them back to the Senate with the recommendation that they do pass. On
March 18th the measures were read the second time in the Senate, and on
March 20th, three days after they had passed the Assembly, the Senate
passed them.

Such is the difference in action on machine-favored bills and bills
which the machine does not favor. Incidentally, it may be said that at
the time the Wheelan bills were before the Senate, the machine had that
body tied up in the fight on the Direct Primary bill.

The reform element - at the mercy of the Senate organization - was
compelled to devote its whole attention to the Direct Primary bill. The
machine was thus left to run committees and Senate at its own free will.
It was an admirable situation from the machine standpoint.

But by the time the Wheelan bills had been hastened to the floor of the
Senate, the reform Senators apparently awoke to the fact that some sort
of a job was on the way. When the bills came up for final passage,
however, the anti-machine Senators were apparently as much at a loss
concerning them as the anti-machine Assemblymen had been.

Bill number 221 came up first, and even Senator Bell, the staunchest
opponent of bad laws of them all, voted for it. With Senator Bell voted
Caminetti, Estudillo, Rush, Thompson and Walker, who were ordinarily
against the passage of bad bills. As the measure received but
twenty-three votes, any three of these by voting no could have defeated
it.

Price, who had voted for the bill, gave notice, at the request of a
fellow Senator, that on the next legislative day he would move to