The San Francisco call., 1909-07-18
NEARLY 200 IN
FIRST DIRECT
PRIMARY RACE
Republicans Head List With so
Candidates Entered for
Thirty-one Offices
McDOugald and Greif Only Two
Whose Aspirations Are
Not Opposed
Bx GEORGE A. VAN SMITH

The entry List for San Francisco's
First direct primary race closed at mid
night yesterday. Nearly 200 candidates.
representing four political parties, face
khs barrier. The race is on today 1t
rs Sc day Marathon. IT viii end on
sssvsral parties Will select their parti-
issn candidates at the direct primary
eolls for the first time.
The prohibition and independence
aeague parties viii present no candi-
taates for nomination at the primary
iGstes Will be confined 10 the republican,
democratic. union labor and So
1ciaHst parties. Both the Hearst
leg and the O'Conneu wing OF
the doodle dee party have fled
notices of and calls for doodle dee con
Nentions- That call viii result in the
preparation Of a skeleton primary bal
lot for the party, upon which the wing
and the leg may fight out the battle for
delegates TO a platform and county
committee convention. The doole dees
are not given TO bothering with smaller
game than presidents. Their county
committee will probably not attempt to
MI vacancies on q ticket which does
not exist and the efforts of the doodle
dees viii probably be confined to in
dorsements OF unwary candidates nomi-
mated by the regular political partieA
The socialist party has filed a COM
plete municipal ticket, but has issued
no call for a convention. The pro-
hibitionists have passed the whole mat
ter up in dignified silence.
EIGHTY REPUBLICANS
Eighty republicans nave filed petit
fions for a chance to fight for the 81
nominations to be made by their parti-
sans at the polls on August II. Out
tof 81 Offices only two failed To develop
contests for the republican nOmina-
rions. Treasurer John z. McDougald
has the republican neld to himself, as
has John ]. Greif, who seeks the re-
publican nomination for county clerk.
Numerous places on the democratic
ticket viii 90 by default to = single
candidate. No democrat fled for dis
arict attorney and the word is out to
write the name OF Francis J. Heney on
the ballot The union labor primaries
viii result in a fight for only two
plsces-nayor and police judge. Fran
els J. Sullivan will try conclusions with
p. n Mccarthy for mayor and there
are three candidates for the two nomi-
nations TO the police bench. There
will be no socialist contests. The So
ciaIist county committee filed petitions
for single candidate for each Office
end let it 20 at that
The primary race is to be g repubIi-
Gan function The scarcity OF c2ndi-
dates about which the opponents Of the
direct primary law prated before the
law was enacted was not in evidence
last night. The petition feature of the
direct primary law undoubtedly made
81 dificuIt to secure places on the ballot
and probably kept a few out of the
race. It may develop that some of the
petitions filed at the last hour were
deficient, which results in depriying
those candidates Of places on the ballot
When the lists closed last night there
were so republican aspirants to 81 nom
inations. They were representative of
pretty much all that San Francisco has
sn the way Of social and political COM
plexions-good. bad and Indifferent.
MANY WOULD BE SUPERVISORS
The nominations for mayor, super
visor, sheriff and coroner are naturally
enough the most sought by republicans.
The republican supervisoriaI list totaled
- candidates for Is nominations when
Registrar Zemanslky declared the books
closed. The mayorafty list showed five
candidates, while the republicans will
have an opportunity 70 choose between
seven candidates for the sherifrs nom
fnation, six for coroner and seven for
the two nominations to the police
bench.
The democratic ticket includes 2
candidates for mayor, % for supervisor.
2 for auditor, for sheriff and four
police Judge. The only blank space on
the democratic ticket is that for dis
trict attorney.
The blanks on the union labor ballot
are for district attorney, public admin
fstrator and auditor.
The registration for the primary
election is in excess OF $4,000. The
challenge list as It now stands approx
mates 10000 This list is being cor
rected daily by corrections Of the reg
istration OF electors who have changed
their residence. Registrar Zemansky
thinks that when registration closes
on August 2s the total undisputed reg
istration viii exceed 10000.
BIG PRIMARY VOTE
OF this total approximately S2H per
cent will be entitled to participate in
the republican primaries. The poll
ficians who were formerly skeptical
about q big direct primary election
vote have undergone a complete change
Of heart. They now estimate the
direct primary vote at 10000 beyond
a question and are inclined to put the
total at $1,000 or $4,000.
A primary vote OF 10000 would be
spproximately twice the average pri-
mary election vote in San Francisco
for a period OF 10 years and 25 per
cent larger than the largest primary
rote ever cast in San Francisco The
nigh water mark was reached on Au-
eust s. 1899, when the primary poll
showed a total Of s2,521. At the next
primary election It dropped back to
little more than 10000. and there it
has stayed to the present.
Assuming that the primary vote viii
be 10000, San Francisco VIII break
no direct primary records Apportioned
accordfnR 10 the registration. 10000
means a republican vote OF about $4,000
or approximately so per cent of the
whole party vote. It is by no means
unusual 10 poll IS per cent Of the
republican vote in the middle western
4 10