The San Francisco call., 1910-07-09
Grounding of Political Trolley
Wire Appears to Have Mud
died Senatorial Deal
McMurray's Ticket to Capitol
May Be InvaIidated by In
trusiOn of Opponent
By GEORGE A. VAN SMITH

machine EA ARG(NG0 ~ AAN - l.
ray, sometime militant reformer, in
the state senate. Jack Cassidy of
the United Railroads forces is the live
wire let down into the twenty-second
senatorial district muddle and his can
didacy makes the fight look like gift
for E. J. Callan, the bona fde reform
candidate.
While the acknowledgements leaguers
have been thrashing out the problem Of
state ticket building the Herr:n lieu
tenants, who discovered early in the
game that they could make no headway
for Anderson, have been completing
plans for a coup that stands TO give
Herrin virtually a solid legislative del
egation from San Francisco. One of
the smoothest bits of their legislative
back tracking was that involving the
deal with McMurray, who played the
reform game for several years until the
independent republicans of the thirty
ninth district uncovered him and
turned him down cold.
McMurrsy was accepted as q leader
of the thirty-ninth district republicans
in 1907 when he bucked the nomination
OF Dan RYAN for mayor publicly and
privately insisted that patronage
should be the price of the thirty ninth
district delegations support Of District
Attorney Langdon. The suspicious or
some Of the thirty-ninuh district long
hairs were aroused in 1908, when Nc
Murray. falling to elect himself a dele
gate TO the Chicago national conven-
ton. ran out on the Lincoln Roosevelt
league program and let his delegates
be voted for machine candidates. Last
spring he let il be known that he
wanted TO 90 TO the state senate, but
not until after it had been agreed at
meeting Of district reform leaders at
tended by McMurray, that Assembly
man E J. Callan would make the race
for the senate if the club long known
as the "BEcAIurray' independent repub-
lican club chose him as its candidate.
Subsequently McMurray incubated
little boom for himself. He and Callan
locked horns and the club declared for
Calan by z vote OF about two TO one.
CALLAN ULTRA STRAIGHT
Callan is so straight that he has been
described as leaning backward.
Some Of the more conservative anti
machine republicans in the thirty-ninth
assennb blv district end Of the senatorial
district were disposed TO consider Cal
Ian z radical Others who had not par
ticipated actively in the affairs OF the
big club were easily convinced that NC
Murray had not been treated right. He
and his friends. who had never known
defeat in the club before, talked about
packed meeting" and gag rule"
Edgar Leavy, a young tortieth dis
trict republican who had been mem
Der OF Langdon's Office staff, broke into
the game without proper consultation
with the McCarthy-Herrin legislative
hying squadron, headed by Sheriff Tom
Finn and ably advised by Johnnie
Lynch Working under the guberna-
torial smoke. and generally without
other than privateer orders and Nc
Carthy's agreement to stand in. that
flying squadron had succeeded in franz
ing up a general legislative ticket that
bade fair TO win virtually without gen.
uine reformer opposition. McMurray,
posing as a reformer and with natural
elements Of strength, appeared to be
the medium through which the machine
could secure a district that had been
considered virtually hopeless. Assured
Of the machines under cover support,
McMurray fiouted the Endorsement of
Callan by his old club and bounced into
the ring as n independent candidate
for the senate Sailing under false col
ors and with the machine down for him
both on the union labor and republ-
can party wings McMurray looked dan
gerous. His ability TO take q consid-
cradle conservative vote away from
CsI1an was not questioned.
CASSIDY SPoILS SCHEME
Theu Jack Cassidy came along and
made q mess Of the pretty scheme. The
United Railroads man had been nurs-
ing a senatorial bee for months He
lined up with AfcNTurrav in the fight
against Callan in the spring and every
thing was considered lovely until he
showed his petition affidavit and fling
fee across the counter of the registrar
Of voters' Office and was enrolled among
the patriots willing to serve the
electors OF the tWenty-second sena-
tortai district
camp and the United Railroads big
wigs were appealed to with the hone az
pulling Cassidy down. A powwow was
scheduled for Thursday night. II
could come to nothing, however. he
cause Cassidy had complied with the
requirements OF the direct primary law
in q manner that acted as bar to his
withdrawal. The United Railroads has
a considerable vote IN the Sunset side
OF the thfrty-ninth district and a big
following IN the fortfeth Cassidy has
been the minapulator Of this vote in the
thfrty-ninth. II he were not IN tba
race that vote could be expected +o 6,d
tts way TO McMurray. As II IS IN
four handed contest, McMurrav "a
Sdeeloy appear 70 De cast for the fot
OF cutting UP the opposition ana ~
suring Callan's nomination.
KEEsLISG FILES PETITION
Colonel Francis v Keesfine. 6,ed "a.
local petition yesterday The re15s-
trsr's force Will probably be ahIa -
verify II in time TO get it to the secreo
tary Of state before July II. Thai yr,ll
insure Keesling a place on the bs sIlo+
ss q candidate for nomination for Hen
tenant governor. Keesling strenuousiv
insists that he is an Independent His
protestations may be all right. but the
manner in which his petition was nre-
pared fully justified the suspicion That
he was put into the race by Phil Stan
ton, or, TO be more accurate, bv Phil
Stanton's local managers
Simon p. Meades of Oakland has for
r1ally signifed his intention to qualify
for the prohibition party's nomination
for governor. His San Francisco petf
tion will require only 4 signatures. so
there Will be no difficulty about IT'S
verifcation should it not be presented
for several DAYS.
The bitterness of the fight between
Judges Wilbur and James in southern
California seems to offer insurance of
the denomination of Associate Justices
Melvin and Sloss of the supreme bench.
The Lincoln Roosevelt leaguers have
failed 10 team Justice Sloss with Judge
Wilbur quite as completely as James
friends have failed to tie him up with