The San Francisco call., 1909-11-28
CURRY PUTS IT UP
TO ORGANIZATION
Effort to Force the Machine to
Come Out Squarely for or
Against Candidacy
Surface Indications Show That
PerpIexing TangIe May Be
Expected in Race
Bv GEORGE A. VAN SMITH

By GEORGE A. VAN SMITH
II surface indications in politics have
any value other than the befuddlement
Of the public, the tactics employed by
Secretary of State Charles F. Curry
seem TO be designed TO force the organ
ization TO clear the organization field
for him or come out squarely in oppo-
sition TO his candidacy for the repub-
lican nomination for governor.
Assuming for the sake of the argu-
ment that the machine is not for Curry,
he has so completely burned the bridges
behind him that when the time for a
showdown comes a machine straddle
viii be an extremely difficult as well as
awkward feat The Lincoln Roosevelt
league viii put a candidate in the field.
A genuine division Of the organization
forces between two strong candidates
like Curry and Gillett might reason
ably be expected TO result in the nom
ination Of the Lincoln Roosevelt league
candidate if the lesgu started with
live man.
Unless the machine can make the
right kind Of a deal with democracy
and that seems doubtful would ap-
pear lttdL II NOAAu LNA olADAQ u " EtAAA4AA
a division Of its forces. AS a logical
sequence, Curry's attitude would appear
10 be designed 10 force the Organiza-
tion TO clear the way for him. The
lnifing OF a republican candidate for
state Office is quite a different matter
from the slaughter Of a candidate for
mayor chosen by the machine for the
knife, on the theory that majority of
the republicans would not care what
4 sr "a
THIRD PARTY IMPROBABLE
A third party has been used TO save
republican candidate for governor,
but there IS no thir0 state party whose
candidate could be elected by she ma
chine.
If p H Mccarthy runs for gov
ernor in 1914. as he expects to run, and
as he has been led TO believe he can
run. he viii go out as republican.
Put q memory pin in that Mccarthy
told me the other day that he was
republican. There viii be no third
party Of any significant proportions in
California for a good many years. If
al this be true, the machine must NOM
mate its candidate for governor or
see the 6ght for the final disposition
Of the gubernatorial plum waged be-
tween a Lincoln Roosevelt league en-
eny Of the machine and democrat
Curry gave il out cold three years
ago that if a direct primary election
law were enacted he would be a candi-
date for governor. In addition to that
announcement he began his 1910 cam
paign And IN that connection the
efforts Of a few journalistic halfwits
TO make it appear that The Call has
declared that Curry had withdrawn
are as Enthusiastically imbecile as
are the efforts Of a few down at the
F1T1 c~e nd
hangers-on TO substantiate the asser-
tion that The Call attempted to make
il appear that the Lincoln Roosevelt
league was for Gillett
The CaH has never said. nor have [
ever said, that Curry had withdrawn
from the gubernatorial race. l did
poke fun at a rumOr that Curry had
withdrawn. Neither The Call nor 1
ever said that the Lincoln Roosevelt
league was for Gillett. I said in these
columns that five of the state officers
and executive committeeman of the
Lincoln Roosevelt lea que were for Gill
lett That statement goes as it lies.
Those men were for Gillett. They are
for Gillett now and they were reorgan-
ized out of the Lincoln-Roosevelt
league. as 1 said they undoubtedly
would be.
CURRY-S DECLARATIONS
Curry declared three years ago that
he was for the direct primary system,
not because he was especially keen
about direct nominations, but because
It would give him chance at the
republican nomination for governor
which he could not get otherwise. Last
winter he repeatedly declared himself
for the direct primary bill on exactly
the same basis. He also tried TO smooth
out some Of the ructions which prom
ised defeat for the Wright bill.
Assuming il to be definitely settled
that Curry will go TO the primary polls
as a candidate for the gubernatorial
the probable attitude of the organiza-
tion toward the candidacy of Gillett.
viii the organization endeavor TO pull
Gillett down? VIII it openly oppose
Curry, or wiz it do the best it can
for one Of them under cover? AS
usual, the surface maneuvers of the
machine men only serve to add con-
fusion to a tangled situation.
A few weeks ago men holding high
place. thanks TO machine favor, were
for Curry. They could see nothing
but a Curry landslide sweeping from
Siskiyou to San Diego.
CURRY's Personal ORGANIZATION
Curry had a splendid personal organ
szation al work and reaching into every
county in the state. Naturally his fol-
lowing in San Francisco was imposing.
His San Francisco lieutenants took the
machine program in the municipal
scrap and worked day and night for
Mccarthy. Curry was supposed TO have
a strangle hold on the Mccarthy union
labor party wing Of the republican
machine
week after election there was a
noticeable waning of the Curry enthu-
siasm among the men who could see
nothing but a clean sweep for the sec
retary of state before the municipal
election. From the strongholds of the
union labor party came rumors of a
growing sentiment for Gillett. Some
of the political prophets have attempt
ed 10 solve the puzzle by renewal
Of the rumor that Senator Perkins is
10 resign because of i'll health; that his
resignation viii not be filled until after
the expiration OF Gillefts term as gov
ernor, and that Governor Curry will
appoint the then former Governor Gil
lett TO the United States senate
That story looks good until one runs
up against the fact that some of Per
kins' appointees in the federal service
and some of the men supposed to be
closest TO him are pulling for the re-
nomination of Cflleff for srover,,or The