The San Francisco call., 1898-12-12


 cent? Not at all.
 What do I care for MT. Yerkes? He is not resident of Chicago. He moved to New York four years ago and is citizen of that place. He has only an office and business interests here. He does not care for the welfare Of the city. All he is after is to secure mo nopoly on the streets. Why should l, who have lived here over half century and have done my best for the city, at- tempt to defend myself against the charges of man of this character?
 T will fight the ordinance MT. Yerkes is backing and will defeat it. l will hght the attempt to make the provls- ions of the Allen law effective until that obnoxious measure is repealed by the State Legislature. I will continue to demand that the city receive fair com pensation for privileges granted to street railway corporations, and l will not be diverted from my purpose by any charges which may be made by MT. Yerkes
 II deplore very much the excitement created by the past few days of agita- tion. All the talk of ropes and of hang ing MT. Yerkes or Aldermen is ridicu- lous and should be stopped, but the charge that newspapers are responsible for it is equally ridiculous. The editors of the Chicago newspapers are not an archists nor are the people of Chicago: Obnoxious ordinances can and should be defeated without any recourse to violence. The cry La Lantorne! should never be raised in this city. 1 don't look for any trouble Monday night"
 Victor F. Lawson, publisher of the Morning Record and Evening News, re- fused to deny the charges made by MT. Yerkes When seen by The Call cor respondent he said:
 .'T will OpIyy SaV thiS in regard to the charges made against me by MT. Yerkes in his interview of yesterday. There is nothing new in the accusations of MT. Yerl1es. He has been making simi- lar statements for many months. The character of MT. YerkeS is such and his antecedents are so well known in Chicago that it is beyond his power to accuse any man."
 MT. Lawson declined further to dis cuss the matter and would not say whether he would proceed in the courts against Mr. Yerkes.
 H. H. Kohlsaat. publisher of the Times Herald and Evening Post, said:
 Mir. Yerkes, I see, does not duplicate me in the charges which he makes against the newspaper proprietors of Chicago, but he does accuse the editors of the Tribune and Record and News. Now 1 happen to know something about the charge against the Tribune people. It dates back ten or twelve years. At that time MT. Yerkes was on very friendly terms with the pro- prietor of that paper. He was trying to secure from the City Council the right to use La Salle-street tunnel un- der Chicago River for his North Side cable line. During a conversation in the office of one of the heads of the Tribune, I understand. the question of the policy of that paper came. up and the gentleman referred to made jocu- lar remark about there being nothing in it for him. Mir. Yerkes and others present never dreamed at the time of taking this seriously and it was not meant that way In later years, when I met MT. Yerkes abroad, he related this incident to me, and, I believe, took the same view of it as I did. He probably refers to this matter when he says he was offered the columns of the Trib- une for price The idea is ridiculous, and no one will credit MT. Yerkes charge for a moment.
 AS to the charge against the pro- prietor of the Record and News I do not think it worth notice. MT. Yerkes claims he was approached by an agent of MT. Lawson and offered the columns of the papers controlled by him for s50,- 900. If some dishonest agent of MT. Lawson ever approached MT. Yerkes I am positive it was without the knowl edge of Victor F. Lawson, who is as honest as the day is long. There Is not enough money between this city and San Francisco to buy that man. Why. Mr. Lawson's papers are worth $500, 900 every year to him. His income from them is over $75,000 per month. Is it reasonable to suppose that he would sell his influence for $50000 or any other sum? I do not believe the charges merit denial.
 twill there be any disturbance in the city Monday night? No. The exten- sion ordinance is put off for at least six weeks by the action of the commit tee of Aldermen appointed to investi- gate the books of the traction compa- nies. The Legislature meets in three weeks, and I believe will immediately repeal the Allen law. The majority of the members of the Legislature are pledged to this. Whether the Governor will sign the repeal is another matter.
 "The charges made in the Inter-Ocean that the editors of other Chicago papers and Mayor Harrison are anar- chists and responsible for the present high pitch of excitement throughout the city and country is of piece with ether wild claims made by MT. Yerkes. It is true there has been much wild talk indulged in by irresponsible ora tors, and it is to be deplored, but the people have been driven to frenzy by the shameless attempt to override their rights. There should be no appeal to the passions of mob to bring about the defeat of the traction ordinance. That end can be attained by appeal to reason and will be-