Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel], April 11, 1909, Page 6, Image 14

About Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911

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6
REFORM IN LOS ANGELES==RETROSPECTIVE=PROSPECTIVE
LISSNER MAKES
STRONG ADDRESS
TO CITY CLUB
REFORM IN LOS ANGELES ABLY
DISCUSSED
...../. . _—
OFFICERS FOR ENSUING YEAR
tefi-V. -ARE CHOSEN
•John D. Works Elected President of
Organization That Is Leader In
Work for Good Govern
ment
,-n LECTION of officers and a stirring
II LECTION of officers and a stirring
, address by Meyer Llssner, whose
JLi , faculty for organization and un
tiring work has been largely respon
sible for the success that has attended
the movement for a clean government
in Los Angeles, were the features of an
enthusiastic meeting of the City club
' yesterday at the Westminster hotel.
The officers elected are: John D.
Works, president; Frank G. Finlayson,
first vice president; S. C. Graham, sec
ond vice president; Stoddard Jess,
treasurer; Frank G. Henderson, secre
tary, and Dr. Sherwln Gibbons and Gil
bert S. Wright, members of the board
of governors. ■■- ■■':■''-, ■ ..
These officers were selected by the
nominating committee two weeks ago,
1 and this selection was so popular that
there was no opposition to any of the
candidates yesterday. When It de
veloped the election would be unani
mous, Meyer Lissner moved that the
| secretary be instructed to cast the bal
lot for the club. This was done and
the nominees were declared the officers
I for the next year.
. Meyer Lissner's subject was "Reform
I In Los Angeles," and the long and
hearty ovation which greeted him when
■ he rose to speak was evidence that the
members of the City club considered
him well qualified to discuss the sub
ject.
President Hunsaker called Mr. Liss
ner, the father of the City club, for It
was from his first efforts for municipal
reform that the City club sprang.
Mr. Lissner's address follows:
I suppose that every well regulated
community old enough to vote has
had Its occasional or semi-occasional
eras of reform; and so I have no
doubt that the man who undertakes
to write the political history of Los
Angeles may have to recount several
such visitations on our city. Undoubt
edly he would flnd that when La Clu
dad de Nuestra Senora la Relna de Los
Angeles, The City of Our Lady the
Queen of the Angels, was still a sleepy
Mexican pueblo, the contest at times
waxed as hot as the national dishes
over the office of alcalde or mayor, or
members of the ayuntainlento or coun
cilman (you see that they called the
councilmen names even in those early
days); and some of you no doubt re
member the Incident related by that
sturdy pioneer and honored member of
this club, Mr. Henry D. Barrows, in
an address before us, when he told
how, in the early days, a certain Dr.
Osborn, who was postmaster here, won
an election for state senator.
Even in those early days, postmas
ters, It seems, had something to do
with politics. Dr. Osborn was very
anxious to carry a certain precinct
which was mostly settled by Mexicans
who knew little or no English. So
he went to the padre, who had more
Influence in his parish than any other
person, and used his most suave meth
ods of electioneering with the dominie
In behalf of his candidate; and, to
clinch the matter, he asked the padre
to pray for the repose of the soul of
his mother was then alive and
well in New York. The next feast day
the wily doctor was on hand at the
church and on his knees, joining the
padre and his flock In praying for the
repose of his mother's soul. It is un
necessary to add that the doctor's can
didate was overwhelmingly elected.
Attempts Always Failed
Mr. Barrows, who lias lived in Los
Angeles for fifty-six years and has al
ways taken an active Interest in civic
affairs, tells me that while he has
knowledge of and participated in a
number of attempts at reform in this
city during his residence here, never
has he known of any successful con
summation of efforts along that line.
But I propose to talk about the po
litical reforms of which I have per
sonal knowledge, and I think that will
keep me busy for a while.
Politically, I feel very much like the
little colored lad who, when asked his
age, replied: "If you goes by what my
mudder says, I's six, but if you goes
by the fun I's had, I's a hundred."
For, while I have not been very long
at the game, even my enemies will
concede that I have been perniciously
active; and, as the rest of the bunch
have been making all the speeches, you
want to be prepared for quite an ac
cumulation.
I came to Los Angers about thirteen
years ago, but in the ten years prior
to the last general municipal election I
never heard of a revulsion against the
biennial dose of political patent medi
cine put up for the citizens of Los An
geles In attractive packages labeled re
spectively "Republican" and "Demo
cratic.''
System Demoralizing
The result of the party system on
the city's system was the same here
as elsewhere where partisanship has
been placed above citizenship, it was
demoralizing. The best men could not
be Induced to enter into an undignified
scramble for nominations through the
hurly-burly of packed caucuses, prl
•lnarles and conventions, and the men
who wanted office badly enough to do
bo, and who had to sell their souls to a
political boss In order to secure nom
inations, were usually no better than
the people who tolerated such condi
tions deserved.
