Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-04-16
A MIGHTY LONG STORY.

/ to about seven columns. l commenced this
agitation in September, 1877. There was
great deal of depression in this city and State,
and in fact all over the United States, owing
to the contraction of currency in the Eastern
States and the collapse of the mining stock
| boom in this State, in connection with Chi
nege immigration. Although private in pol
itics l took particular pains to note all passing
events. Uppermost among the events that L
noticed were the willy ways of the politician.
The Chinese question he used as football
to elevate himself. The monopolies he used
as a measure to enrich himself. / saw that
by organizing the people. who were OPP
pressed, the politician could be superseded.
| undertook the task. 1t is not necessary
for me to state to you the result of my labors,
as it is already matter of history, and will
be handed down to future generations of this
State Some people had au idea that when l
commenced this agitation
MEANT REVOLUTION.
I did. But it was social revolution. l
wanted the people to rule, and not the poll
ticians. ALI the opposition l met with at
| the outset came not from the corporations
but the politicians. Subsequently as the or.
ganization grew in numbers, and threatened
the destruction of corporate power, the cor
porations backed the politicians with money
and the necessary means to crush out the ag-
| ~
put down, because my cause was Just. At
the time you will remember that the lnfa-
nous Legislature that passed the Gag
Law " had passed bill calling for a
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.
1 took advantage of the organization that |
was then molding, and carried majority of
the members of that Constitutional Conven-
| ton. The Democratic and Republican par
ties, whom l denounced, pooled their issues
to defeat the organization of which l was the
head. and by trick succeeded in electing
their 80 delegates at large. The Constitution.
however. was framed, and "a Of the planks OF
the platform that we in Convention adopted
were included in this Constitution. The
good features of the instrument overbalanced
the bad features, and saw in it three good
points to work on. First, the cleaning out OF
all the Judges of the State and the hold-over
Senators second, the destruction OF land
monopoly; third, the bringing of the United
States in conflict with the State of California
on the Chinese question. The Railroad Com
missioners' clause | at first opposed, on the
ground that it took the power away from the
people /; but upon reflection l found that the
railroad company owned every Legislature
that California elected for twenty years back,
it made no difference whether they were
Democratic or Republican. / found
that every little political cur in
this State who barked at the rail
road company always sold himself to
them the moment he was elected and l con-
| cluded that, if the railroad company could
own the Legislature, that we would not be
any worse off by their getting the Railroad
| Commissioners, should we succeed in electing
them, and on that proposition | argued that
to buy three men would be cheaper than to
buy majority of the Legislature. and as the
people paid for purchasing the Legislature,
| IL Do, chacY
only three men. At the time / was fully
convinced that
THE ONLY SOLUTION OF THE RAILROAD QUEs-
Is for the United States to own the railroads
and operate them in their own interest, the
same as they do the Postofice and so on.
Time will bear me out in this. But to come
| back to those three propositions.
Imade up my mind to stump the State OF
| California in behalf of the new Constitution.
| A gentleman, upon making known my views
of stumpiag the State on behalf of this docu-
ment, called on me one day and requested an
audience, which 1 granted. Before we parted
he made me proposition of 100000 in gold
coin to remain silent, which 1 refused. He
then offered me $3.50, 600 to stump the State
against it. and $780, 900 the day after it was
defeated. if it were defeated, proposition
which | also refused The following day |
met Charles de Young of the Chronicle, now
| dead, and told him that tremendous opposi-
ton would be made against the adoption OF
the new Constitution. The Convention had
not as yet adjourned, and did not for three
weeks afterward. He asked me why, and l
communicated TO him what had been offered
me, and said that / had made up my mind to
| 90 in for its adoption, and wanted to know
how he stood in the matter. He answered
that he would have to wait until the Conven-
ton had concluded its labors. The following
day
WROTE AN ADDREss TO THE PEOPLE
OF this State, calling their attention to the
fact that on the Sd of March | would start
out in behalf of the Constitution, although
the Convention had not as yet adjourned,
and did so on the Sd of March, But pre-
vious to this, it would be well to note that
Charles de Young wanted to make friends
between Captain Lees. the chief of the de-
tective force, David S. Terry, Alex. Camp
bell and myself also with the Spring Valley
Water Company, corporation which L was
then fighting During our private converse
lions he acted as if he would like to get some
hold upon me. Up to this time had never
met Mr.. Pickering of the Cal. or Mr. Fitch
of the B,lletin l had been fighting them
both bitterly from the stump, an act which l
now regret, and will take this opport unity of
taking all have said against those two gen.
tlemen back, for | have since discovered that
they were honest men. But one evening |
left Charles de Young's private Office, and on
nv wav up Clay street l met Mr.. Pickering,
talking with the city editor of the Call, who
had been a Chronicle reporter. His name is
f. J. Ballinger. He introduced me then and
there to Mr. Pickering, and we cenyersed for
| about half an hour upon various topics.
Some person connected with the Examiner
noticed that we were conversing together,
and that afternoon it appeared in the E1aBl.
| liner.
The following day Mr.. De Young sent
word to my office that he would like to see
me. and went down to his Office. The first
| word he asked me was how long L had been
acquainted with Mr.. Pickering of the Cal.
l told him that L had never met him
previous to yesterday afternoon-upon my
leaving his office had met him accidentally.
He drew a copy of the Examiner out of his
pocket and asked me if that was true, show.
ing me the report in the Examiner. l
answered eyes" The discussion then turned
on some other topic. John f. Swift, previous
to that. had interested himself in getting
Article XIV. Section l, which is now part
of the present Constitution, inserted in it.
He tried various persons, then members of
the Constitutional Convention, and failed.
| He wrote me a note to call at his office,
which l did He said that it was impossible
for him to get this clause in the Constitution.
and asked ne if would not interest myself
| in it. l said Yes" and sat down in his
| Office and wrote
A LETTER TO CLITUS BARBOUR,
Then a member of the Constitutional Con-
vention, and inserted Swift's section. Mr..
Barbour offered it in the Convention, and it
passed, and is now the article mentioned in
the Constitution. In order to show that the
people of San Francisco wanted this article
Immediately went into the clubs and had
resolutions passed asking that the Conven-
ton pass this article On the following Sun
day delivered an extensive speech, in which
| denounced the water company in unmeas-
ured terms The Chronicle previous to this,
had been giving me full reports, and Mr.. De
Young tried to convince me that he was not
i'll the interest of any corporation, but this
Sundays speech. instead of being reported
as it should have been by the Chronicle, was
burlesqued. Afterwards some peculiar edi-
torials appeared in the Chronicle about my
self in connection with William Wellock,
who was then the Vice-P President of our
party. 1 told Mr.. De Young that would
not allow him to dictate to me what
/ should do, when he ans wered that
when l wanted any information concern
inc, matters reIa. TING ro the rrosnerity of San