Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-10-02
Monday MORNING, OCTOBER 2, 1882.
MhTRoPoLITAa POLITICS.
TIE ISFRrokCres OF SAN FRANCISCO
POLITICS EXPLAINED
Two well-Fosted Correspondents Interpret
the True Inwarduezs of Things

To afford our readers a correct idea of
the municipal political situation in San
Francisco, two well. trained and reliable
correspondents were detailed to investigate
the causes OF the schism in the Republican
ranks of that city. These correspondents
acted Independently of each other, and
each without knowledge Of the work as.
signed the other. The reports given be.
low were received on Friday of last week,
but too late for insertion in Saturday 8
issue:
Report Eumber cne
SAN Francisco, September 2S, 1852.
The generally harmonious Republican
party Of San francisco Is zen. i. tsain
On the eve Of more than usually tough
tight with its proper antagonist, the united
Democracy, it has engaged in suicidal
internecine row. The "Biuffers" and the
buffers, regardless of tie common
enemy, have buttGned back their ears, filed
their teeth, and stand making up faces,
and shouting bad names at each other
"What is it all scout % the
readers of the RECORD U!'IoN naturally
ask, Your occasional correspondent viii
endeavor TO tell them In trying to elicit
truth from mass Of criIninatiou, recrin-
nation aud confused Gloss statements, the
just and natural course is to take the state.
! Inents OF conflicting Witnesses, see on which
side the weight Of evidence appears TO
bear, then draw such deductions as seem
warranted. Ii pursuance of this policy your
correspondent has sought information from
leading spirits IN the hostile camps. and
from presumably unbiased outsiders, which
he will now proceed to SET forth in due
order. His first call vas rpon gentle
MAI prominently interested IN State pol
itics, but unath.iated with either Of the
local factions, In reply to the question,
Can you give me the true inwarGness Of
the local Republican tight:" he answered
in substance IN tell you what | make
of it, and | think it il the average
opinion of The solid business ele.
ment that is not taking any active
part il the fight. The row is really over
the water company question. The DAT
feEs che faction represented by the
Municipal Convention appointed by the
County Committed are either friendly to
the water company or are tired Of wagipg
an endless fight against it. They are also
opposed to letting tue Higgins, Cannon
and Chute crowd run the pirty. Higgins
fell out with the water com pany some time
ago, although formerly they had worked
together. He is now usipg his influence
to beat them as a matter of revenge.
The Bulletin has opposed the water CON.
gany ever since the Raiston affair, and
though gener1ttiiyy IN opposition to the Hig-
gins crowd, is. on this occasion, rowing IN
the same boat by virtue of circumstances,
The Chronicle, as you know, has always
been 10 with Sharon and the water com.
pany, and would be against the Bulletin
anyway. The majority OF the County
Committee thought thatin an open primary
Higgins would get away with them, and
to avoid that they decided to nominate
delegates to the municipal Convention
themselves Most of the Presidents and
members of the ward clubs kicked against
this, claiming that il was a usurpation of
power, and have elected, by primary,
delegates to another municipal Convention
(the biuffsrs) | can't say which faction is
the most numerous, but / am rather in
clined go believe that the buffers include
more Of the substantial business elemant of
the psr5y. II you want more definite in-
formation from the inside, you had better
see the leaders Of the respective fictions."
Acting on this suggestion your corre-
sponden5 next bearded General Bill Higgins
in his guarded teat. THIS Teteran strate-
gjst promptly disclained any interest 10
the row. He was taking nc interest what
ever in it, all assertions IT, the contrary
uoSS thstauding. Itwaa q Inatter between
the maiarity of the BOUNTY Com
mittee AMI the ward clubs, in
which he vas taking ro stock, and
concerning which he could give little OF no
information. The best Ws,, was to go di-
reoSly TO the men who xs:e engineering
the fight on either SIDE, aud see what
they had TO say about i One thing he
did believe, that the Buffers had fight
with the water company rot "a a water
company, but as a factor in municipal poll
ties. Finding such igao, ance tough,
inert mass to penetrate, your correspondent
next waited upon a PROMINENT member o.
the County Committee C1hyeation. There
he struck a well of infornia ton that flowed
freely in fact it was SCOUTING well.
Yea, l can give you i whole history
OF this thing in very few words. You
See there is gang of professional politi-
clans in this town that run everything.
On the Republican side ara Higgins, Gan.
non and Chute on the [ smocFatic side,
Chris. Buckley. The wa5' in which they
control the politics OF Tie city is the sim
plest in the world. Each aide has It's band
of rstainers, and they play into each others |
hands. Ii a Republican primary is coming |
off, both bands unite and vote in as many |
wards as may be necessary to elect their |
men. This, under the Dose system in |
which cur primaries are conducted, and |
with the light vote generally cast, is an |
easy matter. Thus they coatrol the con-
vention, and nominate their own men for |
office. The same thing is done in case CT !
Democratic primary. These facts are no.
torious. They get their creatures |
into the most lucrative positions, |
and those which control the |
most patronage, the Board If Supervisors,
School Board, Street Department and
County Clerks Office, and everyone in
those departments, from the heads down
to the lowest employees, must pay tribute.
They nulct the city in heavy expenditure
and proportionate rate OF taxation. The
solid men of the city want to get rid
of that crowd, 10 purify cleo
tons, to reduce taxation, and
with that object, and no other, they started
the present movement. In 1875 the BgUe
TN got into q 10y with R2lstop, Of the
Bank of California, over his connection
with the water company. The Bank of
California failed, aud RalstUn committed
suicide. 1t was claimed that his death
was accidental, but it wasn't. Sharon,
Baldwin, Mills and others got togeth-
er and rehabilitsted the bank. It was
The best thing they could do for them
selves and the people. A great
excitement was stirred up against the |
Bulletin. Sharon in part, but other friends |
OF Ralston in greater part, encouraged |
mob to tear down the Bulletin office, and |
they would have done it had it not been |
for the police. From that time to the |
present the Bulletin has waged a bitter war |
against Sharon, who is the leading stock.
holder in the Spring Valley Water Com.
pany. The quarrel has entered into |
The politics Of the city. Officials and |
members Of the Board OF Supervisors have |
been nominated and elected, with special |
view to opposing the water company. Bill |
Higgins was formerly hand-in- glove with |
the water company, and did their
work at Sacramento and here. For some |
reason they fell out. don't know why, and |
now Higgins wants to get his men |
into the Board of Supervisors to oppose the |
company. The Bulletin had heretofore |
opposed Higgins and his crowd, ard worked |
in the interest of the public, but now they |
are supporting them When we went up |
to the late Republican Convention at Sac |
ramento, we wanted Blake for Governor. |
IL wss charged that it was for the purpose |
of getting him out OF the way in NUM- |
cipal politics but such was not the case.
We considered him the best man for
the place. We came back here aud
found that the Ward Presidents, who
assisted in beating us at Sacramento,
we're determined to ran tina old game
on US, and with the help of 1tg-
gins beat US at the primaries. We
made up our minds that We would not, IN
the interests of good government, submit,
and proceeded to nominate delegates TO
.ae Convention. Tdere is 10 usurpation OF
T. -,