The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-02-21

mo man appreciates newspaper men
more than l do, but here is this bill:
it allows them to publish the portrait
of a man when there is no malice and
no ill-will. 1t is enough. Is there any
man in this Senate so low as to give
the press power to rum MN! MY mo-
tives may not agree with those Of Mr..
Hearst, for he does not know how to
run a paper, but with a certain I'M
namable man, to mention whose name
would be disrespect to this Senate. "
He referred to a cartoon in last Sun
days Call. Colonel jackson was por-
trayed in the act of drilling hole
through the door of a safe-breaking a
deadlock-and Major Mclaughlin was
eagerly watching in the distance the
success of the preparation. There was
no venom. no personality In the car
toon," said Morehouse, land it Is to
protect just such cartoons that TINS Dill
is here before us.
Senator Shortridge had no use for the
bill or the amendments. He declared it
was unconstitutional and would be
found so by the Supreme Court If 1t
should ever become law. for, he said
it was a restriction of the liberty of
the press guaranteed by the ConStltu-
ton Of the United States.
The right of free speech. said Senator
Shortridge, goes hand in hand with the
liberty of the press. If you assail the
one you strike at the other, and If you
curb the press you abridge free speech.
He declared that the broad question of
the liberty of the press was the real one
under discussion, and he demanded
that the whole press should not suffer
for the excuses of a small part.
Senator Boyce asked the difference
between liberty and license, and an>
other half hour was devoted to the def
milton of terms. Shortridge declared
Of ~ woo
way Of expressing opinions and came
within the limits of the constitutional
guarantee. If cartooning by pictures
could be abridged, he said, so could car
looming by words, and that the law
would not allow. THE pen of the
writer and the cartoonist." he conclud-
ed, whips into line the rascal and the
rogue, and in doing so is benefit to
society. I have an appreciation for the
whip when it is laid on the back of a
rascal and I have respect for the pen
in an honest hand, and for us, as Sena-
tors, to abridge the liberty of either is
flying in the face of the constitution"
Senator Gillette spoke in a similar
vein. He believed the laws were broad
enough to cover the ground already.
He believed If a man was caricatured.
his own conduct was responsible and
he should not complain.
Sims spoke again, coldly and logic
ally DIS DSlOl dilO OPpOSCo Tic Jill OIl
no other ground than that of public
policy and constitutionality. Then
Simpson tried another round but he
| tried to merge a question Of personal
privilege into the discussion and he
was silenced with a point of order.
| The members did not wish to hear
again why he voted for Burns.
Senator Jones won for himself a
round of applause by saying cartoon
ing had gone so far 1t was neither
amusing nor damaging and, if let alone.
it would die of itself.
Smith wanted the amendment
downed, and said so with the brevity
which characteriZes him, and then,
after more talk, the great question went
over to the night session.
Dickinson started the ball rolling in
the evening. He said much that was
to the point, but in rounding I'm the
absentee proprietor of the Examiner
there was none so bitter as he. He
spoke of the difference between liberty
and license, and then picked to pieces
the morals of at least one man who
tries to show the path of right and
wrong He told what he knew of
Hearst and his manner of living at
Sausalito. II live in Sausalito," he
said, in speaking of Hearst, and no
man on this floor who has wife would