That the contest for the District Attorney's office overshadowed in importance the mayoralty fight was fully recognized. The Union Labor party, which had nominated and elected Langdon in 1905, had repudiated him, and named Frank McGowan as Langdon's only serious opponent. The Republicans and Democrats, who had under a fusion arrangement in 1905 opposed Langdon's election; united, in 1907, to fight for his continuance in office. The public service corporations, especially those whose officials were under indictment, generally opposed Mr. Langdon's election, and supported the candidacy of his Union Labor party opponent. This was particularly astonishing in the case of the United Railroads, whose president, Mr. Patrick Calhoun, was even then posing as a "labor union buster," while the United Railroads was very effectively grinding to pieces the San Francisco Carmen's Union.[334] Nevertheless, there was certain consistency in the political course taken by the United Railroads. Whatever the differences President Calhoun, in his role as a "union buster," may have had with the labor union, there was much in common between him and the San Francisco Union Labor party as headed by Mr. McCarthy.[335] President Calhoun and his company opposed the prosecution vigorously. Mr. McCarthy and his party went quite as far in this opposition. President Calhoun was most emphatic in his denunciation of those who had made the graft prosecution possible. Mr. McCarthy was scarcely less emphatic in his denunciation. Indeed, Mr. McCarthy opened his campaign with an attack upon the graft prosecution. Inasmuch as the one issue before the people was the continuance of the graft prosecution along the lines that had proved so distasteful to Mr. Calhoun and those in the same predicament as himself, the support of the Union Labor party candidate for District Attorney by a union-labor-busting corporation was not entirely inconsistent. And yet, Mr. McGowan, the Union Labor party candidate, definitely pledged himself to continue the prosecution, but he promised that the prosecution which he would carry on should not "disturb business," that Heney[336] should no longer be retained as special prosecutor, that the Supervisors who had confessed to bribe-giving should be prosecuted[337] as well as those who had given bribes. This last was one of the chief arguments advanced in support of Mr. McGowan's candidacy. On the ground that a mistake had been made, if a wrong had not been done, when the Supervisors were granted immunity,[338] it was urged that Mr. Langdon should not be continued in the District Attorney's office.