The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1907-01-12
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FRISCO RELIEF FUNDS
Associated Press Lie Nailed by
Former Mayor Phelan Of
Stricken City.
Talk About President Roose-
welt Having Sent Service
Men Out Was False.

In the persecution of Mayor
Schmitz of San Francisco, it has been
charged that he stole portions of the
relief funds sent to him by sympathiz-
Ing people throughout the country.
A number Of Duluth people, and
particularly a prominent city official
referred to this alleged steal in a pub
lie discussion in the city council one
evening. His information of course
came from false Associated Press re-
ports spread broadcast throughout
the country.
That the report was false is proven
by the following statement from James
D. Phelan, president of the San Fran
cisco Relief and Red Cross Funds cor
poration; who sent the following tele-
gram to w. H. Taft, president of the
American National Red Cross Society:
Eastern press advices state, on au-
thority of local newspaper report,
that large sums of money subscribed
have gone astray and that the Presi-
dent of the United. States and secret
service men are Investigating the mat
ter. The report apparently originated
from an express company's failure to
deliver a thousand-dollar package from
Searchlight, New, which has since
been delivered. Apart from this no
funds whatever are missing. The ru.
mour Is entirely groundless. Every
subscriber who sent relief funds to
San Francisco direct should have a
numbered official receipt, signed by
the president, controller and cashier
of this corporation. In justice to San
Francisco and our generous friends
in the East, please give. the widest
possible publicity to this statement"
Commenting on the above the Coast
Seamen's Journal of San Francisco
says:
THUS ends a tale that was told
with every appearance of circumstan-
tial proof. In substance, the said tale
contained charge that Mayor
Schmitz of San Francisco had stolen
part of the money contributed to the
San Francisco relief fund. The local
newspaper report referred to by Mr.
Phelan was more than a report it
was a front-page, scare-headed, double
loaded article, giving full particulars
and definite details of the horrible
crime.
"The story went that President
Roosevelt had sworn to catch the
thief or thieves if he had to spend
million dollars in the pursuit; that
several thousand postoffices were be-
ing overhauled' for missing moneys,
and that, in short, the whole power Of
The. federal government, including, pre-
sumably, the civil and military forces,
would be brought into play to hunt
down and punish the ghoulish thieves.
This story was duly reprinted in
the press Of the country and of the
world. Long editorials we're pub
lished, showing the indescribable at
rocity of it all, deploring the frightfull
fall of Mayor Schmitz-the Union La
Dor Mayor-and holding up the ad-
ministration of San Francisco as a
horrible example to other cities that
Establishments or demands of the
Union Labor politicians These ed
itorial lamentations are still going
the rounds, and will probably continue
to do so for many long day.
Nov comes the complete denial of
the yarn, by the highest authority on
the subject. The more we reflect up
on the situation in San Francisco the
more we are convinced that good citi-
zens will make no mistake in refusing
to be dragooned into the hunt for the
grafters. The complete collapse of
the local newspaper report concern
ing Mayor Schmitz's theft Of the re-
lief funds Is not the first instance
going to prove that in their anxiety
to prosecute the grafters in the city
administration, the reformers are will
ing to take liberties with the truth.
The maxim, False in one, false in ALL
may not exactly fit the case, but it
is good maxim to keep in mind, just
the same.
Mr.. Union Man:-Notify your groc.
er that the Bell Phone Is unfair.