Los Angeles herald., 1905-10-29
THE REVOLT

from head to tail-thats San Francis
cos municipal organization today.
TX
THE REVOLT
And that's what it's good people
found when they came to their senses
this year, and took counsel together as
to what was to be done.
SChmitZ was a candidate for re-elec-
tion, and he stood every chance in the
world to win. unless the Republicans
and the Democrats united to beat him.
Securely entrenched in office, with the
rottenest gang that ever cursed city
filled with admiration of the adminis-
tration for the graft that is made possi-
BILE; solid in its ranks because of the
rakeoff, ii was hopeless Unless d uifitct!
front could be presented. The gang
sters were defiant and in a way the
city itself was Indifferent. And that's
the chief shame of it.
San Francisco knew how rotten it's
government was; it knew all about the
graft; it was informed of the robberies
and the moral cesspool that it had be-
come But one peculiar feature of the
city government stood as a bulwark
between the citizens at large and the
grafters and did not so closely fetch
the evil home-the supervisors.
The Supervisors
Ruef and Schmitz never had the SUI
pervisorial board For fourteen long
years it has stood like stone wall
against the evils that have damned the
| town. Invincibly Democratic, it has
always been the safeguard of the city.
The supervisors held the purse
strings and their grip was good. No
money could go out without their word.
and though the Democrats had not
mayors veto. they yet had a good
working majority, and they saved the
| city from the curse of indiscriminate
debt, riotous expenditure and waste
| fulness.
The people knew this; they knew that
no matter what else went wrong the
money of the city was safe; it would
be carefully and economically spent or
not at all.
Frequently it was not at all: they
| have wanted much in San Francisco
| that they have waited for, in fear that
Schmitz would clutch it somehow if
the supervisors let it pass.
But they know that every dollar in
| taxes in San Francisco has been legal
| ly, rightly and carefully expended and
| they trust their supervisors.
1t Was Different
Hence, in a way, San Francisco was
Indifferent. It's a happy-go-lucky.
free-and-easy town, and as the graft
came mostly from the disreputable ele-
ment anyhow people said it Served
'em right" and went about their busi-
ness, with something of a smile at the
cleverness of Abe Ruef and a sneer
for the putty mayor of whom they
were ashamed.
But things went from bad to worse
and gradually the gang did entrench
upon the private affairs of a good many
people. Dying babies make a deep
impression; it cuts when one has to
hire Abe Ruef at more than it's cost
to secure a sidewalk improvement.
San Francisco sat up and took lit
tie notice and saw that it was robbed
blind, not only through it's disreputa-
bles, but in it's own homes. And San
Francisco rebelled.
Not Well Planned
1t wasn't we'll planned rebellion:
it came because 1t had to. 1t was like
mixing wine and water-it made
muddy fluid not pleasing to either
taste or looks 1t rolled and swirled
and the various elements refused to
coalesce and it made little headway
for long time.
But the time was ripe, after all. The
Democrats led the way. The leaders of
the party met with those of the Repub-
licans and a division of the tickets was
figured out.
The Democrats gave UP the mayor
and several other offices for a majority
in the board of supervisors and the
balance of the offices. They agreed that
they would ndorse a good Republican
for mayor and put it up to the Repub-
licans themselves to help save the city.
Backed by Hearst
The Republicans started their cam
paign. The decent element knew, from
the occurrences two years ago, what
to expect. Then ballot boxes were OPEN
ly stuffed by a gang that was led by
Abe Ruefs henchmen and those OF
Hearst; a gang that went forth from
the Examiner office with the illegally
marked ballots in its pockets AS many
as fifty We're put into single boxes. The
Hearst outfit had been back of Schmitz
all through the years of rotten graft
and stood ready to stay with 1t.
In the Republican primaries Ruef was
beaten. He went into the convention
and was beaten again. He had packed
the place with bowling fiends of dark
ness, but the decent men stayed with
it and threw him out bodily. The Ruef
crowd went to another place and named
Schmitz and a full ticket. The Repub
licans adjourned till they could find a
candidate for mayor who would be ac-
ceptahle to the Democrats. The main
victory had been won.