Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-27
THE MAYoRALTY

"A MEM MBER or the executive COM
IN mittee of the Municipal league has
a. called attention to the tremendous
nature of the interests at stake in the
recall election. This is the right view
to take. The election means a great
deal more than pro-Harper or anti
Harper. The success of Mr.. Alexander
viii mean that the city is committed
to clean, businesslike governmental
methods which may well hold the re-
spect of the country. 1t will mean this
community is conscious of it's respon-
sibilities and that every citizen is in
favor of square dealing for the tax>
payers of this city and for people in
other parts of the United States who
are deeply interested in this CITY,
Since we have sought and may seek
again markets for bond issues it is
absurd to try to say we are living to
ourselves alone, and it doesn't matter
what kind of mayor we have or what
kind of administration he provides"
The election must record a demand for
civic decency. Vital interests are at
stake. Incompetency in the board of
public works might interfere seriously
with the success of the Owens river
project, set back Los Angeles, tie up
the people for years and hinder and
embarrass the cause of good municipal
government Even some of Mayor
Harpers best friends see it is not safe
to permit him to remain in power. Per-
haps his original intentions were good
but that he has shown his inability to
live UP to his responsibilities is only
too evident.
The man who has been selected to
succeed Mayor Harper is a citizen of
integrity, honor, responsibility, with
plenty OF what the Greeks called nous"
or mentality, and abundance of what
moderns call character" A man of
feeble, f1abby or undeveloped character
in the office of mayor is not less dam
gerous to the public interests than a
resourceful and cunning schemer would
be. There is nothing in Mayor Harper's
record to offer even ray of hope to his
friends who would like to be able to
find some redeeming feature in his ad-
ministration, some worthy deed or noble
attempt for which much that is worth
less or ignoble might be forgiven.
There is nothing in the record of the
past to indicate improvement in the
future. TIE reinstate Mayor Harper in
office would merely be to persist in an
attempt to gather grapes of therns and
figs of thistles. Common sense, the best
interests of this great community, and
its reputation, demand the election Of
George Alexander as mayor. Los An
geles by exercising the recall has
attracted the favorable attention of the
nation. Some of the foremost political
and social students of the country are
awaiting with eager anxiety the result
of the Los Angeles recall election. Bos-
ton papers have printed stories on the
Los Angeles recall. The manager of one
Of the greatest publishing and publicity
firms in the world is at this minute
stationed observantly in Los Angeles.
Municipal government has become a
recognized political science. In the his
tory of this science our city is writing
an important chapter. The example set
by Los Angeles in the mayoralty cleo
ton should be such as to encourage the
frien-s of Americanism and of i'm
proved methods of municipal govern
ment We believe Mr.. Alexander will
be elected but we hope he will be
elected by such a big majority that the
friends and champions of municipal
reform and the advocates of the recall
principle will find the good cause
greatly helped. By electing Mr.. Alex
ander and rebuking Mr.. Harper the
citizens of Los Angeles will render a
marked and memorable service to the
American republic.