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Journalism n California

3 1924 027 484 579

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JOURNALISM

CALIFORNIA

By JOHN P. YOUNG

Pacific Coast and
Exposition
Biographies

CHRONICLE PUBLISHING COMPANY

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

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PREFACE

"TOUBNALISM in California" was written to cele-
J brate the fiftieth anniversary of the existence of the
San Francisco Chronicle. It appeared, with the ex-
ception of Chapter XXIII, in the Golden Jubilee and Ex-
position Edition of the Chronicle published on January
1G, 1915. It was so well received, and the suggestions
that it should be reproduced in book form were so numer-
ous, that Mr. M. H. de Young decided upon issuing the
present edition, copies of which will be sent to all the
newspapers belonging to the two leading newsgathering as-
sociations, and the important literary journals and libra-
ries, and to the various colleges of journalism in the
United States. ~ /

The request that the sketch should be given a per-
manent form came with particular urgency from the
teachers of journalism in several American Universities,
who were pleased to say that it would prove a valuable
auxiliary in their work, and to express the hope that edi-
tors in other parts of the Union would do for their section
what the author sought to accomplish when he wrote
"Journalism in California."

« John P. Young.

San Francisco, June 1, 1915.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTEE I.

THE PERIOD BEFORE THE AWAKENING OP
CALIFORNIA.

A People Who Were Not Disturbed by News — Naming of the Golden Gate —
Communication Between the Missions — First Printing Press in California —
The Earliest Discovery of Gold at Los Angeles in 1841 — The First House
in Yerba Buena — The First Civic Improvement in California — Marine In-
activity and Industrial Languor Match Each Other — California's First Saw-
mill — Arrival of the Mormon Colony — A Press and Font of Type Brought
in 1846 — California's First Paper Published at Monterey in 1846 — Defense
Against Wild Indians — First Paper "Almost Pays Expenses" — First Type
Used in Monterey Found in One of the Missions — Two Weeks Between Los
Angeles and San Francisco — The California Star Issued by the Mormons —
Hard Times in Yerba Buena — The First "Boost" Article printed in Cali-
fornia — Desire to Make a Slave State of California — The Rush to the
Mines — Yerba Buena Is Officially Named San Francisco by Alcalde Bart-
lett — Commerce and Population of San Francisco in 1848 Page

CHAPTER II

NEWSPAPER PRESS OF SAN FRANCISCO IN THE
EARLY FIFTIES. •

Changes in Journalistic Methods — Apparent Innovations Often Only Exaggera-
tions — A Six-Column Description of California Resources in 1848 — Early
Papers Had Few News Facilities — Pioneer and Eastern Contemporary
Period Journalism Compared — First Telegraph Line in 1852 — Completion
of Line Between San Francisco and Missouri River — News by Pacific Mail
Steamers — Files of Eastern Papers a Great Source of News — The Pony
Express and the Newspapers — Reporting During the Fifties — The First
Vigilance Committee — Avoidance of Mention of Crime Did Not Prevent Its
Becoming Rampant — Twelve Dailies in San Francisco in 1851 — Denuncia-
tions of Municipal Corruption — "Affairs of Honor" Common During the
Fifties — The Newspaper Graveyard of Early Days — The Birth of the Alta —
San Francisco's First Newspaper Merger — The Founding of the Bulletin —
No Overset in Early Day Composition Rooms Page

CHAPTER III

POLICIES AND ATTITUDE OF THE PRESS
DURING THE FIFTIES.

ii Contents

lent in 1858 — The Condonement of Evils — Subordination of Local Interest
to National Affairs — The Constitutional Convention of 1850 — The Slavery
Question and the Disposition to Compromise — Filibusters and Filibustering —
— National Affairs Freely Discussed by Editors — The Fugitive Slave Act
Applauded — Contradictory Attitude on the Subject of Slavery — Opposition
to the Introduction of Slaves — Race Prejudice Prevalent — Absolute Dis-
regard of the Principles of Neutrality — Advocacy of Cuban Independence
in 1851— The Manifest Destiny Idea— " Fif ty-f our Forty or Fight" —
Open Recruiting for Filibustering Expeditions — Editors Who Thought
"Walker Was a Hero — Editors Who Could Smell Out Intrigues — American
and French Attempts to Grab Sonora — The Absorbing Editorial Topic —
— No Sentiment in Favor of Dissociating Local From National Polities —
A Scolding Press Which Accomplished No Reforms — The Unceasing At-
tempts to Gain Party Advantage — Warfare Between Editors Page 17

CHAPTER IV

DISORDERLY ELEMENTS AND THE VIGILANCE
COMMITTEE OF 1856.

Events That Led to the Committee's Activities- — Neglect of Civic Duties by San
Franciscans — Ballot-Box Stuffing and Ballot Boxes With False Bottoms —
Municipal Extravagance — A Big Reduction in Expenditures — Nothing to
Show for Money Expended — David Broderick's Career as a Municipal Boss
— Assaults of James King of William on David C. Broderick — A Specimen
Bulletin Editorial in 1855 — Sudden Rise in the Popularity of the Bulletin —
Popular Approbation of Personal Journalism — Exposure of Jury Corrup-
tion — The Law and Order Party — Casey Murders James King of William —
The Vigilance Committee Hangs Cora and Casey — The Herald Ruined by
Withdrawal of Advertising Patronage — Earlier Popularity of the Herald —
Formation of the People's Party— Conventionality Abhorred by Early
Editors and Reporters — Honest Harry Meiggs — Reporters Never Suspected
His Shortcomings — His Unsuccessful Attempt to Divert Business to North
Beach — Fraudulent Use of City ,Scrip — His Flight from San Francisco and
His Subsequent Rehabilitation in Peru Page 24

CHAPTER V

THE CALM THAT FOLLOWED THE VIGILANTE
STORM OF 1856.

Decent Elements of Society Assume Control of Affairs — The People's Party —
Drifting in a Political Sargossa Sea — A Nominating Junta — The People
Saved the Trouble of Selecting Candidates — Reduction of Municipal Ex-
penditures in 1857 — Bulletin's Advocacy of Pay-as- You-Go Municipal Gov-
ernment — Newspapers Easily Founded — Many Journals Live a Short Life —
Limited Circulation of Early Papers — The Contents of a Paper More Im-
portant Than the Number of Copies Printed — Per capita Consumption of
Papers Very Small — A Host of Forgotten Once Popular Journals — News-
papers Make a Limited Appeal to Readers — Small Forces Required to Get
Out Daily Papers — A Limited Police Force and Scant Information Con-
cerning Crime and Criminals — The Editor and the Field of Honor — Gentle-
Minded Men Who Called Each Other Hard Names — The Attention Paid
to Dramatic Criticism — Early Boosters of California's Climate — California
Spoken of as God 's Country. Page 33

CHAPTER VI

VARIOUS TROUBLES ON THE EVE OF THE

CIVIL WAR.

Effect of Telegraph Construction on Appetite for 1 News — San Francisco Papers
Take on a More Newsy Appearance — Backroom Nominations Cheerfully Ac-
cepted — An Insistent Demand for Retrenchment — Hot Discussions of Burn-

Contents ill

ing Questions — No Doubt Regarding Stand Taken by Editors — David C.
Broderick's Career in San Francisco — Broderick's Championship of Free
Labor — Loose Views Concerning the Institution of Slavery — Broderick
Elected United States Senator — Broderick and Terry Members of Law and
Order Party in 1856 — Terry Kills Broderick in a Duel — A Forerunner of
Evils to Come — Not Much Interest in State Division — San Francisco Not
Eager to Become a Capital — All Agreed on Subject of Importance of the
Harbor — Fremont's Prophetic Instinct — Maritime Proclivities of Early
Press — The Defeat of the Bulkhead Scheme — A Seawall Project Headed .
Off — Editors Stimulating Agricultural Development — Advocacy of Big
Farms — The Mining Industry Regarded as the Premier Page 42

CHAPTER VII

JOURNALISTIC METHODS OF THE LATE FIFTIES AND
EARLY SIXTIES.

A Long List of Defunct Newspapers — Papers Conducted to Forward Political
Aspirations of Owners — Wires Sparingly Used in Early Days — Use of
Italics in Early Days — The Tyranny of the Composition Room — The Day
When Many Jobs Were Performed by One Person — When Big Type Was
Frowned Upon — Effects of the Cheapening of White Paper — The Big In-
crease of Price During the Civil War — Early Day Reporting Criticised — Not
Many Trained Reporters — Editors Guess What Reporters Fail to Discover —
Facts Carefully Concealed by Papers — The Press and the Slavery Question
on the Outbreak of the War — A Minister Who Would Not Pray for the
President — Few Editors Called to an Accounting for Their Proclivities —
A Civil War Fighting Editor — Newspaper Offices Gutted When Lincoln
Was Assassinated — Adherence of California to Gold Money — The Specific
Contract Legislation — Influence Exerted by the Press to Promote Honest
Monetary Dealing Page 53

CHAPTEE VIII

THE CHRONICLE ENTERS THE FIELD OF SAN FRANCISCO
JOURNALISM.

