Los Angeles herald., 1910-11-11
HEARST THE HOODOO

" OWEVER much men Of different
II parties may differ as to the les
IL sons to be learned from Tues
days voting-whether they may claim
that it is a repudiation Of Roosevelt
or of Taft-there is one thing about
which there will be no difference of
opinion and that is that the result
shows Mr.. William Randolph Hearst
to be a political hoodoo of the dead
liest type. The hoodoo did its de-
structive work both in New York and
California.
Notwithstanding the fact that two
years ago Mr.. Roosevelt had a men,
Der of his cabinet go to New York
for the purpose of roasting Hearst, and
the job was performed to a turn, and
further, that Mr.. Roosevelt has at
all times appraised the political
mountebank who runs the New York
American and Journal at his true val
ue, when Mr.. Stimson, Mr.. RooseVelts
choice, was nominated for governor by
the Republican convention over which
the latter presided, Hearst's yellow
journals Immediately announced them
selves as supporters of Stimson. A
little later when their publisher sue
ceeded in capturing the nomination for
lieutenant governor by his party COM
monty known in California as the
Doodle Dees and in New York as the
Independence league his papers ceased
to support Mr.. Stimson aggressively
but did continue their bitter attacks
upon Mr.. Dix, the Democratic candi-
date for governor, and the whole Dem
ocratic ticket. Throughout the cam
paign Hearst's yellow journals in New
York heaped every abuse and obloquy
possible upon the Democratic ticket,
with the usual result that that ticket
was elected by an overwhelming ma
jority, Notwithstanding the fact that
it carried at least two or three very
Objectionable Tammany politicians.
especially the candidates for comp
troller' 'and engineer, who should have
been defeated.
And Hearst's hoodoo got in it's dead
ly work in California, only in an OPP
posite direction.
One would have thought that after
Mr.. Bell had denounced Hearst and
his yellow journals from one end of
the state to the other, as he did four
years ago and two years ago, such
action upon his part might have pro-
tected him from the support of these
papers. But Hearst has no sense of
personal dignity where he thinks there
is a chance to butt in" and be on
the winning side, or where he is called
upon to serve his masters, as in this
instance he no doubt was called upon
by his Southern Pacific bosses in this
state.
When the Hearst yellow journals Of
San Francisco and Los Angeles
championed Mr.. Bells cause and be-
gan their opposition to Mr., Johnson,
Democrats who had been careful OBJ
servers of the course of politics in this
state for the past dozen years at once
became apprehensiYe of Hearst's sup
port upon Mr.. Bells political fortunes.
OF course, Mr.. Bell could not prevent
the Hearst papers supporting him any
more than he could prevent certain ma
chine politicians voting for him, not
because they loved him more, but be-
cause they hated more ardently the
Republican candidate who had helped
break their strangle hold upon the Re-
publican party in this state. Had Mr..
Bell been able to relieve mis- campaign
of the incubus of the Hearst support,
he would no doubt have done So The
result has shown that the Democratic
fears were only too well founded. The
influence of the Hearst hoodoo made
itself felt in the deadliest way, and
probably resulted in enough votes be-
ing driven from Mr.. Bell to change the
result of the election. Decent men
were disgusted with the lies which the
Hearst papers cooked up about the
Republican candidate, Mr.. Johnson, and
many of them were driven
from the support of Mr. Bell because
OF the manner in which his cause was
championed by the Hearst yellow jour