The morning call., 1891-07-05
ANANIAS In THE
EDITORIAL CHAIR.
California Journals bold Their Own
With the EfGtG East.
The Picturesque Liar Still Flourishes in the
Golden State and Will Continue Busi-
ness at the Old Stand

The Exchange Editor was sad. Long has
California journalism worn the mantle of
Ananias, gracefully and with credit. Time
was, despite our States well-knOwn i'm
munity from disastrous atmospheric electri-
cal conditions 1--WE heard sidewalk scientist
use that phrase, so it must be correct; time
was when the handles of the Exchange Edi-
tors shears required to be insulated, so
wildly did the playful blue lights flash
about the blades as they shipped through
the truthful accounts Of local events and
occurrences that permeated the columns of
the country press. Can it be-" the Ex-
change Editor asked. "Can it be that this
mantle, so long and gracefully worn by the
agricultural Ananias of California Journal
ism, Is aboutto drape the unworthy shoulders
OF base Eastern lmltatorP
1t looked like it
For this is what the Exchange Editor read
IN an Eastern paper:
William Spike of Rushmore. Ohio. has a re-
markable apple tree, which though 10 years old
only commenced 10 bear fruit i've years ago.
The apples, to his amazement, were orange
shaped and contained no core or seeds. The
seeds, however, were found growing In pods up
ON the stems. The Tree did not bear the next
year, but the owner wnie cutting away ground
sprouts accidentally made deep cash In the
Dody OF The tree, from which dArk-coOTed
liquid immediately began 10 drip. The liquid
proved to be pure cider and the owner tapped
run for several weeks and hundreds of peoale
Hooked 10 drink from the newly d. covered cider
Tree. twenty-five cents glass was charged and
The cider crop paid better Than II it had been
pressed from The apples in the regular way, or
The usual crop of fruit had been marketed
Next spring. Mr.. Spike Will again, IL Is claimed,
tap his valuable apple tree
Now, thought the unhappy editor. the like
oil this has not appeared in Pacific Coast
paper for some time. 1t must be that the
press IS degenerating, and, with sigh, he
picked up the Homer New Index and read ::
Colonel Becker las struck big thing, having
accidentally discovered that his chickens Will
devour payer with the gre atest avidiIy. Hereto
fore chicken feed has been an item OF Consider
able expense but after this the birds will subslst
on old newspapers soaked To a pulp. A singular
result OF this new feed is that The eggs are all
marked with plainly printed paragraphs, which
will be quite convenient. While man Is eating
his morning eggs lie may read the shells.
Ali That was something like. 1t had
the genuine, Old-time flavor. Blessings
upon those chickens. The geese saved
Rome, and so shall Colonel Becker's chick
ems help save journalism on this Coast. The
scissors fingered Lovingly about the item,
while with few dextrous ships it WAS held
for reference. Then the refreshed shipper
tore the wrapper from the Chronicle Union
and read:
couple Of weeks ago a Mono County farmer
had 1000 barrels of popcorn In a barn. The
barn caught tire aud the air was filled with
dense showers OF popcorn. This extraordinary
exhibition caused an old mare in The adjoining
field 10 think that winter was al hand. So she
lay down under three feet Ol popcorn and froZe
| TO DEATH
"Eureka!" he murmured, the country is
salt" Afterward followed, In quick sue
| eessiOn. the veritable accounts that, during
| the past week, have enlivened the mOnOtony
| OF the country crop reports, and divided the
honors of public attention with the grass
hopper of the San Joaquin and the San
Jose scale.
There was the Winters woman, whose
turkeys got drunk on branded cherries
thrown out as waste. and who, thinking
| them dead, plucked those misguided birds
| as many another bouZy bird has been
| plucked, and was filed with horror, some
| time later, to see them recovered from their
| Stree, walking about clad only in their own
| manifest embarrassment. There was the
| petrihed girl from Fresno, found, after
many years, with her feet grown fast to the
| solid rock, of which she had become part,
| and who still maintains stony silence as
| t. how she came so. There was che man
VINO crawled into hollow tree to escape a
storm, and was wedged tight by the shrink
ing Of the wood upon being wet. There
was the tree cut by loggers, up on the
Columbia, the trunk of which was found to
be full OF bears, and which was headed up
and rolled down to town with its overload
OF Ephraim in good shape.
In fact, enough evidence passed before
the Exchange Editors searching eyes to
demonstrate clearly that the journalistic
Ananias Of the Pacific Coast is doing busi-
ness at the old stand.