The San Francisco call., 1908-07-10
.GERRYMANDER IS
MOST INFAMOUS
Republican Central Committee
ofAlameda County Splits
Many Districts
Carving Process Is Done in In
terest of Southern Pacific
Machine

OAKLAND, July 9.-By one of the
most Infamous gerrymanders ever per-
petrated upon any political division of
the country, or by any party, the re-
publican county central committee to-
night attempted to continue the ma
chine control of the party in Alameda
county in a call for the election of
delegates August II to the coming
county nominating convention. Auda-
cious In its conception, a scheme for
capturing the county, depriving thou
sands of republicans of the right to
voice in selecting delegates, was
voted through by the Herrin men in
the committee.
The plot that has been Matching was
fruitlessly fought by members of the
committee who realized the reckless
disfranchising that was done. In the
details of the gerrymander, districts
which were listed as machine" were
blanketed as a whole, or were so split
that the danger points were supposed
to be nullifed. In districts like the
fftieth and fifty the gerry
mander was arranged so that hun
dreds of republicans, under the call,
will have opportunity to vote for a
small minority of the delegates appor-
toned to the district.
DISTRICTS ARE CUT UP
The forty-ninth was cut up to suit
the purposes of the Southern Pacific
political bureau, the defeat of which
at the May primaries led to the split
up in tonight's call, so that the gang
might feel safe. In the fifty-first dis
trict the seventh ward, which was
split off from the remainder of the
district, was given Is out of a total of
S3 delegates, leaving a minority of Is
outside. The forty-sixth district was
split up so that of 80 delegates 81
will come from townships as follows:
Washington II, Murray 5, Pleasanton
5. Eden, where the revolt against the
machine is particularly strong, was
given IL delegates.
This cutting up is also designed to
give the machine control of the thir-
teenth senatorial district.
The forty-seventh district, compriS-
ing the city of Alameda, listed as a
strong machine district, was blanketed
with 80 delegates. The forty eighth,
with "a delegates, was also blanketed
The forty ninth, with 81 delegates, was
badly split along ward precinct lines
so that, for example, three precincts OF
Emeryville vote for only four of the
total, while voters of precincts 1, 2, 8
and 4 will vote for only five. The other
1S are distributed in bits through pre-
cincts of the third, fourth and sixth
wards.
RANGE OF THE SPLIT
The fiftieth has 35 delegates. The
split here ranges from an allotment of
IL delegates to eight precincts of the
second ward to one in the fifth ward.
and one in the fourth precinct of En-
eryville The others are distributed
Fin like fashion.
The ffty-second berkeley has "A
delegates, Ocean View, Claremont and
Piedmont each vote for one delegate
The district is cut In half generally
on supervisorial lines, readjusting pre-
cinct and wards on senatorial district
lines, so that there will be 10 from the
fifteenth and Is from the sixteenth sena-
torial, with Is more scattered around
to suit the machine program. AS
County Clerk Cook, father of the ger
rymander, tersely explained: I'VE have
drawn this call on any lines we chose
to draw It,"
George Reed presided tonight, and
with proxies controlled a majority of
fve which carried the program
through. The first motion to blanket
each district, made by F. w. Rich
ardson of Berkeley, was lost, 16 to IL
That showed the machine strength,
and away it went. Protest was un-
availing. The total apportionment of
delegates is 225. The county conven-
tion will not be called until after the
primaries.