Advent of the Examiner — Its Founders — The Youthful Projectors of The
Chronicle — Acumen Displayed in Selecting a Title— An Amusement Loving
Public — A Newspaper From the Very Beginning — San Francisco Restaurants
During the Sixties — The First Home of The Chronicle — Hustling to Get
Money for a Start — Rapid Growth of Popularity Eases Finances — Mark
Twain's Contributions to the Dramatic Chronicle — The Budding Author Has
Desk Room in Dramatic Chronicle Office — Bret Harte Helps Out With In-
teresting Squibs — The Criticisms of Tremenhere Johns of the Dramatic
Chronicle — The Efforts of the Beginners Cause Amusement — Prosperity Soon
Follows Success — Movement to New Quarters on Montgomery Street — A
Handsome Sign, of Which the Youthful Publishers Were Very Proud— A
Theater Manager and Actress Who Disliked Criticism — First News of the As-
sassination of President Abraham Lincoln — Early Efforts to Illustrate a
Daily Newspaper — Extras Tell of the Gutting of Local Newspaper Offices. Page 63

CHAPTER IX

MANY INNOVATIONS BY THE BROTHERS, CHARLES AND
M. H. de YOUNG.

The Chronicle Begins to Make Investigations — Early Contributors to the Sun-
day Edition — Charles Warren Stoddard, Prentice Mulford and Anna Cora
Mowatt Ritchie — The Chronicle's First London Correspondent — The Prefix
Dramatic Dropped — The Daily Morning Chronicle — The Earthquake of
1868 — An Extra Issued While the Earth Was Trembling — The Enterprise

Contents

of the Bulletin — Career of the Alta California — Policies of the Bulletin
and Call — The Attitude of the San Francisco Press Toward the Bailroad —
Fear of Goat Island Becoming a Rival City — When the Southern Pacific was
' ' The Bailroad ' '—Little Distrust of the Future — The Press Confident That
the Bailroad Would Promote Prosperity — The Mania for Mining Stock
Speculation — The Bush to the White Pine Mines — A Hopeful Press on
the Eve of Hard Times Page 70

CHAPTEE X

STOCK GAMBLING AND OTHEB TBOUBLES
IN THE SEVENTIES

iditions Preceding the Adoption of the Constitution of 1879 — Henry George's
Connection with the Chronicle — General Protest Against Land Monopoly —
Disturbing Besults of the Spanish and Mexican Land Grant System — The
Bevivifying Influence of the Finding of Large Bodies of Ore in Nevada —
The Big Bonanza Discovery and Its Effects — The Bage for Gambling in
Mining Stocks — Stock Gambling an Excuse for All Delinquencies — The
Big Deals Put Over — Men Who Yearned for Misinformation — The Failure of
the Bank of California and the Death of Balston — Manufacturing Enter-
prises That Did Not Succeed — Early Aspirations for a "City Beautiful"
on the Bay of San Francisco — The Industrial Activities of Balston — The
First Irrigation Project and Its Outcome — Abatement of the Speculative
Mania — A Milked-Dry Community Page 78

CHAPTER XI

THE STOBY OF GEOBGE M. PINNEY AND A BIG
LTBEL SUIT.

suit of Agitation Against Land Monopoly — The Product of the Bonanza Mines
• — An Extremely Capable Chief Clerk of the Mint — The Meteoric Career
of George M. Pinney — Broker, Millionaire, Enlisted Man and a Political
Boss All Boiled Into One Personality — Pinney. Meets With Beverses and
Flees the Country — His Adventurous Voyage to South America — Sends Out
S. 0. S. Calls, Which Are Not Heeded — Pinney Surrenders Himself as a
Deserter from the Navy- — Pinney Makes Accusations Which Create a Sen-
sation — Politicians Invoke the Law of Libel — The Chronicle Assailed for
Exposing Political Corruption — How an Editor Got Bid of Some Bad Eggs —
Pinney Has an Attack of Forgetfulness — Pinney 's Financial Operations
Cause the Wreck of Several Banks — Creation of a Bank Commission the
Besult of The Chronicle 's Exposures Page 84

CHAPTER XII

THE CHRONICLE'S SUCCESSFUL FIGHT FOB
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1879.

Misrepresented Organic Law — Assaults on the Men Who Framed It — The
Unreasoning Fears and Unscrupulous Methods of Its Opponents — The
Chronicle's Vigorous Fight for the Instrument — Big Sums of Money Ex-
pended to, Beat the New Organic Law — Fruitless Efforts to Muzzle The
Chronicle— Threats of withdrawal of Patronage Fail to Intimidate — The
Charge That It Was a Sand-Lot Instrument Refuted — Framed by the Best
Legal Talent of California — The Chronicle's Defense of the Freedom of
the Press — Composition of the Constitutional Convention — A Thoroughly
Discussed Document — Settling a Question of Newspaper Makeup — Meet-
ings Organized by M. H. de Young — A Big Meeting in the Mechanics'
Pavilion — Victory Celebrated by Fireworks Page 91

Contents

• CHAPTEE XIII

OLD-FASHIONED METHODS OP NEWSPAPERING
DISAPPEARING.

Journalistic Progress in San Francisco — History in Outline — Appearance, of
Newspapers During the Seventies — Breaking Away Prom Conventionalised
Methods — San Francisco's First Eight-Page Paper — An Old-Time Supple-
ment — Newspaper Offices on Side Streets — Publication Center in Unsavory
Quarters — The Chronicle's Bold Move to Kearny Street — First San Fran-
cisco Newspaper to Have a Real Home of Its Own — Newspapers That
Lacked Confidence in the Future — Changes in Ownership of Papers — The
Bulletin and Call Under Pickering, Fitch and Simonton — Printing on a
Hand-Fed Press — Highly-Paid Hand Composition — Newspaper Career of
Henry George — Robert Louis Stevenson and the Newspapers — Bryce's
Opinion of The Chronicle — Writers With Imagination — The Pioneer Sun-
day Magazine of the Daily Press of America — Reporting Sports and Sport
News — San Francisco's First Sporting Editor — Newspaper Staffs Re-
cruited from the Pulpit, the Schoolroom and the Bar — The Chronicle a
Training School — Expounders of "Sound" Democratic Doctrine — Found-
ing of the Argonaut — The News Letter and Its Writers — Samuel Seabough
a Forceful Editorial Writer — Boosting a Senatorial Candidate and Its
Results — The Chronicle Gets a New Managing Editor Page 97

CHAPTER XIV

JOURNALISM BEGINS TO FIND ITSELF IN
SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco's First Newspaper Building — The Chronicle's Home on the
Corner of Kearny and Bush Streets — An Exhibition of Confidence in the
Future — A Thoroughly Up-to-Date Plant — Those Who Inspected It Believed
It Would Never Be Outgrown — First American Demonstration of Electric
Lighting in Chronicle Office — An Illustration of the Journalism That Does
Things — When Kearny and Bush Streets Were the City's Center — The Germ
of the Index Card System — The Chronicle's Contemporary Library — A Big
Account of a Big Fire — The Big Inyo Earthquake Pictures by The Chron-
icle — The Diamond Mine Swindle Exposure — The Battle in the Lava Beds
With Modoc Indians — An Interview Which Attracted World-Wide Attention
— When Interviewing Was Much in Vogue — Passangers by Rail From the
East Win Distinction — Publication of Letter Lists — No Press Club in Early
Days — Newspaper Men Who Were Bohemians — The Glorification of San
Francisco and Its Atmosphere — Liberal Use of the Wire Page 107

CHAPTER XV

PROBLEMS RAISED AND TROUBLES PRODUCED
BY NEW ORGANIC LAW.

Result of Adoption of Constitution of 1879 — There Was No Hegira of Capital —
The Last Big Mining Stock Deal — A Quietus on Stock Gambling — The Con-
stitution's Adherents Were the People of the Interior — Greed of Agitators
for Office an Obstacle to Realization of Benefits — Charles de Young the
Ablest Newspaper Man Produced by San Francisco — The Reception to Gen-
eral Gr.int — It Enabled The Chronicle to Set the Pace in Reporting — A
World-Beating Journalistic Exploit — A People Proud of Their . Paper —
Another Great Report of a Big Local Event — The Author's Carnival — The
First Real Woman Journalist — A Case of Makeshift Illustration — Renewal
of Prosperity — The Crusade Against Chinese Immigration — Passage of the
Exclusion Act by Congress — A Great Wheat Producing State — Popularity of
The Chronicle's Annuals — The Chronicle's Thoroughness Page 116

Contents

CHAPTEK XVI

NOTABLE INSTANCES OP THE ' ' JOURNALISM THAT DOES
THINGS."

