Transcription:
February 12th, 1897 R. W. GILDER, EDITOR. R. U. JOHNSON, ASSOCIATE EDITOR. C. C. BUEL, ASSISTANT EDITOR. John Muir,
Esq. Martinez, California. My dear Muir:- I was delighted to hear, the other day, by telegram from Shinn, that a bill
for recession had been reported favorably in the California Assembly, and new your note gives me the text of the bill. Shinn
asked me to send strong telegrams to Melick, but after solicitously thinking the matter over, it seemed to me that 1 would
do more harm than good in that way, and 1 have written Shinn to that effect, telling him of McAllister's criticism of me on
that score. I believe if you were to go to Sacramento you could clinch matters, and the bill would go through. I have always
found that the way to work was to bring local influence to bear upon the several Legislators. For instance, Los Angeles men
of influence should be got to write to their Assemblymen, etc. This is something which you could plan out with two or three
of our friends in an hour, and execute by means of a few letters. It is astonishing how much a single letter from 02238