Los Angeles herald., 1890-08-12
THE MARKHAM FIGHT.

The Republican State Convention will
meet in the Assembly Chamber at
Sacramento at 2 O'Clock this afternoon.
Circumstances have arisen to fix with
unprecedented interest the eye of the
whole State upon the action of this
body. The Republicans OF Southern
California have selected Col Markham
of this county as their choice for the
nomination for governor with unani-
nifty never before witnessed. This arose
principally from the fact that at very
early stage of the campaign a bitter
fight against him was developed in Cen
trail and Northern California on purely
sectional grounds. The Pixleys and the
Borucks We're conspicuous in the fore
front of the fight, and they made the
most vicious assaults upon Col. Mark
ham for his alleged attitude heretofore
in favor of State division. The denial
of his friends that he ever took a positive
attitude in favor of division was treated
as irrelevant. That he was prominent
citizen of Southern California was suf-
ficient for their purpose, and they so
constantly and industriously harped
upon their theme that they gradually
injected their virus of sectional antag-
onism into large fraction of the public
opinion of the North. The Call and
other, journals took up the refrain, and
it seemed at one time as if it were
enough to be citizen of this end of the
State to be ostracized from nomina-
ton on the general ticket by the North.
There is mo doubt that this species of
tactics has done much to create and ag-
gravate a sectional feeling which up to
the present time was more sentimental
than practically earnest in this part of
the State. 1t certainly has planted the
germ of formidable prejudice among
the people of the North. The position
now stands that if Markham should be
defeated for the nomination he seeks, it
will be ascribed to a determination at
the North that no Southern man shall
be run for governor. Should it come to
this there will be an open rupture on
sectional grounds between the people of
Southern and Northern California, and
a discussion upon State division, which
had heretofore been only in it's incipient
and tentative stage, will grow into one
of acrimony and serious possible eonse-
quences.
1t looks now, however, as if Col.
Markham will be successful. Men of
sober thought and reasonable impulses
seem to have foreseen the danger of
forcing such an issue, and the number
of Markham's supporters in the central
and northern portions of the State have
greatly increased in the last few days.
His chances, that looked very unpromis-
ing week ago, are row brighter than
ever they were, and his friends conf
IDENTIFY look for his nomination on the
second ballot.
We have noted the peculiar fuctua.
tions in Col. Markham's case at some
length for the purpose of commenting
upon the ease with which few un-
scrupulous men can sometimes precipi
tate controversy pregnant with the
gravest consequences. 1t lis true that
the people of Southern California have
at various times calmly and deliberately
discussed the question of separation.
These discussions, however, have always
been based upon principles that are
perfectly defensible: 1st, that two
states would double our representative
power in the Senate; I'd, that there was
a conflict of interest between Northern
and Southern California on the water
questionable latter being an irrigation
and the former riparian country; Sd,
that the difference in climate and pro-
duction and in great variety of inter-
ests, pointed to the advantages that
would be derived by each section under
separate state governments and codes of
laws peculiar to their own wants.
These are some of the salient points
that were at the basis of the discussion.
There were others, such as the questions
involved in the taxation of this section
for the benet6 of a group of favored
that at one time were the only
recipients of largess from the state
treasury. Now, no reasonable man,
either north or south, will deny that we
had perfect right to discuss these ques-