' Recognition of the Demand for Regulation of Monopolies — Democratic De-
fenders of the Railroads — Eastern Attitude Slow to Crystallize — The Frus-
tration of Attempts to Reform — A Problem That California Migh Have Suc-
cessfully Worked Out — Failure to Elect Honest Commissions — A Victim of
Judge-Made Law — Absurd Results of the Board of Equalization Decision —
The Evils of Non-Partisanism — Political Career of George Hearst — He
Makes a Handsome Present to His Son — Examiner Passes Into Possession of
William R. Hearst — The Chronicle's Advocacy of the Protective Policy — A
History of Education in the United States — Another Instance of the Journal-
ism That Does Things — The Chronicle Demonstrates the Desirability of
Weather Warnings to Agriculturists and Fruit Growers — Millions Saved to
the State by Newspaper Enterprise — The Chronicle Forms a News Associa-
tion — Numerous Patrons Served — Chronicle Press Association Absorbed by
Associated Press — M. H. de Young a Director of Associated Press for
Twenty-seven Years — Illustration Growth — Big Type in Heads — Book
Reviews — Dramatic Critics — A Training School for Statesmen — Noted
contributors Page 123

. CHAPTEK XVII

MIDWINTER EXPOSITION OF 1894 AND ITS EXTRAORDINARY

SUCCESS.

Tew Building for The Chronicle at Market, Geary and Kearny — An Archi-
tectural Departure Which Caused Much Headshaking — M. H. de Young's
Bold Innovation — The Chronicle's Big Strides in the Eleven Years Between
1879 and 1890 — A Sixty-Page Edition — Some Remarkable Comparisons —
Hard Times After a Period of Prosperity — A Successful Attempt to Turn
Aside Adversity — M. H. de Young's Proposition to Hold a Midwinter Fair —
A Conspicuous Instance of the Journalism That Does Things — The Story of
a Big Enterprise; — The Manner of Its Suggestion in Chicago at the Colum-
bian Fair — An Idea Received With Enthusiasm — The Ball Set Rolling in
Chicago — Local Attempts to Head off the Project — Fears That It Could
Not be Successfully Carried Through — The First Modest Plans — Organiza-
tion Effected and M. H. de Young Selected Director-General — Commissioners
Oppose Location of Fair in Golden Gate Park — Formal Ground Breaking
August 24, 1893 — Work for the Unemployed — Four Short Months in Which
to Get Ready — One Hundred and Fifty Buildings Erected — Ready to Open
on Time — A Succession of Festivals and Other Events — An Exposition
Which Was Made to Finance Itself— What It Did for Golden Gate Park
and the City of San Francisco Page 135

CHAPTER XVIII

JOURNALISTIC CHANGES AND POLICIES PRIOR
TO NINETEEN HUNDRED.

Monopoly in the Field of Journalism — Great Journals the Product of Toil
and Patient Upbuilding — The Disappearance of the Alta California — A
Newspaper Killed by Cheapness — Objection to the Introduction of Pennies —
Diminishing Interest in Stock Speculation Causes Death of Two Papers —
The Bulletin and Call Change Hands — John D. Spreckels Acquires the Call —
Strenuous Adherence to the Policy of Pay-as-yon-Go — The New City Hall
of 1870 a Ruin Before It Was Finished — Property Sold by the City Repur-
chased to Secure a Building Site — The Dollar Limit of Taxation and the
Water Supply — The Regulation of Water Rates — Dollar Tax Limit Used
as a Political Bait by Boss Buckley — Newspaper Hostility to Smooth Pave-

Contents vii

ments — Editors "Who -Were Eeserved in the Matter of Expressing Opinion —
Samuel S. Moffat's Free Trade Articles in the Examiner — The Chronicle's
Advocacy of the Development of the Kesources of the State — Helping Neigh-
boring States and Territories — Good Advice Given to Southern Californians —
The Rush to the Klondike — Big Force Sent to Report the Discoveries — A
Twelve-Page Edition of the Northern El Dorado — Optimistic Predictions
Concerning Alaska— A Book Published in a Single Issue — Chronicle Mono-
graphs Reproduced as Public Documents by Congress Page 144

CHAPTEE XIX

CHANGING METHODS AND FEATURES OF
MODERN NEWSPAPERS.

Effect of the Cheapening of Printing Paper — Cause of the Popularity of the Sun-
day Magazine — Contributors of the Highest Rank — The Sunday Magazine
Has Eliminated ' ' Grub Street ' '• — Development of the Syndicate — Effect of
Illustration on the Production of Magazine Matter — Improvement in the Pro-
duction of Pictures — Introduction of Typesetting Machines — General Adop-
tion of the Linotype by Newspaper Offices — Growing Propensity to Dress
Papers — Introduction and Use of the Telephone — Care Taken to Verify
Rumors and State Facts Correctly — The Part Played by the Telephone in
Getting at the Truth — General Use of Typewriting Machines in Newspaper
Offices — Copyreaders and Compositors Grateful for Their Introduction —
Shorthand Reports Not Commonly Made in American Newspaper Offices —
Effect of Longhand Reporting on the Development of Literary Style — The
First Sunday Editor of The Chronicle — Writers Who Came From the Case —
Attaches of The Chronicle Who Have Made Their Mark — Well-known San
Francisco Newspaper Men Now in Other Fields — Frank Norris' Early Con-
nections-r-The Chronicle's City Editors Page 153

CHAPTER XX

AFFAIRS ON THE EVE OF SAN FRANCISCO 'S GREAT
DISASTER.

Efforts of San Francisco to Obtain a New Charter — Strenous Opposition of Part
of the Press to Abandoning the Consolidation Act of 1856 — Contests Over
Details — A Charter Finally Adopted in 1898 — The Changed Attitude of Bulle-
tin and Call After 1895 — San Francisco Embarks on a Career of Improve-
ment — Approval of Park Panhandle Boulevard Project — The Chronicle 's Ex-
posure of Graft, and Its Opposition to Grafters — Creation of the Kuef-Schmitz
Machine-^Reformers Who Refused to be Stirred Into Action — Ruef and
Schmitz Claim That Their Administration Brought Prosperity to San Fran-
cisco — The Bitter Antagonism of The Chronicle to the Grafters — The Burning
of the Tower of The Chronicle Building— Suit Brought by Members of
Schmitz Gang Against The Chronicle— It Took an Earthquake to Rouse the
Eeformers to Action— The Visit of Roosevelt to San Francisco— His Approval
of The Chronicle's Political Course— Protection Versus Bimetallism— Pro-
prietor of The Chronicle Elects to Stand by the Former— Schemes for Beauti-
fying the City— Summer Outing Editions of The Chronicle— Charity Work
Done by Newspapers — Women's Clubs and the Press— Cartooning, and
Chronicle Catoonists p ag e 161

CHAPTER XXI

SAN FRANCISCO'S GREAT DISASTER AND ITS RAPID
RECOVERY.

Newspaper Warnings That Went Unheeded — Prosperity Produces a Careless Atti-
tude Toward Municipal Government — The Chronicle the Only Paper Hated
by the Grafters— Reformers Inactive on the Eve of the Great Conflagration —
A Case of Purification by Fire— Part Played by the Press in the Great

viii Contents

Disaster — Responding to the Call of a Self-Imposed Obligation — Prepara-
tions to Get Out an Extra— A Messenger Sent to Oakland Asking Hos-
pitality — The Joint Paper Published on the Morning of April 19, 1906 —
It was a Marvel of Calm Statement — A Journal That Lived One Day Only —
Charles de Young Receives His Baptism of Journalistic Fire — He reorgan-
izes the Circulation Department — Paper Temporarily Printed in Oakland —
The Loss of The Chronicle's Reference Library — Charles de Young Made
Business Manager of The Chronicle — Men Who Retained Their Positions
During Long Periods — A Great Newspaper Feat Successfully Carried
Through by Charles de Young — Tetrazzini Sings in the Open Air on Christ-
mas Eve at the Request of The Chronicle — The Untimely Death of Charles
de Young . , Page 170

CHAPTEE XXII

THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIELD OF
JOURNALISM.

Purchase of the San Francisco Call by M. H. de Young — 'Retirement from the
Field of a Survivor from Pioneer Days — Introduction of Wireless Telegraphy
— Increased Complexity of Newspapering — An Album of Portraits of the
Working Force of The Chronicle — Remarkable Expansion of the Midwinter
Exposition Memorial Museum — A Product of the Journal That Does
Things — The Chronicle's Christmas Ship — Over a Quarter of a Million
Articles Sent to the Little Ones of Warring Europe— Charles de Young's
Efforts to Brighten the Lives of Unfortunates — Rescuing the Careless from
the Clutches of Loan Sharks — The Chronicle's Japanese and Pan-American
Editions — Imminence of Another Chronicle Skyscraper Page 180

CHAPTEE XXIII

THE CHRONICLE'S GOLDEN JUBILEE AND
EXPOSITION EDITION.

A Publication That Stimulated Interest in the P. P. I. E. — Ninety-two Pages
of Reading Matter and Illustrations — Advertising Record Breaker — Aus-
picious Opening of San Francisco's Great Show— Critics Deelare That It
Has Surpassed All Previous Expositions — Record Breaking Attendance of
the First Months — An Ancient Question Up for Decision — The Attempt to
Unload Spring Valley on the City — A Contest in Which The Chronicle Stood
Alone and Won Out Page 190

ILLUSTRATIONS

Frontispiece — Charles and M. H. de
Young, founders of the San Fran-
cisco Chronicle, and Charles de
Young, son of the latter.

2 — Prospectus of first paper published
in California.

3 — Rev. "Walter Colton, editor of first
paper published in California.

5 — Samuel Brannan, publisher of Cali-
fornia Star of San Francisco.

