The San Francisco call., 1910-04-10
SPLIT IMMINENT IN
BOURBON'S RANKS
NOrtOn's Fight on Direct Pri-
mary Law Will Test Metal
of Theodore A. Bell
Conference May Mean Divide
Between Los Angeles and
San Francisco
By GEORGE A. VAN SMITH

Nomination Of a complete ticket and
employment of the state central COM
mittee to defeat all other candidates
is the ambitious program mapped out
for the democratic state conference
by the democracy of Los Angeles as
represented by Albert Norton and his
Los Angeles county committee.
Norton and his committee have de-
cided that the direct primary law is
a farce and a snare" They purpose
10 protect bourbonism from the pit
falls of the direct primary law by re-
pealing it as far as the democracy of
California is concerned.
To the end that neither democracy
nor its candidates shall be made ridic-
'ulous Norton purposes to have the
state conference select state ticket
and use the party machinery to pre-
vent any other democrat from secur-
ing the nomination of his party. The
formal notice of Norton beneficent
purpose has been served upon the de-
mocracY of San Francisco through
Sidney Van Wyck. chairman of the
special committee on delegates to the
state conference.
SCHEME Is SIMPLE
Norton's scheme to emancipate de-
mOcracy from the thrall of the direct
primary law and to bar all aspirants
for party nomination not chosen by the
Los Angeles conference is extremely
simple. 1t provides that the state cen
trail committee shall circulate and file
q nominating petition for one candidate
fer each office TO be filled at the general
election in November. Just to make
the proposition good, Norton proposes
hot 81, al ,,v7,fT TOO hoo
the expense OF getting on the official
primary ballot the names of the candi-
dates chosen by the conference.
Reduced TO it's simplest terms, the
Los Angeles proposition means that the
state conference, composed of men cho-
sen without any reference to the voting
rank and file of the party. shall resolve
itself into a nominating convention and
that the machinery of the party shall be
used to defeat any democrat who may
wish to exercise the rights conferred
upon him by the direct primary law.
WILL PRECIPITATE ROW
Norton's scheme will serve not alone
to precipitate the expected row be-
tween the democracy OF Los Angeles
and the democracy of San Francisco.
Its presentation TO the state conference
VIII test the metal of Theodore A. Bell,
leader of the new democracy and the
for governor without opposition.
The San Francisco delegat tion will go
10 Los Angeles bound by cast iron in
structions to vote against the "indorse-
ment or commendation" of any candi-
date for any Office
Theodore A. Bell is officially a mem
Der of the San Francisco delegation.
He is citizen of San Francisco and as
delegate TO the conference those in
structions will be binding upon him.
But aside from those instructions Bell
is bound by his own declarations to op-
pose Nortons scheme
Before any move had been made
toward the selection of the San Fran
cisco conference, Bell declared that he
would go to Los Angeles to oppose the
indorsement of any candidate He did
that after Norton of Los Angeles had
served notice through the press that
If Bell would not accept the confer
ence Endorsement il would be given TO
Senator George ". Cartwright Of
Fresno or some other democrat. There
is no reason to believe that Bells
declaration was not made in good faith.
WILL PROVE BELLS TEST
There is no good reason to believe
that he will not fight to prevent the
presentation of the Norton scheme to
the conference; or failing in that, fight
II on the f1OOr or the conference. Nor
toms scheme has developed a ticklish
situation for Bell. Its defeat by Bell
will remove any question about his su-
premacy in the councils of democracy.
Van Wyck and his committee fin
ished the selection of San Francisco s
delegates yesterday. For the commit
tee it was announced that thirds
of the delegates had been apportioned
TO the several districts on the basis of
their representation on the county COM
mittee. The members of the other
third were chosen at large without ref
erence TO their residence. Van Wyck
said last night that no changes would
be made except on the request of some
delegate named, who might desire to
have his name taken off the list In
such event the committee would fill the
vacancy.
Bell will reach Los Angeles tomorrow
morning. No special arrangements
have been made for the San Francisco
party, but it is expected that a ma