The San Francisco call., 1909-10-08
Slogan of 'Wide Open" Town
Starts Marked Secession
From Labor Nominee
Republicans Unite to Defeat All
Efforts of Machine to Thwart
Peoples Will
By GEORGE A. VAN SMITH

poilt1caI chaOS which has refgned from
the beginning of the fight for the con-
troll of the republican county committee
With the republican and democratic
campaign organizations working under
comparatively high pressure, the cam
paign has already progressed sufficient
ly to dispel the fear that the people of
San Francisco were not giving serious
thought to the results of the battle of
the ballots which will be decided No
vember 2.
Two weeks ago, aside from the Wig
orous and comprehensive fight being
made for P. H. Mccarthy and the dis
trict attorneyship fight, which has no
partisan boundaries, the municipal cam
paign of 1909 was a paper affair, with
the hurrahs of Mccarthy and his sup
porters demanding virtually all of the
general public's attention and causing
no little apprehension.
REACTION SETS IN
That reaction has set in none ia
miliar with the situation can assume to
deny. That it is a reaction resulting
from apprehension of more than one
variety is beyond question. That Nc
Carthy has lost some support through
fear of the consequences of his election
and his anticipated policies is fact
that can be substantiated by the most
perfunctory investigation.
The greatest losses to be charged to
the Mccarthy account, however, are
negative, rather than positive, IN that
they are the result of a tightening OF
the lines outside the Mccarthy camp
rather than a secession from the ranks
of his supporters. That there have been
secessions and that the get behind
winner spirit is beginning TO get In lts
work is becoming more and more ap-
parent. NJ.
Carthy are those resulting from repub-
licau appreciation that the response
hilitv for results of the campaign is
upon them and that they can not shlll
their responsibility. should DIVISION IN
their ranks result in the election Oh NC
Carthy An appreciation OIL the lacl
that some of the Herrin machine forces
are irving to do for William Crocker
what they did for another republican
candidate with the same surname rev
Years ago. is heightening their sense OF
responsibility.
CRYsTALIZES CRoCI1ER VOTE
The great register shows that $4,000
out of the 81 900 qualified electors, or
virtually so per cent of San F'ranclscos
voters, are enrolled as republicans. AS
suuing that the averages of experience
polIed in November Will approximate
Two wears ago $4,000 republicans
voted for Mayor Taylor and the repub-
lican nominee polled only 5000 as
against 1900 for. Mccarthy. There
never has been any suggestion or oolt
from the republican candidate Tor
mayor this year, but appreciating the
attitude of some of the machine forces
which have been for Mccarthy more or
less openly for months, republicans
have come to realize that a compara-
lively small republican vote cast for
Leland would inevitably result in the
election of Mccarthy. The natural re-
suit has been marked increase and
corresponding crystalization of Crocker
sentiment.
REPUBLICAN AWAKENING
The strongest indication of the re-
publican awakening is the disappear
ance of the undecided man. The band
wagon spirit has something to do with
the change to Crocker, but realiza-
ton of republican responsibility, both
to San Francisco and to the republican
party in the state, has played q larger
part in the attitude of the hundreds of
men who were undecided week ago
and who are doing earnest consistent
work for the republican candidate for
mayor today.
The square toed Endorsement of
Crocker by Byron Mauzy and the lead
ing independent republicans who sup
ported Mauzy for the nomination shat
tered some of the brightest dreams of
republican, democratic and union labor
adherents of the machine who hoped
for an independent republican bolt to
Leland that would insure the election
of Mccarthy. Naturally enough, many
of the independent leaders preferred
G,.s. = .41
Crocker's campaign. and the men who
swung the knife on Henry Crocker
have endeavored to create disaffection
at their expense, with an entirely un-
expected result. The independents have
taken off their coats for Crocker, as
witness Mauzy's acceptance of the post
of chairman of the campaign commit
tee in his nome district, the thirty
eighth.
An important factor in McCarthy's
positive losses is the direct result of
the reaction of the wide open" town
dea, to which, naturally enough, the
great majority of retail and wholesale
liquor men, to say nothing of the
harrassed wine men, are more earnestly
opposed than are the .prohibitionists
and local optionists, who see subse-
quent triumphs flowing from a wide
open" San Francisco.
SLOGAN STIRS OPTIMIsTS
McCarthy's Paris of America" slo-
gan aroused a much keener interest
outside of San Francisco than it did in
this city, when 1T was first flung to the
public The eeffect of that outside in
terest is being felt now in San Fran
cisco, and the men who want only
reasonable regulation of their business
are awaking to the fact that the talk
about a wide open San Francisco has
renewed the troubles of the liquor men.
and more especially the wine men, out
side of San Francisco. Anticipation of
the wide open" town has stirred the
local optionists to new vigor and they
are building hopes of successes at the
polls next year on their belief that
San Francisco is going to play into
their hands. The wine interests. al
though sadly harrassed. want no
horrible examples" in San Francisco
to furnish campaign material for the
election of a local option legislature
from the country districts or to in
crease the local option or dry district
sentiment in southern California
The prohibitionists. of course, do not
look for anything like the adoption of
the local option idea in San Francisco
as the Immediate result of a wide
OPEN policy, but they do hope to
break into the legislature sufficiently
m oaf broad local opfion rouv 80