Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-26
RECALL FIGHT
WILL ECLIPSE
ALL RECORDS
MUNICIPAL LEAGUE NERVED
TO STRENUOUS EFFORT
LESSON ADMINISTERED MUST BE
OF LASTING VALUE
Committees Plans Show That Peoples
Campaign, In the Full Sense
of the Term, Will Be
Waged
DLANs for the recall campaign nov

under way make it evident that
n the remarkable record already
achieved by the Municipal league i'll
making the recall will also be a feature
of the campaign organization. Members
of the leagues executive committee
say they intend to make it memorable
in the history of municipal reform.
A thorough and extremely active or
ganization will be perfected, and, al
though the campaign will last only a
month, it promises to be a record
breaker.
This is important for reasons away
beyond the question of a mayor to-
day." said member of the commit
tee yesterday. "A great part of the
good which should result will be lost
if the election does not inscribe q
demand for civic decency that will be
long remembered.
1t is the question of municipal man
agement that is up for action; and
this is as important twenty years from
now as in Mayor Harpers administra-
tion. The most necessary thing, in
my opinion, is to impress the voters
with the fact that this is not a per-
sonal affair. that Harper's personality
does not enter, save so far as his off,
cia1 acts have menaced the good of
the city, particularly in regard to the
Owens river project. What he has done
with regard to crime is worthy of
note only as an indicator of what may
come when, as Mr.. Stimson said in his
Highland Park speech, much shrewder
men come in for the spoilS.
"The Owens river work is initiated,
but is far from completion. A few
months with bad board of public
works might tie the people up for
years in most oppressive fashion and
set back the cause of good municipal
government in an appalling manner.
This campaign is necessary because the
men who heretofore have given Mr..
Harper every chance, among whom are
some of his best friends, see it is no
longer safe, in the light of his deeds as
an executive, to permit him to hold
responsibility.
Dissatisfaction Voiced
IF the mayor is encouraged by vote
in his favor to continue his course
there is every reason to believe that
he will not finish his term in a way
entirely foreign to all he has done
heretofore. BY invoking the recall we
say that we are dissatisfied, and, III
view of the large responsibility and
great interests at stake, we insist on
a new man on the job.
IF the people will realize how tre-
mendous are the interests at stake,
there will be that much greater vote
for the recall. The greater the vote
the more emphatically we say to every
mayor in future: Above all things. Los
Angeles will not permit any mishan-
ding of her affairs. Remember the re-
call if your friends want to use you l
hope we shall have a vote sufficient to
engrave that on the city's history for
fifty years to come.
The campaign committee of the Mu-
nicfpal league will make the work a
peoples campaign in the most thorough
sense 1t is asking volunteers who
wish to aid in the success of the recall
to confer with members of the COM
mittee at the headquarters, 401 EQuit
able Savings Bank building, which will
be open evenings as well as during
the day. Representatives of the league
will be on hand to talk with persons
who wish to help. Since the campaign
was initiated citizens have called daily
to express their interest and wish the
movement success, and this has i'm
PEELED members of the executive COM
mittee to request voters to volunteer
in an effective organization for every
precinct in the city.
Good Example Set
Members of the committee commend
the attitude taken in Highland Park
and Garvanza, where citizens have
undertaken a house-tO-house canvass.
P. w. Holler, president of the Highland
Park Alexander club, is appointing a
vice president for every block in the
clubs territory, and each vice presi-
dent will be held responsible for get
ting out the vote in his block. In ad-
dition a campaign committee will work
for an active appreciation in Highland
Park of the merits of the recall move
ment.
John T. Pope, who is working for
the organization of the Alexander club
in Garvanza, March 9, says that the
First precinct will break the worlds
record in the unanimity of it's vote
for George Alexander. The assertion
by a pro-Vice morning paper that High
land Park and Garvanza are the proper
parts Of the city for the location of a
ough indignation of citizens of the
First and Second precincts. They have
written a large number of letters or
dering that paper stopped, and say
they will further rebuke it at the polls
The Socialist central committee will
meet tonight to discuss the decision of
the city attorney that the name of
their candidate cannot legally be placed
on the ballot. It probably will instruct
it's attorney to apply to the superior
court for a writ of mandamus directing
City Clerk Lelande to place Mr.. Wheel
er's name on the ballot