The San Francisco call., 1908-09-05
COMMITTEE AIMS
BLOW AT CURTIN
Refusal to Indorse Constitutions
al Amendment No. | Makes
TuoIumne Senator Angry
Platform Builders Admit DiSap=
provaI of His Relations With
Railroad Machine
SPECIAL DISPATCH TO THE CALI


SPECIAL DISPATCH TO THE CALL
STOCKTON, Sept 4.-Refusing to
give a platform Endorsement to pro-
posed senate constitutional amendment
No. l, providing for the separation of
state and local taxes and for a gross
earnings system of taxation for public
service corporations, the democratic
state convention gave expression of
its lack of confidence in Senator John
Curtin OF Tuolumne when 1T adopted
this afternoon platform of 2S planks
dealing with state questions ranging
from woman's suffrage TO good roads
and the introduction of machine poll
tics into the administration of the pub
lie educational Institutions.
Z The platform committees refusal TO
incorporate a declaration in favor of
senate constitutional amendment No.
was wicked blow at Constitutional
John Curtin, the Tuolumne senator who
fathered the amendment which the rail-
road machine permitted to pass in the
last hours of the session and which the
republican convention indorsed.
CURTIN DISAPPOINTED
In the first flush of his disappoint-
ment Curtin told the platform COM
mittee that If it turned him down he
could not face the people and that he
democratic ticket That was between
the hours of and o'clock this morn
ing. A few hours later Curtin denied
that he had said that he would not go
on the stump for the ticket and said
that he would go into the hustings ad-
vocating the ratification of his pro-
posed amendment
Endorsement of the amendment by
the committee failed on tie vote, with
1E 4
The democrats are frankly afraid of
the amendment, and some of them are
willing 10 admit that their suspicious
are due to their disapproval of the close
relations between Curtin and the rail-
road machine in the senate. Others
insist that their fears are based on the
willingness of the railroad company
to permit the submission of the amend
ment. Bell has said that he favors
the submission of the amendment on
the ground that it would, if ratified,
inaugurate the gross earnings system
of taxation in California. The fact re-
mains, however, that leading demo-
Gratis in the Bell wing of the party, and
not excluding members of the senate
now serving with Curtin, think Curtin
is better railroadman than democrat,
and they are afraid of any measure
fathered by him which purports to be
a measure TO protect the people against
the railroads.
PLATFORM OF MANY PLANKS @
The platform adopted without debate
and to the accompaniment of vigorous
applause is truly an aggregation of
planks.
The preamble is a short reaffirmation
of faith in the national democracy and
allegiance to the declarations of the
Denver r1a no
initial plank deprecating machine poll
tics in the republican party is an at
tempt to catch republican votes by
sympathiZing with the Lincoln-Roos
velt league of republican clubs. The
direct primary election plank is given
the place of precedence among the
declarations of party policy, and with
il is coupled a declaration in favor of
the election of United States senators
by direct vote of the people.
The exclusion plank declares for to-
tai exclusion of Asiatic labor and
against the suggested naturalization of
Japanese. The meat of the nut is in
the declaration for the extension of the
provisions of the Geary act to Japan
ese, Koreans and all other Asiatics.
The platform puts democracy square
Iy on record as In favor of senate con-
stitutional amendment No. IS, which
limits legislative expenses and which
was the natural outgrowth of the in
famous attache steal perpetrated by
the last legislature. Incidentally, the
amendment provides for an increase Of
salary for Legislators.
The railroad commission is de-
nounced and democratic legislators are
pledged to institute removal proceed
ings instead of the impeachment de-
manded by the Los Angeles insurrectos.
The suffrage plank is substantially
that offered by Mrs. Coffin and the
members of her associations.
Gillett and Pardee are raped for
dragging the university into politics.
Neither is named, but the democracy
points in horror to the removal of
competent officials to make room for
personal friends, which has immediate
reference to Gillett's dismissal of
Charles e. Shook, late attorney to the
board of regents.
POLL TAX Is OPPOSED
The poll tax is dismissed with a sem
tence declaring for it's abolition. Race
track gambling is covered by a plank
nearly as strong as that adopted by
the Alameda county republican con-
vention. Good roads are covered by
planks declaring for the policy adopted
by the good roads convention at Glen
Ellen and by declarations for better
roads into the national forest and park
reserves, as advocated by Clifford Pin
chot. The declaration for revision of
the code of criminal procedure is a
free adaptation of the commonwealth
clubs resolutions turned down by the
republican convention.
The anti-capital removal plank is a
modified form of the brief submitted by
the Sacramento people and fought for
by Bell The national platform declar-
alton in favor of national department
of health, state reformatory pledge
and condemnation of the management
of the Redwood park, in Santa Cruz
county, complete a comprehensive but
reasonably concise democratic pronun-
ciamento
Free Exeurston Sunday