History
In 1897 State Representative L. E. Reeder of Ollalla introduced a
constitutional amendment for initiative and referendum that passed the
lower house by a 63 to 12 vote, but it failed in the state senate. Influential
in that partial victory was House Speaker Charles E. Cline of Olympia, who
became secretary of the state’s Direct Legislation League.
Another state legislator, George F. Cotterill of Seattle, had become
president of the League by 1900. By this time, however, Cline was no
longer House Speaker, and the I&R movement stagnated.