Los Angeles herald., 1907-09-29
HARVEY ON HEARST

William "AIsorandolph" Hearst shar-
ing sheets and seeking repose beneath
a single pair of blankets still is call
culated to add largely to the nations
mirth. Col. Harvey is probably the
most eminent editorial apologist for
predatory wealth America has known,
while Mr.. Hearst has come to be re-
garded, whether rightly or wrongly,
as the only -blown-in-the-bo bottle
"champeen" of the Common People.
Perhaps this is due to the fact that
the term always is capitalized on the
editorial pages of Mr.. Hearst's news
papers and that Mr.. Hearst's high
salaried and ingenious editorial writers
always accompany its utterance with
a great fanfare of trumpets and lavish
expenditure of good printers ink. The
fact remains, however, that Col. Har-
vey and the yellow journalist stand
forth as the exponents of views that
are as diametrically opposed as the
poles.
Nevertheless, the colonel, in a recent
issue of Harper's Weekly, strolls cas-
ually round Robin Hoods barn and.
arrived at his destination, takes his
pen In hand to indite-not indict. mind
you--a skillfully phrased panegyric in
praise of the saffronist. 1t is not that
the colonel loves Mr.. Hearst more
AS a matter of fact his regard for
the publisher is comparable only to the
feelings popularity supposed to be en-
tertained by the devil for holy water
But the colonel likes the president even
less than he does Hearst, and conse-
quently when he discovers the Hearst
papers and the Hearst utterances abus-
ing and ridiculing the nations siren
uous executive he cannot resist the
temptation to applaud.
Colonel Harvey's praise is so in
genuous, SO transparent, that it is
here reprinted, the quotation being
from Harpers Weekly of September 16:
I'VE have often suspected that the
time might come when william R.
Hearst would rise to his unique op-
portunity to render signal service to
his country. He has many papers
which circulate widely and reach a
great number of men and women who
read little else. This condition makes
for the individual exercise of very
great power for good or Ill. For years
this power was welded, so we con-
sidered ruthlessly and with little
: scruple for i'll, eliminating in daring
but happily fruitless attempt to crafty
personal ambition. That seemed to
mark the turning point in Mr.. Hearst's
career. He has continued and still
continues to uphold what he considers
the cause of the masses, but no longer
in a way offensive to the reader and
discreditaple to himself, Indeed, we
now find little that is Objectionable
and much that is pleasing and helpful
in Mr.. Hearst's papers. Here, for ex-
ample, is a little editorial that might
have appeared appropriately in even
these staid and conservative columns:
sOne of the very old fables credited
to Lafontaine, borrowed by him prob
ably from some older writer, tells the
following story:
"A very good man had very good
tame bear. The bear was a vigorous
creature, deeply attached to his owner.
1.-The owner lay down to sleep and
the bear was much annoyed by the
conduct of the flies. One fly especially
was quite dead to all feelings OF de-
cency AS often as the bear shooed the
fly away the fly came back to the face
of the sleeping man.
sfsFinally the bear said to himself,
IT know what I'll do, I'll be strenuous.
I'll show that fly something"
"'He did so.
s'He picked up large rock weigh
ing fifty or a hundred pounds. And
as soon as the fly appeared on the nose
OF the sleeping man he smashed the
f1y with the rock-he also smashed the
head of his boss, although he hadn't
intended to do so.'
subsequently, the bear was heard 20
remark that he had perhaps been a
little impetuous in his fy-killing, but
that nobody could deny his earnestness
or his good Intentions.
"This blessed and prosperous country
is in a fair way of finding out for
itself the exact meaning of that an
cient fable.
s.The sleeping gentleman just now is
Uncle Sam. The files that insist on
wandering over his countenance are
the trust fiies-the fattest being the
Standard Oil fly. And the bear, with
DELIGHTFUL confidence in his own fly
killing methods, is the bear whom you
ell know and admire-f1rst name Theo-
dore
sFlies are nuisance, they should
be brushed away They should also
be kilIed-but properly and cautiously.
1.-THE people of the United States. we
Judge, are going to find out that a
bear with a rock, and with considerable
more seIf-confidence than judgment,
doesn't make the very best kind of a
dy-killer.
80 late as year ago the appearance
Of such an article in Mr.. Hearst's
journals would have created great sur
prise; how striking, too. the contrast
between Mr.. Hearst's own reckless talk
ON the stump last year and his broad.
sane and really strong utterance at
Jamestown the other day! We con-
eratulate Mr.. Hearst upon having So
bered down, and we congratulate the
community upon the coming to his
senses and to realization of his grave
responsibilities of very able man
holding unique and exceptional author
ity."