Los Angeles herald., 1908-05-27
CAST TRAITORS
FROM AMONG US
RUDOLPH SPRECKELS TALKS
TO LEAGUERS
HUNDREDS HEAR NOTED ENEMY
OF MUNICIPAL GRAFT
Speaker Declares Men Who Accept
Office from Corrupt Machine
Should Be Driven from
Country


who have accepted office at the hands
of the corrupt political machine as
traitors to their country. You must
resent this with your votes and cast
these men out of your community.
Rudolph Spreckels, mainstay of the
graft prosecutions in San Francisco,
gave utterance to this at the meeting
of the Lincoln Roosevelt league at
Simpson auditorium last night while
600 persons who were present rose and
cheered. Not only did they cheer, but
they waved 'kerchiefs and shouted.
Mr. Spreckels was an accident in the
list of speakers, and was the last TO De
heard. But when he entered the stage
at the opening of the meeting, over
which Sidney A. Butler presided, ne
was recognized and cheered. Later
when Marshal Stimson alluded to MIN
and when Frank G. Tyrrell alluded to
him by name, the audience rose and
cheered and waved. 1t was Spon-
taneous ovation that Mr.. Spreckels
must have felt astonished at, for MS
coming was unheralded.
The meeting was one of highly SEN
sitized character. 1t seemed to be THOR
oughly at home with the intricacies or
Spouse to the appeals of the speakers.
1t lauded every courageous utterance
and determined hostility to machine
rule.
Respond to Appeal
The speaking was preceded by an ap-
peal from Organizer Frank FORBES Tor
Increase in membership and subscrlp-
tions for the expense OF the league,
and in both there were generous re-
sponses. Nearly fifty signed MEMBER
ship cards and pledged financial assist
ance on the floor of the auditorium
Marshall Stimson was the first to tell
of the Sacramento convention. He de-
cared the focal point of the alliances
between political machines and corrupt
business was most evident in conven-
tions and that was the place to study
their results.
Mr.. Stimson said Governor Gilletts
speech was really pathetic. That man
so honored by his party could be lis
tened to with such perfunctory atten-
ton; that he should talk about such
abstract things, when the convention
tension was upon the right of repre-
sentative government was to him pitt
able.
Illegal Votes Cast
Mr.. Stimson discussed the Siskiyou
county contest as a sample of machine
politics. The Republicans held pri-
mary at Yreka and the leaguers won.
When the machine found this situation
it suddenly called primary at Weed,
which is a. manufacturing town named
in honor of Senator Abner Weed. This
primary was held from to o'clock
and 1877 votes were cast, all for the ma
chine ticket. Over hundred of them
were cast by Greek laborers. An eX-
animation of the register for several
years could only find fifty Eight of the
names on the great register, showing
that 100 illegal votes had been cast. To
have thrown out this vote would have
seated the league delegates, but the
credentials committee refused, although
it was incontestible that the contestants
had made their case.
Mr.. Stimson said this was nothing,
however, as there were in this city men
whose business was to put fraudulent
names on the register for election pur
poses.
I'VE have got to make fight for
pure ballot" said Mr.. Stimson. ION
this platform sits a man who has
taken his life in his hands to fight for
that purity" he said turning toward
MIR. Spreckels. The audience burst in
to applause and Mr. Stimson's con-
clusion was lost. The applause turned
into cheers and the audience rose and
shouted and waved.
Machine Still Controls
A. ]. Wallace told of the manner in
which the machine controlled the
state organization through the eXecu
tive committee.
"You don't appreciate the situation"
he said, ''or you would rise il indigna-
ton and drive these men from power"
He explained that, though the league
may have elected a majority of the
members of the committee. the ma
chine still controlled because of the
executive committee of twenty five
named by reason of the despotic power
placed in the hands of Chairman
George A. Knight. Mr.. Wallace showed
that, while the assembly districts
elected the eighty members of the state
committee, the executive committee,
the real governing body, was named
by the chairman without any restric-
ton.
"And when he named this commit
tee" said Mr.. Wallace, he didn't
take any of the sixty-one league dele
gates that San Francisco sent. nor did
he pick Lee Gates, nor Sidney Butler
nor Frank Tyrrell from the forty-four
from Los Angeles. He picked such we'll
known citizens of this place as George
Black and Walter Parker. Our attempt
to make this executive committee one
elected by the congressional district