The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-03-13
Only the Ballots to
Count Night.
A CHANCE FOR BUSINESS
SOME CLOSE FINISHES ARE Elk
PECTED.
Nothing new Has Been Brought Out
Although Oakland Has Been
in a Ferment for as
Month
Oakland Office San Francisco Call

Oakland Office San Francisco Call,
9OS Broadway. March u.
a feeling of satisfaction pervades Oak
lard tonight and everybody is congratu-
fating everybody else that it is all over.
True, there is TO be an election to-mor-
row. but that is comparatively minor
affair II is the campaign to which the
city objects, especially such . campaign
as the one just concluded. Oaklanders
are peculiar in one respect. They buy
their -four and their perfume and their
bread, as a rule from the man who votes
as they do. Society and commerce move
in cliques, and the man with anything at
stake is always on pins and needles at
campaign time. Anonymous circulars,
secret ISLANDERS ana gross calumnleS all
have a part in an Oakland campaign and
q mans standing, although he may be
perfectly innocent in the matter, can be
materially altered in twenty-four hours.
These things are unpleasant. They dis
turb normal conditions and justify the
cry of the merchants that there is too
much politics In the city for the city 5
good.
There will be a few months during
which this city can turn its attention to
matters that are of equal moment with
politics. and which produce more lucra-
tive and beneficial results. Such intense
interest is displayed in politics that every
excuse 10 organize Il campaign ID CdSCk-
~ grasped and used as a justification for
turning the town upside down. Mer-
chants are tired of il, the average citizen
Is tired of 1t and only the political poll
ticianS foster the industry for personal
gain and because they do not want to find
themselves out of job. Such cam
paigns, of course, serve to distribute
money but they bring no new money
here. What would otherwise go into the
legitimate channels of trade is gambled
on politics, so that in the end campaign
has had no other effect that TO ruttle the
ordinary course of events. which are no
better for being ruft1ed, but probably
worse. Special elections, primaries and
general elections have disturbed Oakland
for over a year and each event has been
accompanied by a campaign" Now
there appears to be q chance to do a lit
tie business till the summer of next year.
when the question OF a successor 10 Presi-
dent Mckinley will engTOss public at
tention.
Tonight, one can get any kind of poll
tics he wants. Such supreme confidence
In the rival camps has rarely been
euualed. Mr. Snow and Mr.. Davie are
both to be elected Mayor and the same
solemn statement is made with regard to
the balance of the tickets. There is no
denying the fact that there is not a big
margin on either side, so far as the gen
eral city ticket is concerned. If the Re
publicans vote their ticket it will win. If
they split up it Will lose. VIII the party
hold together? Experience has shown
that sometimes it does and sometimes 1t
does not. The party has great hope in
Mr.. Snow, as he has always carried the
vote of the party when running for ten
years for City Auditor. Somehow or
other. there is generally surprise in
the vote for Mayor. so that on the whole
to-morrOW'S election is a thing to conjure
with. ] do not believe there will be a
majority of 800 for anybody running for
the Board of Public Works, which consists
of Mayor, City Attorney and City Engi-
neer.
Now that half the politicians of the
city have been talking against the other
half for over a month, l would like to
know what has been accomplished or
who has been enlightened Mr.. Snow was
as well known two years ago as he is to-
night. and John /. Davie has been q, pri-
vate citizen for the past two years, and
was said two years ago, when he was run
ming against Mayor Thomas The same
Is true of the other candidates. The only
Issue that / can detect has been that of
personality. Each faction has tried 10
build up by tearing the other fellow down.
and l do not believe the vote tomorrow
will be any different from what 1t would
have been had it taken place month
ago. In the meantime, some regulations
have been blasted, some enmitfeS engen-
dered that Will live to the grave, and
Truth has been blushing since the first
campaign speech was made. But 1t is
all over now, and the folly and useless
o
an impartial judge. The ballots will be
counted before tomorrow s midnight. the
crowd that Inhabited Broadway a cam
paign times will have returned TO that
bourne which will shelter it until Mazuma
appears once more, and Oakland will
gladly brush the political down from its
counter and return 10 business
Who knows that there was an amend
ment TO the city's constitutional law to
be voted fer tomorrow? Probably not a
hundred voters, and certainly no candi-
date has referred to it from the public
platform. So much pains have been
taken to invite voters 10 inspect the
open book of candidates lives that this
important amendment has been entirely
forgotten. However, it is hitting 10 call
attention TO it. for it affects the very
weeds in our gardens. In fact, 1t anectS
nothing else. 1t calls for an expression
of the people regarding the adoptl0n OF
g useful act of the Legislature regulating
the growth of certain obnoxious weeds,
and should be adopted. The amendment
bears somewhat the same relation TO the
rest of the ticket as the celebrated poppy
bill 10 the balance of this years leglsla-
ton at Sacramento.
For the political regulations of some of
the districts of this city it is sincerely to
be hoped that some plan will be found
In Senator STATIONS primary law. If the
act must stand il is to be desired that
all records of past primaries will never
be brought up for comparison. Fancy a
StrattOn primary in the Sixth Ward, or
the Fourth, or in the last two years in
the Seventh. How would il compare with
the returns in the Hilborn- Metcalf pri-
mary or the Jordan-Leckie primary, or
nearly every other primary? or with that
celebrated primary four years ago, when
more Republican CD votes were cast than
there were people in the ward?
STUART ". BOOTH.
Preachers and the Election.