Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-07
DECENT NEWSPAPERS
WITH THE PEOPLE

| Under the heading. "The Call Is on
| the Peoples Side and Will Stay There,
| the San Francisco Call of June 70 pub
| lshed the following editorial concern
| ing some of its pro-Vice contempora-
rles are so applicable to local condl-
| tions as to make it worthy OF repro
duction. We hope it will be read with
understanding and pondered carefully
to the advantage of other papers not
published in San Francisco:
Some of the Calls journalistic
neighbors are. or profess to be, much
concerned about the attitude of this
newspaper toward the graft prosecu-
tion. They need not worry The Cali
is on the peoples side in this strug-
gle and will stay there. 1t has not
wavered in it's support of the district
attorney during the long fight to catch
and convict and punish the authors OF
San Franciscos municipal shame. 1t
will continue in that course while an
| indicted CRATER remains untrled.
Moreover it will do its best to secure
the election in Langdon's place of a
district attorney who will vigorously
and efficiently carry on the work be-
gun under Langdon's administration.
Francis ]. Heney is the only man in
| the field at this time who seems to fill
the bill.
| Let it be understood that the Calls
support of the graft prosecution is
given not on account of the relation
ship between Rudolph Spreckels and
the owner of this paper, But III spite
of it, Also. let it be understood that
Rudolph Spreckels has not and never
did have the remotest interest in this
paper or the slightest influence in
shaping it's policies. The Call has not
| stood behind or for the man, but it
| has stood and will stand fast for the
work he inaugurated disregarding al
| together his identity or the motives
that actuated him. That work would
have been indorsed and aided by the
Call no matter by whom begun,
whether by Spreckels or Smith or
Brown or anybody at all.
And the Call neither seeks nor de-
sires any credit for its stand as to the
graft prosecution. The prosecution of
rich men who bribe poor men to COM
NIT crimes is not merely right; 1t is
the duty of the plundered peoples law
| officers to prosecute the real criminals
and it is the duty of honest men and
honest newspapers to uphold and aid
the public prosecutors. The newspa-
pers that fail to discharge this duty
are cowardly and the newspapers that
| defend the bribe givers are crooked.
The Oakland Tribune. for example, is
| crooked. The Chronicle is both crook
! ed and COWardlV- The Examiner,
nursing the wounds inflicted upon it's
circulation by an outraged public, is,
! for the nonce. cowardly. AS for the
| Globe, 1t is merely the handbill of Pat
rick Calhoun. Inasmuch as he pays
for it, he is privileged to say in it what
he pleases about his own virtues and
the utter wickedness of public officials
| that dare to prosecute him and of
courts that have the hardihood to try
! him. The Globe is owned by graft
the others, such as the Chronicle, are
only rented.
1t is chiefly the Chronicle, pretending
to be concerned about the Calls policy
toward the graft prosecution, that
pokes an inquisitiVe nose into the busi-
ness of this paper-and it is not a
clean nose, having been engaged too
| lately in roofing around the muckheap
| for the price its owner seems to have
| found. The excuse for its latest Of
| fensiveness is disapproval by the Call
| of the shabby political trick attempted
| in the name of the Good Government
! league. This newspaper does not know
who is responsible for the stamp hid
den marks of Identification on the
peoples ballot" and does not care. 1t
was a stupid as we'll as vicious thing,
obviously done in bad faith, and unless
! it's author be promptly disavowed, the
! league may except to suffer severely
| IN account of it.