Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-04-11
. LISSNER MAKES
STRONG ADDRESS
TO CITY CLUB
REFORM IN LOS ANGELES ABLY
DISCUSSED
OFFICERS FOR ENSUING YEAR
ARE CHOSEN
John D. Works Elected President of
Organization That Is Leader in
Work for Good Govern-
ment

HLECTION of officers and a stirring
X address by Meyer Lissner, whose
~ faculty for organization and UNI
firing work has been largely respon-
sible for the success that has attended
the movement for a clean government
in Los Angeles, were the features of an
enthusiastic meeting of the City club
yesterday at the Westminster hotel
The officers elected are: John ID.
Works. president; Frank G.. Finlayson,
first vice president; S. c. Graham, sec
ond vice president; Stoddard JESS
treasurer; Frank G. Henderson, secre-
tary, and DR.. Sherwin Gibbons ana gill
bert S. Wright, members of the board
of governors.
These officers were selected by the
nominating committee two weeks ago,
and this selection was so popular that
there was no opposition to any OF the
candidates yesterday. When 1t de-
veloped the election would be unani-
nous, Meyer Lissner moved that the
secretary be instructed to cast the bal
lot for the club. This was done and
the nominees were declared the officers
for the next year.
Meyer Lissner's subject was Reform
in Los Angeles" and the long and
hearty ovation which greeted him when
he rose to speak was evidence that the
members of the City club considered
him well qualified to discuss the sub
ject.
President Hunsaker called Mr.. Liss-
ner, the father of the City club, for 1t
was from his first efforts for municipal
reform that the City club sprang.
Mr.. Lissners address follows
1 suppose that every well regulated
community old enough to vote has
had its occasional or semi
eras of REFORM and so I have no
doubt that the man who undertakes
to write the political history of Los
Angeles may have to recount several
such visitations on our city. Undoubt-
edly he would find that when La Gu
dad de Nuestra Sonora la Reina de Los
Angeles, The City of Our Lady the
Queen of the Angels, was still sleepy
Mexican pueblo, the contest at times
waxed as hot as the national dishes
over the Office of alcalde or mayor, or
members of the ayuntamiento or coun-
Gilman (you see that they called the
councilmen names even in those early
days.; and some of you no doubt re-
member the incident related by that
sturdy pioneer and honored member of
this club, Mr.. Henry D. Barrows, in
an address before us, when he told
how, in the early days, a certain Dr.
Osborn, who was postmaster here, won
an election for state senator.
ters it seems, had something to do
with politics. DR.. Osborn was very
anxious to carry certain precinct
which was mostly settled by MeXicans
who knew little or no English. So
he went to the padre, who had more
influence in his parish than any other
person, and used his most suave meth
DDS of electioneering with the dominic
in behalf of his candidate; and, TO
clinch the matter, he asked the padre
to pray for the repose of the soul OF
his mother-who was then alive and
we'll in New York. The next feast day
the willy doctor was on hand at the
church and on his knees, joining the
padre and his flock in praying for the
repose of his mothers soul. 1t is un-
necessary to add that the doctors can
didate was overwhelmingly elected.
Attempts Always Failed
Mr.. Barrows, who has lived in Los
Angeles for fifty-siX years and has al
ways taken an active interest in civic
affairs, tells me that while he has
knowledge of and participated in a
number of attempts at reform in this
city during his residence here, never
has he known of any successful con-
summation of efforts along that line.
But l propose to talk about the po-
litical reforms of which 1 have per-
sonal knowledge, and L think that will
keep me busy for a while.
Politically, I feel very much like the
little colored lad who, when asked his
age, replied: IF you goes by what my
mudder says, Is six, but if you goes
by the fun rs had, rs hundred
For, while I have not been very long
at the game, even my enemies Will
concede that I have been perniciously
active; and, as the rest of the bunch
oil a
want to be prepared for quite an ac-
emulation.
L came to Los Angeles about thirteen
years ago, but in the ten years prior
to the last general municipal election |
never heard of reVulsiOn against the
biennial dose of political patent medi-
cine put up for the citizens Of Los An
geles in attractive packages labeled re-
spectively Republican" and Demo
cratic
System DemoraIizing
The result of the party system on
the citys system was the same here
as elsewhere where partisanship has
been placed above citizenship. 1t was
demoralizing. The best men could not
be induced to enter into an undignified
scramble for nominations through the
hurly- burly of packed Caucuses, pri-
anaries and conventions, and the men
who wanted office badly enough to do
so, and who had to sell their souls to a
political boss in order to secure nom-
nations, We're usually no better than
the people who tolerated such condi-
tions deserved.
A few months before the general mu-
nicipal election which took place in
December, 1906 few young fellows,
less than a handful, none of whom
had been at all active in political at
fairs before, got together and discussed
what could be done to remedy what
they considered an unfortunate NUM-
cipal condition, and to secure the nom
ination and election of worthy munich
pal officers.
They were tired, so they said, of see
ing a default judgment taken against
the people every two years through the
manipulation of party machinery. 1t
was notorious that one party would
make a bad nomination and the other
party would make worse one, and be-
tween the two the people were betwixt
the devil and the deep sea. And
the boss who pulled the wires behind
the scenes for his employer laughed in
his sleeve at the gullibility Of American