The Legislature of 1907 transferred the County Government Act to the
Codes. For some reason, either by intention or oversight, the section
which permitted Supervisors to submit questions to the people for an
advisory vote was omitted. It has been held that this action of the
Legislature repealed the section by implication. It is held, therefore,
that no law is upon the Statute books by which the people may be
permitted to vote even in an advisory capacity upon any question of
police regulation or public policy.

[80a] A fine example of a lightning switch of plan on the part of the
machine came in the fight on the Women's Suffrage Amendment. The
tenderloin and liquor interests in general are opposed to the submission
of this amendment to the people, which means, of course, that the
machine is against it. To submit the amendment to the people, fifty-four
votes are required in the Assembly and twenty-seven in the Senate. This
year, the program was to let the amendment pass the Assembly and defeat
it in the Senate. Assemblymen were allowed to pledge themselves to its
support until there were fifty-eight Assemblymen down to vote for it.
Grove L. Johnson had introduced the measure in the Assembly, and its
adoption by that body seemed assured.

But the Anti-Racetrack Gambling bill got in the way of Woman's Suffrage
in a most curious manner. When the passage of this anti-gambling bill
became a certainty, that branch of the group of tenderloin Senators
whose interests were wrapped up in racetrack gambling, became "very
sore." In their disgruntlement they decided to give reform full swing,
and put the Woman's Suffrage Amendment through the Senate. This attitude
seriously alarmed the safe, sane and respectable leaders of the machine,
who see all sorts of trouble for the machine if women are given the