The San Francisco call., 1908-04-27
Damn the Moral Issue"
Fresno Republican

~~~foN-~~--
The San Francisco Chronicle again
illustrates the fact that II has no sense
Of moral values. We have always hoped
that there was more of myth than truth
in the infamous remark attributed to
its proprietor, Damn the moral issue;
what we want is prosperity" But
whether Michael Henri de Young said
that or not, there is much In his paper
TO indicate that he means IL As, for
instance, the advice in yesterday
paper to the voters OF San Francisco
to vote for whichever candidates for
delegates they know most about per-
sonally, If they were reputable men,
without the slightest regard to which
ticket they are on"
The Chronicle admits that there will
be two tickets, standing for opposite
things. It says, bluntly, that one OF
these tickets stands openly and
squarely for political SIN" It acknowl-
edges that the other stands for political
reform, though 1t suspects in one col
umn that it's leaders cannot win be-
cause they have not done practical poll
tics, and IL another column that they
cannot win just. because they have done
practical politics. But 1t points out.
with more ciearness, that IL Is an old
dodge Of the forces OF political wrong
to put personally reputable men on
their tickets, and II brazeniy advises
the voters to swallow just this bait
with full knowledge of the hook in
side. And the basis Of this whole mon
strons advice Is the definite assumption
that there is no difference of value be-
tween political right and political
wrong and that people will do as well
to choose the one as the other, pro-
vided the hands that do the wrong are
personally as clean as the hands that
do right.
who edits the Chronicle, anyway?
The political articles in its news col
umns are written by a sneering. snarI-
ing practical politician. who was. for a
time at least, hired to write articles
ION the side" for the Oakland Tribune
in favor Of the grafters and who has
been filing the news columns Of his
paper with articles pretending the Lin
coln-Roosevelt league is failure be-
cause IL will not do practical politics
with the various district politicians,
Now comes the editorial page and says
the Lincoln Roosevelt league is q fall
ure because it does do practical poll
tics and wants to win the primary cleo
ton and have the majority in the con-
vention True reformers, it infers.
would not want TO harmonize the vari-
Gus interests, and would want to get
beat so that they would not be tempted
By the responsibilities OF power. The
two arguments are utterly contrsdic-
tory and each nullif1es the other. The
only thing they have in common Is a
frank admission that the only oppo-
nents Of the Liacoln-Roosevelt league
stand openly and squarely for political
sin and ar earnest effort TO assist pre-
cisely these forces OF political sin.
II otner words. the EDITORIAL page
and the news pages of the Chronicle
gre run BY different men, Of exactly
opposite types and points Of view. who
have in common only the policy, en-
forced presumably by their joint en-
piover. Damn the moral issue"
Fortunately the people OF San Fran
CISCO have a conscience, If the Cnroni-
Gle has not. And the more the Chron-
icle tells them which side Is political
sin and advises them TO vote II on the
pretense that political sin Is desirable
the more certain they Will be to vote
for the ticket which both the Chronicle
and the Examiner acknowledge stands
for political virtue.
All three morning papers in San
Francisco are helping the league-The
call by supporting 1t and the Chronicle
and Examiner by opposing it, but by
abundantly advertising what it stands
for.