The record-union., 1896-03-23
TN A PREDICAMENT.
The Examiners" Agreement With the
Railroad Company.
A Letter and an Agreement-What
the Money Was to be
Paid For.
(From the San Francisco POST }

(From the San Francisco Post)
After a. week of silence under the
charge that at one time it was in re-
ceipt Of 81, 600 per month from the treas
ury of the Southern Pacific Company.
the Examiner admits the main ale
cation. Goaded to this confession, it
puts the very best face it can on the
matter, but admits the receipt of money,
admits that it was discontinued before
the termination of the time it was to
run, and publishes garbled correspond
ence between itself and the officers Of
the Southern Pacific Company which
fully discloses the nature of the agree
ment.
When the statement was telegraphed
that c. p. Huntington had made an al
legation to the effect that the "Ex-
aminer" was on the payroll Of the
Southern Pacific Company for $1,000
per month, the paramount considera-
tion being fair treatment Of the COM
pany, the Examiner in the most
brutal and offensive manner declared
the statement to be a plain lie" Under
the prick and spur of the Posts per-
sistent questioning as to the truth or
falsity Of the allegation, the "Ex
aminer'' remains silent for a week and
then confesses. In this the post has
discharged by far the most disagreeable
duty ever imposed upon it in it's his
tory. Even now, for the sake of the
honor Of journalism, 1t sincerely de-
plores the necessity which has called
from its hiding the nature and extent
of the contractual relation which has
existed between the Examiner and
the Southern Pacific Company. The
Examiners" statement of the case is
the very best it could make for itself,
but its statement is not full nor COM
plete.
1t prints what purports to be a fac
simile of letter written by the adver-
tising manager of the Southern Pacific
Company to c. NJ. Palmer, it's business
manager, dated June 20, 1892. It pre-
tends this letter to be g. fac-simile, but
this is not in a strict sense true. The in
dorsement printed on the face "of this
letter" signed by Chas. +. Crocker,
was placed there July q, 1898.
Let it be carefully noted that this was
simply letter to c. NJ. Palmer from an
officer Of the Southern Pacific Company,
declaring that that company would
agree to engage space in a worlds Fair
edition Of the Examiner" for which it
would pay $4,000, payable at the rate
of $1,000 per month, and then occurs
this significant statement:
"and all in accordance with an agree
ment entered into between the 'Ex-
aminer' management and G. T. Crocker,
A. n. Towne and William H Mills, on
behalf of the Southern Pacific Com
pany."
What the Examiner puts forth is
letter in which an agreement is re-
ferred to, but which of itself is not an
agreement. There is nothing on the
face of it to show that it was an agree
ment. 1t is not signed by but one
party, and, in fact, there is no pretense
. that it was an agreement except that
when the Examiner desired to hy-
pothecate it, it caused the Vice Presi-
dent of the company to declare on its
face that it would be paid (according
to the terms thereof)
According to the terms thereof. this
letter declared that what the Southern
Pacific Company would do would be
done in accordance with an agreement
entered into between the Examiner
management and the officers of the
Southern Pacific Company.
The question arises, What was that
agreement? 1t is perfectly clear that
behind this letter there was an agree
ment, since it is distinctly referred to,
and since the letter itself was not an
agreement,
Here is that agreement, which the
letter of w. H. Mills to the Examiner
says was entered into between the man
agement Of the paper and the Southern
Pacific Company, and which the Tx
aminer' accepted, and under which Mr.
Murphy of the First National Bank
looked to the railroad for payment Of
the money advanced to the Exam
iner'':
1.-THE company Gs to enjoy immunity
from hostility in the columns of the
Examiner and) is not to be the vic
tim of mendacious attack or criticism
or Of Misrepresentation; that the 'Ex-
aminer' will not seek to create hostile
sentiment in the minds of the commu-
nifty against the Southern Pacific Com
pany, or any Of the interests it repre-
sents and that while not stipulating
as against all criticism it agrees that
criticism shall not proceed from any
motive Of malice or malignity, and that
such criticism as may be found neces-
sary to keep and maintain the conf
dence of the public, to the ex-
tent that any public sentiment may
have been created from other sources,
is to be avoided as much as possible"
That agreement bears the indorse-
ment that on June 10Th the Exam
iner's" agent agrees to all except that
incIosed in brackets" after omitting
the words:
lis to enjoy immunity from hostility
in the columns Of the Examiner. -
The officers of the Southern Pacific
believed that what was left of the
agreement was worth, with the adver-
tising. $4,000, in monthly installments
of 81, ,000
The arrangement under the agree