The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-01-16
His Influence Results in the Demon
alization Of Her Gov
eminent.
Some Hope That Life and Property May Not
Be in Such Jeopardy After the
City Election.

a copy of the section of the Penal Code
referring to leasing houses for gambling
Then there are the dens of immortality
that are being conducted in the heart of
the city and where nightly orgies are
participated in by some of those who have
taken an oath to suppress such places.
Some individual instances of this have
lately become so notorious that they are
people have been heard to proclaim from
the housetops that their pull guaran-
tees them immunity from arrest Occa-
sionally a raid is made and generously
exploited, but if this deceives a certain
element it has accomplished its purpose.
So much has been said about the COM
mercial benefits of having a town run
wide open that asked several retail mer-
chants for their opinion. All stated that
after November l, the date the track
opens for six months, business fell off.
credit increased and collections were more
difficult. These arguments were support
ed by facts that sufficiently exploded the
theory of good resulting from a wide
open town.
Since the advent of Colonel Burns COM
mercial enterprise, Oakland, ordinarily a
city comparatively free from crime of
the baser sort, has lost any such charac-
ter she formerly enjoyed. The retinue of
thugs that is inseparable from a long
period of horse-gambling has apparently
found in this city an agreeable abiding
place. The carrying out of their jobs
seems to be attended with no danger, and
! If the Jail waits for them, said jail has
a life job exercising patience. During the
last month everybody knows how many
burglaries and robberies became public.
Only few members of the police depart
ment and the numerous victims of the
thieves know how many were not made
public. The record, however, shows that
have signalized their freedom by carry
ing on half dozen burglaries at once last
Sunday night and by committing a few
highway rObberies since. Nor are these
boasts of pulls" idle. Men who have
been dismissed from the department for
the very best of causes have experienced
little difficulty In being .reinstated when
the freshness of their evildoings has fad
ed away. Within a week an effort has
been made to perform this operation, but
1t was not successful. Other instances
of recent date. where political strength
has superseded merit, are on the minutes
OF the police mmission-provided such
minutes are written, up to date. These
facts are not new, but the time is now
opportune to emphasize their truth. They
have a direct bearing on the nominations
now being made.
Just why such pernicious influences
should apparently be able to work from
both ends, should destroy discipline and
defeat justice is a matter to be guessed
at The effect is such that it cannot be
perpetuated by any of the old political
tricks if citizens use intelligence. There
will be good men nominated for the city
government and there will be bad men.
An attempt will be made, by methods no
longer secret, to put enough good men in
the field to divide the large reform desir-
ing vote, so as to allow the gang ia
vorites to win. The members who consti-
tute the Police and Fire commissions are
not going to be elected on their allegiance
to 16 to l or on their ideas of Imperialism,
or whether they favor the turning out of
paper money like election cards. The can
didates will be weighed according to their
decency or indecency, their integrity or
their fexibility. A spreadeagle speech
about Dewey or Mckinley will not suffice
to elect the next Board of Works, and
although Oakland should naturally elect
a Republican ticket it can only be accom-
pills he'd if that party puts up the men
furthest removed from suspicion.
Is 1t any wonder then that Oakland
should rebel when it's representatives vote
to send Colonel Burns to the cradle of
the nations honor?
STUART w. BOOTH.