Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-01
RECALL MAYOR HARPER

H HAT the recall will be of "great
injury to the city," as the anti
recallers say it will be, is a novel
view of the case, which will be received
with some surprise and considerable
mirthfulness in all parts of the United
States and Canada that have been in
formed Of the resolution of leading citi-
zens Of Los Angeles to have a municipal
housecleaning. Nothing under the sun
is more clearly and convincingly dem
onstrated than that vast sums of
money, prodigious property interests
and great enterprises are at stake, and
that the recall is measure not only
for the public good, but for the public
safety.
The ''contrariwiseness" of the gentle
men who are attempting to lead a for
lorn hope in defense of the mayors
position is in some respects admirable.
Nevertheless, it is of no avail, and is
merely a waste of time, money and
influence. When we say it is in some
respects admirable, we mean exactly
what we say. We mean to be fair, and
we are fair. Therefore, we find it i'm
possible to withhold admiration from
the devoted friends Of Arthur c. Har-
per who for the sake of personal
friendship are making a personal fight
for him. 1t is greatly to the credit of
the hearts Of the members of the Har-
per brigade that they are making a
desperate attempt to fly in the face of
q T1111fa
lie sentiment. 1t is greatly to the
credit Of the hearts of these highly
esteemed fellow citizens that they are
willing to ''stand i the imminent deadly
breach" and try to save Castle Harper;
but it is far more to the credit of their
hearts than of their heads. And this
is a case for judgment, not sentiment.
This is a case for cool, calm reflection,
not for wild pleas to ''save the mayor
for ''old sake's sake" and for "auld lang
syne, my DEAR" and for every kind of
consideration except the one and only
consideration which must be taken into
account, which is this question:
Does the greatest good of the great
est number of the people of Los An
geles make the recall of Mayor Harper
absolutely and imperatively neces-
sary?"
The answer to which is: ''It does"
AT such crisis as this, good citizens
cannot hesitate. They must do their
duty to their city. They must recall
Mayor Harper.
There is moral issue involved. Cit
izens must protect hearth and home,
family and fireside. They must do their
duty to the dear domestic circle. They
must recall Mayor Harper They must
do their duty to their state. Califor-
MIA is spoken Of frequently as the best
advertised and written-of state in
the Union. 1t is. Therefore a recall
proceeding in a leading city of Cali
fornia attracts far more attention and
arouses far more interest than would
a similar proceeding in any other city
Of the United States excepting New
York, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia.
The evidenced and demonstrated fact
that Los Angeles is prepared to pro-
tect the honor Of the city and the credit
and finances Of the citizens will be of
great benefit to the city. It will not be
''of great injury to the city" Do not
believe such silly talk. There never yet
was a reform that was not denounced
by timid persons, niminy- -piminies who
feared they might go too far-and con-
sequently had to be carried along in
the rush. There never yet was a meas
ure of progress that did not evoke the
ululations Of the reactionaries. Oppo-
nents of the recall will have to find
much better reasons than any they
have been able to muster ere they con-
vince the majority of their fellow citi-
zens they are not merely soft-hearted
members of a Society for the Preven-
tion Of Cruelty to Harper. And let it
not be forgotten, nobody wishes to be
cruel to Harper. This is a case where
an emergency in the progress of the
city requires firm and drastic action
for the protection of the interests of
the city; for the safeguarding of the
enterprises in which it is engaged. The
first step, and an absolutely, positively
and undeniably NECESSARY step in
the direction of that protection and
that safeguarding is the recall of Mayor
Harper.