A few months before the general mu
nicipal election which took place in
" December, 1906, a few young fellows,
less than a handful, none of whom
had been at all act'.ve in political af
fairs before, got together and discussed
what could be done to remedy what
they considered an unfortunate muni
cipal condition, and to secure the nom
. ination and election of worthy munici
. pal officers.
They were tired, so they said, of see
ing a default judgment taken against
the people every two years through the
manipulation of party machinery. It
' was notorious that one party would
| make a bad nomination and the other
l party would make a worse one, and be
tween the two the people were betwixt
.;the devil and the deep sea. And
the boss who-pulled the wires behind
the scenes for his employer laughed in
bis sleeve at the gullibility of American
An Address Delivered by Meyer Lissner Before the City Club of Los Angeles Saturday, April 10
citizens, and, after the nominations
were made, didn't care which candi
date was elected. The "Interests" were
safe cither way, and so was his job.
Non.Partisanship Needed
, After discussing the matter, these
young men came to the conclusion that
the great vice In municipal politics was
the mixing of national party . politics
with city affairs, and they concluded
that what Los Angeles needed was non
partisanship in its municipal govern
ment, and decided that they would un
dertake to organize to that end. They
did organize the nonpartisan city cen
tral committee, and went to the bat.
They had the nerve to suppose that
they were onto the curves of Pitcher
Parker and that Captain Gates might
make a home run on the first strike.
Well, you know they didn't quite do
that; Parker caught Gates out on a
foul; but they showed some.good team
work and made some good runs, and,
taking it altogether, It was a good
game. Score, 16 for the nonpartisans,
7 for the machine.
They elected sixteen out of twenty
three elective officials. They save Los
Angeles a school board which enjoys
the confidence of the people and is sup
ported by nearly all the local news
papers worth mentioning. They elected
a loyal and learned city attorney; our
deservedly popular city clerk, an hon
est and highly respected treasurer, and
four members of the city council.
They did not elect the mayor, but
that score has been evened by the elec
tion of two mayors since; and I think
it only fair, In passing, to say .that
they did not elect the other five mem
bers of the city council. Nevertheless,
I have often thought that if the four
members of the council who were elect
ed on the nonpartisan ticket had stood
together more consistently on right
propositions, with the power of a
righteous cause and public opinion on
their side, they could have blocked
several of the things done in council
for which some of them have been, in
my opinion justly, criticized. 'Thrice
armed is he whose cause Is Just."
No Need to "Stand In"
And I want to say in passing, that
the plea made before this club recently
by a councilman, that if one wanted
to get things to.* his ward he had to
"stand in," does not appeal to me.
True, the councilman did not use those
exact words; what he really said was
this:
"You know that we don't want to
have an obstructive form of govern
ment. If we want to have a construct
ive form of government we have got to
slide along as smoothly as possible."
All of which, boiled down, spells
"log rolling" and "standing in."
I agree with what Senator Bell said
to us last Saturday—that the legislator
is sometimes more useful as an ob
structionist than as a constructionist.
To put it in plain English, councilmen
should be guided by principle and
stand up for the right thing, regard
less of consequences. The consequences
will take care of themselves and of the I
councilmen too.
If a councilman cannot get something i
for his ward without voting for some
thing for another ward to which it is
not entitled, he should let his ward get j
' along without; and because a majority I
of the councilmen are lined up to con
i firm an unfit appointment and "It is i
' going through any way," is no reason
• for voting aye just "to keep in line,
; and no*, unnecessarily antagonize the
' majority."
The people do not understand that
kind of councllmanlc statesmanship,
and it only reflects on and injures, not
alone those who so act, but those who
are supposed to stand sponsor for them .
and the whole cause of good govern- |
ment.
Good Record Made
But, taking it all in all, the non
partisans have made a pretty good rec
ord. Reformers cannot give a written
guarantee with their candidates. The
men they nominate are human beings—
liable to err in judgment. All we can
do is to support the best men whom
| we oan secure to 1 accept nominations,
] and, like the Irish councilman with the
! gondolas, let nature take its course.
Coincidentally with the city's non
i partisan campaign, a county non
partisan ticket was supported by an
j other set of citizens, which met with
some success. It elected Charlie Bell
to the senate, if It didn't do an
other thing, that was well worth while.
It did more, however, but as I was not
in any way personally connected with
that movement, and as I am qnly
speaking from personal knowledge! I
will not discuss it at length.
