Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-29
EXAMINERS CONTRIBU-
TIONS TO THE RECALL
VICTORY

to do with the success of the recall
movement. Readers do not need to
have long memories in order to appre-
claim (for it cannot be considered seri-
ously).
The Hearst papers, in every COM
munity on which he has inflicted them,
are remarkable for one characteristic,
which they have in common. They
try to find out which side of ques-
ton will be the popular side, and on
that side they enlist themselves. But
woe betide the unhappy dupe who
thinks the Hearst support is to be
depended on. AS old Virgil remarked,
yellow Journalism is varium ct muta-
bile semper.
1t is continually changing its mind
in order to suit the circumstances
which it believes will be most bens-
fetal to the yellow treasury. and this
chameleon-like aptitude has been
strikingly illustrated by the course OF
the local member of the Hearst syn
dictate.
In the very earliest days of The Her
AIDS fight for civic decency the gifted
and astute management of the Exam
liner became obsessed by an impress
sion that we could not deliver the
goods"
Mindful of It's own history, it thought
we were "bluffing." So the first in
timations The Herald had good cause
to warn the public serious condition
existed in civic affairs were met by
the Examiner with protests of the
virtue of Los Angeles. According to
the Examiner everything was all
right in Los Angels, which was as
good as any other city of it's size in
the United States. The Herald has
always maintained and still maintains
Los Angeles should not only be as
good as any other city of its size in
the United States, but better than any
other.
That there should have been well
ton similar, in some respects, toI
that which recently has afflicted
Pittsburg and other eastern cities,
and WORSE in some respects than
any that has afflicted them. was
nothing to the Examiner, the alliances,
associations, antecedents and circum
stances of which compelled its defense
of the machine and all the machine
alliances and associations, which also
were Hearst's.
Moreover, the Examiner is a SEN
sation monger. Hysterical news is its
stock in trade. and the fact that the
constraint put on it by its alliances has
compelled it to suffer from The Herald
the worst thrash.ag, from news
standpoint, any newspaper in the
United States ever received from an
other, caused it to follow the tradi-
tional yellow policy of belittling the
other fellows SCOOP" Moved both by
its mercenary and machine associa-
tions, and by it's humiliating defeat in
the field of ascertaining and printing
the news of the day, it tried to make
the public believe the efforts of The
Herald and the Express were not |
worth serious attention.
When it became evident the work of
The Herald and the Express was not
sensational journalism, but public
service, the Examiner condescended to
great news stories on which it had
been scooped; but with unspeakable
hypocrisy drew a long and virtuous
face, and insisted The Herald and Ex-
press should be held up to scorn and
contumely for exposing conditions
which, in the 'umbe opinion Of
Hearst's Uriah Keeps. would better
have been left unrevealed. Los An
geles, the Hearst paper maintained,
was no worse than any other city, and, |
in order to show not only how "un-
biased it was, but how great was its
devotion to duty" it opened its col
umns to all the scandalous, scurrilous
abuse of alleged prosecutors" that A. {.
Harper, afterward driven out of office
for being a CRATER, saw fit to put into
words Whatever A. C. Harper chose
to say regarding the citizens who, out
of regard for the reputation and well
fare of Los Angeles, were expelling
by the yellow Examiner.
AS the movement for the recall of
Harper took definite shape his champion
the pro-vice Examiner, fairly agonized
In defense of him 1T took fake bal
lots at the theaters and tried to
demonstrate from those meaningless
figures that there was an "overWhelm-
ing" public sentiment in favor of The
great and good mayor. These mislead-
ing ballots (Which had not the slightest
influence on the tide of the recall
which in fact fooled nobody excepting
perhaps Hearst and were not taken
seriously by anyone excepting perhaps
HearsD were supplemented by fake eX-
pressions of disapproval of the recall.
The publication of expressions of doubt
or of disapproval was deliberately cal
culated to inspire the public mind with
dtstrust of this great corrective ana
remedial measure for the protection of
the people.
The Hearst papers undertook to prove
the recall was an un-American and I'M
safe measure, letting pass no oppor-
tunity of quoting the opinions of citi-
zens who from prejudice, in some cases,
or, as we are charitably disposed to
think, from mere ignorance in others
from that amazing lack of knowledge
of the first principles of Americanism
TO which The Herald has repeatedly
lila o+taption and for which IL has