6 — The "Washington press on which
San Francisco's first paper was
printed.

7 — Monument to Father Junipero Serra
in Golden Gate Park.

14 — Daily Alta California, containing
account of wreck of the George
Law.

20 — William Walker, the Nicaraguan
filibuster,

26 — James King of William, murdered
by James P. Casey in 1856.

27 — Pictorial Town Talk, with an ac-
count of the Vigilance Committee's
doings.

30 — William T. Coleman, leader of Vigi-
lance Committee of 1856.

34 — Harry Meiggs, one of San Fran-
cisco's earliest promoters.

43 — David S. Terry and David C Brod-
erick, principals in a duel of the
fifties.

64 — Title page of the Dramatic Chron-
icle, showing form in which San
Francisco Chronicle first appeared.

65 — The home of the San Francisco
Chronicle on Montgomery street in
1865.

66 — Mark Twain.

68 — Bret Harte.

70 — Charles Warren Stoddard.

, 79 — Pine-street Mining Stock Exchange
and Montgomery street during the
seventies.

81 — William Sharon and William C.
Ralston.

82 — Interior Court of Palace Hotel,
erected by W. C. Ralston in 1875,
destroyed by fire of 1906.

93 — Dennis Kearney, the Sand Lot
agitator of the seventies.

95 — The fifth Mechanics' Pavilion, on
the corner of Mission and Eighth
streets, in which the great meeting
advocating the adoption of the Con-
stitution of 1879 was held.

99 — Title page of first eight-page paper
printed in San Francisco.

101 — Evolution of the Printing Press:
Washington hand, Hoe four-cylin-
der and modern perfecting press.

102 — Henry George, author of "Progress
and Poverty."

108 — Chronicle building, erected by the
brothers, Charles and M. H. de
Young in 1879 on corner of Kearny
and Bush streets.

110 — Chronicle's Reference Library, first
organized in 1879.

118- 1 — Chronicle building decorated, on the
occasion of reception of General
Grant on his return from his world
tour.

128 — Bulletin board of Weather Service
started by Chronicle in 1885 to
demonstrate the feasibility of giv-
ing timely warnings to the agri-
culturists , of California, subse-
quently adopted by the Government.

136 — First steel "skyscraper" in San
Francisco, erected by M. H. de
Young in 1890, on the corner of
Market, Geary and Kearny streets,
and occupied by The Chronicle until
June, 1906.

138 — The Midwinter Exposition buildings
in 1894. The exposition was sug-
gested by M. H. de Young, who was
made its President and Director-
General.

148—'

Chris Buckley, the Blind Boss of
the Democratic party.

154 — Robert Louis Stevenson.

156 — A part of the San Francisco Chron-
icle's battery of Linotypes.

158 — Joaquin Miller.

164 — Destruction of the tower of the
Chronicle building on the night of
November 5, 1905.

174 — Title page of .the joint paper issued
by San Francisco's three morning
papers on the day after the disaster
of 1906.

Illustrations

176 — Present home of the San Francisco
Chronicle, constructed by M. H. de
Young after the disaster of 1906.
The first building erected in the
downtown district after the great
Are.

185 (2 cuts on one page) — Thanksgiv-
ing day at the Relief Home and
the Children's Hospital. The cus-
tom of entertaining the children
was inaugurated by Charles de
Young and has been kept up since
his death by his father, M. H. de
Young.

186 — The Midwinter Exposition Memorial
Museum in Golden Gate Park.

188 — Trucks loaded with contributions of
clothing, toys, etc., collected by the
San Francisco Chronicle for the
women and children of the warring
nations of Europe.

189 — "Willis Polk and Company's Design
for a New Chronicle Building.

191 — Panoramic view of Panama-Pacific
International Exposition and Di-
rectors. Key to portraits: (1) Leon
Sloss, vice-president; (2) I, W.
Hellman Jr., vice-president; (3) R.

B. Hale, vice-president; (4) Charles

C. Moore, president; (5) W. H.
Crocker, vice-president; (6) M. H.
de Young, vice-president; (7)
James Rolph Jr., vice-president; (8)
Captain John Barneson; (9) John

A. Britton; (10) George T Cam-
eron- <11) R. A. Crothers; (1^)
He°nry T.kott; (13) A. W .Foster;
(14) Curtis H. Lindley (15) James
McNab; (16) Rudolph J. Taussig,
secretary; (17) M. J. Brandenstein;
(18) Frank L. Brown: (19) P. T.
Clay; (20) Alfred I-Esberg; (21)
Henry F. Fortmann; (22) Homer S.
King; (23) A. W. Scott Jr.; (24)
Charles S. Stanton; (25) C. S. Fee;
(26) Joseph S. Tobin; (27) Dent H.
Robert; (28) Thornwell Mullally;
(29) P. H. McCarthy.

194 — Title page of Jubilee Edition of
San Francisco Chronicle, published
January 16, 1915.

195 — Scene at the Panama-Pacific Inter-
national Exposition on the opening
day.

200 — Sculpture at the Exposition: >
Autumn, by Furio Piccirilli.

204 — Palace of Fine Arts, Panama-Pa-
cific International Exposition.

208 — Sculpture at the Exposition: The
Genius of Creation, by Daniel
Chester French.

212 — California Building, Panama-Pa-
cific International Exposition.

220 — Sculpture at the Exposition: Water,
by Robert Aitken.

CHAPTER I

THE PEEIOD BEFOEE THE AWAKENING OF
CALIFORNIA.

A People "Who Were Not Disturbed by News — Naming of the Golden Gate — Com-
munication Between the Missions — First Printing Press in California — The Earli-
est Discovery, of Gold at Los Angeles in 1841 — The First House in Yerba Buena —
The First Cdvie Improvement in California — Marine Inactivity and Industrial
Languor Match Each Other — California's First Sawmill — Arrival of the Mormon
Colony — A Press and Font of Type Brought in 1846 — California's First Paper
Published at Monterey in 1846 — Defense Against Wild Indians — First Paper
"Almost Pays Expenses" — First Type Used in Monterey Found in One of the
Missions — Two Weeks Between Los Angeles and San Francisco — The California
Star Issued by the Mormons — Hard Times in Yerba Buena — The First ' 'Boost ' '
Article Printed in California — Desire to Make a Slave State of California — The
Bush to the Mines — Yerba Buena Is Officially Named San Francisco by Alcalde
Bartlett — Commerce and Population of San Francisco in 1848.

URING the seventy years intervening between the naming
of the Mission Dolores by Juan Bautista de Anza on
March 28, 1776, and the proclamation of Commodore
Sloat on the 7th of July, 1846, in which he announced
to the natives of California that they were to enjoy the
advantages of the beneficent institutions of the United
States, the vast region now forming the second largest
state in the American Union had experienced an almost
undisturbed repose. The few easily quelled uprisings of Indians, and the
occasional dissensions between the religieuse and the military authorities,
and the not very serious feuds of the more prominent of the gente de razon
were all that happened to cause a ripple on the surface of the placid life of
the sparsely inhabited country.

The people of California lived a life so entirely apart from that of the
rest of the world that the successful revolution of Mexico in 1823 scarcely
afforded a real sensation. The interests of the province were necessarily
vitally affected by the shaking off of Spanish rule, but the event probably
excited less general interest than a primary election does today. There
were sporadic exhibitions of differences of opinion by the more prominent
landowners, and some show of opposition was made by one or two padres,
but, on the whole, acquiescence in the change of rulers came so easily the
inference is permissible that it was the product of indifference.

It does not require much penetration to understand the cause of this
attitude. During the three-quarters of a century between the day when

Journalism in California

Portola's hunting party discovered the bay of San Francisco in 1769, and
the entrance of Fremont's first exploring party into the prov-
Period ^ nce * n 1843 j the natives of California had lived lives as

of devoid of active curiosity as of . ambition. The padres were

Repose engrossed in the work of saving the souls of the Indians who

became inmates of the mission establishments; and the few
soldiers who garrisoned the widely separated posts, and the beneficiaries
of land grants and their dependents vegetated.

The turmoil of the outside world caused them no unrest, and only
the echoes of revolutions reached their ears. It is related by a French
traveler named De Mofrat, who' visited California some years after the
overthrow of the Bourbons, that he heard the Indian neophytes singing mass
to the tune of "The Marseillaise," which had been taught them by one of
the padres who had probably never heard of the enthronement of the
goddess of reason in Notre Dame, or of the bitter warfare in La Vendee.

At this time, and for many years after, the feeble desire for intelligence
was ministered to only when a warship or a trading vessel found its way
into the harbor of San Francisco, through the entrance which later had

- . conferred upon it by Fremont the Greek name Chrysophylae,

gence* which was subsequently translated into .Golden Gate by the

Rarely pioneers. It does not appear from the numerous descriptions

Received we have of such visits that great eagerness was exhibited for

news ; but there are some positive statements to the effect that
the padres were disinclined to give credence to any stories calculated to
upset their geographical or scientific views.

While the padres and the rancherps may have felt that indifference
concerning the outside world which is the natural product of isolation, they
manifested a lively curiosity regarding their own affairs and found frequent
means to gratify the very human desire for news. The missions of Upper
California, which were located at suitable intervals between San Diego
and San Francisco, extended their hospitality to all travelers, and the latter
usually requited the attention by imparting such intelligence as they pos-
sessed concerning the doings of the establishments through which they had
passed.

