Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-28
PRIMARY BATTLE.
DRAWING LINES
DEMOCRATS ARE PREPARING
FOR CONTEST
TWO ELEMENTS SEEK STATE.
DELEGATION
caucuses in Each Assembly District
VIII Be Held Saturday Night.
Primary Board OFF,
clais Wanted

Democrats of Los Angeles are prepar-
Ing for the primary elections to be held
next Tuesday for the selection Of dele
gates to the state convention, which
Will meet at Fresno May 18. The city
and county are to send sixty-five dele
gates and the contest for the delega-
tion is between the so-called "adminis-
tration" element and the element that
believes in new deal. The convention
is TO choose twenty-five delegates to the
national convention at Denver July Z.
The administration" element, which
takes its name from the official family
of Mayor Harper, has control of tho or
ganization, and is to make mighty
effort to control the delegates that will
be large factor in the state conven-
ton. Both elements favor tho indorse-
ment of William Jennings Bryan for
president and Theodore A. Bell for
chairman Of the Denver convention.
The contest is on the delegates at
large and those from the Seventh dis
trict, which comprise Los Angeles
county.
The Democratic league, the powerful
young organization that opposes domi-
nation of the railroad machine in Demo-
cratic affairs, has organized in every
precinct of the city and expects to elect
Its delegates in each assembly district
Under the practice the members of the
state central committee for each as
sembly district have arranged the eau
cuses which are to be held next Satur-
day night. These caucuses are to select
delegate tickets which are to be voted
for at the primaries in each precinct of
each assembly district. 1t Is we'll un-
derstood that these caucuses will really
represent the administration element
and that the tickets resulting will be
composed of administration men.
Equally true the Democratic league,
representing the antagonism to the ad-
ministration program, will have its
tickets in each precinct so that the fol-
lowers of the league will have emple
opportunity to express their choice.
Lines VIII Be Drawn
In this way the lines between the
elements are to be strictly drawn, ex-
cept In the Seventy fifth district, where
Judge A. H. Ctephens is to be on both
tickets, and in the Seventieth where
the names of Mattison B. Jones and T.
e. Gibbon are to be on both. Admins
tration authorities vouched for this
yesterday.
The places of holding the caucuses
have been determined in but two of the
nine districts The 'Seventy-first will
meet at 1400 Central avenue, and the
Seventy-fourth at 120 North Main
street The fact that the last named is
called in what is termed remote"
part of the district, Is meeting with
some criticism. The Seventy-fourth in
cludes all of the First and Eighth
wards and the Thirteenth, Fourteenth,
Fifteenth and Sixteenth precincts of the
Second ward, The place OF meeting Is
at the extreme southern end of the
Eighth ward and is far from the bulk
of the district vote.
The location is defended on the
ground that it is large, convenient
hall, accessible to all portions of the
ward by cars, and Is in the ward where
there is a heavy Democratic vote. The
selection of the place was made by L.
P. Coliett, district member of the state
committee.
Wants Board Officers
Chairman Schwamm of the Demo-
cratic county committee is etill having
difficulty in filling the election boards
for next Tuesdays primaries. In many
precincts no Democrats have been ap-
pointed on the boards and Mr..
Schwamm advises Democrats to be sure
to have at least three Democrats at the
opening of the polls so that the party
representation may be full when the
boards are organized.
He is also asking that Democrats sug-
gest names for precinct committeeman
IN the country districts. The redistrict-
ing of the city and county has added
nearly one hundred new precincts and
the organization wants a committee
man in each one.
Chairman Schwamm in answer to q
letter from e. E. Hughes, chairman Of
the reception committee of Fresno for
the Democratic state convention, which
will meet there May 1S, has written
that Los Angeles win be at the con-
vention one hundred strong or more.
Mr.. Schwamm says the fight" Tor the
delegation is on, and hotly SO, but 1t
does not matter who wins there will be
an enthusiastic delegation of Demo-
Gratis attend.