Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-12

various party organizations are to cut
| in before the tTyout and frame uI
complete tickets, then to whatever ex-
/ tent they are successful in getting the
people to vote as directed, to that ex-
| tent is the non-partisan primary plan
defeated. AS the good government
policy favors the Utmost non partisan
ship In local matters, consistency would
seem to require that they should not
attempt to nominate ticket before the
tryout. We do not believe that the
Republican organization (Southern Pa
cific) will try it more than once. This
years experience will probably be sui
f1cient to convince them that they DO
not care in the future to monkey with
that variety of buzzsaw.
"But whatever may be the ethics
of the situation, the plan to nominate
a ticket beforehand strikes us as
mighty poor politics. Take the case
of the council for example. There are
more places to vote for, and the total
number of nominees may run to fifty
or sixty. Suppose there are twenty
of these that are fairly well qualited.
Each of these has his own circle OF
friends and supporters. Any political
organization that picks out nine of
these and turns down the remaining
eleven, refusing to consider them even
for a place as candidates on the final
ballot, will ALLEVIATE a lot of good peo-
pie by such a policy, and help to
weaken the remainder of the ticket.
Also 1t will be in bad shape to enter
the final contest.
Definite Knowledge Needed
''There is. however, a service that
should be performed for the public by
some agency; definite information
should come from some authoritative
source with respect to all the candidates
who are to go on the tryout ballot
A brief statement of the essential Facts
should be presented in fair, non-par-
tisan spirit, in the form of a pamphlet
or circular, and sent broadcast among
the voters. We are not prepared TO
say lust who should do this, but II
should be done, in order to give the
new primary system fair chance-
that the remedy against unjust
treatment by the board of equalization
lies in the election of men to the legls-
lature and state offices who are abso1
I1teIv free from sinister influences is
the sense of the Jefferson club. The
club adopted resolutions to that erect
yesterday after discussion showing
an emphatic belief that the action OF
the state board is an outrage to the
taxnayers of Southern California.
The resolutions adopted are as
follows:
"Whereas, The state board of equal
ization, the members of which were
nominated by the Infamous 1906 santa
Cruz convention, has arbitrarily, dras-
ticalIy and unjustly increased the as
sessed valuation of Los Angeles county
from 1920, ,671, $50 to $685., 401, ,164, thereby
increasing the state taxes to be levied
arainst this county from $1,745.7S1 to
k2.130, $50, being an additional amount
of 1885, ,073 to be taken from the county
by taxation for state purposes during
the coming fiscal year; and
Whereas The state board OF equal
ization by the same unwarranted and
indefensible action also has greatly in
creased in thirteen counties, in addi-
ton to Los Angeles, in Southern Cali
fornia, taxes to be levied for state
purposes; and
Whereas. The action of the state
board of equalization has actually re-
duced the state taxes to be paid by
the railroads operating in the state
$62, ,2C2; be 1t
@Resoived, That the Jefferson clut
denounces the action of the state board
of euualizers as an outrage not only
upon the property interests of the tax
PAYERS Of Southern California, but upon
the sense of fair dealing which unques-
tionably animates a great majority OF
the state, regardless Of location in the
state; and be II further
"Resolved, That the Jefferson club
therefore. calls upon the voters of the
state to so act that only men shall be
elected to the different state offices and