Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-04

Enough signatures have been Sc
cured to the recall petition to invoke
the election of a successor to Mayor
Harper, and this morning the cam
paign committees clerks will be placed
at work in the county clerks office to
compare the signatures with those on
the great register. A large force is
at work in the headquarters rooms list
ing the names by precincts.
The petitions will be presented Feb
ruary 16 unless the work of segregat-
ing the names. which is the biggest
part of the task, should require longer
time than the campaign committee has
estimated. 1t is believed that the re-
call election can be set for the first
week in April.
Ten thousand, possibly $4,000, names
will be signed to the petitions, al
though but 1866 are required. More
than 1900 were secured Tuesday and
yesterday thirty-five additional can
vassers were sent out with petitions
and tables and told to secure promi
nent positions in various sections of
the city.
have come to our request for sigma
lures of electors is a remarkable fea-
ture in the city's municipal activity"
said one of the members of the eXecu-
tive committee yesterday. Il doubt
whether a parallel to this movement
can De SHOWN III the history OF any
American city. 1t evidences a deter
mination for clean government that is
unmistakable and cannot be belittled
or ignored.
Recall Is Popular Issue
"A great many people will vote for
the recall who have not signed. Among
these are a large number of wage
workers who are heartily for new
mayor, but who are situated SO they
do not care to take an initiative in
signing the petition Expressions of
their interest and support come to us
frequently In addition there are like
wise many who will not be reached
by the canvaSserS."
At it's meeting yesterday the execu-
tive committee informally discussed
the intention of the bosom friends to
use the fake pro-Harper petitions to
delay the recall movement. The Har-
per petitions were circulated with in
StructionS by machine worker. to Sc
cure signatures of henchmen who
would also sign the genuine recall pc
tftionS. 1t was the intention to have
the fake petitions presented to the city
council with the admission that the
recall provision does not recognize Pc
titions in favor Of the mayor. 1t was
to have been stated, however, that the
''pro-Harper" petitions contain the sig
natures of many voters who have like
wise signed the genuine petitions and
that the council should recognize them
as evidence of intention on both sides
of the question by numerous voters,
and that these voters names should
be stricken from the number counted
on the recall. In this way the plan was
to cause a return of the petitions to
the Municipal league because of an in
sufficient number of names, with a
consequent delay.
Fake Petitions eFaiI
The petitions designated as pro
Harper were circulated for that pur-
pose, but the machines plans did not
carry smoothly. The fake petitions
were not signed as readily as had
been estimated and the recall move
ment itself gathered speed so fast that
the "bosom friends could not keep
pace with it, Several of them think
that the fake petition was a huge mis-
take and they are beginning to believe
that they should be kept out Of sight
hereafter.
None of the members of the Munich
pal league committee is worried about
the probable presentation of the flake
petition"
1T can have no standing in law and
cannot be recognized if presented" !"
said J. o. Koepfli, president of the
league, yesterday afternoon. ''There is
not a provision which will admit it,
even if merely to delay the recalling
Of the election. The council has no
option if the signatures Of qualified
electors are attached to the petition in
sufficient number, and no subterfuge
will have any weight"
Others Hold Same View
Other members of the committee
took the same view, saying that if
workers for the machine have signed
the petition under the impression that
they could thereby delay the recall
they were simply fooling themselves
and had unwittingly helped along the
selection of a new member in place of
Mayor Harper, sometimes referred to
by the Los Angeles Times as Eddie
Morris bosom friend, A c."
The executive committee spent a
portion of the meeting yesterday after
noon in congratulations over the result
of the election on the charter amend
ments. They regarded the vote as an
indicator of the sentiment relative to
the recall.
'"rhe result shows the attitude of
voters on the intention of safeguarding
the city's interests" said Mr.. Koep-
fiji. ''It is also a straw that tells how
the wind blows on the recall The
vote on the contested amendments is
a great victory for the cause of good
government, and it will be followed by
another.
"I regard the adoption of the amend
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