I want to say in passing, however,
that my first acquaintance with S. C.
! Graham dates from that campaign,
which he managed, and I take pleasure
I in saying that in what political expe
| rience I have had I have never known
I a man who was guided more consist
j ently by principle and gave less heed
! to what we call political expediency;
j nor have I ever known one to make
| greater sacrifices for the good of a
1 righteous cause or who exhibited a
| loftier spirit of practical patriotism.
Local Press Lauded
It would be unjust to pass over this
period in the recent history of political
• reform in Los Angeles without refer
j ence to the splendid newspaper sup
port given by part of our local press,
and particularly by the Los Angeles
i Herald and the Express.
The Express espoused the cause of
' non-partisanship In municipal affairs
and stood up staunchly for the non- ]
partisan movement when it was still j
; in its swaddling clothes and nothing i
I but a howling infant, and before any- j
j one knew for a surety whether the
i child would have enough vitality to
storm tlie Republican and Democratic
breastworks or die of exhaustion in
the attempt. For it goes without say
ing that, considering the character of
' our newspaper support, we could not j
think of bringing the infant up on the
Dottle. :
The Express stood for the principle
of non-partisanship because it believed
it was right and irrespective of busi
ness considerations, just as it has stood
for other things which its owner be
lieved In but which did not meet with >
the same measure of public approval.
From that day to this the Express
has supported every worthy movement
for good government in this city and
state. No one In connection with the
Express has ever attempted to dictate,
no ulterior motive has ever appeared,
and I say without hesitation that the
people of Los Angeles owe a great
! debt of gratitude to E. T. Earl and the
Los Angeles Express which they should
not hesitate to show their appreciation
of whenever and in whatever way they
can.
Herald Staunch Friend
The Herald, although at that time
under different management, gave us
loyal support, and at one time we
actually really thought we might have
support of the Los Angeles Times.
And while I am on the subject of
newspaper support for reform In Los
Angeles, although a little out of the
chronological order, I want to pay my
tribute to the excellent work done dur
ing the Recall campaign by the Los
Angeles Herald. Under the direction
of our versatile and brilliant fellow
ctllzen, Mr. T. E. Gibbon, the Herald is
deservedly forging its way Into the
LOS ANGELESi HERALD: SUNDAY MORNING. APRIL 11, 1900.
Former Judge Is Elected
City Club's President
■ Bill «
19 m^3m% OT^> oVI 1
j ,
homes and into the hearts of all the
i lovers of good government In our city,
and I sincerely hope that it will reap
continued success for the good work
it is doing.
The sesult of the first non-partisan
campaign was quite encouraging to the
friends of good government, and the
necessity was recognized of keeping
together and in close communion those
citizens who had been active in that
campaign, and the citizens generally
who sympathized with efforts along
that line. This was the Inspiration for
the organization of the City club, and
the same little group of young men
who organized the first non-partisan
movement was most active In the or
ganization of this club.
That it has fulfilled its mission and
I is a genuine success will, I think, be
I generally admitted. Starting with a
j membership of about fifteen, the City
j club in less than two years of existence
! has reached nearly the thousand mark.
I I believe its potential influence for good
government in Los Angeles is almost
, Incalculable, and I see no reason why
this club should not, within a reasona
ble time, have a membership of several
' thousand. While It costs nothing to
: Join, and while the membership fee of
I $1 per quarter is nominal, still, with a
largely increased membership, the club, I
with economy, could and should have j
its own quarters—library, reading and i
meeting roomsand In time should be
come the principal forum for the dis
cussion of civic problems and the rec
ognized center of civic advance.
Fortunate in Officers
The popularity of Mr. Gates, our first
president, and the high character of
Mr. Hunsaker, who has just laid down
the gavel of office, undoubtedly have
had much to do with the success of the
club, and the club is particularly for
tunate in having been able to induce
such an eminent citizen as Judge Works
to serve as president for the ensuing
year.
The character of the political machine
which runs a state government—which
determines whether It is a corporation
machine or a people's machineis de
termined by the character of the wheels
and cogs of the machine that controls
political organization in the subdivi
sions of the state, and especially in the
large cities. California, far from being
an exception to this general rule, is a
shining example of the truth of it; for
it was a notorious and shameful fact
that for a generation the government
of this state, mainly through control of
politics in the more thickly populated
centers, had been under the domination
of the political bureau of of a great rail
road corporation.
