Page:Upbuilders by Lincoln Steffens.djvu/340

 never was organized; it was the famous hold-up session, a scandal yet in Oregon. And U'Ren was one of the managers of that hold-up. Oh, he had learned a lot of politics!

The demand for a constitutional convention was waning. Leaders like U'Ren realized that a convention might not be so amenable to public opinion as the Legislature, so he was for the initiative and referendum by legislative amendment. That would require the passage of the resolution through two legislatures in succession and then a vote by the people. This way looked long, but U'Ren, as a boy, had proven on Johnnie Badger that he was built to fight till he won. And he had a plan. He had seen in the last session how a delegation such as the "Pops" had now could be used to play politics with, and U'Ren had made up his mind to play politics for the people. He began right after election.

Oregon at the time was m that primitive stage of corruption where personalities still played a part and any cash briber had a chance for high office. The railroads ruled, but the dominant road, the Southern Pacific, was a foreign corporation. Its bosses might have gone to the United States Senate from Oregon if they had lived there, but they were elected by California, so Oregon was open to its own rich men. And