The San Francisco call., 1908-05-10
RAILWAY USES
FARE AS CLUB
TO AID HERRIN
Delegates Told for First Time in
States History to Pay
Transportation
Penalty of Having to Incur Ex-
pense Held Up to Frighten
Free Delegates
LincOIn-ROosevelt Men Will
Meet Tomorrow TO Arrange
LincoIn-Roosevelt Men Will
Meet Tomorrow to Arrange
Work Against Machine

On presentation of their credentials
TO the secretary of the state committee
delegates to the republican convention
at Sacramento can obtain one and a
third round trip rate from the Southern
Pacific company.-Announcem of
Secretary Jake steppacher.
For the first time in the political his
tory of California delegates from San
Francisco to republican state conven-
tion will be called upon to pay railroad
fares. The Lincoln-Roosevelt league
must shoulder the blame for this new
order of things and endure the disgust
Of the push" for the Introduction OF
such foolish methods in the game"
1t is not TO be taken as conclusive
that all the delegates will have to pay
their fares out Of their own pockets.
There are SO of them that will. unless
4 the insidious Jere Burke realizes his
desperate hopes by means Of the free
blue tickets" he has been handing out
for years. A railroad pass worth no
more than IS has a mysterious power
over convention and legislative votes IN
the general hunt of human nature to
get something for nothing, and the
Southern Pacific is doing business right
now at the old stand.
( The penalty for being a Lincoln
Roosevelt league delegate is that he
must pay 10 ride on Harriman's cars.
The purpose of the unusual announce
ment is to make the reform delegates
realize that it is losing proposition
financially to fight the railroads po-
Iitical bureau. The terrible example is
to be held up TO frighten the man who
would engage in politics and not take
orders from Herrin.
LEAGUE LEADERS GRATIFIED
While the railroad bureau and Cen
eral stones faithful man Jake are thus
aiming to spread terror into the hearts
of San Franciscans the earnest men of
the Lincoln Roosevelt league, who are
trying to save the state from such a
corrupting system of politics, express
the highest qualification. The people
can see how the railroad machine oper-
ates and drives the republican party of
the state they point out.
Herrin paid. Abe Ruef $4,000 for the
delegation to the Santa Cruz outing
two years ago. and the matter of tick
cts resolves itself into an inconsequen-
tial thing in comparison. Reform must
be Of an emphatic character when the
Southern Pacific levIes the ticket as
sessment on delegates whose prede-
cessors have done so much to help it
save millions in taxes, aided 1t to grab
water front properties worth millions
and given 1t free rein to conduct pub
lie service business in many violations
! of the laws and just as 1t saw fit in
any season of the year.
Nothing could be more significant Of
the good work OF the Lincoln Roosevelt
league than the announcement put out
by Jake Steppacher. That he should
thus have 10 deprive Jere Burke OF
much of his old time task must have
Jared his sense of long habit. The
Lincoln Roosevelt league may take to
itself the credit that at last San Fran
cisco has a delegation to a state con-
vention that pays it's own way.
NEW TYPE OF DELEGATE
The happy deduction to be made from
Steppacher's notice is that for the first
time in the memory of generation, at
least, the San Francisco delegation will
not be owned body and soul by the
southern Pacifcs hired politicians. 1t
had grown up as a tradition for the
young citizen Of San Francisco that the
delegate must take orders and that he
would have his bills paid. Therefore
this dominating delegation obeyed i'm
plfcitly the orders that Herrin handed
down, and was used with absolute pre-
lcision in the maneuvering OF Herrin's
men among the upstate delegations,
trading and bartering for votes to NOM
mate this and that man.
The presence in the convention of the
new type of delegation-San Fran
cisco's So independent Lincoln Roose-
welt men-will be distinct novelty.
The city delegates will have a new as
pect for the country representatives.
They will not be of the class that Abe
Ruef used to take 10 the convention in
herd.
Again the organization" IL uncon-
sciously doing all it can to help the
cause of reform. 1t proclaims George
A. knight as it's candidate for chair
man of the convention. Knight, with
his $4,000 year retainer as attorney
for Harriman's Pacific Mail steamship
line, stands In strong contrast with for
mer Mayor w. r. Davis, upon whom the
Lincoln Roosevelt delegates will. In all
probability, center for the chairmanship.
Instead of being In the service of the
great corporation Davis has for years