Tackling the Monster
The degree of success which had
been achieved in the first non-partisan
campaign in Los Angeles gave the
young men who were most active In
that movement enough encouragement
to have the hardihood, with the en
thusiasm of youth, to tackle the monster
which hud the state government in its
grasp. Most of the men prominent in
the non-partisan movement, while
thoroughly non-partisan in municipal
and county affairs, were ardent Repub
licans In state and national politics, as
might be expected in a community so
preponderatlngly Republican. And it
was recognized that, since the dominat
ing party in this state was Republican,
reform in our state government could
only be practically brought about
through operation within the Republi
can party. This gave rise to the
Lincoln-Roosevelt Republican league,
which had its birth in another small
meeting in tills city, but which in a,
very short time, through persistent and
active propaganda and organization
work, became a state-wide movement,
with what effect you are all familiar.
Like the non-partisan movement in
the city of Los Angeles, the Lincoln-
Roosevelt Republican league movement
did not make a clean sweep of the old
machine all along the line, but it is gen
erally admitted that the influence of
the league had more to do with the
comparatively decent record of the re
cent legislature than any other one
thing. ■"-'-- ■'
I say comparatively decent advisedly,
for, while I am willing to shout a3
loudly as anyone the praises of certain
members of that legislature, Lincoln-
Roosevelt Republican, regular Republi
can and Democratic, I am not one of
those who can grow wildly enthusiastic
over the performance as a whole, and
I would like to take a few minutes to
analyze a part of the record of the Los
Angeles county delegation.
Roll Call Tells Tale
What Is said at a banquet given by
a machine club Into attending: which
many good citizens are Inveigled, does
not count for much with me; but it
is the inevitable roll call that tells tlio
tale, and there is the place to get your
information.
Of course it would be impossible to
refer to the vote of every member of
the Los Angeles county delegation on'
ev#y bill. But there were certain test
.OHN D. WORKS
measures, with the import of which you
are all familiar, to which I.will refer.
One of the first tests was on what
was known as the "gag rule," which
would have permitted a bill to have
been held In committee indefinitely, and
simply amounted to a convenient
method of chloroforming legislation ob
jectionable to the machine. The fol
lowing members of our Los Angeles
delegation voted for this rule: Barn
dollar. Leeds, Stanton and Transue.
The following voted against it: Cattell,
Coggswell, Hamman, Hanlon and Rech.
A resolution was introduced urging
congress to establish a line of federal
steamships on the Pacific coast between
our ports and Panama. You will re
member that the original resolution re
ferred to the celebrated Brlstow report,
which, because Senator Brlstow had
reflected on the United States senators
from California, was unacceptable to
the machine. The test on this bill came
on Drew's motion to force the resolu
tion out of committee. The following
assemblymen voted for reporting the
resolution out of committee: Barndol
lar, . Cattell, Coggswell. These voted
against, the proposition: Hanlon, Leeds
\ and Rech. Senator Bell voted for the
j resolution and Senator Thompson was
absent; Senators Hurd. McCartney and
j Savage voted against the resolution.
In Interest of Ruef
The notorious "change of venue"
bill which was introduced and defeated
at the preceding session and was well
understood to be in the Interests of Abe
Ruef, so that he could be tried before a
judge of his own choosing, came up
again and was passed by the legislature
which has just adjourned, notwlth-
Ing the -Strenuous objection of Mr.
Heney, who publicly opposed it. The
following voted for the passage of
this measure: Assemblymen Barndol
lar, Coggswell, Hanlon, Leeds, Rech,
Stanton and Transue, and Senators
Hurd, McCartney and Savage. The fol
lowing voted against the change of
venue bill: Assemblyman Cattell and
Senators Bell and Thompson.
The direct primary bill originated In
and passed the senate in Its original
form, Senators Bell, Hurd and Thomp
son voting in favor of the measure and
Senators McCartney and Savage
against it.
There were two test votes on the
direct primary bill in the assembly. The
first test was on Assemblyman Leeds'
motion to amend the original bill by
providing for the Indorsement of candi
dates for United States senator by
legislative districts, instead of by the
state at large. Mr. Leeds was quoted
as saying that this amendment was In
the Interest of a certain candidate for
the United States senate, who, he said,
could not be elected under the scheme
providing for the expression of choice
on the part of the majority of voters
within the party in the state. Those
voting in favor of the Leeds amend
ment were Assemblymen Barndollar,
Hammon. Hanlon, Leeds, Rech, Stan
ton and Transue. Those voting against
it were Assemblymen Cattell and
Coggswell.
Amendment Gold Brick
The second test on the direct pri
mary bill in the assembly was on Mr.
Stanton's proposed amendment pro
viding for a post primary convention
pledge. By this amendment It was
proposed that conventions in legisla
tive districts to be held after the pri
maries should instruct party candi
dates how to vote for candidates for
United States senators. So far as I
am aware, this is about the system we
have at present and was nothing more
than a gold brick. The following vot
ed In favor of this proposed amend
ment: Barndollar, Leeds, Rech, Stan
ton and Transue. Theso voted against
the amendment: Cattell, Coggswell
and Hanlon.
