It was certainly not in the interest of the Stetson bill that the measure was taken from the Judiciary Committee and sent to the Committee on Corporations.
A glance at the personnel of the Committee on Corporations reveals a
significant state of affairs. The Committee consisted of the following
Senators: Bates, Welch, Wright, McCartney, Burnett, Bills, Walker,
Roseberry, Finn, Miller, Kennedy.
When the test came on the floor of the Senate, the nine of the eleven Senators whose names are printed in italics voted for the Wright bill and against the Stetson bill. The two members whose names are printed in ordinary letters, voted for the Stetson bill, and against the Wright bill.
The line-up of the Committee on Corporations, when the measures were taken from the Judiciary Committee and sent to the Committee on Corporations, was then:
For the Wright Bill - 9.
Against the Wright Bill - 2.
For the Stetson Bill - 2.
Against the Stetson Bill - 9.
The change was certainly not made in the interest of the Stetson bill.
The incident stirred up Campbell and other anti-machine Senators to the fighting pitch. An arrangement was made, however, by which the measures were to be sent back to the Judiciary Committee after the Committee on Corporations got through with them that the Judiciary Committee might pass upon their constitutionality. The arrangement had two effects - it silenced the unquieting protest of the anti-machine Senators, and it delayed consideration of the bills. But, as the sequel showed, the arrangement did not help the Stetson bill in the least.