Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-08
CRITICISES ARGUMENT
OF HARPER'S FRIENDS
CRY OF HARM TO BUSINESS BY
RECALL RIDICULED
Official Organ of Municipal League
Denounees Reasons Impaired In
Attempt to Show Mayor
Should Be Retained

The imported argument, which is
the chief stock in trade of the "busl-
ness mems organization" is handled
without gloves by the editor OIL
Municipal Affairs in the March issue
of that journal in the following ex-
cerpt: %
"Of all the miserable by-products OF
the late panic and bad times. the doc
trine that any effort for the betterment
of political or social conditions must
be cried down lest it hurt business Is
by far the most contemplate. IL was
raised against the president IN MS
cannaisn for the control of law
breaking trusts. 1t was used frequent
ly without effect in behalf of corpora
ton senators seeking reelection. Inc
National Association OF Manu1ac-
turers meeting in st. Louis about Il
year ago, passed resolutions condemn
ing the agitation against chiid iapor'
which it said would interfere with
vested rights and hurt business. Many
merchants of San Francisco have OPP
posed the work of Heney and Lang
don, because 1t might injure the fair
name of that Sity. And now the cry
~ raised that the attempt to redeem
the honor of this city by recalling the
mayor may hurt business in Los An
geles. This has led to the formulating
at which posterity may gasp with
amazement. Briefly stated, 1t is:
"That he who seeks to remedy an
evil is more blameworthy than the
evil-doer himself.
THAT is the true meaning of the
attacks on the president, the bitter
abuse of Mr.. Heney which eliminated
in an attempt on his life, and the saw
age onslaughts made by newspaper
of Los Angeles against the Municipal
League and other citizens who are ad-
vocating the recall of Mayor Harper. j..
Eyes, Mr.. Harper has made bad
mayor says the Times. He has per-
mitted gambling and has not enforced
the laws against saloons and the red
LIGHT district. We cannot defend him.
But those who are seeking to remove
him are worse, because their agitation
OF the matter will hurt business
"This doctrine has no kind of stand
ing among the people at large, VINO, II
they had been given a chance, would
have reelected agitator-in-chief Roose-
welt by an enormous majority, who
are backing Heney and Langdon in
the campaign for the reformation of
San Francisco and whose votes in Los
Angeles on March rs will show
whether civic decency or a few dirty
dollars are of most concern to them.
Argument Is Ridicuied
Neither has the doctrine of 1T hurts
business any standing whatever among
intelligent, thoughtful men of affairs,
because in the long run efforts to
make things cleaner and better do
NOT hurt business-they help BUSH
ness. To be sure, the business of the
particular individual or corporation
who happens to get profit from the
existing evil may be hurt No doubt
Standard Oil and the Tobacco trust
think Mr.. Roosevelt's activity against
them hurts business; and the corpora
tions that were sewing San Francisco
up in a bag found their business in
terfered with by Mr.. Heney; and the
gambling dens. tough saloons and as
alone by this administration will be
out and injured by the recall. But
that the general business interests of
city are injured by removing bad
official and substituting a good one
who says that? Anybody with an ounce
of sense?
what hurts a city hurts business.
What helps a city helps business.
what is the chief stock in trade of
Los Angeles as a city? Is it the tough
saloons? Or gambling dens? Or houses
of prostitution? Do these things give
value to real estate and attract people
of character and means to settle here?
No! the real business of Los Angeles
and the chief stock in trade of any
modern city is it's homes. Anything
that makes Los Angeles less desirable
as a location of a home, where man
rich or poor-may bring up his boys