The San Francisco call., 1908-12-01
H[RR|N'S 'GOODDOG'
MARKED FOR KNIFE
BeardsIee to Get AK, Say Ma
chine Men, and Phil Stanton
the Speakers Gavel
Such Are the Orders, Whisper
Insiders, and San Francisco
Delegation Bows
By George Van Smith

That w. F. Herrin intends to reward
the humiliating services he exacted and
received from Speaker Bob Beardslee
of the last assembly by dumping
Beardslee in the discard and placing
the gavel in the hands of Phil Stanton
of Los Angeles may be- gathered from
the attitude of the San Francisco as
semblymen elect who expect to vote
for stanton.
The humiliation of Beardslee means
little to the veterans of the San Fran
cisco delegation and nothing to the
new machine men. The latter know
neither intimately, but more of them
have a casual acqua intancesw with Stan
ton than with Beardslee. The old mem
bers do not want Stanton in the speak
er's chair. They hope the running or
ders will be changed and that they will
be permitted to break for their friend
Beardslee, but they admit it is slim
hope. And--well what is friendship as
compared with mandate from Herrin?
TYPICAL HERRIN CRUELTY
If Beardslee is turned down for
Stanton it will constitute one of the
most heartless of the characteristic
crueltes practiced by Herrin upon the
men who become mannikins when their
names get a Herrin ticket. Let 1T
not be understood that Stanton is not
a likable chap or that he lacks ability.
If Herrin gives him the gavel Stanton
will make an efficient if autocratic
speaker. The unadulterated cussedness
of the job lies not in the elevation of
Stanton, but in the turning down of
Beardslee for Stanton.
Beardsee and Stanton, if not enc
mics, are certainly not friends. The
lack of cordiality between them hinges
on BeardsIees faithful performance of
the Herrin orders two years ago. Stan
ton wanted to be speaker then, but he
had not a chance. He had been
Pardee man and naturally his disap
pointment was not keen. He got on
the wagon. hoping to land the chaig
manship of the committee on ways and
means, in which he had made a record
in the preceding legislature. The ma
chine was not prepared to ladle out
that sort of reward to recalcitrants
who reperted at the eleventh hour. Be-
sides Governor Gillett did not want.
Stanton at the head of a committee
over which he purposed to hold a
restraining hand.
STANTON GETS CROUCH
Miguel Estudillo of Riverside got the
coveted craftsmanship and Stanton was
off the reservation again. He had
crouch which lasted for several weeks
and which was the motif for innumera-
Bile parliamentary scraps between STAN
ton and the machines doughty cham
pion, Nat Coghlan. chairman of the San
Francisco delegation. Stanton was
placed on the special commission to
examine banks last year. but he f1irted
with the Lincoln Roosevelt leaguers
this year until some of the higher high
brows in the ranks or the Los Angeles
reformers drove him back into the ma
chine ranks. Stanton is well worth
keeping in halter and the tip is out
that the speakership is to be the price
of his unconditional capitulation.
Beardslee never ran out on the mas
ter of the machine. He was made to
lie down. roll over and jump through
and did it all without a growl. He
went the limit of human endurance in
the matter of the special committee to
examine banks on which Stanton drew
a place.
BeardsIee was opposed to the special
committee idea which was materialized
al the special panic" session of 1907.
He landed a solar plexus punch on the
committee scheme by ruling shat its
authorization was not within the scope
of the call for the special session. And
then he was lOTCeu " lcdNS e Tire Spcdh-
er's stand and take seat in the rear
of the ROOM while Jake Transue,
speaker pro tenn, reversed that ruling
and put the committee resolution
through Few men would take that
dose to prove their loyalty to the ma
chine No white man would take more.
HOW TO GET NEW PILL
That he is to have an additional dose
forcibly administered appears to be on
the program. AS the wise boys of the
machine say, well. il it were to come
off today, Stanton would get it"
The San Franciscans admit that they
object to voting for any Los Angeles
man on account of the defeat of the
San Francisco seawall and India basin
acts in the southern town. They also
admit that much as they may like Stan
ton personally they expect trouble
with him if he is elected speaker. But
those little things are as naught COM
pared with orders.
OF course it is wholly within the
range of possibility, not to say prob
ability. that Stanton is being 'kidded"