The herald., 1896-04-28
LITTLE VERSUS Bio BOSSES

The brethren of the Republican party
In this part Of the state do not seem
to dwell in the harmony that Is spelled
with an upper-case H. Tomorrow night
the primaries for the selection Of dele
gates to the Republican state conven-
tion will be held and the battle between
the bosses. or, to put 1t more correctly.
the battle between the boss las is' and
the boss "as would be-" is on in a most
exhilarating way. The boss las is" is Mr..
Hervey Lindley, and the boss "as would
be- is Colonel Harrison Gray Otis.
For 10, these many years the latter indi-
vidual has cast longing eyes on and
made frantic efforts to reach the. to him,
unattainable boss-ship of the local Re-
publican party, and now again he is
marshaling his attenuated force, con-
sisting of himself and a few people who
have been Influenced by what he says
Of himself. for another frenzied attempt
to get into the saddle. AS an attach
ment to the tail OF the Mckinley kite,
he hopes to be landed where he can shine
like a star in the political armament
The chances are good that he will be
landed-in the bush and bramble of de-
feat There 10 some material that you
cannot make even a political boss Of.
The organ of this perennial aspirant
for the honors and emoluments Of boss
ism delivers itself with disinterested
sort of air Of the following observation:
1.-The Republicans Of Los Angeles-the
self-respecting men Of the party-cannot
afford to have it said that they are under
the thumb Of a small boss like Hervey
Lindley." Just so. They can only afford
to have 1t said that they are under the
thumb of big boss like-well like the
Colonel" The Republicans, "the SELF
respecting men Of the party"-cannot
stand the strain imposed by small
boss" What they need, what they fairly
pine for and threaten to 60 into early,de-
cay because they lack such--is large
boss, one with expansive self-esteem
and comprehensive appetite for power.
just the kind that cracks the whip and
rules the roost in the building from which
are issued the political admonitions
and warnings that go unheeded. That
Is what the person who would like to be
boss thinks. What "the self-respecting
men Of the party" think about the matter
he will find out tomorrow night. There
is every probability that he will learn
that the "self-respecting men of the
party" prefer the little boss to the big
one or the one who thinks he is big.
The methods of Mr.. Lindley are GER
tainly not ideal and his alliance with the
Southern Pacific railroad is hardly a
fortunate one, but he is personally
agreeable, is loyal to his friends and is
not everlastingly claiming to be better
than he is 1t can also be truly said of
him that the controlling influence he
exercises in his party is because of the
capacity he has displayed as an or
eanizer and a leader. and not because
he excels in bullying and braggadocio
The skirmish between the boss "as
is" and the boss ''as would be" can be
viewed with equanimity by Democrats.
For them a row in the camp of the en-
emy has no terrors, and their advice to
the people is to avoid the domination of
either boss by voting next time for the
only party that truly and steadfastly
| stands for the spirit of Individual in
| dependence-the Democratic party. But
as outsiders. Democrats cannot forbear
the reflection that if the Republicans
| must have boss. and it seems that they
| must, they should not select man who
is eternally ranting about liberty and
yet plays the role of the dictator and
the tyrant whenever there is the slight
est possibility Of so doing