The San Francisco call., 1908-11-03
SACRAMENTO VERY
ANGRY At BERKELEY
Aroused by ''Footpad Tactics
of Rival for Seat of State
Government
SPECIAL DISPATCH TO THE CALL

SACRAMENTO, Nov. 2.-Sacramente
is not worrying about the outcome OF
the capital removal amendment. but il
is angry clear through at what its citi-
zens declare to be the "footpad tactics
OF the Berkeley chamber of commerce
in attempting to influence the voters a.
the eleventh hour. placing this city a.
the disadvantage of being unable by
reason of lack of time to answer the
assertions which the latter body made
in haring advertisements which ap-
peared this morning in the San Fran
cisco papers.
The citizens declare that the adver-
tisements were more of an attack or
one of the most prosperous and pro-
ductive sections of the state than ar
argument for capital removal, and that
as such the Berkeley chamber of com
merce is striking a blow at California
itself in a selfish effort to put the col
lege town on the map.
The Sacramento chamber of COM
merce was called together tonight te
adopt resolutions bearing on the sub
Ject. Secretary Crane, before the meet
ing and after consulting with directors
of the chamber, said:
We do not believe in lying. The liaI
is found out in time and will eventu-
ally pay the penalty. In the advertise
ments published today by the San Fran
cisco papers as coming from the Berke-
ley chamber of commerce there is
neither truth in what is said about
Berkeley nor about Sacramento.
Berkeley has adopted footpad tao
tics If a criminal is going to hold
you up he does not go around telling
you about II or give you a warning sc
that you can defend yourself No, he
tries to put you out with blow on the
head with a bludgeon or he jabs g
knife into your back. That is what
the Berkeley chamber of commerce has
tried to Go to Sacramento. But we are
too much for the footpad."
Sac-amento's best citizens declare
that the capital removal bill was not
so much a scheme of Berkeley real es-
tate men to sell off tract of land as il
was scheme OF the Southern Pacific
company to punish the city for declar-
ing its independence by giving a ma
Jority of more than $500 for Theodore
A. Bell when he was running for gov
ernor against Gillett, Sacramento being
normally republican county.
They recall that the matter was taken
before the grand jury, when evidence
was presented to that body that the bill
was engineered through the Legislature
by Walter Parker, George Hatton and
Jere Burke, known Southern Pacific
hencnmen. The citizens declare that
they only escaped indictment because
the grand jury did not have backbone
enough to do it's duty.
It is also recalled that when the bill
was before the legislature Willard P
Calkins, head of the Calkins newspaper
syndicate, a known southern Pacific
publicity bureau, sent kilograms to the
Legislators urging them TO vote for the
measure. One of these kilograms, that
sent to Assemblyman George Root. was
read before the grand jury.
After discussing these facts, as stated
above, Secretary Crane of the Sacra-
Nmento chamber of commerce said:
i do not believe that the people OF
the state of California are ready to
saddle debt of s15.O00,O0O on them
selves to satisfy the grudge of any per-
son or corporation. and that is what II
would mean If they voted to remove the
capital"