The San Francisco call., 1896-09-24
WHO Is RESPONSIBILITY


great issues are at stake and the honor
and loyalty of California as Republican
State is involved, that Republicans of
San Francisco should be dragged into a
brawl over the party organization and
forced against their will to divide their
voting strength between two rival tickets
in the field.
Who is responsible for these divisions
Who are The real traitors to the party |?
Who are to blame for defeat which dissen-
sions may BRING?
These are pertinent questions for every
Republican to ask and to have answered
fully and clearly to-day. Let the facts
furnish the answer. These are the facts:
| The convention which assembled last
evening at the Auditorium and nominated
Hon. c. L. Taylor for Mayor of this City
is the only regular and legal representa-
tive of the local Republican party. 1t de-
Tives its right to make nominations from
the regular County Central Committee of
the party-a committee which was selected
in the usual and orderly way such COM
1
vious campaign.
| The right OF that committee to repre-
sent and act for the Republican party of
San Francisco during the past two years
has never been and cannot be dis
puted nor denied. 1t has never
been displaced or superseded by
any other political body possessing
any origin of right or title to aot for the
local Republican party. Its action and
its power to act for San Francisco were
formally confirmed by the Republican
State Convention which met in Sacra-
mento last May.
By every party tradition and custom,
by unbroken descent of title, by every
principle of political self-government, the
Auditorium convention is the regular
Republican convention, and each and
| all OF its nominees are entitled to
be recognized and received as the regular
Republican party nominees of the City
and County of San Francisco.
For several days past another body OF
men have been attempting to meet and
have been assuming to call themselves a
regular Republican Convention OF this
City. What is their right to this title ?
What is the basis of their claim to recog-
nitionp
What is the foundation and superstruc-
ture Of their pretenslon that they are the
Regulars" and that as such they have
the right to embrol the party in the dis
cord and confusion of two political con-
ventions2
There is absolutely no foundation to the
whole ridiculous pretense.
Conceding that the st. Louis National
Convention gave its recognition TO the
contestlng delegates from the Fourth
Congressional District for the purpose of
determining it's own membership, its acts
and its power ended there.
By no possible stretch of authority could
g National committee or convention reach
into San Francisco, destroy its local po-
litical organization and extend the powers
of the claimants of regularity in a single
| Congressional district over the whole City.
Such an act would have been subversIve
of every right of local f-government
and of every principle and practice OF
party politics.
The National Convention never did nor
intended to do this wrong. and yet upon
the fimsy and foolish claim of such
action the entire right and title of this so-
called convention rests.
T1op %hls 49,
two men who are behind such shadow of a
convention have based their persistent
attempt to break into and break down the
regular and legal organization of the Re-
publican party of San Francisco.
In this attempt they have received
constant support and aid from Demo-
cratic newspaper, whose political wis dom
is limited to its effort to create division
and discord in the Republican party as a
means of Democratic success.
Who, tnen, is responsible for the exist
ing state of affairs in the local Republican
party? The men whose title to the party
organization is clear and indisputable, or
the men who have no title or right to call
or hold convention and whose political
loyalty Is illustrated and defined by their
desperate attempt to break into the party
organization, and failing in this to compel
it and itsregular nominees to defeat?
Let the Republicans of San Francisco
consider to-day whom they will hold ac-
countable for party dissensions and dis
cord-those whom they selected and ac-
credited as their regular and legal repre-
sentatives, or those whom they have
never so selected. Whom will they believe
and support-Mr. John d. Spreckels and
his associates or Martin Kelly and Jere
Mahoney? The choice is with them.
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