Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-08
BALDWIN WANTS
TO ELECT SMITH
SAYS BERDIE WILL NOT Do
FOR MARSHAL
ARCADIA CITIZENS AGOG OVER
COMING ELECTION
Fight Between Officer and "Czar"
Dates Back to ne Time eerdle
Threatened to Close Oak
wood Hotel

Just because the races are over is
no reason why Arcadia should be
quiet town, and particularly right now.
The fight between Lucky Baldwin and
City Marshal Jack Berdie over the re-
election of the latter to office is about
to reach a crisis. and with the election
only few days off both sides are bend
ing their effort to winning the fight.
Baldwin is opposing Berdie with Jack
Smith. who is promising those who
vote for him a wide open town" if he
is given the job of controlling the Jail.
Smith is we'll known as the owner of
the Canary cottage and Suburban villa
before those notorious resorts were
closed by the district attorney and
sheriff's office.
According to the advance talk, Smith
Is sure to win and Berdie and the bet
ter class of people in the race track
town have almost no means of pre-
venting it, AT the last election, when
Berdie was elected, there were but
fifty-six votes in the town, and these
were all bona fide. At present the
registration is between 800 and $50, and
the unusual number of employees on the
Baldwin ranch is pointed to as the rea-
son for the increase in population.
The fight between Baldwin and Ber-
die dates back to the time when the
marshal declared that he would arrest
Glen Creveling, then manager of the
Oakwood Inn, but now in charge or
Smiths campaign, if he did not stop
selling liquor to party of intoxicated
men and women who were making an
orgy of it at the hostelry one night.
Creveing refused to do as Berdie or
dered and the marshal was forced to
turn his attention to the bartenders in
order to have his commands carried
out.
At the time Baldwin declared that
Berdie would never serve second term
and many instances which were dis
pleasing to him have since happened
to strengthen Lucky in his determina-
ton. Once when Berdie called the at
tention of Baldwin and his colleagues
on the board of trustees of Arcadia to
the fact that Clara Baldwin Harold,
who own the Clara villa, had not paid
a cent of license money in to the town
clerk for two years Baldwin ignored the
marshal and refused to make demand
for the $40 a month. Berdie was pow
erless to do anything, despite the fact
that every other bar in the town pays
it's license regularly.
all it's might to keep Baldwin from
putting Smith in office, but even those
who labor the most feel that the "czar
of Arcadia" will carry the day. Inc
Baldwin ranch forces have been ma
terially strengthened and all the votes
registered are legitimate in so far as
they were recorded at least thirty days
before election, as the law demands.
IF l am not reelected" says Ber-
die, 'the town will go to the dogs.
| Because I have not taken Baldwin's
orders in regard to running the town
he is after me and will not stop at any,
thing to put Smith in office.
Baldwin has made the threat that
he will spend 100000 to disincorporate
his town If I am successful. If Smith
Is elected he can spend that much cele-
brating, for he can run the town as
wide open as he wishes.
"I have always successfully coped
with the situation. You seldom see an
at a premium There have been several
attempts to introduce roulette and faro,
but I have always declared that they
could not run. Slot machines and In
dividual poker games are all that go,
and even these are allowed to run only
when the play is light.
"You can see what kind of bunch
is opposed to me. Clem Creveling, who
has charge of the Baldwin campaign, is
the only known instance of racing
iIdee ruled off the turf. We all know
Baldwin and Smith too well to remem-
her half they are guilty OF"
%%N
no ,ot fail to visit HOTEL GREEN