It was a chance sort of interchange of intelligence and was never re-
duced to a system. Thus it frequently happened that there were long inter-
vals of complete repose for the padres, who escaped the
No Desire harassing doubts which a too lively desire for the very latest
Latest news, and the disposition to minister to it, brings in its train.

News This nearly somnolent condition endured in California down

to the time of the discovery of gold at Sutter's mill, a fact
which may be inferred from the authenticated statement that the people
of Monterey did not hear of Marshall's find until several weeks after the
inhabitants of Yerba Buena had been stirred by the event.

It is not without the bounds of possibility that the discovery at Sutter's
mill might have proved as unimportant as an earlier find of the precious
metal in Los Angeles county, made by Francisco Lopez in 1841, had not
the men who made their way to California in 1846 and 1847 brought with
them the means as well as the news disseminating propensity. Lopez' dis-
covery,- unlike that of Marshall's, was not the result of an accident. He had
heard that water-worn pebbles of a certain sort were found in the vicinity

<D.M$WmSfW$t<

XS PUBLISHED IN MONTEREY, EVERY SATURDAY MORNING,
B* COLTON & SEMPLE.
FOR FIVE DOLLARS PER ANNUM IN ADVANCE.

This m the first piper ever published in Cnliforni*. nnrl
though i-sueil upon a nmnll ihret, is intended 11 nltnll run-
lain in Biter Hint will be reail with intere<t. Tin- principles
n tuL-d will guvern us in coaducuiigit, **« be si furili.in
a fnw wordi

«re thill nsintoia nn entire and oiler severance of ill
political cnnnviinn with Meilco. we Oifiniinuc m wv«
nrri forever ill fealty tu tier law», ell obedience (u lier ninii-
dolci.

*i alinll advocate en oblivion of ill r«m political oflVn-
f* ritnl allow every man the (iriulcgi- of ■ merui^ tin- mw
era of event* unernb«rraa>ed by any purl he ni-iy havo
taken in prtvn.ni u volutin™.

we (hall maintain frerdnm of apei-ch nml ihe preen, and
lhi>*e gient principle* nf religion* lolvralmu, which allows
crcry«inn In workup God according tu the dieUU* of hi*
o*n c*n*ck-ne«.

*i *hnll advocate iuch ■ »y*tem of public inatruction ■■
will bring tb» m»»»i of • good practical EDUCATION to
every child in Califumin.

«r shall urge iV innnediite ealibliihmtnt of a well or-
ganized government end a universal obedicara In it* law*.
we ahall encourage imigralinn, and tako ■peeiat paina to
point nut In agncullural (migrant* thota section- of unoc-
cupied land>, where ilia fertility nf uVa loil wilt moil am*
ply repay ih. labaraoflhe hu»bnndman

wr «hhl| encournge domrslic manufacture* and the me-
chanic art* a* source* of private wealth, individual comfort
and independable to iha public proapenty. ,

wr, -bell urge lb* organization of interior defence* mf-
nYienl tt protect the property of allien* from ilia depreda-
tion! of the mid imlinni. *

we shall ndvOcMe n territorial r. ■Intion of California to.
ihe LTnitad States, nil Ih"; number of inhabitant* j« such
that ihr can be admitted a member of lh;it glorious con*
fe'deracy.

*wa sfiall nuppnrf the pr»«ent menaure* of thccnmmnmler
fa chief of the American *<piadnrn mi our enn-t, to far a*
they conduce to the ptihlte irnnquilily, ihe nrsnnizntinn nf
n True rcprerenlative government and our alliance with the
Uiiiitr.l Stale*. „.

uk ill. ill advocate the Loot rnte of duties on-foreign
imporl*. and favry nn coemption of Ihe neceimriea of life,
even from these dull'*.

wr. shall go fur California— for mil litr iattreth, iorinf,
e-ntand rtliniout — encouraging every thing (hit promotes
lli*-c, rciinilng every thing thai can do idem harm. >

Tlii* press nfmll be free nnd independent ; iimm-ed liy
power and uninuumeled by -parly. Tile use of it* columns .
tlmll Be denied 'o none, who nnve suggestions Id make ,
promotive of the public weollti.

«( ahall lay before our' reader* the freshest domestic in-1
lelbgcni'e and the uarli**"! foreign ncwa.

Thb CaLtroKMAN hna been pnblnhed upwards nfrit'
monlht, contrary to our expeclntiuna, it has about paid its
own expense*. •»

we are daily eipecling our new matrriaU, nhru tho
paper will lie eiilarged to about double its present M«-e. It
it lo bo huped that the incrending pupulntinn, the eatnblij>h-
mrnt of the government nt Montery will incretufe our atih-
scription list, so a* lu justify the extra expense of enlarging
Ihe paper.

Out thnnka arc tendered to oar patrons nnd friend.i for
pn«t favour* and we hope'tlint our future ellurts will men
with n continuance of their confide nee.

SUBSCRIBERS NAMES.

PLACE OF RESIDENCE.

PROSPECTUS OP FIRST PAPER PUBLISHED IN CALIFORNIA

REV. WALTER COLTON
Editor of first paper published in California.

The Period Before the Awakening

of gold and while pulling up wild onions at San Francisquito, about thirty-
five miles north of Los Angeles, he noted some clinging to the roots which
appeared to answer the description. He at once instituted a search and
was rewarded by finding about eighteen ounces of the precious metal, which
was sent to the Mint at Philadelphia, where it was found to be worth $344.

The discovery, although no attempt was made to keep it secret, pro-
duced only a ripple of excitement, and was not followed as in the case of
the find at Sutter's mill by a rush which took on world-wide proportions.
It is doubtful whether the people in the village of Yerba Buena in 1841 ever
heard of Lopez' find. At that time the place numbered thirty families,
clustered in the neighborhood of Jacob Primer Leese's store, which he had
started in 1836. This establishment occupied a hundred vara lot about
250 feet from the beach of the cove which then reached what is now Mont-
gomery street. The location chosen by Leese remained the center of such
activity as Yerba Buena developed down to the time of the American occu-
pation and during several years afterward.

Leese had associated with him in business Nathan Spear and William
Sturgis Hinckley. The latter arrived in California in 1840 and in 1844 he
was elected Alcalde of Yerba Buena, the first to bear that title in what was
to be the future metropolis of the Pacific Coast. During
^ an . , his incumbency, Hinckley executed what seems to have been
First the first civic improvement in California, and, perhaps, on

Improvement the whole Pacific Coast. The locality now bounded by
Montgomery, Washington, Kearny and Jackson streets at that
time was covered with a lagoon of salt water which rose and fell with
the tide of the bay. Over this obstruction Hinckley caused to be con-
structed a rude but serviceable bridge, which obviated the necessity for those
coming from North Beach of making a long detour when they desired to
reach the store. The construction was of the simplest character, but any-
thing in the nature of a public convenience was so great a curiosity that
the rancheros of the surrounding country traveled miles to see the marvel.

It is not surprising that the desire for information should have been
at a low ebb in such a community. The newspaper was by no means a
stranger to peoples in other regions where contact with the world was closer.
It had been a growing factor in the development of civilization in Europe
from the middle of the fifteenth century, and had attained to considerable
importance on the Atlantic seaboard of the United States where mental
expansion and material progress kept pace. But the need for newspapers
or books was not felt throughout the vast area in which the spiritually
zealous padres and the sluggish Spaniard and his descendants dominated.

Taking Yerba Buena as an exemplar of conditions, it is not difficult
to comprehend why the need of a newspaper or the desire for books was
never felt. Its commerce, if so sonorous an appellation may be applied to
trading operations so insignificant, was confined to the occa-
£ ne sional visits of Yankee skippers who brought miscellaneous

Iltbtt cargoes, which they exchanged for the hides and tallow de

Unformed rived from the great herds of cattle which roamed over the
country surrounding the missions. The padres had no incli-
nation for the sea and utterly neglected boat building. As a consequence,
the navigation of the bay was monopolized for many years by a single
schooner sailed by a Captain Richardson, who, as early as 1822; contracted

Journalism in California

with the heads of the missions to gather their products at various places
and assembled them for reshipment in the cove of Yerba Buena.

The marine inactivity of the period was fully matched by the general
industrial languor. Outside of the missions there was no energy at all,
and within their precincts it seemed to be directed to the solution of the
preservation of existence in its simplest form. There was no
Taste flourishing agriculture. An examination of the inventories

for the °f the most prominent establishments of the padres discloses

Sea that their products, considering the number of laborers avail-

able, were insignificant as to quantity and woefully deficient
in variety. Manufacturing, as we understand it, was absolutely unknown.
The missions, and the soldiers and natives living near them, were entirely
dependent upon outsiders for the commonest kind of utensils, and such
luxuries as were consumed were obtained by exchanging hides and tallow for
them, the skippers who engaged in the trade usually, if not invariably,
getting the best of the bargain.

