The San Francisco call., 1909-02-10
COMPROMISE AIM
OF MACHINE men
Routed Herrin Cohorts Plead for
Chance to Dicker on
Direct Primary
Walter Parker and LieutenantS
Fail to Weaken More Than
One Senator
BY George A. Van Smith
Special Dispatch TO The CALI

CALL HEADQUARTERS. CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE BUILDING. SACRA-
MENTO, Feb. 9.-Frantically endeavor-
ing to combat a legislative realization
of the fact that the people of Cali
fornia refuse TO submit to the Herrin
scheme to wreck and defeat the pur
poses of the Wright-Stanton direct
primary bill through Wolfe's iniqui-
tous majority nomination appointment,
and the exclusion of the nomination of
partisan candidates for United States
senators, Herrins man, Walter Parker.
and his senatorial sublieutenants have
failed to make any visible inroads on
the forces of the senator's who have
Joined with Wright in the fight for a
decent and honest direct primary cleo
tion law.
The independent caucus behind the
Wright-Stanton bill will meet again
tomorrow to agree upon the amend
ments to the original bill for which it's
members will fight.
So far the efforts of Walter Parker
and his lieutenants on the floor have
resulted in the weakening of only one
senator and as he was originally
counted with the opposition his weak
ening. which has not gone TO the point
of declared break. has in no wise dis
mayed the advocates of genuine di-
rect primaries.
On the other hand the machinists are
showing the desperation of their stu
alton by talking about compromises,
which they say will save the friends
of direct primaries from the ignominy
of defeat at the hands of the 'organi-
zation." In the good old days when the
organization" was in position TO
peddle the ignominy of defeat, it did
not send out warning to its opponents
to come in and compromise or get
hurt.
Every man who went into the indie
pendent caucus or who has worked
with its members since knows that the
kindly organization" can not dodge
responsibility for the attempt to de-
feat the purposes of the Wright-Stan-
ton bill and knows also that the one
way to avoid sharing in the results
Of that responsibility is to keep his
personal record straight.
The storm of republican editorial
protest which has gone up from Hum
boldt to San Diego calling renewed at
tention to the majority of more than
100000 votes for the Wright direct pri-
mary amendment is impressing on the
minds of both senators and assembly,
men that the people are aroused and
are in earnest in their demands for
genuine direct primary legislation.
Whispers of compromise were flying
OuHQ the SENATE CndHlDer IQlS morn
ing. These whispered rumors suggest
ed that the machine was ready to put
the soft pedal on the opposition to the
United States senat torial provision if
the majority nomination poison could
be put into the bill.
Senator Wright denied participation
in any such compromise. He said:
"I know nothing of any compromise.
Compromise means denying to the peo-
pie the rights they have demanded and
we have promised to give them. Our
fight is in the open. 1t is a fight to
redeem the promises made by both the
republican and democratic parties. We
will finish the fight in the open. We
will win. But in the event that we
should not win we would be hurt less
than the forces that defeated u.s.
The fight of the independents at
which the machine senators scoffed a
week ago is no scoffing matter now.
Parker and his aids have run square1y
counter of an unwillingness on the part
OF the members of the senate to accept
the penalties inevitably consequent
upon their support of Wolfe's CARROT
ing amendment and the plan TO deprive
the people of any voice in the selection
of their candidates for the United
States senate.
Senators who are not particularly
keen about direct primaries beyond the
purely cOllN6TSdlfOIdt anu lHeOTeIlCdl
stages are with the independents be-
cause they realize that the people are
aroused by the shallow trick the con-
summation of which was intrusted to
Wolfe.
They know that to vote for Wolfe S
majority nomination amendment and
for the exclusion of United States sen
ators from the provisions of the
Wright Stanton bill is to proclaim
themselves to all the people as the
servants of Herrin and the Herrin ma
chine.
Parker, Wolfe ct al. know that the
storm of popular protest evoked by
their attempt to prevent the enactment
of a decent primary law through the
Wolfe majority amendment has stiff
ened up the independents of both
parties who went. into rump. caucus
with Senator Wright. They know. too
that the democrats, except one or two
from San Francisco whom they control
absolutely, are not going to be used as
| tools to absolve the Herrin machine
from responsibility for the fiimsy trick
which has aroused popular Indignation
| All the subcommittee appointed by
] the independents have completed their
work tonight The independents can
| caucus tomorrow, thrash out the amend
ments and be ready for the showdown