Los Angeles herald., 1909-04-06
HOLDS LOS ANGELES
HAS GREAT FUTURE
RECALL HAS BROUGHT CITY
IMMENSE PRESTIGE
Iowa Newspaper Man Looks to Vast
Development of Commerce When
Pending Changes Have
Taken Place

The recent recall movement in Los
Angeles, the business and harbor pros
poets, the climate and the homes OF
Southern California all conspire to al
lure 5. NJ. Greene, newspaperman
from Charlton. Ia. :,
Mr., Greene, his wife and two small
sons have apartments at the Roycroft,
92S West Sixth street. Mr.. Greene dis?
POSED of his newspaper, the Charlton
Herald which he had owned and con-
Quoted for eight years, and came to
Los Angeles with his family to inves-
tigate conditions with view TO start
ing business and a home. In an inter-
view he said:
THE result of the recent recall cleo
ton in Los Angeles will do the city
more good in Iowa and other parts OF
the east than probably can ever be
computed. Just at this time, when
graft in large cities is being exposed,
the fact that Los Angeles is willing
and able by a popular vote to throw
out the corrupt city administration al
most as soon as it is discovered in
spite of the combined opposition of a
powerful political machine and all the
forces that favor graft and wide
omen town, is of tremendous import.
To elect a clean man for mayor was
a victory that will do more to adver-
tise Los Angeles as a desirable city In
which to live than all the literature
and lectures that could be promul-
gated by the chamber of commerce In
five years.
San Francisco Besmirched
Back in Iowa we have been watch
ing the growth of the Pacific coast
with wonder. The awful graft ex-
posures at San Francisco and the great
difficulty encountered in bringing the
hoy oil
city a black eye in the east from
which it will be hard for it to rally.
The way they have gone about it in
San Francisco, making public all the
rotten particulars of the existing graft,
has given the world the impression
that the city is worse than probably it
really is. Every city of this size in
the United States is corrupt to some
degree, but if the corruption can be
cleaned out without publishing to the
world the details of the corruption it
certainly Is better for the city.
LOS Angeles, with its recall method
of elections, Is surely far in advance
in the matter of good city govern
ment. Even Iowa, with her boosted
Des Moines plan in the capital city,
does not give the people the same
chance as if they were able to GUST
officers who proved unsatisfactory
But the recall provision in itself would
not be sufficient to give city
good name abroad unless the citizen
ship were of sufficiently high order to
pursue the plan to the end and actual
ly Dust Objectionable officials. That
Los Angeles has men of influence with
moral character enough to lead such a
movement, newspapers with stamina
enough to uphold it and voters decent
and Wideawake enough to give it
good majority shows that this city has
an exceptionally high character of cit
izenship. And the house cleaning has
all been accomplished without the
world hearing the narrowing details.
mo matter whether Mr.. Alexander
makes a successful mayor or not, the
fact that he is a decent citizen and
was elected by popular vote to throw
out a corrupt set of officials is good
advertising for the city. From what
hear of him / believe he will give
sensible and businesslike admfnistra-
ton.
Future Prospects Great
at was here on a short trip about five
years ago. and the growth of Los An
geles and Southern California since
that time has been simply marvellous
Iowa is a great state, but to a young
man like myself the attractions of a
growing section like this, with the
great prestige that the building of the
Panama canal ana the development VI
the harbor facilities will give Los An
geles and the territory contiguous to it
are stronger than the attractions of
Iowa. | have a bout made up my mind
to cast my lot in this part of the coun-
try.
''When I was here five years ago |
wondered why the coast towns and
Los Angeles did not unite and work to-
gether to build up a great shipping
port. All Southern California depends
on such a combination. Without a
port Los Angeles will never be a great
city, and without Los Angeles the port
will never be developed. The natural
thing and, it seems to me, the only
thing, for San Pedro and Los Angeles
to do is to unite.
san Francisco and Puget sound are
rivals of Los Angeles for the great
trade that is being built up on the Pa
cifc ocean. They have their ports al
ready and are spending all their en-
ergy in reaching out after trade. Some
of the territory around Los Angeles is
still holding back progress by trying
to keep the city from having a water
outlet. 1t looks to me, an outside OBJ
server, like not only suicide, but ira
tricide, for if this Los Angeles port Is
not developed soon the whole Southern
California region will be seriously han
dicapped."