"The System," As Uncovered by the San Francisco Graft ProsecutionHichborn, Franklin
History
"The System," As Uncovered by the San Francisco Graft Prosecution
Hichborn, Franklin
Political corruption -- California -- San Francisco; San Francisco (Calif.) -- Politics and government
"The trust is not fulfilled if the primary leader assumes that
because the people elected his primary ticket they want him in
office. They don't want him, for they don't want primary
politicians in the Mayor's chair.
"The theory of any convention is that it is assembled to choose
the best man in the party for its candidate. The spectacle of
Mr. Dan Ryan holding a caucus with himself, and deciding that
he is better qualified to be Mayor of San Francisco than any
other man in the Republican party, is a grotesque piece of
effrontery.
"All sorts of men rise to the top in primary fights, but most
of them have a sufficient sense of modesty, if not of the
fitness of things, to abstain from making themselves the
recipients of what the delegates have to give.
"For the primary leader to appropriate the office to himself Is
like the agent of a charity fund determining that he is the
most worthy object of the charity and putting the money in his
own pocket."
[325] It was anything to defeat Langdon, even though a
pro-prosecution attorney be employed against him. Hiram W.
Johnson, for example, was suggested as his opponent. But
Johnson let it be understood, and with characteristic
positiveness, that under no considerations would he be a
candidate against Langdon.
[326] The members of the Good Government League Executive Committee
were: E. L. Baldwin, J. E. Cutten, George Renner, Gen. Samuel
W. Backus, George R. Fletcher, Sigmund Bauer, B. H. Gurnette,
Frank W. Marvin, Frank W. Gale, L. C. McAfee, George Uhl, Rev.
Chas. N. Lathrop, Isidor Jacobs, Rudolph Spreckels, Edgar A.
Mathews.
[327] The minority which voted for Taylor, in a memorial to the
convention, charged "that the majority of the delegates to
this convention have betrayed the confidence reposed in them
by their constituents" and gave notice that it would not be
bound by the nomination of the convention for Mayor and would
not support the nominee, but would do all in its power to
further the election of Dr. Edward R. Taylor.
[328] The Union Labor party convention also had its sensations.
Thomas F. Eagan, for example, and his followers bolted the
convention because of McCarthy's nomination. The Carmen's
Union refused to accept the Union Labor party ticket because
Langdon had not been nominated for District Attorney.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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