economy program will likely lead to a wave of discontent and a bitter political campaign in 1924.