Los Angeles herald., 1906-06-27
AN INDrPnNDrNT TIcKET

NV tNDLT LNDLiNl llOhLl
During the past SIX months or more
The Herald has steadfastly advocated a
policy Of non-partisan effort with re-
spect to the nomination and election
OF municipal officers for the city OF
Los Angeles, and the movement ap-
pears to have become so accelerated by
accretion and absorption that the de-
mand now extends to the selection OF
county ofiicials.
1t must be sturdiIy borne in mind,
however that much depends for the
success Of any movement Of this char
acter. upon the motives and purposes
of those behind Il.
Every citizen appreciates the fact
that as at present constituted our city
elections are managed and manipulate
ed. from start to finish, by set Of ma
chine bosses who represent various
corporations. Aspirants for Office con-
suit these bosses and are compelled to
make terms with them before they can
get their names on party tickets. This
is peculiarly true of the Republican
machine, because Of the preponderance
OF Republican voters and the greater
likelihood of the election of the Re-
publican ticket.
An independent movement must
originate with the people, or at least
from civic bodies that are most repre-
sentative of the people. The origin
must not be nebulous or uncertain. An
fY,IAr1r,Iaot
fore the voters from a conference of
boss politicians, held somewhere and
somehow in a manner unknown to the
public. Bosses are quick to understand
that IL an independent movement at
tains threatening proportions they
must take charge of it and see that
their henchmen are put on the indie
pendent ticket, so that they may win
no matter how the election terminates.
1t seems reasonable to suppose that
a city ticket suggested by combined
meeting of representatives of the
chamber of commerce and of the Mer-
chants and Manufacturers association
would be free from the taint of boss
political dictatorship. 1t would at
least be the result of the best thought
of citizens who pay large taxes and
are vitality interested-with all other
citizens--in the progress and successful
management of the city's affairs.
We have now a board of education,
water commission and a board of pub
lie works entirely satisfactory to the
people of Los Angeles. Those three
boards were thus nominated and the
members are absolutely non-partisan
in their administration of civic duties
1t would only be a step, therefore,
from what has already been accom-
plished to the successful nomination
and election of all city officers, from
mayor down, under the same auspices
that have proved so satisfactory in the
selection of various official boards
Dangerous and vicious elements are
at work to gain foothold in the inde-
pendent movement in order to crush it
with bad nominations, or to seize it by
naming political henchmen as candi-
dates. The only way to defeat such
purposes is to throw the movement into
the hands of the most powerful and
best representative civic bodies we
have and shut the doors in the faces of
political bosses and the leaders of dis
organization and revolution.
More than ever before in it's history
Los Angeles stands today in need of
the services of it's highest, purest and
wisest citizenship. Our schemes of
water supply and of consolidation are
of such a vast and marvellous charac-
ter as to require more than ordinary
ability in every branch of municipal
service-a brave, brilliant and patriotic
mayor wise and an earnest city coun-
ell, supported by honest experts in all
city departments. Political parties can
not nominate the best men for munich
pal service Partisanship is blind as a
bat in civic affairs and as unreasoning
as mule.
An independent movement therefore,
is demanded as an absolute necessity in
Los Angeles, but such a movement
must start right and rtay right.