The San Francisco call., 1910-11-06
JOHNSON VOTE
TO BREAK ALL
STATE RECORDS
People Unchanged in Determine
tiOn to Elect Republican
Governor of State
Democrats by Thousands Decide
Bell Is Not Reliable Enough
TO Support
~ GEORGE A. VAN SMITH

LF N-LOhGE A VAN Sml n
The people Of California will elect
Hiram ". Johnson governor of their
state ON Tuesday by the largest vote
ever given q chief executive of the
golden state. The popular verdict is
ma ie up. No eleventh hour canard, no
vile personal attack. will change that
verdict There remains only its record
Ing on Tuesday.
The people Of California have decided
10 make Hiram " Johnson their gov
ernor because they have faith in him;
because they believe he will keep his
promises. because they have neither
thar faith nor confidence in his oppo-
rent
The people. who fought for years to
secure a direct primary election law
through which they might free them
selves from corporate aggression and
one Of the foulest boss systems ever
builded- bade Herrin. Calhoun. Hearst,
Ruef and all their ilk TO take their
hands OF California when they gave 3
majority Of 1o6.ooo for a direct primary
constitutional amendment.
PEOPLE VICTORIOUS
They viii not turn on Tuesday to the
candidate whose lust for public place
makes him the grateful recipient of
the support of Calhoun. Herrin. Hearst
and Ruef. The people We're held in
check for half century. They were
never conquered. They have struck off
the shackles. They have the chains and
the whip in their own hands now
They VIII assert their resumption Of
the right 10 self government on Tues
day.
Thousands Of earnest democrats have
deserted the standard Of the man for
whom they fought four years ago.
They have declared that in vindicstion
or their democracy they must support
Johns0n--thev must defeat the man
whom they have learned to distrust as
an opportunist. glad 10 ally himself
with the peoples enemies. with the
hope that such alliance will bring him
public place. political power.
The flower Of democracy has gone
over TO the republican standard and
Hiram II. Johnson. In exchange Bell
has received the scum that f1oated upon
the bounty of 4 corrupt machine. self
STYLED republican.
out of his own mouth and with his
own pen. Theodore Bell has justified the
dlstrust Of the thousands of thinking
democrats who are supporting Johnson
and the issue for which he stands. What
right 20 the confidence of the people has
q candidate for the highest office in the
gift Of the people who viii give him
self the lie direct in formal statements
for publication. but so far apart as TO
give him hope that his first story had
been forgotten when the second was
told2 Here are two bits of evidence Of
Theodore Bells unworthiness. They
were furnished by Bell himself. One
was published over his signature. The
other was dictated by him and subse-
quenLy read by him 10 an audience of
5000 persons.
ALL NIGHT SESSION
IN 1905. when Bell was tiptoeing after
the goTernorship, much as he is now,
the leaders Of his party demanded that
at his closing meeting in San Francisco
he declare himself upon the graft stu
alton and Abe Ruef They prepared a
form OF declaration that would save the
face Of their party and perhaps save
their candidate from the wrath Of an
outraged san Francisco public. It re-
mains undenied that after an all night
session in Sacramento devoted TO plead
ing with Bel. he agreed to make the
statement st WaltOns pavilion on
Thursday. November l. 1906. It remains
undenied that Tom Geary was the rep
resentative Of the party organization
who went TO Sacramento to secure that
promise. II remains undenied that
Frank Gould and Judge Raker Of Mo-
doc. late chairman Of the democratic
state central committee, went up TO
Contra Costa county TO escort Bell to
town and keep him firm in the promise
that they All knew he had made re-
ilCtantir. After the. Walton pavilion
meeting storm of democratic protest
went Up over Bells failure TO denounce
Ruef according TO his agreement. Bells
principal newspaper supporter deserted
him. his republican opponent reproached
him and two DAYS after the Walton
pavilion meeting Bell secured pubiica-
rfon Of & formal statement over his own
signature In that statement published
on November 3. 1906, Bell said:
have not considered it proper
70 express an opinion as to the
coutroVersE between Langdon and
Ruef. for ] DO not Jeem it at all
necessary for me 10 be prejudiced
in z situation that may in some
form come before me as governor
of this state.
Just four years later The Call asked
Bell T il were true that he had failed
70 denounce Ruef at the Walton pa
vilion meeting November 1, 1906 and
in answer 70 The Calis question Bell
read this 10 an audience Of 5000 per-
sons at Dreamland rink:
On the Thursday night preceding
the election Of 1905 7 spoke al Wal
tons pavilion in San Francisco and
severely denounced Abe Ruef for
his attempt 10 oust Langdon from
the district attorneys ONCE, and re-
pested this in two other halls that
night.
There are thousands of men and
women in san Francisco who know
when Bell lied. There are other thou
sands TO whom the date is immaterial
They withdrew their confidence from
Bell when he fawwningly accepted the
support Of the allied villainies OF Cali
foTnia-
The kind OF politics involved in the
foregoing hasIy contradictory state
ments and the support Of Calhoun, Her
rim. Hearst and Ruef serves to furnish
an explanation for Bells inability to
secure a big representative California
democrat as chief orator in his cam
pafsn: explains the Importation of the
Indiana Herring spewing slime along its
foul wake. explains why hundreds Of
representative democrats have asked
the press TO inform the public that they
are not for Bell.
No SHIFTH ANSWERS
Look on the other side of the po-
liticaI fence. At the head Of the re-
publican column is a leader who has
made no shifty answers, who has been
compelled 10 make no apologies for
any Of his support; who has looked the
people squarely in the face and told
them man fashion that the principles
for which he stood meant more TO him
than public place. That leader has