The San Francisco call., 1909-04-17
WANT HENEY FOR
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
Regular Democrats Talk About
Nominating Graft Prosecutor
to Succeed Langdon
Indicted Captains of Finance
With Big Campaign Fund
to Fight for Office
By George Van Smith

By George Van Smith
Francis j. Heney for district attor-
ney That is the advance whisper
that is being sent the rounds by a
strong element in regular democratic
circles and less quietly. but none the
less persistently, among men who are
not Identified with the applied practice
of politics.
While the mayoralty. the city attor-
neyship and the board of supervisors
are subjects discussed in the open by
the politicians, the question of Will
liam H Langdon's successor is the big
question of the coming municipal cam
paign and the one nearest the hearts
Of the '-pollies." if, at the same time. it
is the one about which they say the
least publicly.
GRAFT PROSECUTION INVOLVED
The practical politician has no
monopoly of the interest in the ques-
ton of Langdon's successor. The
general public has not given anything
like concrete expression of its interest,
but in the matter of the succession to
the district attorneys office lies the
disposition of San Francisco's biggest
problem-the graft prosecution.
The indicted captains of finance and
all their allied interests have but one
real interest in the municipal cam
paign. If they can capture the district
attorneys Office the graft prosecution
will be at an end. Business will
will choose a sane. sensible" staff
and permit the persecution of the
gentlemen who We're held up" TO die
quietly and without further annoy
anee of the higher courts.
1t has been quietly given out that
the biggest campaign fund in the his
tory of San Francisco will be on tap
TO insure the capture of the district
attorneys berth and the dismissal of
Heney as special assistant and prose-
cutor.
LANGDoN OUT OF THE RACE
Langdon will not be a candidate to
succeed himself. That may be taken
as final He has other plans and
they do not involve continuance in
the public service. The district attor-
ney's Office will be the big issue of
the campaign as it was Two years ago.
With Langdon. in the field as an
avowed or receptive candidate, there
would be no more question of his
nomination and reelection than there
was two years ago. The only poll
Langdon two years ago were Daniel A.
Ryan and his immediate followers and
some of Gavin McNab's Iieutenants who
dared to disagree with the democratic
big boss. Langdon got thre nominal
tions just the same. because the people
wanted him TO have them and because
the ''pellies7 knew that 10 turn him
down meant defeat at the polls.
The same democratic lieutenants who
C1iGa 2rTaad with McNaI fxr.a -
see an exactly similar situation devei-
oping now. They see the big issue in
the district attorneys Office and they
think they see victory for their entire
ticket in the nomination of candidate
for district attorney whose election
will insure a vigorous continuance of
the graft prosecution.
HENEY THE NATURAL CANDIDATE
Naturally they have settled on Heney
as the man for the democratic nomina-
ton. They figure that with Heney on
their primary ticket, nothing could
stop his nomination. And further. with
Heney nominated on the democratic
ticket. they see the good government
league, which will not have a primary
ticket, but will present ticket at the
general election indorsing the demo-
cratic ticket as a whole because of
Heney.
-4Ao IL 6OOu D0lltlCS and
sure 10 bring home some of the meat
If not all of the bacon. in the way of
the good government league indrose-
ment for the entire democratic ticket
Langdon. who McNao said should not
have the democratic nomination two
years ago. elected that ticket Why
should Heney not do the same thing
for democracy in/1909?
PRIMARY LAW MISREPREsENTED
The democratic politicians have not
been impressed with the ignorant or
vicious talk about the direct primary
law forbiddiRg the nomination of a
candidate by more than one party. They
know that the direct primary law does
nothing of the kind They have not
discouraged the dissemination of that
sort of misinformation for public CON
sumption, but they have not been
fooled themselves.
If Heney filed an affidavit to secure
place on the democratic primary
ticket, his name could not be printed
on the republican ballot, but there is
nothing in the new prymary law to pre-
vent every republican elector in San
Francisco from writing Heney's name
on the republican primary ballot. and
nothing in the California law. as there
is in most Of the direct primary laws.
TO compel candidate thus nominated
on two party tickets to swear off one
of the nominations.
EXPECTATION OF DEMOCRATS
The democrats who are quietly nurs
ing the Heney boom probably. do NOT
expect enough republicans to write
Heneys name on the.r party ballot to
give him the republican nomination.
but they do believe that several thou
sands of republicans would take the
trouble to so vote for Heney. and
thereby develop a situation exactly
analogous with that produced last fall.
when the republicans who wanted Judge
Dunno named on their ticket were boot
ed down in convention. and when the
Taylor republicans walked out of the
municipal convention two years ago.
The thwarted republicans voted the
democratic or good government tickets.
and lot of democrats are looking for
the same kind of lightning to strike
them again.