The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-11-10

goes TO ask any OF you for any favor for ourselves
relatives or friends, we Will In doing so be going
TO you as sneaks and pledge breakers. and now
insist that your duty will be at once TO show us
the door, and. II necessary, TO expedite our exit
with the toe of your boot. bestowinR upon us the
loudest and severest maledcton which Just In
dignation inspires.
Thus in a sentence, the Non-Partisan
nominees. chosen by citizens absolutely
without bias, will enter upon the discharge
Of their duties without obligation TO any
one.
II was a work of enormous difficulty to
organize a general revolt against party
domination.
Everybody belongs to one party or the
other and naturally resents q bolt from hi.
party.
The entire machinery Of working politics
was In the hands Of the bosses. They were
backed by the interests which flourish by
keeping up the seeming rivalry of parties.
Thus, at the outset a non-partisan move
ment has to encounter obstacles which ap-
pear almost insurmountable.
Then, again, the work OF organizing the
malcontent elements into a compact body
requires labor. ingenu ity and self-sacrifice.
The organizers must give their time, to the
Injury of their business; they must expect
must count on making enemies, and the pub
lie who they serve is apt to be an migrate
full taskmaster.
For these reasons revolts against party
are uphill work In 1888, In 1890. the citi-
zens of San Francisco were ready to seek
reform by throwing off the shackles OF
party. But there was no one to lead the
way and the discon tent did not materialize
But at last, in this year of grace, the
chance OF emancipation from boss control
arrived.
1t was pregnant thought that the saliva
walton of American liberty depended upon
municipal reform in the great cities.
For century the drift of population has
been from the country to the cities. The
rural population has been declining rela-
lively and the population Of cities increas-
Ing, until now over one-half the population
of the United States lives in cities.
With numbers come power, wealth, educa-
tion. political influence and moral example.
In little while the United States will be
governed by the great cities, as France is
governed By Paris, Marseilles, Lyons. Bor-
deaux and Rouen.
This Is why people are alarmed at the
contrast between the pure old-fashioned
political methods which prevail In the coun-
n
tIal system of government which obtains in
cities.
The mischief done by a Boss Tweed
or Boss Buckley or a Boss Kelly may be
annoying. but it only affects a small portion
Of the people and limited segment OF the
country.
But if the tendency of the times Is to ex-
tend the influence of the cities at the ex-
pense OF the country these bosses will
presently spread their empire. with their
methods. over States and aggregations OF
States, and presently they will rule the
nation as the revolutionary Committee of
Safety In Paris extended its sway over all
France.
In that case, IL nc reform were applied to
the government Of cities, the nation would
tread In the path Of New York, Chicago
and San Francisco, and be governed by the
worst class OF citizens, as those cities are
now.
To suppose that American liberties and
American institutions could survive such a
| coDsummation as that Is entirely unwar
ranted.
For the dangers arising from boss rule
are patent to all.
| People see that all other grievances con-
verge into the central grievance of the
usurpation Of power by self-eIected and
unprincipied bosses.
All the wrongs at which citizens rage can
be traced back to the domination Of bosses.
who owe their authority to the welding Of
the dangerous class into a compact body
through the cohesive power Of money, and
everybody saw that the way to overthrow
bosses was to down the bosses of both
| parties, because their defeat mnst be fol-
lowed by the disintegration of their armies.
Buckley ruled San Francisco with a rod
Of iron by gathering into a Pretorian Guard
all the criminals, all the ho0dlums, ali the
unprincipled knaves, all the disorderly
characters. all the weak creatures who were
willing to sell their votes. all the lazy louis
who want the city to support them.
He held this motley army together by
giving offices to few of them. aud by dis
tributing railroad money among the others.
They formed the nucleus Of party, and,
when they exhibited some strength, a num-
Der OF ino1ensive citizens. who wanted to be
on the winning side. gravitated to their
| support
Buckley con solidated them by calling them
Democrats, which induced a lot OF simple
| minded persons Of the Democratic faith 10
cast their lot with them.
They were nothing at best but a gang Of
6anditti seeking piunder under bandit chief.
but when they masqueraded as the Demo
cratic party Of the city OF San Francisco ti.
original bandits managed to cozen some
decent Democrats into supporting them on