Los Angeles herald., 1890-12-02
THE RESULTS AND THEIR LESSONS.

The election is over, and it's results
are before us. All things considered,
they are satisfactory from an honest
Democratic point of view. The city is
fairly Republican under circumstances
to draw out strict party vote. The
vote polled yesterday was heavy one,
being almost as large as at the state
election month ago. The Democratic
primaries were unfairly and badly
handled, and, as result, most un-
desirable element was introduced into
the convention to so large degree as to
control its action. AS was natural, a
ticket notoriously Objectionable in
some of it's elements and lamentably
weak in others, was presented. These
circumstances amounted to serious
handicap in the race. That it should do
SO is to be regretted beyond expression,
whether the interest of the city or of
the Democratic party is considered. The
ring that has controlled affairs here for
two years past was so thoroughly un-
popular that the temper of the people
was all in favor of change. A clear
majority of the Republican party was
ready and anxious to rebuke the impu-
dence, selfshness and corruption of its
own officials by genuine political up
heaval that would have buried almost
the entire ticket under heap OF political
ruin. All they wanted was that we
should give them an opportunity to elect
thoroughly responsive and patriotic
city government. Instead of wisely
taking the time by the forelock, we
threw away our opportunity in a most
disgraceful way.
The danger was that we would become
so obnoxious in the eyes of the people
that no discrimination would be made,
but that good men would go down
in the common mire with the
bad. But the intelligence of the voters
has generally proved equal to the emer-
gency. With our own party in open
revolt against large ratio of its ticket,
with large Republican majority to
overcome, with triangular fight on
our hands at many points, the wonder
is that We were able to elect man.
These are the elements in the situa-
ton. What are the results? The OBJ
jectionable men on cur ticket are
pounded to jelly, as they ought to be.
The weak ones are left distanced in the
race, as ought to be also. But wher-
ever we put up really representative
men, who have the confidence of their
fellow-citizens, we have either elected
them by good majorities-in some in
stances by enormous fgures-or we
have so cut down the big majorities of
the enemy as to make their apparent
victory substantial defeat.
The net results are the election of the
city engineer by a sweeping majority, ,and
possibly of the street superintendent
by close one. At the last city election
we did not get man on the general
ticket. We get three councilmen OF
ability and sterling integrity to curb any
programme of extravaganza or boodling
that may crop up in that body. We
barely missed the election of three
others of as good material, in wards
largely Republican. This is against not
one councilman two years ago. Had the
ticket been what it should have been.
we would have very nearly swept the
board.
Our local columns contain a pretty
full resume of the vote by wards and
precincts. Tomorrow we hope to pre-
sent the whole vote in tabular form.
The figures afford a most interesting
and instructive lesson. They demon
strate the fact that the voters exercised
their privilege of the franchise with
great discrimination. Scratching"
was almost universal in all parties, and
the wheat was pretty thoroughly
winnowed from the chaff. Anyone who
will glance along the precincts and see
how representative man, one respon-
sive to the popular will, ran ahead of
his party vote, and how some other one
of the other stripe failed to get his party
vote, will be edited. 1t ought to be a
lesson to those who make tickets to con-
suit somewhat the interests aud views
OF the electors, and it ought to
be a. lesson to men with record not
to thrust their heads into too great
prominence when injurious missiles are
flying SO thick, with the fury of an
enraged people projecting them.
The latest indications are that in ad-
dition to the above we elect two men,
bers OF the board of education, but that