A bill was Introduced In the senate
by Houlihan proposing to abolish the
party circle at the head of the ballot,
so as to prevent straight ticket voting,
which only puts a premium on ignor
ance and which is recognized as one of
the bulwarks of the machine at elec
tions. This bill passed the senate,
Senators Bell and Thompson voting for
It and Senators Hurd and Savage
against It, and the test vote In the as
sembly came on Mr. Leeds' motion to
deny the bill a second reading. Those
voting to kill the bill were: Barndol
lar, Hammon, Leeds, Rech, Stanton
and Transue. Those In favor of the
bill were Cattell and Coggswell.
To Kill Ballot Reform
Another bill providing for ballot re
form was Senator Boynton's bill for
the nonpartisan judiciary column,
which passed the senate, Senators Bell
and Thompson voting for the bill and
Senators Hurd, McCartney and Savage
against It. The test on this measure
in the assembly again came on Mr.
Leeds' motion to deny the bill second
reading, and the following assembly
men voted to kill that bill: Barndol
lar, Hammon, Hanlon, Leeds, Rech,
Stanton and Transue. Those voting
In favor of the bill were Cattell and
Coggswell. ".'-.■>
There was some railroad legislation
proposed. There was a bill Introduced
by Senator Stetson which meant some
thing to the shippers of California, and
a bill Introduced by Senator Wright
which meant little or nothing.
Senator Stetson's bill attempted to
meet the demands of shippers for rem
edial legislation, especially with refer
ence to the powers and duties of the
railroad commission. Senator Wright's
bill was reported out of committee,
however, as might have been expected,
and the test came on Senator Stetson's
motion to substitute his measure for
the Wright bill. On this motion Sena
tors Bell and Thompson voted "aye"
and Senators Hurd, McCartney and
Savage "no." ■
A bill was Introduced, fathered and
supported by the Direct Legislation
League of California, providing for the
submission to the people of a constitu
tional amendment for the Initiative at
the next general election. Why any
senator should have been unwilling to
allow the people to determine whether
they wanted the Initiative In the con
stitution I cannot understand. Never
theless Senators Hurd and Savage vot
ed against the measure and Senators
Bell, McCartney and Thompson In fa
vor of It. v • \
Voting Right and Wrong
These were some of the crucial tests
In the last legislature, and on review
ing the record on these teat votes we
find that Assemblyman Cattell of Pas
adena and Senator Bell and Senator
Thompson voted right every time; that
Assemblyman Coggswell voted right
every time but once; that Assembly
men Leeds. Stanton and Transue and
Senator Savage voted wrong every
time and that Assemblymen Barndol
lar and Rech and Senators McCartney
and Hurd voted wrong every time but
once on these test votes. There were
other votes taken for which all our
Los Angeles legislators deserve com
mendation, but those mentioned were
considered the crulcial tests.
There were other members of tho
legislature from Southern California,
particularly Senator Estudillo of Riv
erside, Senator Roseberry of Santa
Barbara and Assemblymen Hlnkle of
San Diego and Sackett of Ventura,
who also made excellent records and
voted right every time.
I regret to have found It necessary
to criticise the record of some of our
legislators from this county, and
would much rather have been able to
give them general commendation and a
clean bill of health, but I think the
people of this community should not
be given the impression, by means of
a coat of whitewash thickly spread at
an organization banquet, that the rec
ords of all of the Los Angeles county
delegation were equally good.
Honor to "Hybrid Caucus"
I am informed that the passage of
the most Important reform measures,
like the direct primary and anti-race
track gambling bills, was only made
possible by a coaltlon between the
Lincoln-Roosevelt Republicans and the
decent Democratic members of the leg
islature In what was known as the
"hybrid caucus." Well, I say, all honor
to the "hybrid caucus."
Incidentally. I think I ought to refer
to the fact that the Lincoln-Roosevelt
Republican league forces have just
won the first election In San Diego un
der the new commission system adopt
ed there. That * gives us a Lincoln-
Roosevelt mayor, or what amounts
to the same thing, a reform mayor In
San Diego, in Los Angeles, in Fresno.
in Sacramento, In Oakland and in
Berkeley and a ' clean Demotic
mayor In San Francisco. All these
places but one had a machine mayor
tWT°hrsaugu?s-well. I think, for the
eventual control of the state govern
ment by the forces of decency through
the direct primary at the next general
state election.
