The San Francisco call., 1908-08-04
MACHINE IN LAST
DITCH OPENS SACK
Money Is Freely Spent in Berke-
ley in Desperate Effort to
Retain District
Herrin Forces Try to Make
Kn0wland an Issue in
Alameda

OAKLAND, Aug. S.-Herrin's brigade
in Alameda county is demoralized. 1t
is fighting in the last ditch under the
tremendous pressure of an aroused
public sentiment which will smash the
rotten machine at the primaries August
IL. The rings agents are resorting to
extreme measures in their fruitless at
tempts to stem the avalanche
The sack" has been opened. Evil
dence of it has been disclosed in Berke-
ley and elsewhere in the county.
Money is being spent in the forty
eighth assembly district and it is trace
able beyond question to the efforts of
the gang to hold that district for or
ganization purposes.
Most suspicious is the campaign
which has been commenced in parts of
the fourth supervisorial district. Out
Berkeley way Walter p. WoolSey has
been trotted out as nominal candi-
date for supervisor against the good
government forces. Woolsey has been
thrust into the fight by County Clerk
Cook at the behest of the machine.
Woolsey is making the pretense of be-
ing for Berkeley man for supervisor
This is the rankest kind of subter-
fuge. The good government forces
have all the candidates for supervisor
who can be depended upon for civic
decency. The scheme, so far as the
use OF Woolseys name is concerned, is
to get the 10 delegates to the county
convention in the Ashby and North
Oakland section for use by the Herrin
crowd in organizing the convention.
So badly cut up is the Herrin organ
tzation that orders were issued today
to start another "roorback" This con-
sisted of wall from the Oakland
tribune that Congressman Knowland
was being marked for slaughter.
kNOWLAND NOT ISSUE
Thus far in the Alameda county
campaign there has not been a whisper
on the part of any one that Knowland
inquired In the campaign. So far as the
Lincoln Roosevelt republican league
leaders have gone they have concen-
trated upon one fight, and that fight
is to smash the county ring, the active
agents of Herrinism in Alameda couu-
~ Ihey have not scattered in that
contest, believing that the issue should
not be clouded nor the campaign un-
settled by interference in anything out
side of the one great local struggle
That the machine is whipped to a
standstill is the confident belief of the
good government forces. That the bat
tie lines will not be changed at this
late day is also declared to be the
policy of those who have leagued
themselves together to break down the
local political strength of William +.
Herrin. The mere suggestion that
hnowland was to be a target of attack
furnishes the strongest sort of proof
of the disintegration of the machine.
Evidence of the good faith of the
league is found in the fact that Know
land has been indorsed by the league
in his home town of Alameda
MACHINE GROWS DESPERATE
In spite of this and as further eyi-
dence of the desperate situation of
the machine, Knowland has been
pressed into service in an attempt to
break down league lines in several
places. He went into Eden township
last week and tried to prevent the
league ticket from being named In
other spots reports of his activity in
machine quarters have been made That
the congressman should have been
forced into this undesirable position
is convincing proof that the Herrin
crowd is pulling to the very limit of
its resources in a last attempt to save
something from the wreck
The Herrinites have forced Ed Grif-
fifth to Announce himself as a candidate
for supervisor. Griffith occupies a pc
culiar position, in that he was put on
the republican county committee by
the anti organization men two years
ago.
Instead of standing pat Griffith
topped and his vote was counted for
the rotten machine gerrymander, which
the members OF the county committee
put through. Griffith was given a place
in the California Institution for the
Deaf and Blind at Berkeley, which pays
sS3.3S 1-3 month. by the Pardee ad-
ministration. Again. instead of stand
ing with his friends, Griffith Topped
and to save that job. has been forced
by the machine to become a candidate
for supervisor in the fourth district, in
hope of getting away a few delegates
from the good government forces.
Griffith's candidacy is considered as
political joke, except that 1t discloses
the extent to which Herrin's agents
have been driven by the onslaught of
popular opinion that is smashing the
whole outfit on this side of the bay.