The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-18
THE REPUBLICAN, PARTY.

anu Lar greater future 10 look 1OJWdTu
to with hope and high resolve. 1t was
born as the party of the people of
California, who loved liberty ana
union. and who believed that beneath
the broad folds of the Federal constitution
lay the best assurances of public tranquil
lily and of opportunity IN the pursuit of
happiness for themselves and for their
posterity. There are men still living who
love to gather their grandchildren about
their knees to tell, with glowing hearts
and glistening eyes, of their proud portion
in the formation of the Republican party
of the State of California.
During the first twenty years of its his
tory the Republican party of California
justified the hope of its founders and the
faith of its members as the party OF con-
sistency to principles and honesty in poll
tics. 1t produced leaders and nominated
candidates who were credit to it and
to the State. 1t elected legislators to
enact, Judges to construe and Off
Gals to enforce laws for the benefit
of the entire people, and without sub
seryience to powers or interests whose
purposes were selfish, whose methods were
discreditable and whose theory of politics
was reliance upon the purchasable quality
in men. During that first score of years
the history of the Republican party was
record of stainless honor, of great accom-
plishment and of almost uniform success.
During the past twenty years of it's his
tory the Republican party of California
has been under the shadow of malign
presence and influence in its organization
and affairs. Against the will of its masses
and despite the protests of its best brains
and bravest hearts, it has been dominated
by the members and the creatures of
great corporation which has deemed the
ownership of a political party essential to
the success of its business projects and self
ish aims. When the creators of the Cen
trail Pacific Railroad Company first saw
the possibility of enormous wealth loom
above the horizon of their enterprise and
resolved to grasp it they adopted one fatal
error in procedure.
This was the error of imagining that their
success depended upon the manipulation
of politics and the control of public officials
and that in securing and maintaining this
political dominance the end justified the
means. Out of persistence in this error
has come curse to the politics of the Pa
cific Coast, and particularly has arisen the
cloud which has darkened the history of
the Republican party of California during
the last twenty years.
The time has come for the declaration
of independence by the Republican party
of this State from the influence and domi-
nance of the Southern Pacific Company
over its counsels, policies and affairs.
The dark shadow and Shiny hand
of this selfish interest must be removed
from this great party if it is to longer ex-
pect and deserve popular confidence and
support When treachery and bribery
and shameless official malfeasance
run riot through public places;
when Republican conventions are at
tended by their delegates through
the grace of railroad passes; when Re-
publican legislators ride to and from the
capital and junket up and down the State
on railroad tickets furnished free while
regularly drawing their allotted mileage
from the public till; when Republican
Railroad Commissioners openly obey
and serve the corporations which
they were elected to control and
regulate; when Republican members of
the State Board of Equalization notori-
ously refuse and neglect 10 assess railroad
at values at all proportionate to
those upon which private citizens are
taxed; when members OF the Board
of Supervisors of San Francisco
brazenly violate a benefcent statute
in order to give valuable public
riU IN DIV ,hav,
Republican officials from the Governor of
the State down to the constable of its most
remote country crossroads must crook
the pregnant hinges of their knees to this
arrogant and self-seeking organism in
order to get and hold their offices-it is
high time for bill of rights and declara-
ton of independence on behalf of the Re-
publican party of the State of California.
THE CALL undertakes to-day to make
this declaration and proposes to bend all
its energies to give it entire effect. 1t
raises high the standard of its firm resolve
to achieve independence for the Repub-
lican party of California from the
power of the Southern Pacific Com
pany as a political agency 1t calls
aloud to the Republicans of California to
OO-OpC1dlc Will II III llllS JCSulO
to pass. 1t invites every citizen who be-
lieves in party honesty, in official in
tegrity, in equal justice between corpora
lions and men, in freedom of politi-
cal action, in equality of taxation, in
the absolute cessation of corporate inter-
ference with political affairs-in a word, it
urges every Republican who thinks
that it is time to make the declara-
ton of the highest railroad official,
ii at THE railroad is out of politics."
a living and eternal truth to unite with it,
and such a verify the phrase will straight
way be. Of disenthralled and regenera-
ted Republican party made up of such
men, THE CALL assumes henceforth to be
the organ, and through a. nobler future to
remain and be its constant guide, philoso-
pher and friend.