School Bond Election .-
The next test vote of the power of
the machine and the machine press
was polled when the school bond elec
tion was held recently. That Is a
matter of such recent history that It
hardly requires comment, but it Rives
me opportunity to sa/ a kind word in
behalf of the enthusiastic high school
lads who had much to to.wtthtl» °!
conization and success of that lee
tion. and who. In my brief political ex
perience, I have found to be excellent
and willing workers. .'
I do not know whether they have a
course of study known as citizenship
In our advanced schools, but it does
seem to me that it-would not.be.out
of place. We cannot too soon beg inJo
imbue the mind of the young citizen
with a thorough knowledge and un
derstanding of the duties and respon
sibilities of citizenship. If we are to
contend successfully with the organ
ized forces of political workers, whose
bread and butter depend upon * car
rying their precincts and who willlose
their jobs and opportunity to feed off
the public pie counter if they don t
make good, we must convey to the
mind of the rising generation the
thought that one does not perform his
who.! duty as a citizen by simply
casting his vote: that it requires ac
tive, militant effort on the part of the
wisher for good government to bring
it about; that he must talk good gov
ernment and work for good govern
ment; that he must take part In his
precinct organization and devote part
of his time and be willing to make
sacrifices for the good of the cause;
and I predict that the young citizen
will find the contest interesting and to
his liking. There is no more exciting
game in the world than the game of
politics, nor can there be any greater
satisfaction than to win on the side
of right and decency. # ~; *\
Must Be Taught to Vote
\bove all the young citizen should
be made to understand that the least
lie can do is to vote at an election.
The citizen who is unable to make up
his mind how to vote at an election,
or who, for some political reason, re
mains away from the polls, or who, by
reason of his apathy, neglects that
duty of a citizen, does not deserve to
hold the elective franchise; and I hope
some day to see a law passed, which
will make Inexcusable non-use of the
elective franchise ground for taking it
away altogether.
Then came the charter amendment
election. That, too, Is so recent that
I am not warranted In going much Into
detail. A machine majority In the city
council which thought It had power
enough to block the expression of the
popular will by refusing to call a free
holders' election, after having caused
the civic bodies to appoint a charter
commission, was foiled in Its policy of
obstruction. That splendid organiza
tion to which the city of Los Angeles
is so much Indebted, and of which
everyone of you should be a member—
the Municipal league this crisis, at
considerable expense, circulated peti
tions compelling the council to call an
election to give the people an oppor
tunity to vote on the very amendments
which stuck most in the craw of the
obstructionist councilmen; and as a
result of that election -we have oblit
erated the ward system, with its log
rolling and petty trading politics, and
have done away forever with party
caucuses, ', primaries and conventions
In the city of Los Angeles by the adop
tion of what Is regarded as one of the
.best direct primary systems for, muni
cipal elections ever proposed.
Should Have Raited Salaries
It is to bo regretted that the amend
ments for salary raises proposed by
the councilmen themselves did not
pass, but the councilmen havo only
themselves and the machine to thank
for their rejection. The people lacked
confidence In' a council which had de
clined to glvo them an opportunity to
express their will until compelled to
do so under the mandate of the law,
and' many voted against the salary
amendments on that ground; while on
the other hand the orders which went
out from the machine headquarters
Just before the election to vote against
all the amendments all along the line
In order- to defeat amendments 2 and
4 for councll-at-large and direct pri
maries, helped to swell the negative
vote on the salary amendments. '
I believe that municipal officers
should be well paid. " The city has no
business to expect capable men to
work for it for less than such men
can obtain from private corporations
or individuals, and I hope that In the
near future Los Angeles will be pay
ing her city officials salaries commen
surate with the Importance of A the
city's business and the ability re
quired. I voted for every one of the
charter amendments except • the
amendment* providing for the exten
sion of corporate franchises from 21
to 35 years. .
