Senate or Assembly, or their advocates worn out by the tactics of the
machine leaders. Senate Bill 220, which removed the party circle from
the election ballot, passed in the Senate after a bitter contest, was
held up in the Assembly until five days before adjournment, and then
denied a second reading. Boynton's Senate Bill 249, providing for the
arrangement of judicial candidates on the ballot without designation of
party affiliations, intended to take the Judiciary out of politics,
which after a long contest passed the Senate, was held up in the
Assembly until the day before adjournment, when it was denied passage.
This bill was introduced in the Senate on January 12. So popular was it,
such was the demand for its passage, that it was not openly opposed. It
was finally defeated on March 23, the day before adjournment. Thus two
months and eleven days were required to wear out its advocates.

About March 1, the machine began to crowd the anti-machine element for
early adjournment. At that time not far from 2000 bills were recorded in
the Senate and Assembly histories. The action had the effect of a good
stiff push to a man sliding down hill; the anti-machine forces had the
votes to prevent adjournment but the machine's adjournment plans added
considerably to anti-machine discomfiture. Senator Wolfe actually gave
notice that on Friday, March 5, he would move that the Legislature
adjourn on March 13. This would have given a fortnight for consideration
of nearly 2000 bills. At the time of Wolfe's motion, there were pending
the Direct Primary bill, the Railroad Regulation bills, the Commonwealth
Club bills, the Islais Creek Harbor bills, and scores of other important
measures, the passage of which had unnecessarily - albeit most cleverly
- been delayed.

As a result of clever manipulation, dating from the first day of the
session, the machine was thus in the closing days, in spite of the