But, astonishing as it may seem, the San Francisco Call[44], which up to the passage of the bill in the Senate had fought the machine Senators so valiantly, was giving indication of siding with Wolfe and Leavitt. In its issue of March 6th, the Call stated that Hinkle was alone of the Assembly Committee battling for the bill as it passed the Senate. In another sentence the Call said: "Leeds, Rech, Hinkle and Pugh voted for the advisory vote amendments."
That sentence was shown about the Capitol, and on it was based the story that Hinkle had "fallen down," and would vote with the machine. All this added to the confusion of the situation.
But Hinkle had not "fallen down." He was in the fight just as hard as ever, and with Assemblyman Bohnett organized the reform element in the Assembly to fight the machine amendments.
Those who were endeavoring to force the advisory district plan for nomination of Senators into the bill took the most astonishing methods to force it upon the anti-machine Senators. For example, the San Francisco Call of March 4th said of it:
"The amendments proposed by Leeds and supported by Stanton are not even remotely related to the McCartney proposition, which was voted down in the Senate."
The Call's statement was easily disproved, but it unquestionably confused the anti-machine legislators, who were insisting upon retaining the provision for State-wide vote for Senators in the bill[45].
And then came the cry that those who were opposing the Leeds-McCartney amendment were enemies of the Direct Primary, for the Assembly, it was alleged, was overwhelmingly in favor of the amendment, and would not pass the bill without it. Jere Burke, John C. Lynch, and other patriots of their ilk were most insistent in expression of this fear. But such men as Bohnett, Hinkle, Drew and other recognized anti-machine leaders in the Assembly were not to be bluffed in this way. They stood firmly for the passage of the bill as it had passed the Senate.
The fight on the floor of the Assembly came over Leeds' motion to amend the bill by making the vote for United States Senator advisory only and by districts. The vote on Leeds' motion was 37 to 37. The "overwhelming majority" favoring the amendment, in spite of the use of every pull at the command of the machine, had not materialized. As a majority vote was necessary to read the amendment into the bill, a moment more and Speaker Stanton would have been forced to declare the amendment lost. This would have meant final defeat for the machine, and the Direct Primary bill as it had passed the Senate would have gone to final passage.
At this critical moment in the bill's history, however, Assemblyman Pulcifer[46], the Lincoln-Roosevelt League member from Alameda county, got into action. He had voted against the amendment. But with his vote really meaning defeat for the machine element, he promptly changed his vote from no to aye. This made the vote 38 for the amendment and 36 against it. The amendment which the anti-machine Senators had fought so valiantly and so effectively was finally read into the bill[47].
The amendments necessary to correct the typographical and clerical errors which had been permitted to remain in the bill as it passed the Senate, together with a number of ridiculous amendments - which were finally rejected by both Houses - were then adopted, and the bill sent to the Senate[48].