The record-union., 1899-09-22
Petty Journalistic Spite.
(From the Merced Starr

l.
The Simon pure cussedness OF the
methods adopted by the San Francisco
Examiner in it's efforts to get even
with all against whom it may hoio
some petty little personal spite, IS
pretty we'll illustrated in the following.
which is taken from the Fresno Dem
ocrat," and the picture is therefore not
drawn for political purposes, but IN
behalf of humanity and decency:
In it's eagerness to pay Off what j.
regards as an old score against Coins
p. Huntington and the Southern Pa
cific Company, the San Francisco 'Ex-
aminer' descends to the lowest depths
OF petty spite, as evidenced by its issue
of last Saturday. The disaster at fa-
mosa was terrible accident, but it was
reserved for the Examiner to en-
deavor, by means Of a garbled dispatch
from Bakersfield, to incite the people
of that town to commit the crime or
murder by lynching the crew Of the
Porterville train. Fortunately the peo-
pie of Bakersfield appreciated the IN
spira ton Of the Examiners s. story a.
it's correct value. and took no notice
of the matter, other than to give the
accused men a fair hearing at the In
quest At no time was there any dis
position on the part Of the citizens OF
Bakersfield to indulge in riotous or un-
lawful conduct, and the crew of the
Porterville train walked about the
streets without molestation or the ut
terance of an insulting remark.
THE animus of the Examiner $,
course is demonstrated in the hideous
cartoon which accompanies the article,
and which represents Death in the act
of overturning the cars of defallei
train and laying it's clutches upon the
victims. Such an illustration as this,
published at a. time when every instinct
of fairness demanded a fair hearing for
the crews of both trains was in itself
an outrage, but it is nothing compared
with the harm which will be done to
the State Of California by the dissem-
ination in the Eastern States of these
pictures of Death on the rail in Cali
fornia OF what avail is 1t to spend
annually hundreds of thousands or
dollars to induce immigration into the
State If one of its chief daily newspa-
pers is engaged in seeking to demon
strate that the rider of the pale horse
awaits trains at California's country
stations to summon him at a moment )
notice to his dread domain?
"The Eastern newspapers do not pur-
sue these suicidal methods. While free
ly censuring the railroad companies
where blameworthy, they do not injure
and disgrace their State by bounding
railroad corporations. simply in pursu-
ance of a blackmail policy or because
unreasonable or peremptory demands
for subsidy have been denied. That
this has been the source of the change
of tactics which the Monarch of the
Daslies has adopted since 1891 IS
known to the people of California from
Siskiyou to San Diego, and from the
Sierras to the sea.
1.-The Southern Pacific Company to-
day handles a larger amount of pas
senger traffic at a small sacrifice of lie
than any other railroad in the West,
and for the Examiner, or any otner
newspaper to take sides against the
company In the moment of adversely Is
no less cowardly and reprehens1bie
than the act of striking a foe who IS
down Even the prize ring forDlds
brutality of that kind. but the Exam
iner' has long since disregarded the un :
written laws of chivalry, fairness or
honor"