The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1911-12-21
Whole No. 2s5.
Los Angeles Ne1us Letter

| settled down to the serious business
of dirisiori of the Espoils of the chase.
The so-csiHed good government ma
chine is shattered. The Old Guard.
composed OF the Southern Pacific
POLITICAL bosses and their hencbmen,
the liquor interests. the gamblers,
and dive keepers. are calling for
their. reward.
The saloon men are getting a}slow
( return for their loyal support The
administration is returning licenses
TO some of the worst deadfalls that
ever caught unwary girls in any
American city. One of these which
was suppressed over year ago has
re-opened in the center of the city
tand the revelry there is strong
reminder of the old days when graft
and Doodle was winked at.
Six houses of ill fame were re-
opened within a week after the cleo
ton. These have been closed sever
al years. This is taken as an indi-
cation that the administration will
take Off the lid in the red light dis
| trict.
Corporations are nlso prompt in
making their demands. The City
Council sidestepped action on in
vestigation of street car fares. One
of the reelected councillnen de-
clared there was mo longer any
| reason for investigating" This is
taken to mean that there will be no
legislation inimicaI to the railways
which have complete monopoly OF
a large portion of tho city streets.
T.. J. Zeehandelaar. secretary of
IF. G. Otis Merchants and Manufac-
turers Association, has written and
submitted spur track" ordinance
which the city council will undoubt-
cdly adont. This gives the railways
full swing regarding such franchis-
es. ,-t
It is the Old Guard, however. that
threatens the most of the trouble.
They were the ones who put through.
the Mcnamara plea of guilty when
1t was found a dicker could be made.
The Old Guard raised the half mill
ion dollars used as "a slush fund at
election -.tinne;, the Old Guard put
up the money and hough G.00a
votes; the Old Guard used "strone!
arm methods. at the polls and sent1
thousands of men and women away
on false challenges and bulldoZing
methods: it was the Old Guard that
counted the Socialists out of about
1000 votes the night after election; !.
it was the Old Guard that made every:
banker in the city come across with
from $1,000 to $4,000 and forced
the Reality Board into action that
brought in hundred thousand
or more dollars for the corruption
fund.
The question that has arisen in
the minds of the people is: What
has Mayor Alexander promised the
Old Guard and how soon will it
take control of the city affairs IF
Mayor Alexander does not deliver
the goods then there will be terri
fc row at city hall. If Alexander
becomes too bold in paying his po-
ltical debts the reform element of
the city will turn against him.
So great was the menace of So
cialism" that all forces were COM
PEELED to fuse. This put all the
preachers. gamblers, prohibitionists,
saloon keepers. Y. NJ. Ca, ."Roya'
Arch" Liquor Men Association) ". g.
w. c. A., dive keepers. Dem ocrats.
Republicans. reformerS, progress
pot. All were determined to save
the city and it appears they have
ives. reactionaries into the r.eltirG
saved it for the gambling houses.
the brothels and the dives.
In the meantime the Socialists
are organizing a vigorous Campaign
for next fall. There is a greater
demand for Socialist books a1o pam
phlets than before election. Appl-
cations for party membership are
pouring in from ali sides end n
number of new branches viii be or
sanized in outlying districts.
The effect of the Mcnamara affair
was to cause n big desertion from
Hartman by the timfd men and wo-
men who were sympathetic with the
workers. The test resulted in 52.-
900 standing firm under fire and It
is an excellent test of the strength
of the Socialists in Los Angeles.
The growth of the Socialist vote
in Los Angeles is shown by the fol- :
lowing figures covering elections
during the past / 2 years: rhe first
recorded vote numbered 1TS: the
next 4S0: then ,052. $500. 7.2Go.
In 1910 the Socialist vote for ].
Stitt Wilson was 11.12S. In the re-
cent municipal primary Hartman
aud in Toc