Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-17
POPPER TELLS OF
KINGS HE'S SEEN
Gives City His "reminiscences OF
S. P. Machine in CaIifor-
MIA Politics
.HERRIN POWERFUL AS ANY
Democratic Leader Urges Great
Care in Choice of Lieu
tenant Governor

y have seen three kings during my
connection with California politics
King William b. Carr King William d.
Stone, King William F. Herrin-and
the greatest of all. that uncrowned
king, Leland Stanford" said Max Pop
per, a former leader in Democratic pol
iticS in san Francisco, before the City
club at it's luncheon yesterday. His
subject was "Reminiscences of the
Southern Pacific Machine in California
Politics."
when in my boyhood days" con-
tinued the speaker, II read of the gov
ernment of California [ learned that
there were two kinds of government in
Vogue-one by the people and the other
by special interests.
Back in the early days, before the
iron horse came. the Pacific Mail
Steamship company and the Pacific
Steam Navigation company controlled
California in much the same fashion as
it was later controlled by the rail-
road interests. The steamship compa-
nies named the legislative bodies and
even the judiciary of the state.
I'm the sos the condition became so
bad that a vigilance committee was
formed, and it took bullet and rope to
drive out these monsters that had got
their tentacles around the throat of
California.
"Then came the great uncrowned
king, Leland Stanford, who named the
nominees of the Republican party and
controlled the state as though it were
his private property.
AT that time the proposition came
up to bond California in the sum of
ST, 900 900 to subsidize the railroad. The
legislature passed the bill, but it was
vetoed by Governor Haight Then
1,a Roh tn the
governors veto.
is FORGOTTEN
''I can we'll remember how Senator
Burnett of Sonoma county was carried
in his blankets on to the floor of the
senate chamber, that he, a dying man,
might register his vote against railroad
rue. Ten days later he died.
Where is the monument to this
hero? 1t is not yet built. But go to
Palo Alto, and you will see the monu-
ment of the great uncrowned king.
During the regime of Governor
Stoneman, who was elected in 1882, the
first attempt of the state board OF
equalization to assess the property of
the railroad was made. The railroad
set up hue and cry, threatening to so
to the federal government for redress.
"About this time anti-railroad legis-
lation came before the Legislature. The
railroad interests bought up enough
votes to bring about deadlock on the
anti-railroad bills. AT this point 1 want
to warn you to be careful as to the
man you elect to the office of lieutenant
governor, for 1 saw Lieutenant Gov
ernor Daggett cast the vote that broke
the deadlock and killed the bills which
the railroad had so bitterly opposed.
Just as the system has acted before,
it will continue to act. King William
f. Herrin is just as powerful as were
his two predecessors. He and his agents
go about through the state, lining up
the railroad attorneys and endeavoring
to control the nominations for the leg
islature.
1.-THE chances are this year that San
Franciscos representatives to the SEN
ate will be named by the sheriff of San
Francisco, who is a holdover state SEN
ator and elected to his present office on
the Union Labor ticket.
CHOOSE GOOD MEN
"It is vitally necessary that you put
good men in the state board of equal
ization. Think of a railroad being as
sessed at $4,000 a mile, while it is cap
italized at $240000 in this state, while
Nevada assesses at a rate of $4,000 a
mile!
so far as the railroad commission is
concerned, that is in the condition de-
scribed by the French as hors du COM