Los Angeles herald., 1906-11-23
GATES TALKS TO
LARGE CROWD AT
BETHANY CHURCH

A meeting at Bethany church, cor
ner of Bellevue avenue and Holiday
street, was held by the non-partisans
4 for residents of precinct thirteen. Lee
c. Gates spoke for nearly an hour,
holding the close attention of the
audience. He expounded in full the
principles of -partisanship in muni-
cipal affairs, declaring that the prin-
ciples of national policies were in no
way conected with those of a .muni-
cipality. No one inquiries whether his
doctor or his lawyer or the man who
shoes his horses is a Republican or a
Democrat. In business such a qualifica-
ton amounts to nothing. If the affairs
of a municipality are largely business
questions, then the point as to whether
man is a Democrat or a Republican
should count for nothing in his selc-
tion to carry on the affairs of the city.
He impressed the necessity upon his
hearers of having honest and efficient
men in charge of the city when the
great Owens river enterprise was car
ried on. He declared that the harbor
of San Pedro which now lay at the
doors of Los Angeles, must be kept a
free harbor and that the same organ
ization which now had a predominant
ing influence in the Republican party
already held nearly all of the 'front.'
age on San Pedro bay.
He declared that the only argument
which could be made in favor of the
participation of national party organi-
zations in municipal elections was that
it was necessary in order to keep in
tact the party machinery. That he
answered by saying that the Repub-
lican organization at present was too
compact and too effective, for it made
it too easy of control on the part of
-sw,-
solely in the interests of some of the
great corporations, and it was not until
this control was broken up that the
people could hope to have any voice in
the management of party affairs.
He closed by saying that since a
man must be non-partisan after he was
elected mayor Cfor then he must be the
mayor for the whole people or else not
fulfill the duties of the office) what
reason was there that he should not
be non-partisan before his election?
Leslie r. Hewitt candidate for city
attorney, spoke briefly, outlining the
duties of the office of city attorney and
pledging himself to carry on the pres
ent policy of the office; that it should
always be open to every citizen to in
vestigate and determine any problems
which he might bring in connection
with the city's administration.
A. S. Van Degrift, candidate for
council for the Second ward followed.
In short and effective speech he de-
clared that he was heartily in favor
of the Owens river water supply and
that he would endeavor to serve the
city faithfully. He declared that his
platform was short and that he stood
for the Second ward first, last and all
the time.
Mr.. Van Degrift was followed by
Marshall Stimson, who is a resident of
the Second ward. Mr.. Stimson gave his
hearers a peep behind the scenes, ex-
planning how it was that the organiza-
tion, through a few men in each pre-
! cinct, controlled the ward, making the
officers selected by voters of the ward
subservient to interests other than
those of the ward. He presented the
matter of Mr.. Van Degrift's candidacy
before the Second warders as a home
question. He emphasized the fact that
! the councilman is the one who is in
| direct communication with the COM
munity, that it is through the council
man that the citizen is connected with
| the government, and that it is to good
councilman that the people must look
| for proper conditions in the Second
ward. He warmly commended Mr..
Van Degrift to his neighbors as the
proper man to put in the council as
their representative.
Fielding j. Stilson, candidate for
member of the board of education and
a well known neighbor of Mr.. Van
Degrift, indorsed his candidacy be-
cause he stood for clearing away old
derricks and doing everything in his
power for the benefit of the ward.