The San Francisco call., 1899-11-03
about BLACK Mail.

N1 R. E. L. COLNON of the Stockton Mail
| goes 10 the trouble and expense OF lampoon-
ing the proprietor and manager of The Cali.
He INDUCES in most extraordinary statements of his
code OF ethics and exudes malice from his intellectual
pores until the result makes him appear like hip
popotamus indulging in red sweat. In defense of
his code of morals Mr. Colnon says: what would
be grossly immoral in one country might be quite the
proper thing in another" And to this he adds "a
newspaper is not agency for the elevation Of the
morals OF people and cannot be made such"
We are that all readers OF the Stockton Mail
acqut it OF any attempt to elevate morals or even
to let them stay as good as it found them.
Because The Call has said that certain leprous
practices can be limited by letting the light OF pub
licity all upon them Mr.. Colnon is that we in
tend to blackmail somebody. We don't know what
he has been doing lately that he ducks his head when
ever exposure is mentioned
His reference to the proprietor OF The Call in
nection with the subject OF blacknal suggests the
attempt he made to stand up the Valley Railroad for
large sum OF money and its exposure to the direct
ors by the proprietor OF The Call. Mr. Colnon has
certainly lived down to his code OF ethics only
in journalism but in Office. While people were conf
PEELED to do public business with him secretary to
| the Governor OF California they were not long IN
finding out that he held peculiar views to the op-
portunites OF his position When application was
sent through him for removal OF penal disabilities,
with full explanation Of the case, he did not con-
slider the reasons sufficient for consideration and
uuested the parties concerned to dig tip" sufficient
testimony in the to justify his attention to it
How many may have dug up and who, during his
term as Secretary, things unknown to the pub
lie. But as he considers what is immoral in one
country may be highly moral in another the transfer
1 Ct
no difficulty in making it AS he stood at end
OF the process OF digging up and the digger stood
at the other what to the digger seemed highly inn
moral, to Mr. Colnon may have seemed moral and
proper as he insists that right and wrong not
actual but are interchangeable according to the
point OF view.
When the digging up probably got bad Colnon
was transferred TO the Harbor Commission and be-
came its president. His record there is written i'll
the judicial findings in the Of Irwin the
commission From the testimony in that case it is
evident that the front was in luck that it did
not get carried off. 1t was said that even the clock
in the ferry tower, having its good manners cor
rupted by evil associations. frequently to
hold hand behind its back and the time ball
breathed free every day when slid up the pole pre-
paratory to its meridian fall for things that could
rcost high safer.
We have no doubt that Mr. Colnons secret soul
utters itself out OF his personal experience when he
says in his lampoon: Publicity OF crime increases
crime The Calls fool notion that the fear OF pub
licity will deter those wrongly inclined is all that
could be expected from man with half a head"
We admit that from the standpoint OF our ex-
perence with Colnon he is right We have no rea-
son to believe that any fear OF publicity, even the
glare OF judicial exposure, made him bat an
eye drove him off the trail OF job that he had in
sight scent
Our only justification is that we believed him to be
the exception that proves the rule. We do not pre-
tend that any publicity would affect him. but we
hope there others, whose good name has not yet
become reminscence who would turn away from
the lure OF passion greed and put temptation be-
hind them for sheer pride in good reputation which
exposure and publicity would destroy
In this world, where traps are set On every hand
and where the steadfastness OF is often shaken
by the example of 1ourishing iniquity to which Mr.
Colnon has been contributor, society requires that
no influence should be omitted that will keep men
in the straight path. II the fear OF publicity is one
such influence the newspaper which holds it over the
man that is poisng between right and wrong uncer-
tain whether to take the plunge stand upright is
a proper agency in the elevation of morals which
prevents ransgression by the certainty of exposure
While publicity did not succeed in reforming Col
non, the fear OF it may so deter others as to leave
him the distinction OF standing alone monument
OF incorriglbllty, standing on his reputation like
crow on carcass cawing his belief that all meat is
carron.
A late dispatch from Iadvsmth announcing that