Los Angeles herald., 1909-01-28
VICE PRESS BUREAU

evidently in Los Angeles a pro-
vice press bureau, and we are sim
cererly sorry to say there are news
papers so blinded by prejudice or so
destitute of sense of duty to the pub
lie that they are giving the use Of
their columns to this bureau and are
printing the matter supplied by it.
The chief aim of the pro-vice bureau
at present is, of course, to defeat the
mayor the interests Of the men who
are conducting the pro-vice campaign
might suffer severely.
The most novel argument of anti-re-
call workers is that Los Angeles
stands at the head of the worlds cities
in the department Of publicity, and
therefore the mayor should not be re-
called. The logic is nebulous, but it
might possibly lead to the construc-
tion Of a plea that the business inter-
ests of Los Angeles will be injured by
the recall. This is, of course, the foun-
dation on which the advocates of the
liberation Of immortality would like to
establish their case. They invite the
newspapers to conceal the truth They
bid the friends of Los Angeles cry
peace, peace" when there is no peace.
They would have us discourse of har-
mony when the air is raucous with
discords. They would rather have
everything that is vicious or degrading
hidden than have the city clean up
Their statement that an anti-vice
movement will hurt business has been
heard in other cities where the union
Of official graft with immortality has
been disturbed. There IS nothing
whatever in this statement. The his
tory of other cities shows it is sheer
bosh.
The United States would indeed be O.
peculiar country If it could be said that
exposure Of wickedness in high places
produced untoward business condi-
tions, or that cleanup was followed
by depression in trade. The news
papers that are printing this stuff are
injuring Los Angeles. They are giving
the world the impression that for it's
prosperity Los Angeles is dependent
on the liberation of vice. This is a
monstrous and lbelous as ersion on
the good name and fame of our city,
and we propose to demonstrate to the
nation and the world that it is sheer
calumny. The method which we will
take in order to show the nation and
the world that Los Angeles, in spite Of
pro-vice agitation, is an anti-vice city,
will be the recall of Mayor Harper.
One Of the principal activities of the
pro-vice press bureau, when it is not
providing pro-vicious provender for
Hearst's ''protectionist" press, is the
study of the city directory with view
of collecting plausible names which
may be used as signatures for the anti
recall petition. The intellectual .acu-
men of some Of the master minds of
the anti-recall organization is being
concentrated on this city directory
work, in the hope enough signatures
will be forthcoming to give the anti
reform petition deceitful appearance
of spontaneity and genuineness.
Happily, the recall petition does not
need to go begging for signatures, AMI
the people Of Los Angeles may de-
pend upon it that every signature
which is being attached to that petI-
ton is being obtained in a fair and
honorable way. 1t is a square deal pc
t1t1on, prepared by square deal men to
give square deal city an opportunity
of getting a square deal. Every citi-
zen who signs the recall petition is af-
fixing his signature to a protest against
the liberation Of infamous conditions in
a famous city, of 'unclean conditions in
a clean city, of dishonorable condi-
tfons in an honorable city. He is at
testing by his signature his desire to
keep the national and international
reputation of our wonderful South
California metropolis unsullied, and
to demonstrate and establish the fact
that the SELF-RESPECT of Los An
geleS is commensurate with her COM
'mercial progress, her industrial pros
perity, her rare climatic and natural
advantages. her intellectual supremacy,
her educational eminence, her eccle-
siastical excellence and her ethical
culture.