The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-04-03
A FEARFUL RECORD.
At Last the Examiner Confesses
Its Mendacity.
For Ways That Are Dark and Tricks Tha
Are Scurvy, the Above-Eamed Sheet
Is Peculiar and Noted.

On Tuesday last, under quadrupe head,
after the most approved style of sensation
alsm, the Examiner proclaimed to the
world that The CALL had been robbed
again, this time by one Mitchell, who, as
tina; delectable sheet stated, twas detailed
to bolster up THE CALLS circulation in the
interior, and as an inducement to the peo-
pie to allew the paper to be thrown into
their va DIS, he promised them free write
up of themselves and their business. just
how many names Mitchell secured is still a
mystery in The CALL Office, but it is known
that he fleeced the paper out OF great
many dollars"
On Thursday the same paper admits
that it did not tell the truth
when it stated that Mitchell was can
vassing for subscriptions, and that the
above yarn was the matutinal efferves-
cence of some of its Bacchanalian writer's,
utterly devoid of truth, but goes on TO state
that Mitchell was hired to go among the
real estate dealers to solicit advertising.
Here you are wrong again, Mas
ter Examiner! Mitchell! never solicited
a real estate lad" for THE CALL
in his life What is the matter? You seem
to be mendacous above all things and 'des-
peratey wicked" After admitting that you
told lie about Mltchelps canVassins for
| The CALL in the interior, is this your only
"ameude honorable? To tell another lie
more monstrOus than the first; that is, that
he wa, soliciting real estate ads" Is this
| intended as proof of his enlightenment, or is
| it a retraction of the libel? well begun is
| half done" The confession that you told
| lie in the first instance is open, and had you
gone on TO say that your yarn about Mitch
| els embezzement was utterly ground
! less, and that your fling at The CALL was
| prompted by malice and ill-wll arising out
| of an unsuccessful campaign OF three years
| of lies, vituperation and invectlve intended
| TO prejudice advertisers against IHE CALL,
! there might have been hope that your con-
| fession was candid and your conversion real.
| But when, in your WISDOM" 1t was deemed
| eXpedient to invent another lie, why should
| it have reference to real estate? DID the
| fact that the EruHiReT is now running sew
eral columns OF dead or stuffed real estate
lads, in order to make showing OF COM
| petition, suggest the idea? For Instance, in
| case IN point which occurred last Sunday,
| where a gentleman engaged in the real estate
| business handed solicitor for that sheet an
"ad" with the understanding that it should
| occupy eight squares. The following MORN
| ing it appeared in the paper as twenty-eight
squares. That is how the Examiner makes
| a showing OF lads
DEAD ADS
Running dead lads" and suffers is not
| Tree lIOU ODJcCblOUS, although IL HAS tLO
| merit Of keeping up appearances" Some
| weeks ago Il prominent real estate man ad-
| vertised lot for sale in THE GALL and
sold it the next day. A friend of his called
| later to buy that lot, but was informed
! that it was sold The following Sunday the
same ''ad" appeared in the Examiner, and
| it was only after producing the deed of sale
| that the real estate agent could convince his
friend that he had told him the truth, and
that the Examiner had copied the ''ad'
| from The CALL as Il decoy to make show
| ing. But suffers do not pay, and news
papers without a revenue are expensive
| luXuries; hence the strain in the business
office. Schemes aud scheming are the Ex-
aminers stock in trade. The lottery
scheme" tided over what would otherwise
! have been financial collapse.
The blank scheme" was tue stroke of a
| master schemer'S nand. Some genius con-
| ceiVed tie brilliant but infamous idea OF pub
! fishing a list Of the solvent banks, with an
| implied notice that such as did not appear
| as solvent as they might be- could be favor
| ably noticed Hall column would contain
them all, and they would. each and every
| one, except perhaIs the iirst-claSs banks
| which the Examiner would put in f!eo-pay
| S75flra line, rather than not be found amUng
| the solvent Institutions of the State. Think
| II it! from 5000 to 5000 Tor half column i!
| Enough Of these would Duy a lot and build
il tail tower for the Examiner, and SO the
lot was bargained for. Having exhausted all
the ideas about the office, ads" were ia
| serted in several Eastern papers, Offering TO
| pay literally for new idea. None were
| Forthcoming, however, and so the old stereo-
| typed plan WAS again brought into
| requSition. An article was written, attack
| ing the value and efficacy of a certain toilet
| preparation, made and sold by Mrs. Ger
| vaise Graham, who was duly notified that
| the article was written and ready for
| publication, and that the business manager
should De seen, and although 1t lay in a
| pigeon hole in the business office Of the Er-
| dHeiner for nearly three months, the condi-
| tlOns Tor suppressIng the publication were
not forthcoming, 50 it was published.
NOT ORIGINAL NOR BRILLIANT.
Thus, while the bank scheme was neither
original nor brilliant, it brought coiu t. the
| counter, while the execution of the toilet
| preparation scheme was simply execrable.
| Ii lacked OriglnalitV, aud was faulty in
| Judgment, in this, that while in several col
umns it printed a very poorly prepared at
tack upon the efficacy of these preparations,
it also printed, in glaring letters, on the
| same page, an advertisement Of the value
| of these preparations, and praised their
benefits. LII the first place, the party
| should have been wealthy, and in the next
place the article should not have shown
moral turpltude. Think of 1t! striking at
the bread and butter of a woman selling
some harmless preparation! Where tall
towers nave been built by schemers, 1t has
been the work Of fine Italian hand.
But schemes are becoming daily more diff
ficult of operation. The pond has been
iished out, so to speak, and the question
now is, what is to be done? 70 be or not to
b., that is now the question with the EC-
umiRer. The building of the tall tower is
Indefinitely postponed. Indeed, it is said
tnat tue deed of sale of the lot is lying in
escrow in the Bank of California awaiting
the payment of the cash which is not forth
coming, and the wisdom of paying $4,000 a
month to continue the publication of the
paper is being discussed. Can it ever be
placed on seil-sustaning basis? That is
The question that is now under consider
alton. Perhaps it is only the darkness be-
fore the dawn, but as the paper has served
its purpose, and its raisOn d 'etre has ceased
to exist, ii is possible that its publication
will be suspended if the revenues OF the
paper cannot be made to pay the expenses.