Los Angeles herald., 1908-05-03
HOPE FOR AMERICA

/ told his auditors yesterday. Yet
N his recital of facts which are like
a chapter from the works of ,Wilkie
Collins, Eugene Sue or Robert Louis
Stevenson will ever have a hold on the
public attention, and no understanding
American can leave the influence of
Mr.. Heney's voice and of the strange
things he says with 1t, without new
inspiration to be true to this good old
republic, which has weathered many a
storm of knavery, rascality and rob-
berry, and will weather any more which
1t may have to encounter, for the dark
hour always brings the MAN-this time
it was Heney-and the darkest part of
the dark hour is always before the
dawn.
Mr.. Heney's addresses arouse a feel
ing of bitter resentment against the
sordid, un-Ar1erican influences which
by system composed of an Internal
mixture of bribery, corruption, theft
and MISREPRESENTATION managed
to make private capital out of Ameri-
can progress, managed to loot commun-
tiles, pervert courts and mock not
merely Americanism but civilization.
No blacker story could be told of Rus
sian oppression, cruelty and violence
than that which Heney tells of the
dark deeds of the American underworld
where politics and interests, and
vicious, sordid papers subservient to
politics and interests, Matched their Sa-
tanic conspiracies and planned cam
paigns of deviltry against American
citizens and American communities. 1t
seems incredible, and most men would
refuse to believe it if 1t were narrated
with less circumstantiality than Heney
provides. and by a man of smaller
mental and moral caliber than Heney,
that it should have been possible, by
the initiative of some minds and the
connivance and acquiescent participa-
ton of other minds to have schemed
the series of exploits in boodling and
accessory atrocities, some of them al
most nameless, hardly reportable in a
decent newspaper, which won not only
Temporary i'll gotten power for knavish
conspirators, but actually perverted a
portion of the public press which bears
far and wide the general reputation of
being at least fairly respectable; as
we'll as the yellow papers, which preach
virtue and practice not whatsoever
things are lovely and of good report
these they save for hypocritical ed
itorial sermons-but whatsoever things
are most profitable, no matter how de-
grading and despicable!
Corrupt rascalities and an infamous
newspaper press If unchecked will in
time kill everything that is good in
community and finally the community
itself. We have not the slightest doubt
that yellow journalism was first prac-
ticed in Gomorrah and thereabouts.
Probably, indeed, that is were it con-
tracted its sulphurous color and it's
odor of birthstone. When debauched
newspapers become the tools of unscru-
pulous corporations which have sinned
their way into power and wealth, what
hope is there for community, what
for the country. excepting in the en-
couragement of truth tellers like Heney
and of newspapers which are above
fear, above reproach and above "infiu-
ence," and are published by friends and
representatives of the people, FOR the
people they represent, and not for 'in-
terests" or machines? AND THAT
IS THE KIND OF PAPER LOS AN
GELES HERALD IS AND WILL
CONTINUE TO BE. We are not
alone" We have a constantly increas-
believe in God and the Right and the
American republic. Gods Right will
win. The American republic will live.