The herald., 1897-11-27

we did send to the president were re
ferrcd by his private secretary direct t,
Secretary Alger.''
j. Ross Clark: THAT looks better fol
the people of Southern California ant
all the people in general. have though
all along that If Mr.. Mckinley woult
take the matter In hand the thing woult
be done. Doubtless he realizes that tn,
senseless delay in fulfilling the law o
the land is bringing contempt upon hi
administration and has determined t.
put a stop to it. This looks like it."
Judge M. T. Allen: my opinion II
that McKinley's attention has beer
brought to the matter by the pressure
brought to bear by the people and thu
press Of this vicinity and elsewhere ant
that Secretary Alger's sudden action IL
due to Mr.. McKinley's orders. There /.
no doubt that the cabinet officers have
things very much to themselves in theil
departments, but I expect this matter
to go right through now without further
hitch or delay"
City Clerk Hance: "Yes, have read
the report of the intention of Genera
Alger to advertise for bids, but have we
not heard such stories before. 1t may be
| that this time the desired end may be
accomplished, but there have been sc
many vexatious and unreasonable de-
lays that 1t is by no means certain that
another reason may not be found behind
which to hide. I shall believe his re-
ported intention only when see the ad-
vertisement."
w. c. Patterson, ex-president Of the
chamber Of commerce - There was a
time when I was disposed to honor the
name Of General Alger and even to as
sumo that possibly grim old John Sher-
man in his book had done the general
injustice. The events Of the last few
months have convinced me that he is
either weak, vacillating person or
grossly dishonest. In either event he is
not fit for his present job. The secretary
OF war of great nation like the United
States should be big enough to rise
above the use of petty subterfuges to
defeat the will Of congress and the de-
sires Of our people. While the dispatch
from Washington this morning indicates
that he has at last decided to advertise
for proposals for the construction Of a
breakwater at San Pedro, I prefer to
see the advertisements themselves be-
fore believing that he has advertised
shall also want to study carefully the
phraseology of the advertisements to
be sure that there is not at
tached to them surreptitious
string before believing that he is sincere
in his expressed desire to see the har
Dor constructed"
John F. Francis-"I rejoice that Sec
retary Alger has at last been Smoked
out of his hole but have no confidence
In his sincerity Of purpose-the fruit he
has offered us heretofore has always
turned out very bitter. Can the leopard
change his spots? l anticipate that we
Will md little Joker in the specifica-
tions. Why? Because their evident de-
sire and intention, as shown by his cam
paign of subterfuge and excuses, is to
throw the whole matter back into con-
gress and by the use of his official in
fuences, aided by Senator Fry, have the
present law repealed. The big three
Huntington, Fry and Alger-are power
at Washington, but they will find the
people of California hard nuts to crack.
The brains that have made an earthly
out of desert contain some
gray matter. We should place our de-
pendence in the honesty of President
Mckinley and the ability of Senators
White and Perkins. In the meantime
we viii sleep with one eye open and keep
our powder dry
G. J. Griffith-"I hope the report is
true. If it Is I can only repeat an ex-
preston which you perhaps have often
heard and know who first made use of
it. 1t lis, For what we are about to re-
ceive may the Lord make us truly thank
full"
SHORT AND CRISP
DR.. r. w. Miller-"If he is going to
do It, why don't he do it and get it
done?'
Clarence A. Miller" Mine eyes have
seen the glory Of the coming of the
DR.. Yoakum-"Under the X-rav II
looks diaphanous and full of obstructive
gangue."
w. H. Frank, president of the Mer-
chants and Manufacturers association
Can that be true? All can saw ia
that hope it is--from the bottom Of nv
heart"
Ephraim II. Winans, president of the
Hlghland Water company--"Well. that
don't sound much like his letter to Estee.
does it?'
Street Superintendent Drain Eyes.
ne Is going to advertise; yes he is-when
ne gets good and ready, and not before"
City treasurer Hartwell-"If it's true
It's good thing; but-when?"
l. w. Hellman-"As citizen of Los
1 would be thankful to Alger if
ne puts up the money for the advertise