Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-10
RECALL PETITION
FORMALLY FILED
WITHCITY CLERK
SIGNATURES EXCEED NUMBER
OF HARPER'S VOTES
MEETING CALLED TO SELECT A
CANDIDATE
Citizens to Assemble Friday After
noon and Decide on Nominee
to Oppose Present
Mayor
DEVELoPMENTs IN RECALL

DEVELOPMENTS IN RECALL
nEcALL petitions containing 1O,sS9 sig
II natures were filed with the city clerk
AV yesterday, and the city council author
lied him to employ the addition clerks
necessary to verify the signatures within
ten days.
A citizens meeting will be held Friday
afternoon for formal consideration of the
declinatiOn of William ID. Stephens to be-
come a candidate for mayor. The question
of asking some else to make the race
win also come before the meeting.
In spite of strong effort to induce sign
of recall petitions to delay matters by
withdrawing their names but two requests
for withdrawal were made.
More signatures have been attached
to recall petitions than votes were cast
for A. c. Harper for mayor.
When it became evident that the re-
call petitions had practically II 1000 sig
natures of electors it was decided to
save a week by presenting the demand
for the recall to the council at yester-
days session. The executive commit
te. was hurriedly summoned and
marched in a body from the leagues
office to the city hall. President J. O.
Koepfi and Secretary C. D. Willard
headed the procession, and they were
accompanied by DR.. S. H. Tollhurst,
James A. Anderson, r. w. Burnham,
Marshall Stimson, Frank J. Hart,
Meyer Lissner, DR.. F. B. Kellogg, H. r.
Boynton, Frank Simpson, Gilbert
Wright and ]. P. Steele.
The committee presented the petit
tions to City Clerk Harry Lelande, who
went at once with them to the council
chamber. The council was discussing
a street Improvement but took the re-
call up five minutes after it was pre-
sented. Mr. Lelande said that mas
much as the law allowed him but ten
days to verify the signatures he would
require an additional force.
Councilman Wren moved that the
city clerk be granted the authority to
employ clerks, and the motion was Sec
onded by Councilman Dromgold. at
IdQ D661 GApGCLSO llioll plCSClAIcllAOll Va
the petition would bring obstructive
tactics from councilmen who are count
ed as friends of the mayor, but nothing
of the sort appeared. "They have had
their ears to the ground, remarked a
man in a spectators seat.
CIampitt Emits Whine
Only Councilman Clampitt made any
protest, and his was feeble one. 81
don't see any necessity for all this hur-
ry,'' he remarked. Have we ever done
anything like this before?"
mo. this is the first time we have
ever done this; it will be the last we
will ever have to recall a mayor" re-
piled Councilman Dromgold.
The councils vote to allow assistance
to City Clerk Lelande was unanimous.
He started checking yesterday after
noon and will keep his force of twenty
clerks at work in two shifts until he
has verified 7S47 signatures, as the ex-
act number of votes cast at the muni-
cipal election when Mayor Harper was
chosen was 81, 1888.
j. p. Steele, who had charge of the
canVassers and checkers, has discharged
his force. He has a drawer full of
petitions that came in too late to trans
NIT to City Clerk Lelande and others
will be turned in today by volunteer
canvassers who did not realize that the
executive committee was about to move
so quickly.
The total number of signatures OBJ
tanned to recall petitions is greater than
the total number Of votes received by
Mr. Harper for mayor. Members of
the league think this in itself is a re-
call The petitions received contain
about 1900 names, of which 10,8S9 are
on the lists presented to the council.
Success StartIes Harperites
eve have checked about one-third of
the total" said Secretary Willard yes
terday afternoon, "and find that the
percentage of names not found on the
great register on the first search is II
per cent. Many Of these are clerical
errors and many new names not yet
put in place on the great register. A
second checking will probably bring the
percentage down to per cent of actual
loss through duplication or the entry
of non-registered names. We believe,
therefore, that we have nearly 1000
names more than are needed.
Our petitions were printed Monday,
January %, and work began the next
day, which is just two weeks ago today.
This period contained four rainy days
when work was impossible. On clear
days we averaged over 1000 names
daily About one person out of eight of
those asked refu-ed to sign, but most
of those refusing declared they would
not vote for the incumbent at the recall
election"
Men at the city hall who are familiar
with the amount of work necessary to
secure signatures do not hesitate to
say that the turning in of more than
10000 names in less than two weeks
is an unprecedented achievement. Il
did not believe anything like it was
possible said a man who holds an
appointive office under Mayor Harper.
MY estimate was that it would take
five months, and I believed then that
they would have trouble securing the
recall. / have watched circulation of
petitions when there was practically no
opposition, and 1 know that it is not
an easy matter to get signatures un-
less the people are anxious to sign. |
was badly fooled on the recall peti-
tions, and my guess is that lot of us
stand to be worse fooled before this is
over"