Page:Upbuilders by Lincoln Steffens.djvu/339

 most important tip for reformers. And U'Ren is a practical politician. He learned something from that Legislature. Watching it as, when a boy, he watched Denver politics, open-eyed, he saw what he saw, and his mind, never taught to blink the facts, took in what his ears and eyes perceived. When he came home, he organized his county, and he organized it well. The "dreamer" became the boss of his (Clackamas) county, but he was not a selfish boss. This was his chance to realize his young dream of Congress. The Populists wanted him to go, but he knew now what Congress was, and "What could I have done against the combine that ran it?" he asked. "I could do nothing but protest at Washington," he added. "In Oregon I could get the initiative and referendum through."

So he ran for the assembly and was elected. This was in 1896. Bryan was running for President, and Oregon was a Free Silver state. Even Republicans like Senator Mitchell were for silver; they were called "Silver Republicans" just as in the East we had "Gold Democrats." The Populists elected thirteen assemblymen, the Democrats three, the Republicans forty-four; in the senate the Populists had three votes, the Democrats three, the Republicans twenty-four. And this is important because that Legislature