Los Angeles herald., 1890-06-02
MONDAY, JUNE 2, 1890.
THE YOUNG MEN TO THE FORE.

One thing is very clearly disclosed in
California, and that is that the present
campaign is to be one of young blood
against old. The projection of Hon.
Stephen M. White into the contest as
the virtual Democratic leader proves
that the Democracy desires to be repre-
sented by the youth, energy and brains
OF the party, and the people of Califor-
MIA will doubtless show that they share
this sentiment. The two most prom
inent candidates for governor, Mayor
Pond, of San Francisco, and Hon. ]. V.
Coleman, are both young men, the
former relatively and the latter abso-
Iutely so. This is change from the old
practices of the several parties. No
young man has ever been mentioned in
California in connection with the United
States senatorship with one exception,
and it has usually gone to aspirants well
up in years. The same rule has pre-
vailed in the gubernatorial nominations
of both parties. Not to go too far back,
all the candidates for governor on both
sides that most people will recall were
men who were pretty near the close of
their careers. Irwin, Bidwell, Timothy
Guy Phelps, George Hearst, Glenn,
White, Stoneman, Johnson were all
about the sixties when they were first
spoken of for governor. Some of them
reached the goal, while others failed,
but none of them could be
called young. The only exception
to this rule of late years has
been George G. Perkins, while away
back almost in the times OF the argo-
nauts John G. Downey, of this city, was
elected lieutenant-governor, and he be-
came governor through the election of
Milton S. Latham to the United States
senate. Latham himself was a COM
paratively young man. But for the last
twenty years the almost unbroken rule
was to give both governorships and
United States senatorships to men of
rather pronounced age.
1t is certainly an auspicious sign to
see the young men coming to the 'front.'
The most encouraging thing about the
Los Angeles Democracy is the enthusl-
asm with which the younger members
of the party are taking hold, and very
gratifying note for the Democracy all
over the union is the tendency of the in
telligent and thoughtful collegians and
others who are Just entering upon the
active theater of life to throw in their
fortunes with the party of Jefferson and
Jackson. They are separating them
selves from the Republican party in
great numbers in every section of the
union, and the movement is portentous
of the permanent retirement of the
Republican party from power through
the detection of the western states. The
Republican party has made it.
self SO distinctively the champion of
the classes against the masses
that hereafter it must look for
its chief support to very limited
class. That the young men of Los An
geles share this tendency largely is
shown by the vitality of the Democratic
clubs. These organizations were never
in such gratifying condition as now.
1t is very exhilarating spectacle to see
the men who are in the future to form
the pillars of the state taking such an
interest in the duties Of the citizen.
Their older party associates hail this
activity with pleasure and are ready to
give the front rank to these fresh and
enthusiastic Democrats. While they
yield in no whit to their younger friends
in Democratic fervor they will cheerfully
take back seats in campaign which, it
is pretty clearly disclosed, will be one
memorable in local political annals for
the completeness of the Democratic vic
tory which will be recorded at the clos
ing of the polls next November.