If it were desirable to heighten the lights in this picture of apathy
toward material progress, it might be done by stating that until Stephen
Smith in 1843 started the first sawmill in California, the people around the
bay of San Francisco had been dependent for lumber upon an Irishman
named David Hill, who operated a whipsaw as early as 1822, and apparently
had no trouble in supplying the demand, which was confined to such simple
things as stoutly-constructed doors and rude window frames for the adobe
houses, which were guiltless of such luxuries as board floors, and whose
furniture was in keeping with the general style of construction.

It is not in such a community that one looks for journalistic develop-
ment, and the fact that it is never found under the conditions described may
seem to negative the assumption that newspapers and books were as impor-
tant a factor in bringing about the great metamorphosis which followed the
occupation of California by the Americans as some are disposed to claim.
But there are many facts to support the belief that those who made their
way into the new territory in the days immediately following the settlement
of our difficulties with Mexico would not have made the material progress
since recorded had they not been an inquisitive and a reading people.

It is not without significance that the awakening of Yerba Buena did
not occur until the advent of the printing press. From the day when Leese
built his store on the corner of Clay and Dupont streets in 1836, until the
arrival of the Mormon colony in the Brooklyn on July 31,
Awakening of 1846 > the village retained all the peculiarities of a poverty-
Yerba stricken settlement of the Spanish-American type. If there

Buena were any other improvements than the bridging of the slough

by Hinckley the records are silent concerning them. But
from that time forward changes began to occur indicative of advancement,
and it is impossible to dissociate them from the fact that a part of the
Brooklyn's cargo was a press and a font of type, and that the 238 colonists
aboard that vessel and others who found their way to the little town, brought
with them books ; more, one careful writer tells us, than could be found at
the time in all the rest of the territory put together.

The press brought by the Mormons was not the first brought to Cali-
fornia, nor did the California Star, issued under the auspices of the colony,
which was headed by Samuel Brannan, afterward conspicuous in the up-

SAMUEL BRANNAN
Publisher of California Star of San Francisco.

The Period Before the Awakening

building of San Francisco, enjoy the distinction of being the pioneer pub-
lication. That honor is claimed by The Californian, a one-page sheet which
made its first appearance in Monterey on August 15, 1846,
Francisco's near ty six months earlier than the issuance of the California
First Star. Colton and Semple were the publishers and editors of

Press the Monterey publication, which was a very modest paper,

indeed, being printed on one side of a single sheet 12y 2
by 8% inches. This initial issue was in the nature of an announcement,
the principal feature of which was a ringing editorial on the subject of the
American annexation of California in which fealty to Mexico and her laws
was renounced once and forever. It was characteristic of the new-born
spirit which synchronized with the advent of The Californian, that the editor
should have advocated public instruction, the establishment- of stable and
well organized government, and the encouragement of immigration and of
domestic manufactures.

There certainly was need for all the changes which the editor demanded.
Such a thing as public instruction was wholly unknown in California ; im-
migration had been persistently discouraged and even prohibited by law;
as already stated, the natives were absolutely dependent on
i?g d outsiders for such manufactured articles as the conduct of

f their simple life demanded, and, after the upheaval in Mexico

Change which resulted in the abrogation of Spanish rule, the province

was absolutely neglected by the central government of the
new republic, which left the provincials to shift for themselves, scarcely
taking the trouble to provide' them with a Governor. The announcement
contained also a recommendation that a force be organized for the purpose
of "defense against wild Indians," which appears to have been inspired by a
groundless fear, as the aborigines gave little or no trouble during many
years following the occupation. Those in the neighborhood of Monterey
never were a cause of apprehension to the whites.

The Californian was issued weekly on Saturdays, and the subscription
price was $5 a year, payable in advance. Its editor and publisher evidently
did not contemplate making a fortune through its publication, for in a
subsequent issue the reader was informed that: "The Cali-
First 0mia S fornian has been published upward of six months, and, con-
"News- trary to our expectations, it has about paid its own expenses."

paper" It is difficult to understand how it was able to perform the

latter feat, for at best it was nothing but a circular, the prin-
cipal purpose of which seemed to be the dissemination of the orders of
Commodore E. F. Stockton, commander of the American forces in Cali-
fornia. These orders were printed in English and Spanish, and probably
were the most interesting news California afforded at the time. The type
used in printing the Californian was found in the cloisters of one of the
missions, and was deficient in capital Ws, and the font was otherwise
defective. That the publishers labored under great difficulties in the matter
of- the presentation' of news may be inferred from the fact that a proclama-
tion of Stockton, announcing the American occupation, which was dated
at "Cuidad de los Angeles, August 17, 1846," was printed in an extra
of September 5th following. On the same date a notice that a general civil
election would be held on September 15th appeared. It was dated at Los
Angeles on the 22d of the preceding month, If expedition was used by

Journalism in California

Messrs. Colton and Semple in producing their extra two weeks were prob-
ably occupied in transmitting the copy from Los Angeles to Monterey,
which indicates that the American courier had not succeeded in greatly
improving upon the leisurely habits of the natives.

The Californian, despite the boast that it had made ends meet during
the first six months of its existence, moved from Monterey to Yerba Buena
on the 22d of May, 1847, and issued the first number of its second Volume
from that place, Eobert Semple being the sole publisher.
Francisco's Meanwhile, however, the Brooklyn with its Mormon contin-
Fi rst gent had arrived, and the printing plant brought by the

Paper colonists was utilized to get out a weekly paper which the

publisher, Samuel Brannan, named the California Star. The
first number appeared on January 7, 1847. It was a small sheet of four
pages, the type on each page occupying a space of 12x15 inches. It was
much better printed than the Californian, and its editor, E. P. Jones,
exhibited some taste in the arrangement of the matter. An announcement
that it would carefully eschew sectarian discussion was something in the
nature of an intimation to the settlers of Yerba Buena that Brannan, who
had come into collision with the Mormon colonists, intended to withdraw
from the organization, which he did subsequently.

The condition of affairs in Yerba Buena during the first year after
the occupation was the reverse of prosperous. The war had effectually
suspended the little business enterprise formerly displayed, and immigration
was almost at a standstill. The outlook was very gloomy,
Not but the few Americans who had found their way to the port

Prosperous on the Pacific were not easily discouraged. They believed
Community that the future would bring prosperity because they had un-
bounded faith in the resources of California. TJnlike the
prior occupants of the land, they were not disposed to adopt the Manana
habit. The fact that they had an instrument at hand which would help
them to forward their designs probably accounts for their not imitating the
example of other Europeans and Americans who had penetrated California
before the occupation. That instrument was the newspaper press. They
used the California Star to disseminate the information which they believed
would prove sufficiently alluring to bring plenty of desirable settlers to the
new territory. A committee was formed and it was resolved to have printed
a circular which was to set forth in detail the advantages which the soil and
climate of California offered to the husbandman, grazier and artisan. The
article was prepared by Dr. Victor J. Fourgead, who entitled it, "The
Prospects of California." It was printed in an extra number of the Cali-
fornia Star dated April 1, 1848, and a courier was dispatched on the day
of its issue with 2000 copies, which he contracted to deliver in Missouri
in sixty days, and to spread the document among the people of that State.

This first boost edition of a California newspaper barely mentioned
the rumored discovery of gold and treated it as a matter of no importance.
Marshall's find at Sutter's mill had been made in the previous January, but
it appears to have made no serious impression on the boosters, who were con-
vinced that the future of California depended upon its grazing and agricul-
tural possibilities. The authors of the circular were particularly desirous
of attracting Missourians, and it is not unlikely that they desired that they
should belong to the class whose sympathies could be depended upon when

THE WASHINGTON PRESS ON WHICH SAN FRANCISCO'S FIRST
PAPER WAS PRINTED

MONUMENT TO FATHER JUNIPERO SERRA IN GOLDEN GATE PARK

The Period Before the Awakening

California
Star
Extra

the Territory had acquired a sufficient population to promote its admission
to the Union as a slave State. Their intentions and calculations, however,
availed nothing. The circular of April 1st was to have been
fornia's followed by another .on June 1st, but before the arrival of the

First ' date set for the appearance of the second extra of the Cali-

Booster fornia Star, nearly everybody connected with the paper had

gone to the mines, and in the excitement which attended the
rush to the new diggings it was lost sight of forever by its projectors, whose
thoughts were turned into another channel.

When the California Star extra was published on the 1st of April,
1848, Yerba Buena had ceased to be the name of the village on the cove
which had so many years served as a safe harbor for the few craft visiting
the Coast. On the 30th of January, 1847, Washington A.
Bartlett, the first American Alcalde, in order to anticipate
the expected appropriation of the name of St. Francis by
Mariano G. Vallejo and Thomas 0. Larkin, who- contemplated
the creation of a port and city in the locality of Benicia, re-
quired that all documents issued in the village should be dated San Fran-
cisco, which was the designation applied to the place on the official map.
The projectors of the rival city reluctantly yielded and gave it one of the
Christian names borne by the wife of M. G. Vallejo. In the same year
that Bartlett fixed the name which the erstwhile Yerba Buena now, bears,
the exports of the premier port of the Pacific were valued at $49,597.53
and the imports at $53,589.73. Six square-rigged vessels entered the bay
during the year and the population of San Francisco fell forty-one short
of 500. The manners of the village had changed somewhat, but the Ameri-
canization was not complete. Some of the native habits had been easily
accepted by the newcomers. The taste for the card game known as monte
was promptly acquired, and more rebosas were seen on the "Street of the
Foundation," the high-sounding name given to the one thoroughfare of the
place when Yerba Buena was first laid out, than the garb commonly worn
by women on the Atlantic seaboard. But the change of name did not
greatly increase the activity of the place. San Francisco was nearly as dull
as Yerba Buena had been, and remained so until Marshall's discovery
stirred up the inhabitants, and caused the rush from all quarters of the
globe, which soon turned the village into a city and in an incredibly brief
space of time converted it into the liveliest spot on the footstool.

