Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-13
AT THE FORD

n NOh bCNS 49,
compassion on William Randolph
Il Hearst, the Independence league
boss will not be able to ford Salt creek.
It's current will carry him away. 1t is
a pity that money should possess such
power in the United States that man
who has vast wealth and uses it for
the purposes of self-aggrandizement
and for those purposes only should be
able to disturb the sane. logical and
normal course of events, and, to GER
tain extent, put the political times out
of Joint in order that he may claim the
privilege Of setting them right. Hearst
is the enemy of the Democratic party
in California. He is the enemy of the
Democratic party in the United States
He became a newspaper proprietor not
because he was interested in the news
paper profession, but because he be-
lieved that newspaper influence would
procure him the presidential nomlra-
ton and perhaps even elect him. He
forgot that history shows that news
paper influence in the United States
becomes a boomerang as soon as
newspaper editor leaves his desk or a
newspaper proprietor his counting
room and seeks public Office on the
strength of his newspaper connection,
and on the strength of that alone. 1t
is true that a man prominent in an
other field who was also interested IN
newspaper work might become q sue
cessful candidate for high office, but
the experience of the best and greatest
editor that America has produced
showed conclusively that neither news
paper record nor reputation could save
a popular newspaper writer from
overwhelming defeat at the polls. There
is a reason for this. Deep down In
human nature there ever turks dis
trust of the man who has too much
power A politician in high Office, with
one great newspaper or even with a
chain of inferior newspapers boosting
everything he does, championing every
cause he advocates, serving every in
terest praising his friends and damn
ing his enemies or opponents, would
have too much power. What would
we think of the wealthy actor who,
disgusted with his treatment by inde-
pendent press critics, started chain
of newspapers, wrote eulogies of his
own productions and of his own act
ing, and "roasts" of the productions
and acting of his rivals. and pub
lished them in his newspapers? He
who would use the term "self-made
man. in connection with such char
acter would be a cynic. Even self
making can be overdone, and Hearst
as a presidential candidate would be
too self-made man.
Up to date Hearst has not, from
political point of view, succeeded In
making himself, while unfortunately
he has succeeded in making plenty of
mischief for the Democratic party. A
traitor to every Democratic cause,
faithless to Democratic candidates.
false to Democratic principles, ignor-
ant of the first principles of Ameri-
canism, and nothing all his life long
but wealthy and at the same time
needy aX-grinder for William Ran
dolph Hearst has been William Ran
dolph Hearst. If he ever fooled any
loyal Democrats he has lost the art of
cozening them. They can be cheated
no more 1t is today acknowledged by
good American Democrats, good Dom
ocratic Americans, good Democrats and
good Americans that the repudiation
of Hearst and Hearstism is the test of
sound Democracy, and sound Democ-
racy is the kind of Democracy that
will be successful at the polls.