The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1910-08-23
VITRIOLIC PLANKS
HARASS CANDIDATE
Sane Reformers Behind Repub=
lican Standard Bearer Garry
Chloroform SpOnges
By GEORGE A. VAN SMITH

hiram w. johnson Will De -dDle 10
determine the character if not the text
of the platform adopted by the repub-
lican state convention in this city on
September s, if the plans of some of
the wisest of the Lincoln Roosevelt
1eaguers do not go too far astray.
1t will be cold day and a lonesome
hour in the interim of which some one
of the many thousands of patriots who
have been cooling their heels far from
the pie oven do not offer few care
fully whitfield planks for Johnson's
platform. These planks will be offered
with the best of intentions by nation
savers and job hunters, prepared to
be peeved and to view with alarm
If their dynamiting suggestions are
not instantly snapped up by Johnson
and his platform makers.
This phase of the situation has not
been overlooked by the genuine repub-
licans, who are also genuine reform
ers and who want to elect Johnson by
bigger margin than that by which he
was nominated. One of the men who
was mainstay of the Johnson primary
campaign epitomized the situation yes
terday by declaring, I'VE have every
Siduh III the state on our DdCkS.
Starting with their eyes open, the
sane reformers behind Johnson have
chloroform sponges in both hands. They
want a republican platform on which
republican ticket can stand, and
which will not only commit the party
and the ticket to the personal platform
on which Johnson was nomina ted, but
will also command the respect and sup
port of conservative republicans who
g to hat. fr,-
good government as are the radicals
with no party and many budding ideas.
Johnson has never been a strait
laced partisan, but 1 have the best
of reasons for believing that he in
tends to make his campaign a repub-
ican party campaign by republicans
and for republicans as we'll as for
California. When 1 say for 'republi-
cans" L mean for the men nominated
on the republican ticket with John
son, whether they were Lincoln
Roosevelt leaguers, regulars or just
the plain garden variety of republi-
cans looking for party nomination.
With the intense radical and his
schemes in mind the northern Calf
fornia league leaders are praying for
deliverance from the county conven-
ton platform that is expected to
bloom in variety and profusion next
week of course they entertain slight
hope of doing much with the mill
tant good citizenship of Los An
geles, but as regards the rest of the
state they are not respondent.
They hope that the San Francisco
county convention, which will as
semble next Monday, may serve as an
excellent model for other county con-
ventions controlled by anti-machine
delegates That is to say, they hope
the San Francisco convention will
1.x
affirmation of its faith in the repub-
lican party as represented by Roose-
welt and the insurgents abroad and
Johnson and the insurgents in Cali
fornia; and renewal of the pledge
to keep the Herrin machine out of the
politics and government of California.
They fear, and they have grounds
for fear, that insistent faddists may
rush some of the county conventions
with declarations for a collection of
'isms' that may embarrass the plat
form committee of the state con-
vention. The Los Angeles leaguers
are already deep in the work of pro-
granting the convention and its work
1t is declared with some degree of
emphasis that if the southerners have
picked out the officers and commit
teemen for the state convention their
choices have not been ratified by the
personnel of the convention.
Johnson has started on the enjoy
ment of a two weeks vacation He
has said that he would give no atten-
ton to campaign questions until that
vacation was over. He has some we'll
defined ideas. johnson will not at
tempt to dictate the work of the con-
vention, but he will be consulted, and
his hand will be felt in the construc-
ton of the platform. If the county
conventions do not send up mass of
radical platform material, the state
convention will go with swing. If
furnish lot of planks the queer timber
will run up against a tight barrier.
Some of San Francisco is not con-
tent with the legislative nominations
made by direct vote week ago. That
portion of San Francisco which went
up to the polls as candidates and came
away beaten is least content. There
is talk about the nominal ton of indie
pendent candidates by petition in sew
eral districts. The major portion of
this talk comes from the twentieth
senatorial district, where Eddie Bry-
ant, backed by Johnnie Lynch and pre-
sumably by Tom Finn, won out over a
field which included Jim Newsom, the
mayors friend; John w. Sweeney, the
Lincoln Roosevelt lea guer, and William
Schooler. None is prepared to accept
primary responsibility for the move
,ment, but the fact remains that the
suggestion of an independent candidacy
has been made to several residents of
the district.