The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-07-18
STUFFING GALORE.
A Few Sample District
Reports.
BIG JOB FOR MR.. Pepper.
Committees Engaged in Citing
Old Residents
AND LEAVING SUFFERS ALONE
Queer State of Affairs Developed at
the Meeting of the Purity
Committee Last Evening.

Gus Dem UcratlC cluDS met In tDelr res r &C.
tive districts last evening for the avowed
purpose Of purifying the rolls of their
membership with the patent systematic
purifying process of Boss Pepper & Co.
In many of the districts the proceedings
were carried out in a cut-and-dried man.
ner. A few names were reported ad-
versely upon and then the rolls were de-
clared to be as Iure AS Mr.. Peppers fas-
tidious taste could desire.
In other districts large numbers of
names were dropped. and considerable
wrangling was INDUCED in. Such griev-
ances as there existed were carried to the
committee of seven, which was in session
at the Baldwin Hotel until after IL o'clock.
There Boss Pepper poured oil upon the
troubled waters, as 1t were, by soft words
of admonitio to each man with kick 10
keep his angry passions under subsection
until final rep orts were In, when the COM
mittee would arbitrate upon grievances.
The grieva nee delegates were not as
numerous as might have been expected.
but probably this was because only partial
reports were com ing in. There was a lack
OF the latter eve n that caused MIR. Pepper
to remark that things did not seem to be
moving very lively. Those which were
received were simply placed on file un til
final reports from the canvassiDg COM
mittpes were sent in and the committee of
seven could pass upon them as whole.
In some of the reports filed with names
of so-called suffers on them there were
uDdoubted signs of fraud, as in the report
from the Forty-frst District. with IT'S
names reported adversely upon, there was
one batch of fifteen signed from the cor
Her Of bay and Laguna streets" and
other patches were very numerous.
Mr. Twigg, chairman of the caDvassing
committee of the Thirty-fourth District,
had well-defned notion of what he was
about. He wanted time, he said-needed
it to to Con duct his business. He had gone
through the general roll and had found
ffiy-twO names that, in the judgment Of
the committee. had no business being
there. To sharp inquiry from MIR. Pop
per he con fessed that he had not cited any
of these suspicious characters to come and
show cause. 1t had taken him all his time,
he said, to locate tue fifty-two. So the
committee allowed him until next Friday
night, when he is expected to have his re-
port IN shape.
j. 81. Farren of the Thlrty-nnth Dis
trict submitted the vote which on the
previous evening he had reported as being
incomplete. 1t Onalned the names of
rank suffers" Opposite the names Of
more than half of them were the words
written by the canvasslng committee,
''Don't live at the address" MT. Farren
wanted these men cited to appear and
show cause why they should not be strick-
en- from the roll. AS the list was not COM
plete it was laid over until tie canvassng
committee should report.
Frank Mali0ye. nominee for president in
this district club, at this point started In
with an alarmist speech saying that he
regretted to have to make 1t. But certain
parties out his way were reSortlDg 10 tao
tics that had beenscried down lately, and
if the crying down was in earnest he was
there 10 give an alarm from the Thirty
ninth District. The rolls, he said. were
stuffed from top TO bottom. At the hall
this very evening he had seen people who
had been cited TO appear and show cause
why their names should not be stricken
from the roll, names that have been
on the voting and taxpayers
They had come 10 show the cause and the
committee had refused to listen to them.
The chairman OF the committee, he said.
was outside of the hall acting boisterously
under the influence of liquor. He char
acteriZed the whole preceding as farce
and an outrage. Now, 1T is one thing to
stuff rolls" he said with increasing earn
estness. land another thing to prevent
the taxpayers and decent citizens from
voting. But what we want is fair play.
We have heard a good deal about pure
politics during the past two years. and II
it means anything this committee Will
grant us relief"
I've are here to receive the reports from
the canvasSlng committees Tonight" IN
rerjected Andy Clunie at This juncture.
I'VE have not yet seen that from the
Thirty-ninth When we do it will be time
enough to hear any protests.
ID. NJ. Gavigan. chairman OF the can
wasting committee, now stepped forward.
He had a piece of crumpled paper in his
hand and an uncertain air.
He said that the canvassing committee
had cited ninety people to come TO them
and explain why they should not be
dropped from the voting list, and Of these
only six had come. He lifted up the
.rumplsd paper to the gaslight and read
from it the records of these six men.
'Why didn't you walt little, perhaps
some more would have come" said Mr..
Pepper, looking at his watch, which indi-
Gated few minutes after 9.
"We thought we had waited long
enough" said Gavigan.
A. N. Reilly, one of the six against
whom the chairman reported. now lifted
up his voice from the back of the room
and said he had been voter in the dis
pro ose to be barred out now. although his
family was TEMPORARILY absent.
Mr.. Gavigan said he had inquired among
Mr.. RelIy's tenants and learned Tn at he
had moved away.
"Why didn't you come to nv house in
stead of my tenanls?" was Mr.. Relly's
pertinent inquiry.
Il object To this form of report, any
how" said Mr.. Clune. THE idea OF
bringing in here report scrawled upon a
scrap Of paper you might pick up in the
street."
Mr.. Gavigan was directed to bring in
proper report tonight and all committees
we're required by motion to make their re-
ports properly in writing.
Dick O'COnnor, for the Fortieth Dis
trict, reported that there were go names
selected as suspicious, but only SO had
been cited, ana he wanted more time. A
number of Republicans were on the lists,
he said, ana a whole list of suffers at
1929 Geary street who had not yet been
cited.
Mr. Doyle. for the Forty first. reported
list and said that all was serene in the dis
trict, the differences heretofore existing
having been fixed up.
John A. Carroll, despite Mr.. Dnyle's re-
assuring remarks. took an opportunity to
register a hearty kick. He said that the
committee had met for, the purpose of
listening to citations, and after doing 50
until ten minutes TO 8. an adjournment
was taken. After ne and Murphy of the
committee had left the meeting was again
called 10 order by Supervisor Dem
man. Tax Collector Block and Mr..
Dunn, and further reports were re-
crived. The canvassing committee
Ill off