Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1920-10-19

Nature has been prodigal in its
liberality to San Francisco, but fate
has occasionally dealt her blow to
even the score. To this city OF cOn-
trasts, with good features enough to
make her Flowed around the world"
there comes an evil genius to flourish
/ in the atmosphere of better things
It is needless to rehearse the record
of great fires or bad politics or insup-
portable Industrial abuses. "Sufi-
cient unto the day is the evil thereof"
on this occasion the evil genius Is the
Newspaper trust.
How does a bad condition need to
get before an aroused public opinion
will take up the seventh labor of
Hercules and clean out the Augean
stables?
On Friday evening last the candi-
date Of the Democracy for the Presi-
dency of the United States stood upon
the platform ct the Auditorium,
where he was nominated three months
ago, and in their home city denounced
the newspapers OF San Francisco. Ten
Thousand sapplauding citizens gave
evidence of their approval OF his de-
nunciations. They knew that Gov
ernor Cox was speaking the truth. He
flayed the papers for the affirmative
offense of mendacity and for the mega
tive offense of suppressing the truth:
Shortly afterwards he rebuked the
effrontry of an editor who introduced
himself in the lobby of a leading
hotel, by dropping The offered hand
as soon as he knew whose 1t was and
reading him lecture on journalistic
ethics that even his thick hide must
have felt.
During the late Democratic cOnven-
ton Senator Pat Harrison of Missis-
sipi brought $4,000 people to their
feet cheering wildly when he fluns
the gauntlet down to the conscience
less Hearst and the sordid de Young,
accusing them of being absolutely I'M
fair. and outrageously untruthful in
their treatment of the convention.
Those exulting thousands knew what
they were cheering about.
This is fine state OF affairs!
Throughout the country the press of
San Francisco ia regarded as the most
sensational and the most unreliable
of any great city in America. 1t is
regarded as a personal press, breath
ing only the opinions and wishes OF
CuOSc la COHtIOI. ~ 4AO0e 20 sAAAS
unworthiness. that candidate for the
presidency of the United States felt
called upon to denounce it from the
battlements of his own citadel.
+ To what depths have we fallen that
the very instrument of American
sancity of the Constitution itself. the
! Freedom OF the Press, is used to
poison the sources it Is entrusted to
purify!
| It is we'll known that three news
papers of prominence In San Fran
cisco are under the domination OF one
man, whose inherited fortune has
enabled him to reach out all over the
nation. The Examiner, the Call and
the Chronicle, the first two by owner
shin and the latter by unholy alliance.
form a triology of literary and moral
| infamy under the domination OF this
dangerous man. Like the Fiddlers
Three this precious trinity saws out
a harmony of detestable breed. To
the Affirmative crime Of mendacity II
adds the negative offense of conceahn&
the truth.
Were it possible to choose the least
offender of the three, one winning the
fame of official condemnation by the
state for fraudulent advertising, that
palm belongs to the Chronicle, no,
from any goodness of heart, but
through the sheer stupidity OF its
owner. He feeds his self-s lorification
nnon an egotistical political ambition
! ohlivious of the fact that his sheet Is