Los Angeles herald., 1908-02-05
PUBLIC POLICY VS.. PRI-
VATE POLITICS

CTdSItnatlOIl IA TIE dDpcAiiAlhSAAS Va q
successor to President Anderson of the
board of public works. Public policy
would seem to call for the reappoint-
ment OF Mr.. Anderson. What, then, Is
initiating against the prompt and eff
fective operation of public policy? Is
It, not notorious throughout the munici-
palities of the United States that public
policy has one foe that constantly in
terferes with it? The nefarious results
of the Vaccinations of this foe are OBJ
servabe in the history of every city
government. The name of this enemy
of the greatest good for the greatest
number is private politics. Public pol
icy may indicate, nay, may dictate a
course of conduct, but when private
politics forbids, then the laggard Off
cial whose duty it is to act pauses as If
naralyzed-halts and hesitates, as If
private politics were lion in the path,
instead of miserable mongrel hound
that will flee before decision and man
Illness.
In endeavoring to find an explanation
OF the mayors display Of the charac-
teristic tina. Eorsernen call balkiness
the puzzled optimist, who seeks to put
the best possible construction on mo-
tives and action, is reluctantly COM
PEELED to accept the conclusion that his
honor is temporizing, or, as they say
down south, ''trif1ing." Why should he
be marsing time instead of marching
forward in the road called Right?
In the effort to find an explanation
that is consistent with reason and that
does net impugn the mayors common
sense, it is suggested that he is waiting
until the Democratic central committee
meets. The onus of executing a secret
ly cherished program will then be
thrown upon that body. The law re-
quires that a Democrat shall be ap-
pointed. The committee will call upon
the mayor to appoint some one, and,
possibly may recommend Ed Kern!
To hold the appcintment-and the
public-in suspense until the committee
skillful and deliberate avoidance of
'unseen.Iy haste" while the methodical
manner in which the program will be
carried out may protect the mayor from
he asrersion that he has allowed his
zeal to outrun his discretion, though
every present indication would warrant
belief that he is allowing his private
political discretion to deter his public
zeal. By adnering to the policy of
making haste at a snail's pace the
mayor hopes TO achieve two noble. al
truistic. heroic ends. the mere state
ment of which should inspire the pub
lie recorder tc write the name of Har-
per in the Hall of Fame.
Firstly, it is believed. argued, in
| ferred and reasoned out by the mayor
| friends who are ultra conscientiously
persistiES in regarding him as think
ing and responsible man, actuated by
the promptings of reason, that, by play
| ing a waiting game, or by maneuvering
in orde- that a waiting game may be
played even if he is not ostentatiously
in evidence, he is arranging to save his
own precious bacon, and is avoiding
that irksome and pestiferous challenge,
the Recall; secondly, that he is at the
same time making preparations to pay
political-and social-debt. Perhaps
it might be called politico-social, or
social-rollticai In any event, the ele-
ment OF high-Hery high-society is said
20 enter into H..
havf,,er anpeidarad fbeaa intar-
esting rnoves and possible moves in the
game, let US look ahead, and, putting
ourselves in the places of the players,
see what kind OF combination they may
eventually work out and arrive at.
1t has not escaped the memory OF
citizens that a colossal appropriation of
special public revenue is in sight. A
| titanic sum, over s24,00o.000, must be
disbursed in connection with that great
public project, the owens river aque-
duct. Now, when patronage must con-
Germ itself with a pie of such proper
lions, je ii any wonder that some sharp
| beaked birds begin to sing, even before
the pie Is opened, and that the burden
CT the song, to the interpreting ear,
sounds like Get together, boys. Get
together" A certain clique in this city
let us call them the California Clique
Of Pure Patriots for Revenue Only-has
lad its fascinated gaze on the Owens
.,ver aqueduct mountain of money ever
since its bulk began to loom in the
horizon
| Let W. talk politely and softly; tits
a delicate subject. In order to deal
properly" with the administration of
the aque 9uct disbursement and patron
age it is necessary that every effort
should be made to eliminate, by any
process that may offer itself, every dis
cordant element, and to have in office
an entirely harmonious aggregation of
Electromagnetic politicians, whose vari-
Gus minds will. have a single thought,
whose various hearts will beat as one.
Meanwhile, let us close this perhaps
| too Sibylline summary of the situation.
not theory, that confronts the taxpay-
ers of Los Angeles by voicing senti-
ment which city hall CANNOT AT
FORD TO IGNORE, and by asserting
that the appointment of Mr.. Anderson
is indicated by the public necessities of
he case while the appointment of Mr..
Kern o. anyone else on a seemingly
| a arbitrary but it's reality skillfully ar