The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17
jim Rea and Hayes
May Soon Bury
the Hatchet
By James =. Tyler


Before many weeks have passed
"Jim" Rea and J. o. Hayes may settle
their differences and Rea will get a
peep into the inside workings of the
machine that was born in a dream and
hGs ended IN rampant realization. This
Is simply a personal summary of the
situation in political Santa Clara, and
there may be wise ones that will pooh
pooh the idea, but there seems to be
no other way out of the present diff
Guilty. Rea wants recognition and he
is shreVvd enough politician to know
how TO get ft. He has Hayes guessing,
and while the dark man of the brothers
red and black Is sou1-deep in reform
II must be acknowledged that even re-
form has found il scientifically neces-
sary 10 allow a little Ieaven of wide
openness that the sodden loaf may be
avoided.
way back in the days of political
dominance by Rea there was some
virtue in his somewhat undesirable con-
trolling. There was a tendency to leave
we'll enough alone. not to inject too
many 'musts" into the life Of the or
dinary man and a slight showing of
real religion Of the kind that pacifes
the churches.
Hayes, it is said, has been neither
a real reformer nor breaker of moral
principles. His rule has been one of
sincerity tempered with a deal of mar
rowness in not looking at things
through the eyes Of the people instead
of from the standpoint of an individual
whose mind is concretely set and re-
fused to relax under the power OF
public suasion. The Hayes brothers
have done much for San Jose and Santa
Clara, this many citizens there ac-
knowledge, but they have applied the
big stick of personal aggrandizeHent
with such vigor that ii has struck the
heads of friend and foe alike.
CITY WANTS GOOD GOVERNMENT
lin Rea was keen enough to see the
trend of dissatisfaction among the peo-
pie Rea is no mans fool. He is sharp,
slave. and his personal magnetism is
such as wins men to him. However,
the shadow of ''Rea political days" has
not been removed from San Jose. The
memory of some of the things that
were done in the long ago have marked
the city's history indelibly. The city
wants a good government, but it feels
that 1t has not yet reached the goal.
No community likes to be taken by the
throat and choked into reform or anti
reform and the big fellow with broad
conception of things in general is what
san Jose requires today. He will prob
ably appear soon. but he has not yet.
It must be said that J. o. Hayes is
working with the courage of his con-
victfons. He appears to be a man
whose convictions are strong-so
strong that he would make you try
to believe as he whether or no. he
declared that he was in the fight
simply in the cause of purity. of moral
cleanliness and fair plaX and that his
purse was opened to any man who ap-
peared to be in the right and who re-
quired his assistance.
REA BACK OF LANGFoRD
The trouble originated after the re-
cent elections when Langford got into
office by a few votes which are dis
puted: a recount is now in progress.
Langford has been holding Office pend
ing a decision and naturally desires to
offset any effort to show that he was
counted in, which effort had been made
by the Hayes faction. Rea is in con-
troll of the Langford administration,
and It was through his scheming that
Amador Alva and others of the street
and police department were inyeigled
into deserting the Hayes forces and
made to confess" as to buying votes.
The Hayes people have done every
thing in their power to reach the men
named and get from them counter am
davits that would prove that Rea had
compelled them by coercive methods to
confess TO nay Go
forts TO bail the men out and the
Sheriff's effort to set the bail at ridicu-
lously high figures The police de-
partment is Hayes institution
Rea knows that If he can prove that
there was an effort to count Langford
out and convince the Citizens Commit
tee of Twenty-Five that Langford was
the object of crooked scheme he
can hold the powerful Sheriff's office
machinery in his hands and may make
Of it an entering wedge for his return
to the big State Organization at the
expense Of men in the county who
would be Obliged to recognize him.
This, in brief, Is the history of and
cause of the present fight.
PLAYING A RAGBABY GAME
But the strange thing Of it all is that
the dog and the ragbaby sort of a
game that Is being played is not worth
the candle. The ragbaby is not worth
lighting over much less being mauled
and as quickly patched up. Amador,
Alva, Navarez and their kind are mere
tools in the hands Of the political fac
tions, None has q mind of his own.
II would have been better to have al
lowed them to remain in the custody
of Sheriff Langford and to have made
their so-called confessions public II
the Hayeses really desired to discover
frauds it would, perhaps. have been as
well that habeas corpus proceedings be
thrown to the winds and the cases be
tried on their merits, with rebuttai tes-
tirnony to follow If the assertions ef
fraud became too broad and required
contradiction. Instead a most remark
able legal fight results in the Lang
ford alleged effort to root out the al
legged vote buyers.
There may be no good ground for
the belief, but 1t certainly looked to an
outsider as IL both sides were afraid
some disagreeable truths about them
would develop. such run mad en-
deavors to seize prisoners. arrest and
rearrest them, charge them with
felony and then try to keep them from
going to the penitentiary, we're bound
to breed q degree of suspicion 1t may
simply be Santa Clara's way Of stirring
up a little excitement and no harm
may come Of it. but a Grand Jury
might 5udiciousiy decide the questions
involved in the controversy, and rap
both mischieyous boys over the
knuckles.
Rea has q great deal OF political
strength in Santa Clara, but he does
not hold the balance OF power. The
hoe t,Any, Frsardlxr RI fba "a vac