New-York tribune., 1906-10-11
QUESTION OF CHARACTER.

1.-The New York Herald" the other day took
up Mr.. Hearst for his violent agitation of the
Chinese labor question and his call On workmen
in New York State TO support him for Gov
ernor because of the proposal to employ some
Cinnamon in the tropical jungle of Panama.
where New York workmen would not go to
dig at any reasonable price, and it charged that
il presenting himself as a foe of Chinese labor
and friend of white workers Mr.. Hearst was
sham and a hypOcrite Mr.. Hearst replied
TO the charge by saying that he had never
employed Cinnamon at Palermo, Cal. and that
he did not own any land at Palermo. "The
Herald" In turn, presents a statement tending
to show that this denial is specious, and that
Mr.. Hearst's lack of responsibility for Chinese
labor is Of the same character as his lack Of
responsibility for taxes on his newspaper prop
critics and for Ibels and personal injuries in
hlcted by his newspapers, which he avoids by
corporation thimberiggng after the finest man
ner OF the trust builder. Renewing It's original
assertion, The Herald" printed yesterday q
special dispatch from San Francisco, saying:
The wicked Hearst estate employs Cinnamon.
and Mr.. Hearst seeks shelter behind it
The facts are plain. George Hearst owned a
ranch of sixty thousand acres In Butte County.
He died and left "the Hearst estate" Of which
his wife, Mrs. Phoebe Hearst, and his son. w. R.
Hearst, are the sole benefciaries- All the money
which enabled W. R Hearst TO start and carry
on newspapers and political machines came from
the Hearst estate.
George Hearst, in his lifetime employed Chi
nese labor freely IN his great enterprises and
during his lifetime and even since. the Butte
County ranch near Palermo. has been manned
by Asiatio labor-rnostly Chinese, and latterly
some japanese. White foremen were employed
and some white drivers and hostlers. but all the
agricultural and horticultural work was in the
hands OF the Cinnamon.
In the early days of the ranch white labor was
difficult to procure, and little notice taken
of Ia yY1yiO1 ant NJ G6tn9n1an
years white labor could easily have been had
White girls especially. were anxious to work in
labor grew fairly plentiful. An agitation for
the employment of white labor was started and
appeals were made to the management OF the
ranch. But all efforts were fruitless. ana UP 10
last Saturday. at all events. the Cinnamon and
Japanese were at work as usual
Now. this is a situation which cannot be met
by bubbles. 1t is scarcely thinkable that Mr..
Hearst has not influence enough with the es-
tate OF which he and his mother are the sole
benefciaries to prevent the employment OF Chi
nese labor by it If he has any such deep and
sincere feeling on the subject as he now pro
fesses Mr.. Hearst may be demagogue enough
to appeal To ignorance and passion with mis-
representation of the government. We shall not
follow his example with an attempt 10 misrep-
resent him. The point at issue is not whether
he has sinned against American labor by en-
prejudice of white men and women but whether
his anti-ChineSe crusade is a sham, like his
anti-corporatiOn, antitrust and anti-bosS cru
sades and Mr.. Hearst cannot get away from
that point by quibbles about the legal title of
the California plantation.
He is asking the people of this state TO give
him the great and dignified Office Of Governor.
and it is fair to ssk him TO show a character
which does not make such a pretension an
insult to the people. He Inveighs against tax
dodgers, while he himself, by tricks Of corpora
tion law. lodges taxes on properties which are
reputed to be prosperous and profitable. He
denounceS law breaking corporations, when he
himself is the proprietor of corporations which
do not observe their legal obligations. He
prates about the wickedness of financiers who
escape personal responsibility for wrongdoing,
and uses the corporation cloak to escape respon-
sibility for his own wrOngdOing. He denounces
bosses and makes deals with the most obnox-
ious of bosses, whom he himself has declared fit
only for prison stripes. He seeks to secure the
most dignifed Office in the state by indulgence
in the billingsgate Of calling the men who
oppose him "cockroaches," "waterbugs" and
rats" Besides all that is he making a dema-
gogic appeal to race prejudice while he him
self is indirectly participant In the very prac-
tees which he denounces? Could any man who
had such a character be fit to be Governor?