The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-04
DEMOCRATIC WAR PAINT.
The Battle for Supremacy In
Local Politics of the
Party.
LANIGAN AGAINST MAX Pepper
Where Daggett, Wise and We'll
burn Figure In the Opening
Contest.

There are two men in this town who be-
lieye that the early bird catches the worm.
They are Edward Lanigan and Max Pop
per. Although an election for City and
County officers will not be held until one
and half years hence, and according to
some citizens i'll the City Hall who allow
wishes to give parentage to their thoughts,
not until three and a half years hence,
there is great deal of subterranean &C
.tivity in the local Democracy, and organ
iZing and counter-organizing is steadily
going on. The other night large club
was organized in the Forty fourth Assem-
bly, District. This was under the auspices
of the Edward Lanigan Democracy.
Lanigan has come very much to the
front in the last few months as a local
politician. After the last election he
openly broke with Sam Rainey, who had
always been regarded as his inseparable
political associate, and announced that in
future Buckley and Rainey might do their
own political Chores that he would never
again assist them. Since then he has been
rapidly collecting about him large part
of de push"
Out of the combine that was formed in
the Board of Supervisors on patronage he
and his friends succeeded in drawing
large number of places. This has given
him considerable prestige. Besides, he is
Deputy Revenue Collector, ana this has
made him acquainted with the saloon
element which is SO necessary to success
full maneuvering in local politics.
In the last Dem ocratic convention he
succeeded in breaking the Supervisorial
- h,- hz,x
and had four OF his personal friends nomi-
mated. OF the only four Democrats elected
three were Lanigan people, one of them,
Aiphonse Hirsch being his brother-in-
law.
j. Lanigan has controlled the Forty fourth
District for some years, and from that as
basis he is now waging vigorous war
fare in. the Forty-second, Forty-third and
Forty-fourth Assembly districts.
The other reorganization that is taking
place is more complete in its plans. 1t is
conducted under the auspices ostensibly
of the Iroquois Club, but really is con-
trelled by Max Pepper. Mr.. Pepper has
had great experience in political organiza
tion and he is deyoting all of it to plan
ming perfect combination which the
Buckley and Rainey people cannot over
throw.
He has already very completely organ
lied the Twenty-eighth, Twenty ninth,
Thirtieth, Thirtv-f first and Thirty-second
Assembly districts, all of which are in the
south side, and he hopes, with the aid of
the new primary law, which gives the
voter as complete control of the primaries
as he has of the general election, to stamp
out and eradicate Buckley and Raineyism
forever from the politics of the City.
1t looks at present as though the fight
would be almost entirely between the Pop
per people and the Lanigan wing.
Buckley and Rainey are trying in every
way to land somewhere. Pepper is their
implacable enemy, and Lanigan has de-
clared that they are dead weight and that
he cannot and will not carry them.
AS it stands now Pepper has the leaders
of the. party with him, but Lanigan has
what is known as 1.-The boys" who do
rough and tumble politics, with certain
sprinkling of heavier material. The ques-
ton is whether the ':boy" element is of as
much consequence under the new primary
law as formerly.
Daggett's forces would naturally lean
toward Lanigan as against Pepper, who
has been instructed in his denunciation
of the policy OF the Mint Superintendent,
even going so far as to designate the Fifth
street coinage institution as Sam Rainey's
boarding house, at the same time point
ing his remarks by naming Prize-fghter
Alex Greggains, Bull Collins and Geggus,
welI-known Rainey men, as employees OF
the Mint. Ii there were none in the field
but Lanigan and Pepper, Daggett would
undoubtedly support Lanigan.
Through mis- connection with the Reve
nue. Qficeit is supposed that the moral. il
no other, support of the Revenue Office
would be with Lanigan. butlCollector Wei
burn, it is said by politicians, has violent
antipathy to Buckley Rainey interference
in Democratic politics, believing their
touch fatal to anything political, and that
he will need be thoroughly convinced that
there is no possibility of any future ar
rangement between Lanigan and Rainey
before he will allow his other deputies to
give Lanigan's people practical sup
port. He is also personally very friendly
with Pepper.
John Wise's office is unqualihedly for
Pepper, but the distri button of custom
house loates and fishes doe s not rebound
to the political wisdom of John III. Wise,
and he has less power, for the number OF
offices, than any other Federal official.
The Fire Department is an important
factor. Although Chief Sullivan is deter
mined to keep the men out of politics,
their friends invariably organize to help
their friends in the department. Sullivan
is personally friendly with Lanigan, but
vastly more friendly with Rainey, to whom
he owes his place. 1t is rumored that Sui
livan has striven by all means to reconcile
position of Barkis.. But Lanigan has
steadily refused, and as there is deadly |
feud between the Fire Department and
Pepper they will not be with him, no mat
ter what happens.
1t is thought most likely that the Fire
Department and Buckley and Rainey's
scattered and disorganized following will !
organize rump of their own and gather |
to themselves few fragments that will be
broken off in the general battle or follow |
the com batants and loot the dead
But the battle will be big one, and be-
fore it is all over. as Sir Lucius O'Trigger
would say, "there'll be pretty bit Of
disturbance"