The San Francisco call., 1909-06-09
Great Struggle viii Be to Saue the Office Of
District Attorney From Capture BY the Crooks
INDEPENDENTS AWAIT
DECISION OF ROLPH
Municipal League of Republican Clubs Ready
To Name Marshall Hale

Only the underground insistence o
vigorous minority that the nomina
ton of candidate for mayor be de
ferred until James Rolph Jr. shoulc
make known his final decision as tt
entering or staying out of the race. leC
the conference of the municipal league
of independent republican clubs to ad
journ last night without naming Mar
shall Hale as its candidate for the heat
of the ticket.
The organization OF the conferenc,
showed that Edwin T. McMurray anc
his friends were in control They were
prepared TO accept Rolph's declinatior
as final and had arranged to nominate
Hale at their first session. The oppo-
sition was not an opposition TO Hale
but rather a determination TO dispose
formally of the situation which had
developed around Rolph before naming
candidate.
Hale's chance of nomination was
greatly Increased before the conference
convened by the circulation from hand
to hand of a Letter signed by Rolph in
which he declined to become candi-
date for mayor. The letter was not
made public at the conference, but il
would have had its effect upon the ac-
tion of the delegates had not the nomi-
nation been postponed until tonight
Unless Rolph consents to become can
didate today Hale will be nominated
when the conference reconvenes.
Keen politics was done in securing
and using Rolphs letter of declination
McMurray and his followers have all
along counted on getting Hale into
n - on
nouncement in the papers yesterday
morning that the republican county
committee had indorsed Rolph for
mayor and appointed a committee to
wait upon him and ask him to run. a
committee of three, representing the
municipal league, called upon Rolph and
asked him if he would be a candidate
This committee consisted of l. o. Up
ham, S II. Boardman and William II
Stewart.
PREPARED DECLINATION
Rolph told the committee that he had
read of the action of the county COM
mittee and that he had prepared for
nal declination of the honor which they
had conferred upon him. He added
that the committee had not yet waited
upon him. but that his declination
would be rendered when it did. Rolph
afterward committed to writing this
statement made to the committee OF
three from the municipal league and ii
was passed about in the vestibule OF
Lyric hail before the conference con-
vened last night.
The committee of nine from the
county committee of which Ralph l.
Hathorn is chairman did not attempt
to see Rolph yesterday. The committee
met and decided to add to its number
representative merchants. labor leaders
and other prominent citizens, in order
TO make it harder for Rolph TO decline
Meanwhile the McMurray committee
had called upon Roiph and obtained his
ldeclination.
The Rolph men in the conference OF
the municipal league refused to admit
that Rolph would persist in his re-
fusaI until that refusal was definitely
declared to the nine members of the
county committee. BY persisting in this
stand and by declaring that Rolph could
still be induced to reconsider his atti-
tude they succeeded in having the NOM
ination of a mayor deferred until to-
night This was accomplished in the
vestibule Of Lyric hall. before the con
ference convened. and was not men
TONED as part of the business on the
floor.
McMurray's control of the conference
was shown by a count of noses before