V. Too Many to Be Elected
Too much must not be expected of
our municipal direct primary in Its
• first tryout, for the reason that the
system adopted here Is 'more partic
ularly adapted for a scheme of gov
ernment where the number of elective
offices is small. We must remember
that we still have twenty-three offi
cials to elect, and In my opinion It
should be "23" for some of the offices,
so far as their being elective is con
cerned. I can see no reason why such
officials as the city treasurer, the tax
collector and the city clerk should be
elective. Their duties are purely min
isterial, as are those of probably some
other of our city officials, and I favor
as great as possible a reduction in the
number of elective officials. Undoubt
edly the council, which will be elected
this fall under the "at large" system,
will be quite willing to call an election
for freeholders In time so that a new
charter may be passed on by the citi
sens of Los Angeles and presented to
the next legislature; and 1 hope by
that time the experience of other cities
where what Is known as the "commis
sion plan" is now In practical opera
tion will have demonstrated the prac
ticability and advantages of that sys
tem. ..-. v,
• I, for one,, would like to see elected
as councilmen a few high grade citi
zens who would devote all their time
to the city's business; who would be
paid good salaries: who would be mu
nicipal experts and each one of whom
would have general charge and super
vision over an Important department
of the city's affairs under the general
direction of the whole council. In
other words, I cannot see why the
business of a great municipal corpora
tion could not be successfully conduct,
ed along the lines adopted In great
private corporations where a small
board of directors, carefully chosen for
their ability and integrity, are given
full control of the corporation's af
fairs, c
Safe Under the Recall
I think that with" the recall in oper
ation, which of course will never be
given up by the 'citizens of Los An
geles, no matter how many charters
we may adopt in the future, we are
perfectly safe in electing a small num
ber of city officials and giving them
large powers. -■■ ?y ■■; ■■. :
I want to say also, in passing, that
It Is my firm conviction that no matter
how . many charters we may prepare
and adopt In Los Angeles we will
never give up the initiative and refer
endum, and will never go back to the
ward system of electing councilmen or
to the old convention and party boss
system of making nominations.
From the time when Magna Charta
was wrested from King John the peo
ple have never surrendered what tools
of democracy they have taken. But
they sometimes allow the tools to rust.
Senator Thompson warned you last
Saturday that the state direct pri
mary law will "hot be effective unless
the people Intelligently use It, and I
must give you the same warning about
our local direct primary law. It won't
work automatically, but there must be
organization to back It up to secure
the best results.
It seems to me that I must apologize
every time I make reference to a re
form movement In Los Angeles, be
cause it is so recent. This observation,
of course, applies to the I recall cam
paign which has cleared our local
atmosphere so that I am sure we all
breathe more freely, feeling that the
city is safe, and has resulted in the
election of one of the very best mayors
that Los Angeles ever had.
"i Praise for Alexander
The character of the appointments
made by Mr. Alexander assures a sane,
rational, conservative. and decent ad
ministration.
One Important lesson has been
learned from this election, and that Is
that organization counts. Without the
organization behind the recall and the
candidacy of Mr. Alexander the 1600
plurality in his favor could easily have
been switched to the- opposing candi
date. :,'?".
This demonstrates that If wo are to
continue to keep in office good men in
our city, government and to keep ma
chine rrollticlans out we must continue
and make permanent. if possible, the
organization whleji has worked so well
up to the present time. And do not
think, gentlemen, that the organiza
tion which carried the election for Al
exander was built up In a day, or In
the few weeks prior to j the election.
That organization has been three years
in the building. It started with the
first non-partisan campaign in Los An
geles. It grew and was strengthened
during the Owens river bond election,
the school bond election, the charter
amendment election and, most I Impor
tant of all, the Lincoln-Roosevelt Re
publican league campaign, and it was
the organization, built up from the
ground, you might say, during all of
that time that was ready to back up
the Municipal league and recall cam
paign committee In Its fight for a de
cent mayor for a decent city.
"S\'.';"'■' Organization Needed
If you want to have permanent good
government In Los Angeles 'or any
where else, for that matter, you have
got to have permanent organization
of good government forces. They say
"Eternal vigilance Is the price of 11b,
erty," and I say "Permanent organiza
tion is the only safeguard for good gov
ernment."- While I do! not believe in
what has been called "the' X organiza
tion, I do believe in organization itself.
It should not be necessary every time
a good government campaign Is under
taken in Los Angeles to have to begin
PART II
anew, or to request men who have been
active in precinct work to act as pre
cinct committeemen. There should be
permanent good government organiza
tions in every precinct ■In tho -. city,"
ready, like mlnutemen, to respond al
most automatically to tho-need of the
hour; and to this end I want to suggest
the organization of a Good > Govern
ment league for Los Angeles which
shall be in fact as well ns In name a
real league of tho forces of good gov
ernment. ■ .
Those organizations In Los Angeles
which have been tried and found true
and are Identified with good govern
ment should all be represented in this
proposed Good Government ■ league
through 'their respective boards of di
rectors or executive committees.; For
Instance, the members of the govern
ing bodies of the Municipal league, tho
Voters' league and the City club should
all bo members of the Good Govern
ment league. ' V-'
Appeal* to College Men ( , .- '
College men should have thoroughly
Imbued Into them the necessity for the
active work of those citizens who have
the greatest advantages in an * educa
tional way, and the executive commit
tee of the College Men's association re
cently formed here, living In Los An
geles, should be members. I am
sure the Lincoln-Roosevelt Republican
league, the Democratic league and the
executive committee of the non-parti*,
san city central committee would be
quite willing to go into such a move
ment if it would be considered desira
ble. ' ;■,'.-'.-.•- '-P-i^l
In our recent campaigns we have be
come acquainted with earnest and zeal
ous workers for good . government
among . the foreign population In the
city, and I advocate the organization
of a German-American Good Govern
ment league and a Latin-American
Good Government league, which should
affiliate with the general Good Govern
ment league. There Is no reason why
there should not be a Good Govern
ment league among the colored men
In this city. In fact, I know of some
good colored men who are ready, anx
ious and willing to go right ahead with
such a movement at this time. The
colored vote in Los Angeles Is a very
important factor and should not be
overlooked.
