The San Francisco call., 1910-10-23
REPUBLICANS ARE
sure OF VICTORY
Offers of 10 to 6 That Johnson
Beats Bell Find No
Takers
BY GEORGE A. VAN SMITH

BY GEORGE A. VAN SMITH
The betting odds established by. the
weight of the public's money furnish
now as they always furnish. an In
fallible index to the popular estimate
of the political situation. and as they
almost invariably furnish, an fnfalhole
| forecast of the campaign results.
Offers of 10 to that Johnson beats
Bell finds no takers. Offers of even
money that Johnson beats Bell by So
/ 600, or more, lure nOwise no speculative
money from that part of the pubic that
backs its judgment of political contests
Neither have those offers loosed the
purse strings of the partisan who backs
his prejudices and his desires rather
than his Judgment. Even money that
Johnson carries San Francisco is not
considered good enough 70 drag out
either the wise or the enthusiastic Bell
money. The betting commissioners are
loaded with money to be placed on
Johnson at almost any terms There IL
not a book maker in California who
would not permit the sport with
| speculative hunch to write his own
| ticket against the republican state
ticket as a whole.
REASON FOR THE ODDS
There are many reasons underlying
this situation There is the splendid
Hiram W. Johnson and the issue which
he has made the slogan OF the primary
| and general election campaign There
| is the worth of the men nominated with
| him on the state and district tickets:
| there is an outraged and organized
public sentiment IN revolt against po-
| litical conditions that have perva1led
for nearly half a century. And under
| lying these reasons any of them sur
fcient. is the fact that the men on the
republican ticket were nominated oy
| the people and not by any special IN
terest or corporation boss.
In passing it may be observed that
the rank and hle of the democratic
party had no voice In the nomination
/ of the ticket bearing their party
| label. and that the democratic ticket
can not claim even the doubtful par
| enta ge of delegate convention.
Two weeks before the general cleo
| tfon in 1905 there was no 10 TO re-
publican money going begging There
| was an epidemic of republican cold
| feet and a we'll settled conviction that
| the salvation of the head of the re-
publican ticket depended upon the vote
\ getting powers of I.angdon. who had
! been sliced into the fight at the head
i of Fiearst's doodle dees. There was
| no quarrel with the head OF the repUb-
| lican ticket. He had rendered his state
honorable and distinguished service
/
4 latures. He has since proved himself
one of the biggest Of CALIFORNIA; gov
| ernors.
SYSTEM Is WIPED OIF
The popular objection ran not to
| Gillett. but to the boss behind the
! Santa Cruz convention that nominated
/ C3iIIett-tO the system. That system
| has been wiped out. AT that conVeu-
tfon The Call began the fight for the
direct primary. Three years later the
4 people of California had reinVested
/ themselves with the power to control
! their own public servants through the
/ selection of those public servants
The republican ticket for 1910 was
selected by the republicans or CAN
fornia rejoicing in the freedom insured
them by the direct primary law. Every
man on the republican ticket Is the
| choice of the registered republican
electors Of California Almost with
out exception they were chosen by the
people over other republicans who ap-
| pealed 10 the rank and ME OF thelr
| party for nominations
There are few untried men on the re-
| publican ticket and none unoknown 70
/ the people of the state generally Some
| of them have never been candidates
i for public office before. None is WITH
! out record of official service IN the
party for the people and for free gov
| ernment
! The Santa Cruz convention OF 1905
| was probably the most execrated event
/ in the political history OF the state
/ Popular resentment of the methods
/ enploved in that convention resulted
4 in giving California a governor elected
| nv the system and not to the men nom
| mated under that system. was demon
/ strated by the first direct primary cleo
] tion.
A majority of the men nominated at
\ IL
| ords in office. sought denomination 70
those offices. With single notable eN-
/ ception they were renominated by the
peopIe they had served faithfully and
| honestly.
state Treasurer Williams. Attorney
| General u. S. Webb. Associate Justlce
/ of the Supreme Court NJ. C. SlosS, state
Superintendent of Printing w. W Shan
| non. Surveyor General Kingsbury and
! Superintendent of Public instruction
\ HYATT were nominated in the santa
| cruz convention. Every one of them
made good in the public service Every
! one of them was renoninated by the
direct votes of the republicans or Cali
\ ifornia. and all except Treasurer VII
| 1iams. over strong opposing candidates.
| Tn that fact lies the explanation for
the book makers willingness 10 let
the notentiaI bettor write his own odds
against the republican ticket The men
4 on the republican ticket are men with
records of honorable service. men
chosen by the people because OF their
services
The same thing is true OF the repuo-
lican district tickets. Take for eX-
amples the first railroad commission
/ er's district and the first appellate court
| district Railroad Commissioner Har-
tvev D. Loveland was triumphantly
nominated by the republicans of his
/ district not ebcause he begged for
their votes. which he did not, but be-
cause. thanks TO him. the moribund
railroad commission had become live
adjunct of government, because he had
rendered the people valuable. honest
service Contrast his nomination with
the defeat of the other incumbents
Enthusiasts Rally
Especial Dispatch to The Call
/ COI.MA. Oct. 22.-The republican
county nominees were given an en-
thusiastic reception at a monster rally
lin Bracken's hall at Colma last night.
Hiram Johnson was represented by Ed
ward T. Barry Of San Francisco. who
was received with hearty applause.