The independent-reporter., 1910-12-08
POLITICAL REVOLUTION |
IN Los ANGELES
Letter Written by J. w. Merrill, Form
erly of Harmony.

to Hon. d. H. Bartlett. Mr. Merrill
was formerly a resident of Harmony
and is well known In the county. He
Is now past 80 years old but is In
good health for his years:
d. Fl. Bartlett, Skowhegan, Me-
My Dear Sir
The best and only excuse for not
answering your letter is, that | have
been so completely engrossed and alb
sorbed in political matters here that
| have neglected my correspondence
no other matters. In our city, coun
ty and State, we have just ended one
of the most exciting political cam
paigns, ever held In this state We are
passing through one of the most re
markable political revolutions or evo-
lutions in public sentiment ever wit
messed in any state. The primal
causes were more urgent and signif1-
cent, than in any change and upheaval
in public sentiment. in any state in
the union. For thirty years Califor-
MIA has been worse controlled and
handicapped by Southern Pacific r. r.
and allied corporations than any state
in the union. But. as President Lin
coin said: You can fCol a part of the
people all the time, and all the people
part of the time, but YOU can't fool all
the people all the time" The people
of California in this great tidal wave
of reform, are verifying the maxim of
the great Commoner and Emancipa-
tor who. by his proclama ton of eman-
cipation, freed 100000 bondmen and
the first and only human being that
made the Declaration of Independence
a verify. A part of the people of this
state have been fooled for full gen
Grafton and robbed of hundreds of
millions of dollars by political trick
sters and corporation money-mongers.
but in the Providence of God this
long reign of rule and ruin. has come
to an end. There is a point beyond
which, forbearance ceases to be vir-
tue. The people of California have
passed that point and smarting under
the sense of enormity of the wrongs
md plunderings of corporate greed
these many years, are now awaking
to a sense of their duty in cutting
loose from their oppressors, and
claiming the right of the people to self
government and the management of
their own affairs. They have come to
the conclusion to supplant the rule
corporation plunder by self appointed
guardians, SO long endured, and adopt
for a change the Roosevelt motto of a
square DEAL as applied to human
action. There is a volume of mean
ing in those two words. Whoever op-
poses or gets in the right of way of a
genuine revolution of an outraged
IL rot hn n a n
of Juggernaut, for they will surely be
crushed by its force. Behind the
transgressor stands the menacing
specter of vengeance and setribution
end how swift and how sure its visi-
tation lies with Him, who governs
times and will and fates. To show
you the alertness, the interest and de-
termina ton of our people in this re-
form, they have been making preDar-
ation by way of adopting the initia-
tive and referendum. also a direct
primary election law. On the 18th
inst we held the first primary cleo
tion ever had in this state. For two
months prior to this election we had
the most exciting, interesting cam
paign ever had in this or any other
state. The issue was the people
against the corporations. The par
ties were the Lincoln Roosevelt Pro-
gressive Republican League vs. the
Southern Pacific r. r. and Allies.
Both parties put forward their strong
est men, as candidates for nomina-
tion in city, county and state, for the
people at the first primary election
ever held in the state, to choose from,
instead of the old party caucus. This
deprived the ward-heelers and money
changers of their customary vocation,
and the people took the entire re-
sponsibility of nominating into their
own hands. This was indeed a new
and strange proceeding and deprived
the political boss and ringster of the
customary use of his shekels and his
calling. On election day he stands on
the street corners, crest-fallen and
forlorn and watches the common peo-
lie, the unpurchased and unbought
independent voters doing their own
voting In direct primary for the first
time in this state nominating and
their own candidates and thus
robbiDg political bosses and ward
heelers of their especial vocation of
voluntarily doing this work for them
selves but not the people for a full
generation in this state. Here Is
change so radical and so commend
able that all honest citizens cannot
fail to see and appreciate. There is
not a parallel in the history of any
state or territory where the people
have for 80 years endured the worst
and most corrupt and intolerable
government for the same length OF
time as California. History will
show that it was reserved for Cali-
fornia in the Goth century to inaugur-
ate new era and new revolution
that in its entirety and completeness
may eclipse for this wealth
the benefits of the revolution of our
forefathers. The dawn of a new era
has surely broken on this favored
land.
Los Angeles, Nov. IA, 1910.
Here | make a long dash and a
long skip. A few weeks or months
make radical changes in
our conditions and circumstances. On
the 18th of August we held the first
primary election ever had In this
state. The result was sweeping
victory for the Lincoln-R Roosevelt Pro-
gressive Republican party in the city,
county and state-we built better
than we knew. You know when we