Los Angeles herald., 1910-10-04
GRAHAM DEFINES
HIGHER AUTHORITY
President Good Government Or
ganization Challenges Repub-
Iican County Committee
TO DEFEAT UNFIT NOMINEES
Independent and Uncontrolled
Voters Are Declared Hope
of Party and Country
TO DEFEAT UNFIT NOMINEES

.. =. dTdHdiIl EleSluenI OF INC dOOu
Government organization, has made a
strong statement regarding the place
of the organization In the county
campaign. 1t is in effect a challenge
to his former fellow members on the
Republican county central committee
to come out against undesirable can
didates on their ticket and to place
their citizenship above party policies
in city and county affairs.
"While the Good Government or
ganlzation is absolutely non-partisan,"
said Mr.. Graham, most of it's members
are party men in the sense that they
have party affiliations. They believe,
however, they are serving their party,
as well as their country, best when
they oppose the election to office of
candidates of their party who in their
judgment are unfit. They believe it is
as much the duty of every man to his
party to assist in the defeat of unfit
candidates as it Is to assist in the
election of fit ones.
1.-THE only reason men should have
for associating themselves together as
political parties is to improve condi-
tions and advance the public welfare.
1t is not the complacent men within a
party, willing to accept any policy and
support any candidate labeled with
the party name, VINO have kept the old
parties alive and vigorous, but it has
been the men of Independent thought
and action who have protested against
having the party of which they were
members made responsible for vicious
policies of government or for the ac-
tions of ignorant or dishonest public
officials.
THE BETTER LOYALTY
"If the attitude of these men is dis
loyal to their party, as some say it is,
the more of such disloyalty we have
the better for both the party and the
country That man is an undesirable
citizen whose loyalty to party is so
strong that he forGets loyalty to coun-
try and is willing to support all kinds
of vicious men and measures because
a few men in control of the organiza-
tion have declared it to be the policy of
the party to do so.
"The Independent voters are as they
always have been, the hope of the
country. Thank fortune, there are
more of them now than ever before.
II 1t were not for the uncontrolled vote
q few men in control of party or
ganization once established in power
could never be displaced.
"Is 1t disloyalty to party to oppose
continuance of the almost arbitrary
power in shaping and controlling leg
islation Of a man like Cannon, or of
any other kind of man, for that mat
ter?
I'm a representative form of govern
ment such as ours, the people should
never permit or tolerate the possession
or exercise of such power by anyone.
"I have always been q Republican,
because, taken as a whole, / have be-
lieved the principles and policies of
that party to be the best, and / claim
that I am no less q Republican be-
cause / have sometimes opposed the
election of candidates of that party or
because have not at all times agreed
with all of the expressed policies of
that party-policies In a great many
cases which have been changed from
time to time and which have been in
a great many instances adopted for
expediency's sake and not as a matter
of principle.
CONDITIONS GROW BETTER
"In this city believe a great ma
jority of the people are satisfied that
conditions are very much better than
they were in the past. The change
has only been made possible by the
spirit of independence largely created
and fostered by non-partisan move
ments and organizations. The crafty
was due to the same cause, but while
the good work has been well begun 1t
is not by any means completed
1.-THE city government has been i'm
proved, but the county government is
very much In the same condition as 1T
has always been III, and this organi
zation must continue active and ener-
getic until the will of the people is
effective in the court house as well as
In the city hall. In fact, / do not be-
lieve the time will ever arrive when a
non partisan organization will not be
needed.
NOT TIED TO PARTY
when 1 resigned from the Repub-
lican county central committee to be-
come chairman of the Good Govern
ment organization I did not do so be-
cause regarded 1t as inconsistent to
occupy both positions, but for the rea-
son it would be impossible for me to
properly attend to the duties in both
places.
'I do not believe 1t is necessary for
even a member of a party central
committee to vote the ticket from top
to bottom, and in fact, very few of
the members of any committee do So
There are, of course exceptions, but
the chances are the man who tells you
he has done so is not quite honest
about it,.
"The old-time politician who makes
his appeal to party regularity and loy~
atty and who retained himself in con-
troll by that method in the past finds
it hard to understand that new con-
ditions have arisen. People are in
sisting on doing their own thinking and
are becoming for that reason more in
dependent. The time has gone by for
ever when any man or any party can
secure and retain power through an
appeal to the prejudices Of the people.
Let us return thanks for this and move
forward to still better and higher
achievements a in the future"