Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-14
WILL CHOOSE
SUCCESSOR TO
MAYOR HARPER
COMMITTEE TO PRESENT NAME
WEDNESDAY NIGHT
COUNCIL WILL HAVE RECALL
PETITION TUESDAY
District Attorney Refuses to Issue
Criminal Libel compIaints-Jurors
Would Welcome Civil Suits
for Damages

THE committee of fifteen appointed
by Judge John D. Works yester-
Il day, which will present the name
Of Mayor Harper's successor to the
citizens meeting Wednesday night, is
made up as follows:
WILLIAM D. STEPHENS.
HENRY T. LEE.
H W. FRANK.
J. NJ. ELLIOTT.
r. H. NORTON
G. NJ GIFFEN.
w. R. BURKE.
FARLEY NJ. JOHNSON
PAUL R. MABURY.
NATHAN NEWLY.
NJ f. BETKOUSKL
A. NJ. DUNN.
S. c. GRAHAM.
HARRY CALENDER.
The committee will meet tomorrow,
and will be prepared to present to the
meeting Wednesday evening nominee
who will win in the recall election by
large majority. 1t was generally agreed
Yesterday that the committee is en-
tirely representative of the leading cit
izenship of Los Angeles, and that its
selection might be depended on to be
that of a man entirely qualified to un-
dertake the task Of making the city
decent.
City Clerk LeIande's force of check
ers was unable to finish the recall petit
tions last night, though they had hoped
to do so. They went far enough, how
ever, to make it certain that the petit
ton would be sufficient. The work of
checking practically will be finished
Monday, and the petition will be GER
titled as sufficient at the meeting of
the council Tuesday afternoon.
Signed Ahead of Time
The date, February 16, was that orig
inally set for completing the signing of
the recall petitions, and the pro-vice
papers endeavored to make the state
ment that the petitions would be signed
up by that time appear so ridiculous
that voters could be laughed out of
signing. In spite of the pro-Harper
efforts the, day will be signalized as
that on which the recall is effectually
invoked.
There is not the slightest doubt now
that the mayor will be relegated to the
society of those who are good enough
for him. said a Municipal league work.
er yesterday, while the decent citizens
of the town clean up what the pro-vice
paper says is a nasty mess
Mayor Harper yesterday went through
the formality of asking for complaints
charging criminal libel against the six
members Of the grand jury who signed
the non-concurring letter. These mem
DerS, ana many Otner citizens, were
more disappointed than the mayor ap-
peared to he when the district attorney
refused to issue the complaints.
Would Welcome Suits
Suits for libel would be welcomed by
many persons who desire to see Mayor
Harper's record threshed out, on ac-
count of the evidence such suits would
lay bare, and the opportunity they
would afford of producing in public all
the evidence laid before the grand jury,
and considerably more.
Mayor Harper and his attorneys, H.
H. Appel and w. 1. Foley, were in
consultation with District Attorney
Fredericks yesterday afternoon for
thirty minutes. They refused to say
complaints charging criminal libel would
be issued, and the district attorney said
no complaints would be made out
II should welcome any such SUITS
said one of the six Jurors yesterday,
land l have ben assured by a number
of citizens that there is a general feel
ing that an opportunity would be Of
fered thereby to uncover much not now
known to the general public. think
a libel suit would produce something of
a surprise. None of the six men who
signed that letter is afraid of any ac-
tion of the Sort