Los Angeles herald., 1905-02-05

In the old days Los Angeles city and
county was one of the staunchest Dem
ocratic propositions in California. The
original American portion Of the popu-
lation was largely from the south, and,
from their social characteristics, they
exercised great assimilative infu-
ence on the native California element.
For years to get a Democratic nomina-
tion for any Office in either city or
county was equivalent to an election.
This fact is the more interesting be-
cause both city and county are today
the most intensely Republican tom
munities in the United States, barring
none.
The change, of course, is owing to
the steady inpouring of immigration
from New England and the middle
west, Massachusetts, Kansas and Iowa
probably heading the roll in ratio,
though the population has been largely
recruited from such overwhelmingly
Republican states as Pennsylvania and
Illinois as we'll
The change in political complexion is
not confined to Southern California,
but extends to the whole state, al
though the majority for Roosevelt
could hardly in fairness he called
strictly partisan as that gentleman has
an unquestioned personal popularity in
the west, which figures in the count.
The majority given to Roosevelt at the
last election would have been equiv
alent to $4,000 for the state of New
York, and is doubtless the subject of
much thought on the part of the poll
ticians.
| remember well the first distinct
manifestation of the change in Los
Angeles. 1t was during the Hancock
Garfield campaign. The Republicans
had advertised a great parade and the
Democrats were very curious as to how
it would turn out. That party, up to
that time, had never been able to make
much of a show. They were known to
be increasing rapidly in numbers, but
having none of the paying offices 1t was
thought they could not get up much
of the spectacular. The event proved
these speculations were without basis.
Hon. Ygnacio Sepulveda and myself
had taken a stand in an express wagon
in front of the Temple block to see the
procession go by. AS it unfolded in
thousands, even at that early day, we
would exchange a significant glance
from time to time. After awhile the
judge turned to me and said: "Some
Republicans hereabouts, to which I
gave a very emphatic assent. There
was a feature of that parade which
had never seen before and have never
seen since-nearly every Protestant
minister in the city was in the ranks.
President Garfield had at one period of
his life been a pastor of the Christian
church, and his brethren of the cloth
rallied to his cause with cheerful alac-
rity. From that day the Los Angeles
Democrats knew that their work was
cut out for them, and in little more
than a decade they were utterly sub
merged.
Fight Between Banks
In those old days there used to be
special feature of the local political
fights that occasionally produced re-
suits outside of the ordinary political
lines. The rates of interest were then
abnormally high and the possession of
the public funds was subject of eager
contest by the leading banks, which
were then the Farmers and Merchants
and the Temple & Workman. Both of
those institutions were capable Of vital
izing a contest on financial lines They
had hosts of adherents on other than
party lines. In 1875 the Temple &
Workman bank went to the extreme
of nominating it's president, F. P. F.
Temple, for county treasurer, and if