Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-09

legislature
1907 legislature. And this in the face
of the fact that thirteen of the four
teen members of the legislature from
Los Angeles were pledged to the pass
age of the bill.
GIVES TRUE STORY
"Let me give you the true story,
which has never been published be-
fore. and 1 know it is the true one be-
cause l was present at Sacramento
during all of the time.
"The legislature convened the first
Monday in January, 1909. During the
first week the consolidation bill was
presented in both houses. In order to
see that the bill was properly rushed,
the Waterways association, win Jo-
seph Call as chairman, decided to send
Eugene Seward, secretary Of the san
Pedro chamber of commerce, TO Sac
ramento to watch the progress of the
bill. Seward left the first week in
January. Weeks went by and Seward
saw that nothing was being done IN
the matter except by Senator savage
who was pledging his vote on any
measure, whatever it was, in order TO
make a trade and get the other sena-
tors vote against the consolidation
bill Seward saw what was being done
and called the attention to the rep
resentative from this county, who had
charge of the bill, and told him that
Senator Savage had enough votes
promised to defeat the bill, as he
Seward. had interviewed most of the
members of the senate and found that
their votes had been pledged by saw
age on a misstatement of facts by
Savage. And still nothing was DONE
PLAN TO SAVE DAY
"After five weeks had elapsed and
the consolidation bill was still in tine
committee" With no prospects of be-
ing reported out, Seward wrote TO 20,
seph Call stating the facts. Call. called
into consultation Mr.. Gibbon and MI
Gaffev and after discussing matters
thew decided that the day could be
saved only by placing the matters
truthfullv before the Democratic mem
bers of the legislature and asking their
united support on the ground that the
| Southern Pacific Railroad company
was the only objector and that Sena-
| tor Savage was acting solely in their
| interests, To accomplish this 1t was
decided to send Albert M. Norton,
chairman of the Los Angeles county
Democratic central committee TO sac
ramento to present the matter 10 the
Democratic members of the legislature
as they would know that anything
coming from Norton as to the opposl-
pacific sources would be the truth. In
the meantime Senator Mccartney had
+e1egraphed and written to Norton
asking him to use his influence with
the Democratic senators to get them
to vote for the bill. ,,,.r
"AND ALL THIS TROUBLE WIFI
THIRTEEN OF THE FOURTEEN
MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLAIT 81. TI1E1 T8E
PJTDGED IN FAVOR OF THE
RITI. DOES THIS LOOK LIKE MR.
STANTON WAS TRYING TO GEIr
THE BILL, THROUGH?-MR. STAN
TON-SPEAKER OF THE ASSEM-
RLY-ELECTED TO HIS POSITION
ny THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC MA
CHINE AND THEN REFUSiNG - -
USE HIS POWER EVEN TO GEL
THE CONSOLIDATION BILL OOf
OF THE COMMITTEE?
STANTON REFUSES AID
ITO continue the story. Mr.. Norton
left for Sacramento the evening or the
conference in Mr.. Calls office. lie
arrived there on the morning OF Fepru-
arv 10, a Thursday morning. He as
certained that Walter Leeds had charge
of the bill in the assembly and called
on various members of the assembly
from this district. OF course, they
found out the business that called him
to Sacramento and the first thlng on
Friday morning a caucus or the meIn-
hers of the assembly and senate was
held in Mr.. Stanton's office. AL that
caucus a resolution was passed ue-
manding that Mr. Norton pe COLI l,-
manded to take the evening train back
TO Los Angeles, otherwise the MEM
| hers of the legislature from Los An
| coles county would refuse to do any
more work on the consolidation Dill
as thew did not want to see the Demo-
Gratis get the credit for the passage OF
the bill" Otto Reck, assemblyman
from the seVenty-second district, was
instructed to inform Mr.. Norton or
+bat Fact otto left for Los Angeles
that night and forgot to tell Mr. Nor
ton hut Norton found out what had
heen done at the caucus and sought out
Mr. stanton. He told Stanton that II
Stanton would give him his word or
honor that his (Stanton's) influence
would be used to pass the bill IN potn
houses and pledge his word on that
fact, then he (Norton) woulu ll5rlle- 5r,l e.,
diately leave for Los Angeles. rms
stanton refused to do and Norton
stayed.
SENATORS ARE PLEDGED
"Norton saw not only the Democratic
senator's but also those OF Lincoln
roosevelt persuasion. City Attorney
Leslie Hewitt and Marshall Stimson
also used their aid with the Lincoln
Roosevelt senators. There was never
at any time any doubt of the passage
of the bill in the assembly, as there
was no active opposition there, but in
the senate-the smaller body consist
ing of only forty members-Senator
Savage was making a personal fight,
and having been in the senate for
some eight years was playing up the
'old friendship gag with the other
senators.
"Mr Norton found that practically
no work had been done in the senate
in favor of the bill. That it was still
in the hands of the committee on
municipal corporations of which SEN
ator Savage was chairman, and that II
was doomed to stay there, He found
that great majority OF the senators
had been pledged against the bill.
"The first senator he won over was
Senator Cammanetti, then Senators
Cartwright. Miller, Anthony Sanford:
Curtin, Holohan-7 in all, and all
Democrats. He then turned his at
tention IN the Lincoln Roosevelt Re-