Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-01
MAY REDUCE
PERCENTAGE
ON RECALL
CHARTER REvISI0NISTS WILL
DISCUSS QUESTION
Observation-Disclosures RAISE
NEW PHASES
Commissioner Murray Says Sharp
Lookout Must Be Kept for
Political Manipu-
ators

The recall as a factor in the revised
charter is obtruding itself into the dis
cussion as of the charter revision COM
mission, and will doubtless form SUD-
iect of continued debate for weeks
now that the councilmanlc PROPOSE
tions have been settled.
AS the law now stands 20 per cent
of the voters must sign petltlons De
fore the recall becomes effective.
Many of the members of the commits
sion have expressed themselves as ia
voring a reduction of this percentage
because it is far harder to get sigma
lures to recall petitions than to nom
mating petitions.
John Murray, representing the Trades
and Labor council, yesterday furnished
The Herald his views on what ne
terms "Hobbling the Recall in TINS
breezy fashion:
John Murray's Views
Have you ever circulated a recall
petition?
'It's like pulling teeth.
"Nine-tenths of the voters may nave
privately decided that certain public
official should be extracted from the
body polite.
MANY of these same citizens may
have even so publicly expressed them
selves.
"But to sign their names to pc
fition-ah, there's the rub!
"The citizen-grocer thinks of his
trade-some of his customers are po-
litical friends of the to-be-recalled Of
ficial-and he tells the circuator Of
petitions to come again later on
''The citizen-bak suddenly remem-
hers that his bakeshop is not all that
the health office might approve OF,
and so, living in a glass house, the
baker declines to cast the frst po-
litical stone.
''The citizen butcher has an eye on
the custom of the city Jail, the county
hospital, or some other public 1nstltu-
lion under the control of the ma
chine. and he, too, avoids the petition
as he would a pest house.
"And if some unwary merchant-cltl-
zen is found who, in moment OF un-
thinking, public spirited Indignation,
boldly signs the recall-what usually
happens?
"He is seen by every politician and
corporation agent in his ward. The
fate of his private business is pic
tured to him in a way that makes q
cold sweat suddenly ooZe from his
forehead, and he hurries after the cir
culator of the recall petition, demand
ing that his name be Immediately
erased
"These things being so-and believ-
ing that the people of Los Angeles de-
sire to preserve the recall as a i've
political force and not a mere dead
letter statute-it is vitality necessary
to keep sharp political manipulators
from adding more burdens to the al
ready overburdened circulator of re-
call petitions.
''In the historic recall election of the
Sixth ward, two-thirds of the votes
cast were for the retirement of the
recreant councilman.
"And yet the obtaining of 20 per cent
of these same citizens signatures to
a petition was a terrific task, that had
to be twice attempted before the pc
titioners succeeded.
eff this same councilman had been
elected at large he never would have
been recalled.
ITO elect councilmen at large means
that at least 5000 signatures must be
obtained to recall these officials.
To-day in the Sixth ward-the larg-
est ward in the city-1500 signatures
will recall a councilman.
"In the Eighth ward 252 signatures
will recall a councilman.
"But if Los Angeles ever sees the
day when 5000 names are necessary to
file a recall petition, then grating Of
ficials may sleep in peace.
1.-THE election of councilmen at large
will hobble the recall.
ITO hobble the recall is to kill it."