Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-09
THE CRUMBLING MACHINE

With the pronouncement of a SEN
tence of five years in the penitentiary
for Mayor Schmitz of San Francisco
there will be renewed commentator
and encouragement of the prosecution
of the graft cases.
The people of this state are demand
ing most thorough and vigorous war
fare against malfeasance in office. They
are especially demanding that govern
ment by graft and government by po-
litical machines shall cease, and cease
quickly. Schmitz and Ruef, although
their power out over the state, being
aided and abetted by the Southern Pa
cific railroad Republican machine. Abe
Ruef was and is a member of the Re-
publican state executive committee, and
Schmitz had an ambition to be governor
of the state. BY this means they
gained railroad political control and
made themselves state figures.
The confessions of Ruef and the SEN
fencing of Schmitz spell the downfall
mia, provided the prosecution shall con-
tinue it's warfare to the bitter end.
The people of California are begin
ming to realize, at last, that in a po-
litical way they have been for many
years the football of the Republican
party, as governed and directed by its
railroad connections. They have here
tofore shifted contemptuously at the
splendid Democratic tickets nominated
on many occasions and have marched
railroad machine.
But they are tired of it--tired of the
graft and deception and fraud which
have attended the nomination and cleo
tion of the machine candidates and the
conduct of public affairs throughout
the state. This is especially shown in
the graft prosecutions at San Fran
cisco and by the public interest mani
tested in them.
In short, the people are about ready
for that political revolt which shall
free California from its Ruefs and
Schmitzs and Herrins and their ma
chine control. They are apparently
their minds for active sup
port of clean Democratic ticket and
the complete and thorough turning out
OF Office of the Southern Pacific rail-
road and all It's henchmen.
When old Democratic Missouri had
suffered long enough it rose to the oc-
casion and overturned the railroad con-
troll of the state by turning out and
repudiating its own political organiza- |
ton, which had been gobbled up by |
and through corporate power. Honest |
Democrats didn't hesitate moment,
but voted straight Republican ticket,
in the interest, as they believed, of
honest government. At any rate,
when they had found their own party |
organization corrupted and completely |
in the hands of enemies of the people, |
they promptly overthrew it and turned
into power their once feeble enemy.
With the parties reversed, exactly the |
same conditions exist III California and
the people are rising to turn out the
grafters and the Republican railroad
machine, just as the Missourians did
the grafters and Democratic machine in
Missouri
Prosecutor Heney should not stop
with receiving the confessions of the
county supervisors and Abe Ruef He
should haul them before the court for
as Schmitz has been treated. More
over he should push the prosecution
forward until San Francisco shall be
clean and free, and through that free
dom the great state of California may
again hold up her political head as
among the greatest and best of all the
states.