The San Francisco call., 1898-02-25


 prietor of The Call, who publishes the paper, and who is alone to be ques- tioned upon matters that appear in its columns, he singled out an employe for personal assault.
 During several days past the Exam iner has charged again and again that MT. Leake, one of the editors of this paper, purchased the article from Liv- ernash knowing that he was about to commit suicide. In other words, it has alleged that MT. Leake brfbed Liver nash for the sum of S100 to take his own life. Of course these charges are of little or no public moment. They merely illustrate the methods of the Examiner in journalism. They show that no man, no matter what his situ- ation in life, is free from the cowardly attack and misrepresentation of the individual who temporarily controls the machinery and type of an absent mil lionaire.
 It is these phases of the case and not the effect the attacks have had upon MT Leake, nor his feeling with respect to them, which have inspired the pub- lication made by The Call this morn ing. It is regarded as duty at this juncture to make a brief reference to the character of the newspaper which has published these assaults and the character of the man who has origin ated them, since 1t Is apparent that any person who seeks to print news paper in this city and compete with the Examiner is certain to be made not af ifo nprCOn- ally but his employees are also to be brought under the ban and libeled ana slandered. The purpose of Long Green" Lawrence evidently is to drive out of journalism in this city every de- cent man who dares to interfere with his blackmailing schemes or thwart his efforts to plunder corporations, individ- uals and the public.
 Everybody knows that the Examiner is utterly without principle. Ever since w. R. Hearst took charge of it it has been an instrument of blackmall1ng and oppression. It is not necessary to pause to refer to the blackmailing en- terprise which resulted in the death Of a man named Garniss, which is matter of public record in the courts, nor to the misrepresentation, lying, faklng and attempts to extort money from corporations which have always char acterized the management of the paper. Rnt the Examiners character rests upon one conspicuous chapter in its history which has long been familiar to the public. We refer to its editorial sale to the Southern Pacific Company in 1893 for 0,000. This sale was nego- tiated by Charles M. Palmer, the ousl- ness manager of the paper, and was ln- dorsed by W. R. Hearst himself. The Examiner has never denied the exist ence of the contract CT sale hof at tempted to explain 1t.
 The bald facts of the matter are these: The owner of the Examiner, in consideration of the payment Of $oO,O0O in installments of 5000 per month, agreed to maintain silence toward the Southern Pacific Company upon all matters which affected its business until the termination of the contract. A full explanation of the transaction in which the salient portions of the contract-those portions which expose the infamy of Hearst and his paper in their ffercest light-is given in the ar ticle accompanying, which Is copied from the Evening Post of this city and which appeared in the issue Of that paper on Saturday, March 21, 1896.
 So much for the Examiner. Now, to show the character of the man who at the present time is conducting 1t. Long Green" Lawrence was formerly a trainboy upon the Southern Pacific Railroad. In tat business he acquired the assurance which subsequently, caused him to enter poodle journalism He is a journalist without the ability to write or think coherently upon any public question. He has been known among his fellow newspaper men as an individual who does not Scruple to re- sort to any means to attain his ends. Yet he is a coward and poltroon when confronted with actual danger.
 Soon after beginning his business career as train news agent he started a little boyish sheet called the Dew Drop" the printing bills for which are still unpaid. A number of persons were libeled in the little sheet, and the proprietor soon hungered Cor wider field, which was afforded him as soon as Hearst was presented the Ex- aminer by his father.
 He began his career as a reporter for the local papers. In 1887 the late Senator Hearst picked him up as an available candidate for the Assembly in one of the city districts. Hearst was a candidate for Senator, and he wanted a man elected from that dis trict who WOClQ vote TOT nlm III the party caucus and in the joint conven- tion. He paid the expenses of Law rence's election, and with the aid of Boss Buckley succeeded in landing him in the Assembly. He, did not do this without some trouble. Before the Legislature met Lawrence became dissatisfied with the provision that had been made for him, and without hesi- tation he left the Examiner and en- tered the employ of the Chronicle. Hearst knew what this meant, and inn mediately entered into negotiations, which resulted in reattaching the young boodler to his paper. Lawrence voted for Hearst in the Legislature, and thereby, notwithstanding he had been amply paid for his services, aroused in Senator Hearst's bosom strong sense of gratitude. Lawrence's faithfulness was conspicuous, es- pecially since some of Buckleys legis- lators attempted to get a raise" of compensation from the old gentleman before the meeting of the party eau GUS. In this conspiracy, to Lawrence's credit, be it said, he took no part.
 Long Greens" experience as legis- lator qualified him to represent the Examiner at subsequent sessions. In 1891 he appeared at Sacramento as the accredited reporter of the paper. What he had learned at the previous eaCCion fhon horoyoo nF x,ol,,o htx,.