Among the Democrats, the opposition to Langdon and Taylor was even more discouraging. Langdon had been candidate for Governor two years before on the Independence League ticket. Theodore A. Bell had had the Democratic and Union Labor nominations. Bell had been defeated by a plurality. Bell ascribed his defeat to Langdon. The so-called Bell Democrats accordingly made this an excuse for objecting to Langdon.[325] As to Taylor, with the ability of the forces at work to defeat the prosecution considered, opinion gained daily that the failure of the Republican convention to nominate Taylor, would be followed by a refusal of the Democrats to give him nomination.
Thus with the supporters of the prosecution overwhelmingly successful at the Republican and Democratic primaries, there was grave danger that their purposes would be set aside by political manipulation.
But at this crisis a new element was injected into the situation.
Citizens who stood for enforcement of the law hastily formed a non-partisan organization to uphold the hands of the prosecution.[326] They called their organization the Good Government League. Taking for their motto “CITIZENSHIP ABOVE PARTISANSHIP,” they boldly announced their support of Langdon for District Attorney, and of Taylor for Mayor.
The attitude of San Francisco toward the Graft Prosecution was shown by the reception given the new organization. Citizens by the thousands sent in their application for membership. Funds for the purposes of the campaign were forwarded by men in all walks of life.
The Democratic leaders were the first to appreciate the significance of the reception given the new movement. What was practically a combination between the two forces resulted. This insured the nomination of Langdon and Taylor by the Democrats. It also assured the nomination of Langdon by the Republicans, for after the stand taken by the Good Government League, for either Republican or Democratic party to have rejected Langdon would have been an exhibition of “poor politics.” But Ryan still controlled the Republican convention. The Republican convention nominated Mr. Ryan for Mayor.
Mr. Ryan’s nomination was not accomplished without protest. The citizens who attended the convention as spectators were overwhelmingly for Taylor. Taylor received 53 out of the 148 convention votes, 95 being cast for Mr. Ryan. The minority charged that in the nomination of Mr. Ryan, the Republicans of San Francisco had been betrayed, and that they would not be bound by the nomination nor support the nominee.[327]
The Union Labor party, following out its policy of opposition to the prosecution, nominated P. H. McCarthy[328] for Mayor, and Frank McGowan for District Attorney.
The planks of the several parties dealing with the prosecution were characteristic of the conventions from which they issued.
The Union Labor plank definitely pledged its candidate for District Attorney to prosecution of the Supervisors who had confessed to bribe-taking although it had been clearly pointed out that such prosecution would bar effective prosecution of those responsible for the bribe-giving.[329]