Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-07
WRONG, AS USUAL


TN ALIGNING itself with the OPP
| ponents of state division our morn
- ing contemporary, the Times, has
merely given another exhibition of the
positive genius which it has developed
for always getting on the wrong side
of every public question.
Not content with opposing the recall
as a principle; the utilization of the re-
call to drive from Office a mayor who
had disgraced the city of Los Angeles
and given it the worst government that
it has ever had; aligning itself against
/ the ablest school board that ever ad-
ministered the educational affairs of
| the city, and contesting the issuing of
school bonds to afford absolutely neces-
1 sary facilities for the children of the
| city-this always maladroit and mis-
directed journal now opposes a move
ment favored by an overwhelming ma
| iority of the intelligent and patriotic
people of the city and county, and
| indeed, Of the whole section in which
it is published.
| In a garbled and utterly unreliable
held in the chamber of commerce rooms
on Tuesday evening last, it sought
to make the impression that the move
ment in favor of state division was
practically moribund.
1t is no new thing for this brilliant
journalistic champion of losing causes
to endeavor. by such tactics as were
adopted in reporting the meeting in
question to persuade itself and it's read
ers that the causes which it sees fit to
oppose are rapidly progressing toward
failure.
Yet it is matter of local history that
those causes have universally succeed
ed. So without exception has this been
the case that it has come to be a pro-
verbal saying in Los Angeles that the
opposition of the Times insures sue
cess.
We do not believe, however, that
causes succeed because they are op-
posed by the Times, but we do believe
that the phenomenal talent displayed
by that paper in always getting upon
the wrong and losing side of every pub
lie question has made that impression
upon the public.
In the very meeting which the Times
reported as indicating the failure of the
state division movement, it was an
nounced that the members of the Mer-
chants and Manufacturers association
when called on to vote upon the ques-
ton had expressed themselves by an
overwhelming majority in its favor.
Certainly that organization may be
taken as fairly representative of the
citizenship of this city. There can be
no question that the members of other
organizations, such as the chamber of
commerce and the Municipal league,
would by as great or greater majorities
sustain this movement, were they
called upon to express their sentiments
regarding 1t, as they undoubtedly will
be called upon in the near future. In
deed, larger majorities favoring it may
| be looked for in the membership of
these organizations, for the reason that
the mercantile class is notoriously con-
| servative on all novel or new matters
in government, and that conservative
class largely predominates in the men,
bership of the Merchants ard Manu-
| facturers' association.
If our notoriously blind contemporary
can succeed IN fooling itself into the
belief that the state division movement
has practically died a-bornin," it is
destined to experience another of the
many disagreeable awakenings as to
the real truth of public sentiment that
have distinguished its journalistic ca
reer during the past few years.