Los Angeles herald., 1908-08-09
FRANCIS j. HENEY

iniquitous change of venue bill which
was introduced by Grove l.. Johnson
and fully exposed by the press OF the
state before the measure was brought
up for a vote: Assemblymen r. o.
Bell, Harmon, Walter R. Leeds,
Pierce, Thompson and Transue.
"The San Francisco Chronicle fiayed
the members of the legislature who
voted for the bill in the following ed
itorial:
Nothing more atrocious was
ever proposed in any legislature.
The people of this city, in their
folly, have sent to the legislature as
vicious a gang as ever got to-
gether for such a purpose. The
decent people of San Francisco
have relied on the people of the
state to save us from the cor
rupt machine which has fastened
it's grip on the city, and this is
what we get.
Instead of a law putting an
end to gross abuses which have
characterized the trial of these
boodlers, we have bills whose OBJ
ject is to put us permanently in
the hands of the robbers.
The Republican party must de-
nounce, repudiate and cast out the
boodlers for whom it was respon-
SlDl6, OF cease 10 DC d SlO-
ment of Importance.
Such men as Ruef and Schmitz,
and their agents, Assemblyman
johnson and Senator Wright, must
be read out of the party by name.
They are not fit to be recognized
as members of any political party
which dares to ask decent men to
vote for it's candidates.
Stand bv Herrin
when the Cartwright antitrust bill
was brought up for passage in the
assembly the following assemblymen
voted against its passage: Harmon,
Leeds and Transue. r. o. Bell re-
manned in the cloak room and evaded
the roll call.
when it was discovered that the
Cartwright bill had been forced through
and was to be submitted to the gov
ernor for his signature, Jere Burke at
once conceived the scheme of putting
through the Birdsall bill GRAINED along
similar lines as the Cartwright bill,
but weakened by amendments).
"Burke's purpose was to force through
the Birdsall bill, so as to give the
governor opportunity to sign the bill
least Objectionable to the corporations.
"Birdsall himself saw the scheme of
the railroad boss and voted against
his own bill, together with the inde-
pendent members of the assembly.
Herrin's tools in the assembly, how
ever, were sufficiently strong and the
bill was passed. The following Los
Angeles members voted for the bin:
R. o. Bell. Leeds. Pierce and Transue.
Help Railroad Machine
"Johnson's railroad commission bill
was introduced by Grove L, Johnson
of Sacramento. 1t was designed to
give to the railroad commission almost
unlimited power. 1t was violently op-
posed by almost all the decent mem
bers of the legislature. but the whip
was applied and the bill carried with
it the aid of the following members
from Los Angeles, who voted for the
bill R. o. Bell, Harmon, Leeds, Pierce,
Thompson and Transue.
when the iniquity of this bill was
discovered Assemblyman Devlin moved
that 1T sbe reconsidered, urging that it
had been passed without knowledge of
its real character and import. Again
the Los Angeles members lined up with
the Herrin members and voted against
reconsideration as follows; Harmon,
Leeds, Pierce, Stanton and Transue
"The capital removal bill, introduced
at the behest of Hatton, was the one
measure which drew the lines clearly
between the machine and anti-ma-
chine members of the legislature. Every
vote was needed to put the scheme
through. Hatton and the railroad
bosses assumed personal charge OF
herding the legislators. The following
Los Angeles members responded to the
whip and voted with the push: Ham
mon, Leeds, Pierce and Transue.
"Assemblyman r. o. Bell, who re-
sides at Sacramento and holds a po-
litical job under Secretary of State
Curry, was permitted to duck He
hid in the cloak room during the vote
on that important MEASURE