Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-10-25
SAN FRANCISCO LETTER.
THE FACTS CONCERNING A RE
CENT SCANDAL.
The Rottcnness OF Politics at the
Pacific Hub-A Revolving
State of Affairs.
Correspondence of the REcoRp-Uslos.I

| constant founu Oh poIliles, MI nc IouiiS
newspaper provided society scandal for
San Francisco's delectation few days
since There was really nothing scandal
Gus in the affair that the paper published
| but it was a most outrageous scandal that
the name of a pure, good girl should be
dragged through column of cheap sensa-
tional trash to crafty the spite of a vulgar
parvenu. As none of the San Francisco
papers have given fair version of the
affair, and thinking it may not be uninter-
esting, | VIII venture to tell the real truth
about Tom Williams and his sweetheart
| THE True STORY.
| Mr.. Michael de Noung-he spells it
Michel; but took the trouble to look up
his mothers will, and found that Michael
was the correct spelling-was sometime
ago seized with the insane idea that he
could shine as leader in society Any
ordinary man of means can enter society
here, if he will pay the price in entertain
| ing,'in agreeable manners, and observe the
code of etiquette that society has adopted /;
but Michael is not an ordinary man; he is
a man to whom attaches the odium of a
long and successful career of newspaper
teTrorizing in the course Of which he was
never known to share the feelings of man.
woman or child. So while Michael made
friends among sporting people actresses,
and among those who having had records
feared his paper, he was never made well
come by the small circle Of ladies and
gentlemen, who, believing that honor is a
necessary part of a lady or gentleman, ex-
ercise their right to decline to associate
with those whose
| CHARACTER WILL NOT BEAR SCRUTINY
That they have the right to choose their
acquaintance, no one can deny, and it is
| about as reasonable to expect the Minis
| terlal Union to welcome an unreformed
| priZe-fghter as to expect them to admit
| Michael to their family circles Among
| the families where Michael was most I'M
welcome was that of the McMullins, vet
he strove to gain admission there, and
went 50 far as to send invitations to them
for his dubious parties These invitations
We're never answered, and the name Of
| McMullin was entered on that book
names of all who have offended, to be kept
in remembrance for attack at the earliest
opportunity. 4 short time since Miss
McMullin dismissed suitor named Charles
F. Hanlon and became engaged to Tom
| Williams, a son of General Williams. 1t
was a matter which concerned no one but
the young lady and the two gentlemen; it
| certainly was no affair of the public and
the fact Of a young lady changing her
mind certainly is no novelty, and no decent
newspaper would give more than the
merest notice of such thing if it spoke of
it at all. But Michael heard of the lady's
| change of mind, and seeing chance to
annoy her, sent out his young men to
MANUFACTURE A SENSATION.
The lady was called on and naturally de-
clined to speak of her private affairs. Then
| Il reporter went to Hanlon and told him
that the lady had volunteered statement
! none to his credit. Instead of kicking the
| reporter down stairs and telling him to
publish what he pleased at his peril, Han
| lon, who is weak sort of fellow, was fool
| ISL enough to make a lot of talk and give
| away what he said was the history of the
courtship and its termination. Armed with
this information, Michael published
| bogus interview with the Young lady. all
| OF sHIanlon's talk and lot of stuff about
| Tom Williams wholly untrue, and, if true,
none Of the pubiic's affair, as all it purports
to be was the private life of private
gentleman. In the meantime the public
| are waiting for Williams to horsewhip
Michael and fIanlou. and Michaels Jour
ney sooietywards has been delayed a couple
Of years till this last piece of blaekglard-
ism shall have been forgotten.
SAN FRASCIsCo's POLITICAL FoTrj.l25 I.,s.
Politics here are in most u2satisf;l,-
| tory condition. They are utterly corrupt
and removed beyond the pale OF decen1y
| The moral sense of the people has become
so deadened that almost any crime against
the ballot can be. perpetrated. and the
scoundrels not only escape punishment,
but also public censure. No one seems
to realize that the professional politician
| here is low criminal. He is u thief, for
he not only steals the rights of the people
| but he steals the tangible rewards of Office.
| He is Il perjurer and suborner of perjury.
He steals the public domain and the public
funds. He de5auchcs the whole tond of
public morality. He and his employers
should be held in adherence They
should be shut out from decent society, and
left to keep the company Of prostitutes of
the other sex. Assuming it is true that
Buckley and Higgins are the political
! bosses of San Francisco-and no one denies
| that fact; assuming that
THEY USE IMPROPER MEANS
To accomplish the making of money in poll
| tics-and no enc denies that fact there is
any reason why people not lost to a sense
| Of decency and honor should not shun
| them. But bad as they are, they are no
| worse than the men who employ them and
| use their rascality. Mr.. Fox, Mr. New
| lands and Mr. Charles Webb Howard en-
| ploy and pay Mr.. Buckley to bride Super
visors or elect ready-bought tools, that the
Spring Valley Water " orks NAV collect a
| large revenue from the city and no one
| seems to think the worse of Fox, NewIands
and Howard for doing so. Vet If the trio
hired Big Burns and a few Others to burg
larize the City Treasury they would lose
caste. Sir Claus Spreckels wants a new
treaty and he hires SIR. Higgins to elect a
| favorable Congressman. Spreclies knows
that to do this Higgins has , bride voters,
stuii' club rolls and regist and commit
crime, and furthermore Spre .,els actually
GIVES HIGGINS THE BR..s MONEY,
Yet no one seems to spea', of Spreckels'
rascaity in the right ma.ncr Haggin
and Hearst ard Tevis, a. the gas COM
pany, want a Board of Survivors TO pass
their extortionate bills. md they pay
Buckley or Higgins 10 pu' up one to suit,
vet no one seems to spea { their crime in
good plain Saxon, The ! iiska Fur Com
pany want fresh concession from Con-
gress, and so they go to Higgins to get
them suitable man, and they give Iiig-
| gins the money he needs for illegal voting
in the clubs and at the polls, yet no
one seems to speak of Sloss and
| Newman as the villains they are
if they have done this thing. The
power of Buckley and Higgins would be
of no value to them were it not for the
wages paid them by the rascals who hire
their services How much could Higgins
make out OF the Legislature he owned if
they passed none but good laws and honest
measures? Why, not cent. No one
wants to pay for honest legislation, because
that benefits every one; it is the dishonest
legislation that benefits few, that the few
are willing to pay for, and pay handsomely.
| An honest bill was introduced in the late