Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-25
[ latest News and Notes in Realm of Politics

tics in Los Angeles county ana IN tne
state of California for twenty years
past and that the Democratic party
had in that time always been the back
bone of clean government in the po-
litical history of this state and county.
The Republican party has during the
greater part of that time been in pow
er with the absolute authorlt-' to re-
deem and relieve the state and county
from the grasp of the Southern Pa
cific machine They have not done
so in that time. And still Republicans
go blindly along voting time and time
again for their ticket straight" en-
numbered as it Is wholly with the men
nominated by the Southern Pacific
railroad machine. And now the eli
max is capped by Mr.. Lissner announc-
ing that for the first time In thirty
years the people of California have the
chance to redeem the state from the
machines grasp by voting for Mr..
johnson as the Republican candidate.
Let Mr.. Lissner and his associates
also remember that l have not OBJ
served men in politics during the past
twenty years without making some
notes and data as to the part they
have taken in past political campaigns,
and perhaps at some future date I
will enlighten the unsuspecting public
as to what kind Of leaders these So
called reform men are
JOSEPH sIMONs."
STATEMENT BY NORTON
Albert M. Norton. chairman of the
Los Angeles county Democratic com
mittee, also has criticised Mr.. Liss-
ner's attitude in the matter of deal
ing with numerous problems that have
confronted the good government forces
since the inception of the present
campaign.
He issued a statement yesterday say
ing:
7Good government can never be es-
tAblished In Los Angeles, and sue
cessfully maintained, on a partisan
basis. Good government, clean poll
tics, honesty and efficiency in admins
trative offices, can only result from an
unbiased non-partisan concentration of
public determination. The non
partisan spirit is the only spirit with
which the good government citizens
of Los Angeles can accomplish their
desired reforms. When any one man,
or any set Of men, try to cram
partisan ticket down the throats of
the voters, they are not true to good
government principles, and are resort
ing to the same old-time bossism and
bulldozing tactics that we are now
concentrating to defeat.
1.-The Lincoln Roosevelt league of
Los Angeles, dominated and controlled
practically by two men-Meyer Liss-
ner and one A. e. Dickson-started
in to clean out the Courthouse and
made loud noise about better govern
ment' and the application of civil SER
vice rules Inactivity in politics) to the
city and county administrative Of
fees. They then wound up by indors-
ing many of the courthouse incum-
bents, including several out-and-out
machine men, and are now attempting
to have the Good Government (non-
partisan) organization of this city
composed of and financed by Demo-
Gratis and Republicans alike-give its
que ticket.
KEEPING EYES OPEN
1--WE have been keeping an eye on
the manipulations of the Lincoln
Roosevelt league, and we questioned
it's sincerity when 1t refused to agree
to support the man who did so much
to oust our previous corrupt admins
tration and to elect the present admin
istration-Thomas Lee Woolwine.
I'VE were suspicious when men like
Lissner, Dickson and A. M. Dunn at
tempted to put through a pre-
primary Endorsement of both tickets,
for this closes the avenue to
the third (non-partisan) ticket
after the primaries, and so will
mean the election of a straight-out
Republican ticket.
whatever may be the effect of
these manipulations, the good govern
ment forces of this city will be urged
not to vote a straight ticket, butato
THINK. Let the people of Los An
geles county do their own thinking,
and not leave it to the bosses. We
don't need bosses. One boss is as bad
as another. One political machine Is
as bad as another Brand Whltlock,
mayor of Toledo, Ohio. noted re-
former lawyer and author, says:
"'Grafters get into legislative bodies
because the voters are stupetied by
partisanship, because they get into
a frame of mind in which they al
ways vote the party ticket no matter
who is on 1t. and when they do this
it Is very easy for the boss, who al
ways, of course, represents some pub
lie service corporation, or some I'M
mense private interests, to nominate
men who will represent those inter-
ests instead of the people,
'The Good Government organiza-
ton already has been used in the In
terest of the Lincoln Roosevelt league
to such an extent that the two organ
izations have become confused in the
minds of the public, and many persons
in the city and county have been led
to believe that the league and the
Good Government organization are one
and the same.
THE league boosters have been de-
claring Hiram johnson to be the good
government candidate for governor,
and many persons think he is the only
man in the contest who is opposed to
the machine, whereas Bell the Demo-
cratic candidate for governor, also be-
came famous four years ago for ms
vigorous denunciations of the South
ern Pacific. and for his fearless cam
paign for election on an anti-mach1ne
platform, even though at that time
il seemed to spell political suicide
for him and his followers; is not even
mentioned as a candidate by these