CHAPTER II

NEWSPAPEE PEESS OE SAN FEANCISCO IN THE
EAELY FIFTIES.

Changes in Journalistic Methods — Apparent Innovations Often Only Exaggerations —
A Six-Column Description of California Eesources in 1848 — Early Papers Had
Few News Facilities — Pioneer and Eastern Contemporary Period Journalism
Compared — First Telegraph Line in 1852 — Completion of Line Between San
Francisco and Missouri Eiver — News by Pacific Mail Steamers — Files of Eastern
Papers a Great Source of News — The Pony Express and the Newspapers — Ee-
porting During the Fifties — The First Vigilance Committee — Avoidance of Men-
tion of Crime Did Not Prevent Its Becoming Eampant — Twelve Dailies in San
Francisco in 1851 — Denunciations of Municipal Corruption — "Affairs of Honor"
Common During the Fifties — The Newspaper Graveyard of Early Days — The
Birth of the Alta — San Francisco's First Newspaper Merger — The Founding
of the Bulletin — No Overset in Early Day Composition Eooms.

WEITEE on journalism remarked recently that "the
newspaper of today is vastly different from that pub-
lished twenty years ago." No one who has paid atten-
tion to the subject will challenge the accuracy of the
observation, but even the student at times is puzzled
when he makes the effort to describe the nature of the
change. If he confines his study to externals he will
- have no difficulty in detecting peculiarities of the
make-up of the paper of 1915 which distinguish it from the journal of
1865, but if he digs deeply he will find that many obtrusive features of the
present-day newspaper are merely exaggerations of earlier methods empha-
sized by the use of big type. San Francisco journalism furnishes an
excellent illustration of the correctness of this assumption. During the
nearly seventy years since the publication of the first newspaper in Cali-
fornia there have been many changes in style and in the methods of con-
ducting public journals. If an inhabitant of Mars without any previous
knowledge of what was occurring on this planet should drop into San Fran-
cisco on any Sunday and see an edition of one of the morning papers and
be told that it had been evolved in the course of sixty-nine years from the
little sheet printed on the press brought to California on the Brooklyn in
1846, a copy of which may be seen in the Memorial Museum in Golden
Gate Park, he would certainly be astonished, if Martians are capable of
surrendering to such an emotion. He might not be surprised at the size
of a modern Sunday edition, being accustomed to digging canals several
miles in width and hundreds of miles in length, but it is more than likely
that he would be a trifle incredulous if told that it was a natural develop-

Newspaper Press in the Early Fifties 9

ment from the sober four-page, 12x15, production which appeared weekly
on Saturdays in the village of Yerba Buena.

But the plain little sheet, and its immediate successors which rapidly
sprang into existence after the discovery of gold at Sutter's mill, had many
of the characteristics possessed by the overgrown modern Sunday paper. A

careful comparison of an issue of any of the more ambitious of
in erences the daily papers published in San Francisco in the early fifties
Degree °f the nineteenth century will disclose to the discriminating

Only that what appear to be differences are oftener than otherwise

those of degree or size rather than fundamental changes. In
short, the News, the Heralds, the Couriers, the Balances, the Times, the
Wild Wests, the Chronicles, the Bulletins, the Suns and the other dailies
of pioneer days were edited and published for the same purposes as the
modern newspaper. Those who made them sought to make their publica-
tions interesting to their readers, and the methods of doing so were as
various as the number of directing minds engaged in their production; and
the same thing may be said of the newspapers of today. In the preceding
chapter it was shown that the California Star as early as April 1, 1848,
engaged in a work^hich a consensus of opinion approves and applauds as
one of the most important functions of a newspaper, namely, the dissemina-
tion of intelligence respecting the possibilities and capabilities of the
region in which it is published. It is sometimes assumed that this is a
feature peculiar to the journalism of a new country, but a slight acquaint-
ance with the methods of metropolitan dailies of the first class makes one
familiar with the fact that their editors are alive to the desirability, if not
the necessity, of expatiating upon the advantages of the locality and the
country in which they are published. Even the London Times does not
disdain to write up in detail the industries of Great Britain, and to ex-
patiate on the greatness of the port of London ; and, in doing so, it is merely
practicing on an extended scale what the early California paper did meas-
urably well when it printed its six-column description of "The Prospects of
California."

That the early papers of San Francisco were weak on the news side
was due more to absence of facilities for getting news than to lack of appre-
ciation of the desirability of furnishing the latest intelligence as promptly

as possible. This deficiency was soon repaired, and by the
on^the exertion of a greater degree of energy than was displayed by

Uews the publishers of newspapers on the Eastern seaboard, who

Side were content to endure conditions militating against the

speedy publication of news for a much longer period than
their brethren in the new and ambitious city on the bay of San Francisco.
There were so-called newspapers in New England and the other colonies
in the closing years of the seventeenth century, and in the first year of the
Revolution Philadelphia boasted as many as eight. After the country had
secured its independence, the number greatly increased, but it was not until
sometime between the years 1835 and 1840 that the New York papers
started "pony expresses," and similar expedients for the purpose of procur-
ing intelligence as speedily as possible from Washington, which was then
as important a news center as it is at present. The papers in San Francisco
did not allow a half century and more to elapse before they sought to
close the gap which put them out of touch with the rest of the Union. As

10 Journalism in California '

early as 1852 an ordinance was passed granting the right of way to the
California Telegraph Company to construct a line between San Francisco,
San Jose and other points in the interior, but it was late in the following
year before it was completed. In September, 1853, a short line was con-
structed connecting San Francisco with Point Lobos, which was utilized
for the purpose of giving information about shipping movements, intel-
ligence of that sort prior to the introduction of the telegraph being signaled
from the elevation which commemorates the practice by retaining the name
'■'Telegraph Hill" bestowed by the pioneers. A close inspection does not
reveal a liberal use of the first California telegraph by the press of the city,
nor, indeed, was telegraphic news much in evidence before the completion
of the line between the Missouri and San Francisco, which occurred October
1, 1861.

There was great rivalry during the period prior to the advent of the
Pony Express and the Overland Stage Line in the matter of presenting
news received by steamer from the Atlantic states. At the close of 1853
there were twelve daily papers published in San Francisco.
News There may have been some differences of opinion among their

^ editors respecting the interest and the importance of other

eaMM news, but they were perfectly agreed that the happenings in

the old home held the uppermost place in the estimation of
their readers and they governed themselves accordingly. All sorts of de-
vices were resorted to by the more energetic publishers to get out editions at
the earliest possible moment. Batches of carefully condensed items were
prepared by Eastern correspondents which were promptly secured on the
arrival of the steamer by which they were dispatched, and with equal
promptitude put into type and rushed on the street, where they were eagerly
' bought by expectant readers. On the following day the more important
phases were dealt with at greater length, but there was never any conspicu-
ous indulgence in the propensity to expand, the modest amount of space at
the command of the editor enforcing a brevity which may have satisfied the
lovers of concise expression, but did not lend itself to the clearing up of ob-
scurities which required detail to make them comprehensible.

The principal news source of the press throughout the fifties were the
files of Eastern papers brought by the steamers. The Overland Stage Line,
which connected San Francisco and St. Louis, was started in 1858, but
the best time made between the two cities was twenty-one
Overland days, which did not result in the gain of any time, although

Stage it greatly improved mail facilities, there being eight arrivals

Line monthly by stage against two by steamer. The most enter-

prising and spectacular mode of securing expedition in the
transmission of intelligence was that adopted about the time that the Over-
land Stage service was perfected. It was known as the Pony Express and
probably derived its name from the news service instituted by the New York_
papers some years earlier. It was regarded as a marvelous bit of enterprise '
and deservedly so, for those employed in the carrying of the strictly limited
number of letters were exposed to great danger and hardships, the region
through which they rode being infested with savage Indians.

The Pony Express, the first mail of which reached Sacramento on
the 13th of April, 1858, employed nearly three hundred persons, eighty
of them being riders whose average performance was about seventy-five

Newspaper Press in the Early Fifties 11

miles; but there is a record of one who rode 384 miles without stopping
except for meals and to change horses at stations. The express carried two

mails a week, and the charge for a letter, which was limited
Famous *° ^ e we i&ht °^ ^ a ^ an ounce, was $5. This resulted in the

p ony adoption of cipher codes which were prepared on tissue paper.

