The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-27
MR.. oLARK's RESPONSIBILITY.

As representative of the Republican
party and as the custodian of trust in
which the honor of that party is involved,
does Railroad Commissioner Clark appre-
ciate the political responsibility which
rests upon himP A point is made of this
for the reason that it is impossible to
imagine him ignorant of his responsibility
to California, her people and her pros
perity. He knows as we'll as any other
as well as Mr.. Huntington himself-that
the burden imposed upon California by
the exercise of the monopoly which the
Southern Pacific enjoys is hard, cruel, IN
just, unreasonable and altogether lnde-
feasible upon any of the grounds of honor
able business. He knows as well as an
other that the people are desperately IN
need of relief, that this need existed before
his election and that he was elected for
the purpose of meeting it. He knows that
every single loyal citizen of California who
voted for him was inspired by the hope
and belief that he would be true to the
trust reposed in him.
But does he understand that there is no
real difference between betrayal or neg
Iect of public trust and that of the party
to which he owes allegiance and election?
The Republican party aims and claims to
be the party of the people, to have the in
telligence to comprehend and the con-
science and ability to defend and uphold
the rights and privileges of the people. 1t
believes itself to be large and broad and
generous enough to represent and protect
the people IN those higher and nobler as
pirations in which their ideals of self-gov-
eminent are centered, and it places its
trusted members in power for the frmer
proof and wider PRONUNCIATION of that idea.
Does not Mr.. Clark understand these
things2
He surely cannot have overlooked the
fact that in the last election the people of
California, whatever reasons may have
moved them, generally turned to the Re-
publican party for relief and support. He
saw that in order to offset this evident
wave of confidence the Democratic party
pledged its candidates for the Railroad
Commission to make specific reduction
of freight rates. He saw the popular eager
ness for relief expressed in the election of
two Democratic members of the board IN
der that pledge. He has seen, since a great
outcry was raised over their failure to keep
their pledges, that one of them has come
forward with a partial scheme of relief,
which is confined to freight charges on
wheat, while all the other commodities so
grievously burdened are utterly ignored.
Therefore it seems impossible for Mr..
Clark to have a misconception of his posi-
ton, his duty or his responsibility. We
still hope that he has such a conception
and that he will surprise his judges by
showing his loyalty. We all know that by
being the only Republican on the board,
with two associates who belong to an OPP
posing party and who were specifically
pledged to do their duty, he has been ham
dieapped and could not hope for the sue
cess of any proposition from him that
would bring credit to his party. No one is
so unreasonable as not to take all these
matters into account and make due allow
ance for them.
1t would, therefore, be exceedingly graft
flying to see Mr.. Clark appear before the
commission tomorrow with complete
schedule of freight charges intended to
cure all the ills that afflict the State. If he
thinks that Mr.. La Rue's schedule for
wheat makes too great or too small a re-
uucIIon, We nope thdI MS OWN Scneuu1e
will express his views. He has already
observed from the published interviews
with Commissioner Stanton that that gen.
tleman may be willing to go much further
into the subject than Mr.. La Rue, and he
has seen that Mr.. La Rue himself, as far as
he has gone, is willing to make some re-
auctions. Mr.. Clark might reflect that as
a considerable proportion of the wheat
product will have been transported under
the ruinous old rates, Mr.. La Rue's sched-
ule cannot bring the benefit desired, and
that the grand opportunity for covering
the whole field now lies before him.