The 'White River Assembly' Takes on the State Senate
A scathing labor petition read aloud in the Washington State Senate sparks both laughter and warnings of political reckoning for those who ignored the working class.
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.
Senator Van De Venter introduced in the Senate this morning, by request, a petition from the White River Assembly, Knights of Labor, that created a great deal of amusement among a majority of the senators. On motion of Van De Venter, the petition was ordered printed. Owinga said he was in favor of printing the petition, that Senator Kinnear, who is mentioned in it so feelingly, might have the pleasure of preserving it. Kinnear retorted that he would be glad to do so. Rutter struck back at Owinga with a warning that every man, as the petition claimed, would find out at no distant day how much was gained by opposing labor organizations.
The petition read: 'Have these petitions been treated as coming from your constituents? Are the Senators and Legislators our Bosses? That they should treat with contempt the wishes of their constituents and betray the trust of those that give them the right to the title Hon. in front of their name? Bill after Bill has been sent to your Hon. Bodies and we have a right to suppose, have been consigned to the waste basket; therefore we the committee speaking the expressed wish of our assembly unanimously expressed hold every member of these Bodies responsible... Let us say to these Bodies that look upon us as their tools and hirelings that every man that has ignored these petitions and has so grossly insulted the eight hour bill that bought so many votes on last election is a traitor to his constituents... We think the laboring man has awakened to the fact that he must be boss for a few years and see if he can not at least make bread and butter of his toil. Therefore, we, as an assembly of the K of L Known as White River assembly No 3833 pass resolutions of condemnation upon the authorities that murdered 'the John R. Kinnear Bill' and other Bills of similar character.'
“We think the laboring man has awakened to the fact that he must be boss for a few years and see if he can not at least make bread and butter of his toil.”
The tension between working-class legislative demands and the dismissive attitudes of power brokers remains a hallmark of Washington politics. In 1891, the Knights of Labor were fighting for the eight-hour day; today, the 'waste basket' politics they described echo in ongoing battles over labor protections and housing affordability in the rapidly changing Puget Sound region.
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