The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-07-31
ETHICS OF JOURNALISM.

The proprietor of the Chronicle, ever since
he realized that two of the employees of THE
CALL had stolen something like $4,000 or
Sl00,e00 from Us, has had the impression that
by the publication of falSehoods he could OBJ
tain a portion of our business. In this how
ever, he has signaliy failed. Instead of see
ing the patronage OF THE CALL fall off,
lie has witnessed an increase. This has
alarmed the man, if such he may be termed,
and it explains why double quantity of
misrepresentation now finds its way into
that Journal, and We suppose it also explains
why De ! Dung is more clamorous for sub
sidIrS than usual. In this way only can We
explain why he PUTS the screws" to the
various irrigation companies in California,
10 the tune Of some i've or six thousand dol
lars. before he consents to have his paper
speak approvingly of bonds which those
companies are putting upon the market
But we turn to the more immediate object
in noticing the paper this morning. In the
latest number Of the Chronicle We find the
following:
IL It's own TRAP.-HIr. chickering's morning
paper, which seems TO have lost The little sense
II ever had, has digged pit and then fallen into
II. Yesterday morning IL said: "lf any one
doubts THE CALLS statement as TO It's large
Willie paper We use each mouth for its edition"
Following this, the Chronicle goes on to
say that THE CALL prints from fifty to
sixty tons of white paper per month"; while
il claims to print fabulous amount. THE
CALL notices this statement to say that
there is no truth whatever in it, THE CALL
actually prints large edition month after
month, and there is no Justification nor
siuf1ing to deceive the public. 1t wastes no
paper; neither does it throw papers away
nor give them away. Its circulation is bona
fde, and it goes into most of the best fam
lilies Of the State. This is why THE CALL
was able to stand uD While it WAS being
robbed by White and Kerr of SSOO0O or
100000. The amount of lost money has
been nearly all made up, for which We have
to thank the inhabitants Of this city and
State. Now as to the Chronicles; its policy
has been TO misrepresent from first to last
There never has been a time that it has not
claimed double and frequently Quadruple
what it actually circulated. One of its con-
temporaries, whose columns are frequently
used by the Chronicle. actually prints at the
head of its columns $3.50 copies circulated
per day, when in all probability il does not
print over 5000 or 5000 copies daily. If such
papers as the Chronicle are TO be believed,
every family in the city would have to take
four or five papers daily to make up the
number claimed. One of our respected news
paper contemporaries, which went out of
existence short time since from a surfeit
Of corporation money, claimed to have a
large circulation to the day of its demise. It
actually circulated of its daily in the city
but 1900 copies, in the country but 800 copies
and furnished single subscribers out of the
State 3O5 copies. Altogether the daily circu-
lation was but 2l95 copies. OF its weekly
there were 305 copies paid for and some 300
deadheads. Such are newspaper ethics in
San Francisco at this time. With THE CALL,
precisely as we stated few days since. THE
CALL property is worth more than any
other newspaper circulated west of Chicago
and St. Louis, and reaches most of the best
people in San Francisco and the State.