Los Angeles herald., 1908-11-05
CHAFFEE'S VOTE
RAISES PROBLEM
IF HE is REPUBLICAN ODD
QUESTION ARISES
GENERAL MAINTAINS POLICY OF
DISCREET SILENCE
Charter Says Not More Than Two
Members of Same Political Faith
Shall Be on the Board of
Public Works

Is the board of public works legally
constituted?
There is only one man who can an
swer this question, and he won't.
This man is Gen. A. r. Chaftee, mem.
her of the board of public works and
chief of the aqueduct bureau, the one
member of the board on whose shoulders
largely falls the responsibility Tor
bringing the Owens river water to Los
Angeles within the time speclheo, ana
at the amount stated when the people
voted on the bonds.
The question of whether or no the
board of public works is legally con-
stituted arises from the fact that Gen.
Chaffee cast his first ballot at the gen.
eral election Tuesday. Although We'll
past so years of age he never before
had exercised the right OF trancnlse.
This was due chiefly to the fact that
during his previous voting years ne
was a member of the army and seldom
had a place he could call his home.
When asked how he cast that hrSt
ballot Tuesday he refused to tell. he
politely. for the general is ever courte-
GUS left the inquirer to inter that, as
he voted the Australian ballot, 1t was
the affair of Gen. Chaffee and OF no
one else in particular just what ticket
he selected for his maiden effort at
the manly art of franchise.
The bearing the ballot Gen. ChaHee
cast Tuesday has on the legal conStltu-
tion of the board of public works as II
exists is that the charter, IN proVldlnS
for the appointment of members OF the
boad, says not more than two mem
bers shall be of the same political
party. This same provision applies to
all boards and commissions appointed
by the mayor and confirmed by the
council.
What Is His Creed?
If Gen. Chaffee voted for Taft and
the Republican ticket he probably
would be classed as a Republican IN
politics. and in that event there woulo
be three Republicans on the board of
public works instead of only two OF
the same political affiliation, as the
charter provides. D. X. Edwards, mem
ber of the board and chief inspector or
public works, is registered as a Re-
publican and A. A. Hubbard is one or
the pillars of the Republican party IN
Southern California. Mr.. Hubbard votes
the state and national Republican
ticket, although he declared yesterday
he seldom had voted a straight Repub-
lican city ticket. He voted his ticket
straight at the polls Tuesday, and has
no hesitancy in saying so.
D. K. Edwards admitted yesterday
that he had voted the Republican ticket
Did Gen. Chaffee also vote the Re
publican ticket?
No one but Gen. Chaffee knows, and
he won't tell.
But even if Gen. Chaffee cast his
ballot for Taft the rule laid down in
the charter may not be so hard and
fast D. K. Edwards declares he has
voted the Prohibition ticket as often
as he hss the Republican ticket, and
that if there was a party in the field
known as the 'Mugwumps" he believed
he would be a charter member. If Gen.
Chaffee develops into the most par
tisan of Republicans the difficulty prob
ably can be overcome by Mr.. Edwards
declaring himself a Prohibitionist, to
which he would have no serious objec-
tion.
The charter merely states that not
more than two members shall be of the
same political party at any one time,
and does not make it mandatory on the
part of the board member to continue
in the political faith he professed when
he was appointed.