Los Angeles herald., 1909-01-22
MAYOR HARPER'S LACK OF
PERCEPTION

TN his statement published in yes
terday mornings paper, and
which was accorded a place in
The Herald because this paper de-
sires to be not only just but more than
just in its treatment of Mayor Harper,
the latter stated:
"Today's meeting at Symphony hall
was packed The invitations
thereto were issued by my personal
and political enemies"
In point of fact, the invitations to
the meeting were issued by the execu-
tive committee of the Municipal league
composed of the following fifteen we'll
known gentlemen:
J. Q. Koepf1i, president: w. ]. Wash
burn, James A. Anderson, H. G. Wit
mer, r. w. Burnham, DIR. B. Kel-
logg, H. r. Boynton, Eugene German,
M. Lissner, Marshall Stimson. frank
Simpson, c. c. Desmond. A. L. Stet-
son, Gilbert S. Wright and c. D. Will
lard, secretary.
The Herald cannot conceive that anv
unprejudiced person in Los Angeles
will believe, in the first place, that
| these gentlemen are personal enemies
of Mayor Harper, or secondly, that if
they were they would use their official
position in the Municipal league to
crafty any personal grudge.
The unfortunate and pitiful truth
about Mayor Harper is that he seems
congenitally incompetent to duly
weigh and appreciate any moral ques-
ton. He appears not to understand
| that the alliance which he, with GER
tain of his appointees on the police
| commission, have brought about be-
tween himself. his commission and the
elements of the city with whose con-
troll his commission is directly charged.
is in any sense wrong or immoral or
open to criticism
That portion of his statement de-
voted to the appointment of Mr.. Kern
to the board of public works is an
other illustration of this defect in
Mayor Harper's moral nature. He
says: ''Mr. Kern has been repeatedly
elected to public office in this city and
has been in public life for many years.
in most trying positions, and has made
good to the satisfaction of the elect
ors."
In the first place, if Mr. Kern has
ever been elected to any office in this
city save that Of city councilman,
The Herald is not advised of it. It is
very certain that in that office his
/ ~
dissatisfaction to a large majority of
the electors who elected him and also
to the city at large.
| Nobody pretends to deny that Mr..
Kern voted for the infamous riverbed
franchise attempted steal, knowing full
well exactly what it was and that the
effort had originally been made to Sc
cure that franchise by false statements
to the council as to the real parties
in interest behind the application for
it. These false statements were COM
pletely shown up. The parties behind
it were dragged out into the light of
day and Mr.. Kern, with all the facts
before him, repeated his vote to give
away a property of the city estimated
| to be worth S10O0,0 600.
Furthermore, Mr.. Harper either failed
utterly to discharge his sworn duty to
the city "to be vigilant and active in
the enforcement of the ordinances of
the city, by failing to use proper vigil
lance, or he, knowingly, failed to dis
charge his duty by permitting Chief
Kern and the police force under his
immediate control to refrain from law
enforcement in the city during a large
part of Mayor Harpers administra-
tion.
In discussing this peculiar mental
attitude of Mayor Harper toward
moral questions. it may not be out of
place to advert to the very gushing
letter of regret with which he favored
his friend. Mr.. Samuel Schenck, when
the latter rendered his resignation as
police commissioner after having so
deported himself upon public street
| of Los Angeles as to bring lasting dis