Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-07
THIRD NOMINEE
OPPOSES HARPER
PROHlBlTlONlSTS SELECT CAM
DlDATE
Cold Water Party Decides to Work
for Election of c. E. Verge.
High Praise for Alex
ander

The Prohibitionists have a recall can
didate for mayor in c. E. Verge of 172
Roosevelt street, who was nominate
last night by the Federation of Prohi
bition clubs, and who accepted with tn
| intimation that if elected mayor HI
would first pay attention to the polio
| commission and later take up the boar'
of public works.
| The following platform was adopted
for the campaign by the Prohibition
| federation.
1.-THE evidence seems to be clear ano
convincing that Mayor A. C. Harper
has been derelict in and unfaithful tC
his duties as mayor in that he has:
"First-Falied to enforce the law
against gambling, permitting numerous
places of that character to continue tt
fleece and rob the unwary and the
stranger, even after the evidence OF
such crime had been given to the CHIEF
of police, and had been made public by
The Herald that he retained for two
years as chief of police Edward Kern
whom the grand jury reported patron
lied such gambling places and SO stul-
titled and compromised himself as q
police official that he paralyzed his
ability to enforce the law against gam
bling.
Accuse Harper
"Second-That instead of enforcing
the prohibitory laws enacted by the
state legislature against the owners
lessees and occupants of houses used
for purposes of prostitution, immortality
and lewdness Gas under his oath of Of
flee he had sworn to do) he encouraged
the violation of such laws by endeaVor-
ing to segregate and regulate such vi
cious and immoral places by driving
them into certain streets and sections
of our city and by visiting them per-
sonally with his friends.
"Third-That he has failed utterly
in enforcing many of the restrictive
features of the excise law, but has per-
mtted their violation with impunity on
numerous occasions, until the city has
been more nearly an open town" than
for many years.
"Fourth-That he has made it much
more difficult to enforce any of these
enactments against immoral and vi
cious resorts by:
"(a)-Permitting the sale of stock
in oil companies and sugar companies
in which he was an official and a large
stakeholder, to the saloonkeepers
gamblers and owners of questionable
houses.
"Cb)-Appointing as commissioners
and members of his official family mer
who were owners of or agents fol
buildings used for immoral purposes
even after his attention had been called
to the facts by the press.
LAS property owners and taxpayers
we are especially interested in the
prompt and economic construction OF
the Owens river aqueduct. To that
end it is absolutely necessary that the
board of public works should be COM
posed Of high class and capable mer
commanding public confidence and re
spect, and absolutely free from poll
tica1 influence or control. We joinet
heartily in the successful efforts LEI
| by the commercial bodies of our cit!
three years ago to prevent Mayor Nc
Aleer from making the board of pub
lie works a Republican party machine
We are now equally determined tina
Mayor Harper shall not succeed ii
making that board a Democratic part!
machine. The death or resignation OF
would give Mayor Harper the oppor
tunity of appointing another man OF
the qualifications and political training
of Edward Kern, and our board of pub
lie works, with its millions of money
would then become political machine
and control the richest of political job:
for their hungry henchmen, and the
the bills, and many millions of dol
lars would be added to the twenty
three millions already voted.
1--WE are unwilling to take the risks
involved in continuing in office for 9
single additional month an official who
has thus prostituted to base and igno-
BILE purposes the high honors, preroga-
tives and influences possessed by the
mayor of Los Angeles. We therefore
ini, hoo will in off to
Mayor Harper by circulating and
signing the recall petition.
"Since the citizens, led by the NUM-
cipal league, have nominated George
Alexander as their candidate fol
mayor to run against Mayor Harper
we desire to place on record the follow
ing observations:
1--WE consider Mr.. Alexander q
straightforward, upright and honor
able gentleman. AS supervisor he was
ever anxious to protect the peoples in
terests and to defeat the scheming and
selfish influences, whether political OF
commercial, thta are ever alert to ex-
ploint the public treasury.
Praise for Alexander
1--WE desire to state most emphati-
cally that we hope Mr.. Alexander will
be elected as we do not consider there
is any comparison between him and
Mayor Harper in integrity and honor
and ability to fill the mayors chair
with credit and safety, but we never
theless cannot vote for him for the fol-
lowing reasons:
THE basis principle of the Prohibi-
ton party philosophy is that pro-
hibitionists cannot consistently vote for
a man for mayor who would appoint a
police commission that would grant IL
censes to sell liquor for beverage pur-
poses under any conditions or circum-
stances whatever
"Mr. Alexander is not a Prohibi-
ZIONIST. He maintains that as long as
the majority of the people vote in IA
vor of license he as a public servant
will execute their wishes. We shall
not on this occasion criticise him fol
his position. In fact we believe that
accepting the nomination and election
under the conditions which he has he
can do no less than to continue the
license policy but, anxious as we ara
for his election, we cannot stultify the
political principles and convictions for
which many of us have stood for life
time, nor are we willing to be morally
responsible for the legalized destruc-
ton of our fellow citizens and the end
less suffering of their wives and fami-
lies that must inevitably follow con-
tinuance of the license policy therefore
be it
Resolved by the Federation of Pro-
hibition Clubs, That we, here and now
select a candidate for mayor whose
name may be written on the ballot by
all those who cannot conscientiously
vote for MIR. Alexander"
s$%-
B.ktIo - MaNino Fatal