Labor Unions Needed
Then, again, I think special represen
tation In such a movement should be
given to that portion of the working
class represented by the labor unions.
The labor union vote in previous cam
paigns has often been manipulated by
demagogic leaders and delivered to
the machine. Recently a new light has
come over many of the most Intelligent
of these men, and they have expressed
the desire to co-operate with the real
friends of good government, and while
they are in that mood I think wo
should meet them half way. In fact,
one of the strongest criticisms of our
good government movements In the
past has been that there was too much
of the silk stocking, pink sock and
Tuxedo coat about them; that they
did not get close enough to the work
ing people. And one of our greatest
difficulties has been to find representa
tive men . among the working people
with whom we could confer and co-op
erate. By all means, I say, let us give
representation In the Good Govern
ment league to the labor unions.
There are many Important' associa
tions in the city that are doing ex
cellent work and are vitally Interested
In good government, and each improve
ment association should be entitled to
a representative In the Good Govern
ment league, and the executive com
mittee of the Federation of Improve
ment Associations recently organized,'
which is supposed to represent all the
Improvement associations in the city,
should be a member of the Good Gov
ernment league.
Club In Each Precinct
* Most important of all, there should
be a Good Government club In every
precinct In the city of Los Angeles, of
which the earnest, active workers In
the precinct should be officers, and
each one of these precinct clubs should
be entitled to one representative In
the councils of tho Good (government
league. ■/_-•-_,
I think the policy of such an organi
zation should not be to make nomina
tions, but the organization should watt
until nominations had been made by
the people through petition under our
direct primary system, and then the
Good Government league should bo
called together and the merits of all
the different candidates considered and
a ticket should be Indorsed, which the
people- should be asked to support.
A body composed as I have suggested
could not be said to be representative
of any clique, set or faction, but it is,
intended to be and would be represen
tative of all classes and conditions of
our citizenship and its indorsement
would certainly have immense weight.
It is, I think, especially necessary, in
view of the fact that a very large num
ber of names will be printed on the
primary ballot, and there are many
citizens who would look to the Indorse
ment of such an organization for their
information and guidance. .
' Cites Recent Campaign
Remember, gentlemen, what ! hap
pened at the recall election. By mere
ly passing the word down alon 0 the
line and in a gum-shoe campaign, the
machine was nearly able, through Its
policy of rule or ruin, to elect a man
for mayor whom neither It nor ( the
forces for good • government wanted in
that office. The machine always works ';
as a unit. It elected Harper by throw
ing Its several thousand votes to him..
Just as sure as fate it < ill attempt to
defeat the good government candidate
in the fall election by repeating the
same. performance, and it can do it
unless we keep up and perfect and
maintain our organization. . ■
Organization, therefore, Is absolutely
necessary—in fact, it Is imperative.
Lack of organization spells defeat. -
Some one may be able to suggest a
better plan of bringing all the forces
of good government In Los Angeles
Into practical co-operation. I give you ■'.
my idea for what It Is worth, as I do
not expect personally to have anything
to do with the organization of such a
league.
There Is enough work in the* build
ing up, perfecting and maintenance
of such an organization .to occupy all
of one man's time, and such an organi
zation should have permanent quarters
and a paid secretary carefully selected
for his adaptability and love for the
work. :■';.'■:'■;: \'-' ' ' '-"• ft
:y:j Recall Sacred Weapon y '
So far as the recall as an Institution,
Is concerned, our recent experience has
demonstrated that, it is the most I ef
fective weapon ever placed -i in •;■ the .
hands of the people for their protec
tion against public officials who betray
their trust. But It is so precious that
It should be held sacred and used only
in a dire emergency, when the publio
welfare Is unquestionably threatened.
It should not be cheapened or abused.
It should be guarded and protected. • ,
Where the recall Is a part of the fun
damental law, when the public official
takes his oath of office a vision appears
to htm and says: f,'*'-.\----.\-* ■•«:■.>;■:-■'•'*-«-,«•.-,
t "Behold! i-i I am the spirit of the re- 1
call. 'jl- I represent tbe voice of the peo-