Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1878-01-25
gus Sugeles gerald.
orax.. Of IN. Ks.rney Axis.sis..

origin OF the Kesrney Agitation.
It seems to me that the arrests Of
agitatore were confined to too few. |
Certainly the De Youngs of the
Curonicle should have been includ-
ed in the precious list, for regard
them as the real head and front of
the ssincendiaryn movement. l
don't know whether the public are
familiar with the circumstances
attending the beginning Of that
agitation, but to those who are, its
nearly tragic ending, its culmina-
ton In Mayors proclamations, In
McComb's dress parades, In wild
frantic appeals to the Legislature,
and o fierce array Of double leads
in the newspapers, strikes one as
the very climax OF absurdity.
Ond day, about four monts ago,
facetious newspaper reporter
. Chronicle man-was seated in his
office, when in came o little, low
sized man, about five feet four,
with a scraggly beard, begrimed
hands and soil-stained clothes. He
was an Irishman and had all an
lrishman's readiness of speech,
originality of idea and bitterness
Of tongue. He wanted a card in
serted in the paper In reply to some
pro- Chinese utteranoes OF some
body. The reporter looked at the
thing. 1t was signed "Dennis
Kearnsy." There was nubbin or
two Of wisdom, and a good deal of
wit in it, though crudely express
ed. The reporter fixed it up
and said he would print
1t. That was the Begin
ming of the great Ksarney move
ment. The card appeared; it
brought out reply; it was an
swered (Kearnsy and the reporter
fixed up the answer together); and
in ten days after the controversy
had grown into Importance. Then
came the organization of working
mon with Ksarney in the van. The
reporter fixed UP the platform and
wrote q spread. eagle report of the
first meeting, by way Of a sensation
anda joke. 1t soon got beyond
Joke, then he treated it purely as a
sensation, and fiendishly handled 1t
as Q serious political matter.
Pickering of the Cali denounced
the movement, and advised the
workingmen to pay no heed to
Kearney, who was "crack-brained,"
and irresponsible. This was what
Napoleon B. de Young was waiting
for. He seized it with the avidity
of . hungry snake. He patted
Ksarney on the back, gave his
meetings full reports, got his re-.
porter to fix up the most violent
speeches for Manipulating care,
however, to ring in each one the
most terrific abuse of the Call and
corrsspendingly fulsome praise OF
the Chronicle as the workingmen's
organ. The thing had its effect.
The workingmsn began to drop the
Call and take the Chronicle.
Then De Young got the Working
mems Party to pass resolutions
:, formally repudiating the Call and
requiring the party to drop 1t.
These he had printed in poster form
and stuck upon every blind,
wall and fence in the city. He then
sent Kearney into the country to
make speeches, taking care. how
0VOI, tuSt cACu speeCu shOuiu Ooh
tain an attack on the Call, and q
puff for the Chronicle. This didn't
work-ths thing was too palpable,
and besides Ksarney, by this time
was 50 puffed up by his Importance
that he rsbelled. Still the Call was
daily losing subscribers and the
Chronicle was gaining them, and
the Chronicle still patted the
movement" on the back; and il
was not until the business men, be.
coming alarmed, said, "Here, you
must stop this farce or We will
withdraw our patronage" that that
paper wheeled on its tools and
dupes. And that is the whole ain
side" history of the Kearney move.
ment. 1t was conceived in fun and
sensation; was made mere weap'
on to carry on a newspaper war
and is at last brought up in Jail.
But I stick to it, the De Youngs
ought to be there as well-Simplt
Simon, in Virginia Chronicle.