Express When translated they provided the editor with an abundance

, of copy, which he often was enabled to supplement with in-
formation derived from private letters received by officials and merchants.
Prior to the starting of the Pony Express the newspapers had succeeded in
having a wire run from San Francisco to Stockton, and thence through
the San Joaquin valley and over the Tehachapi mountains to Los Angeles,
the idea being to anticipate the arrival of the stage in San Francisco, but
this bit of enterprise was without substantial results when the riders got
into full operation, and was of little value for news collecting purposes, as
the southern part of the State was absolutely dormant at that period. The
files of the San Francisco papers during the years in which the Pony
Express was in operation contain many stories of hair-breadth escapes
of the riders and some thai were tragic; but they were all told with that
succinctness which was a characteristic of newspaper writing at the time.
This brevity has been much discussed by the mpre diffuse narrators of a
later period, some of whom were disposed to attribute it to a keener
appreciation of the merits of conciseness than they possessed, but their
opinion seems to be contradicted by the fact that a great deal of space was
consumed day after day in the columns devoted to comment by matter
whose treatment did not suggest a desire to go straight to the point, or the
avoidance of unnecessary words.

If the presentation of the news during the first decade after the dis-
covery of gold presented any feature calculated to distinguish it from the
matter printed in the papers of small towns of the present day it is not

easily discovered by the careful investigator. This suggests
Features ^ ^ a £ ^ e s ^ v ] e Q f re p 0r ting during the fifties was dictated by
Early tne limitations of the journals for which the news was pre-

Papers pared rather than by the desire to save the reader the trouble

of wading through long accounts of happenings. That de-
tails would have been acceptable if they had been presented is fairly
indicated by the fact that the more extended descriptions of events which
appeared in the Eastern papers were eagerly perused by those who sub-
scribed for them, and by the tacit approbation of the same shown by the
editors of San Francisco papers, who frequently copied long stories of
occurrences on the Atlantic seaboard which would have been disposed of
with a brief paragraph had they happened nearer home.

A specimen paper of 1850, if closely examined, reveals some of the
limitations. The Pacific News of May 15th of that year is a fair example

of the journalistic enterprise of the period. It consisted of
Contents j our p a g es , 13x20 inches, with six columns to the page. It

I85(j n was printed from an English font of type of about the same

Paper size as that used in the body of The Chronicle, but was

marked by a decided avoidance of display headings. It was
intended to be complete, as may be inferred from the statement printed
in black face, "For the steamer Isthmus — Wednesday, May 15, 1850."
The first three columns of the title page were devoted to "Mining Intelli-

12 Journali sm in California

gence," and the remaining three to "Pacific News." The mining news
was chiefly composed of selections from other papers duly credited, and the
matter under the heading "Pacific News" was made up of local and Coast
items. The principal local event described was one of San Francisco's
early great fires, which swept away all the buildings on Kearny, Washing-
ton, Clay, Jackson and Dupont streets, resulting in damage estimated at
several hundred thousand dollars. The disaster was relatively as great,
considering the infancy of the city, as that experienced in 1906, but only
a little more than half a column was used in describing the affair, not more
than eight hundred words at the utmost.

The second page was devoted to editorials, news items and letters
from the public. TtiTee columns were consumed in comment, one of the
editorials being on the bright outlook for the cause of temperance, and an-
other a traverse of the news. The third page contained a
Crime batch of news gleaned from Hawaiian papers, excerpts from

Dwelt other California papers and commercial news. There were

Upon also some small advertisements. A curious feature' of this

page was the use of an index finger sign at the beginning of
small paragraphs whether news or announcements. The last page was given
over largely to the message of John W. Geary, the first Mayor under the
charter granted to San Francisco. It was three columns in length. The
remainder of the space was taken up with reprints from Australian news-
papers, tabulated election returns and some more Pacific Coast news. The
investigator searching through this particular issue for evidence of the tur-
bulence which was supposed to have been the normal condition of affairs
about this time in San Francisco would not discover any, and might con-
clude that the popular impression that affairs were in a bad state was
erroneous. The editorial on temperance, read between the lines, would
suggest to the careful reader of later days that the drink habit was very
common, as, indeed, it was, but he would not imagine that crime was ram-
pant. But, despite the reticence of the Pacific News and other papers,
the criminal element was exceedingly bold, and, according to the writer
of the "Annals of San Francisco" had succeeded in terrorizing the com-
munity.

The disorderly part of the community apparently continued their
depredations during 1850 and the early part of 1851 without experiencing
any check from the insufficient and inefficient police force, and the respect-
able elements were finally compelled to take the matter in
m 6 d lv their own hands, which they did by organizing a Vigilance
Element Committee which dealt summarily with some of the con-

in 1851 spicuous offenders. Although there were many murders be-

tween 1849 and 1851, the perpetrators escaped hanging, and
it was not until the people rose in their wrath in the latter year that an
example was made of an ex-Sydney convict, who had stolen a safe and was
suspected of having committed other crimes. The body of men who took
the law in their hands maintained their organization as a Committee of
Safety and had the reputation of scaring the rogues who were supposed
to have fled the city in dismay, but subsequent developments indicate that
the terror they inspired was not as great as represented, for it, is related that
in the first ten months of 1855 there were 489 murders committed in Cali-
fornia and only six legal hangings. On the other hand, there were forty-six

Newspaper Press in the Early Fifties 13

cases of summary execution by the mob during the interval, but they
evidently failed to produce the effect which the infliction of capital punish-
ment in an orderly manner is credited with exerting, for the Vigilance Com-
mittee created in 1851 was practically compelled in 1856 to usurp the
functions of the courts, and for a period of several months was obliged to
assume responsibility for the preservation of the peace of the city, the ordi-
nary methods practiced in civilized societies having utterly broken down.

This second exhibition of activity by the Vigilance Committee is so
directly connected with the journalistic practices of the period it will neces-
sarily have to be referred to at some length, but before passing to that

episode, the treatment of which more properly belongs to
Committee ^ ie cna P^ ers which will deal with policies of the early press
f of San Francisco, it will be interesting to examine further into

1856 the methods of reporting in the fifties to ascertain whether

there is any foundation for an opinion frequently expressed
during recent years that the propensity to publish details of crime, is an
incitement to criminality. If this assumption were sound, it might fairly
be held that avoidance of the mention of crime, or the suppression of details
of criminal occurrences would result beneficially, but the testimony of the
early files does not support the view.

Whether as a result of the limitations imposed by want of space due
to the smallness of the papers, or, as is assumed by some because the art of
reporting had not been developed, crime, except of one sort, was not dilated
upon by the papers of the fifties, although, as we have seen, from the state-
ment above made concerning the number of' murders in 1855, there was
enough to occupy attention.

In the detailed description of the contents of a sample issue of a paper
in 1850 the reader will note the omission of all reference to crime. Exam-
ination of other papers reveals a like indifference to the presentation of that
class of news. So marked is its absence that it might easily be inferred
that the abstention was prompted by the desire to avoid mention of dis-
agreeable or shocking occurrences, but the occasional departures forbid this
conclusion and suggest the true causes, namely, the failure of the early
papers to develop on the news side, because of limited facilities, and the fact
that the town was so small that its inhabitants knew all the details of an
affair before they could be put into print.

The latter peculiarity will be understood by those living in small towns,
while it is not so easily comprehended by the denizen of cities large enough

to permit one to be unknown to his next door neighbor. That
News f ]j m jt ec l facilities can be made clearer by describing a plant

Early °f * ne sort which produced such a paper as the Sun, one of

Days the earliest daily publications of San Francisco. It was a

four-page paper twenty-two and a half inches long and six-
teen and a half wide with six columns to the page. That was a favorite
size of the- dailies of the early fifties, the seven and eight column pages and
the eight-page paper being a later development. The first page of the Sun
was given up to advertisements, only a column of the six being devoted to
reading matter of a not highly illuminating character, as, for instance, the
statement that it would take over, 9000 years to count a billion. _ The
second page contained a column of editorial comment, which was inter-
spersed with numerous brief news items. On the days succeeding the

14 Journalism in California

meeting of the Council the second page usually contained an extended ac-
count of its doings, minute details of no general interest being as carefully
presented as the more important matter. The third and fourth pages were
wholly occupied with small classified advertisements, and of the twenty-four
columns printed there were on some days as many as nineteen and a half
columns engrossed by the business office leaving only four and a half
columns for the editor to fill.

It would be incorrect to state that these two somewhat detailed descrip-
tions furnish an accurate idea of the dailies of San Francisco during the
early fifties. That could be done only by reviewing each issue of the
numerous bidders for public patronage. In 1851 there were
YP? en as many as twelve daily papers published in the city which

Editor na( l suddenly sprung into prominence, owing to the widely-

Counted heralded discovery of gold, and no one of them seemed bent

on earning favor by printing the news. They were, in fact,
overgrown pamphlets, the principal object of which seemed to be the
dissemination of the views of a coterie by a chosen representative. News
and other reading matter than editorial comment was presented in such' a
haphazard fashion it was plain that the editor regarded them as of minor
consequence. And perhaps he was right, for, under the circumstances, it
was well nigh impossible for a newspaper to print any intelligence of im-
portance which was not known to every one in the community before the
account could be put into type, printed and published.

There was one function, however, which the press of the period as-
sumed that caused the appearance of the more popular of the journals
to be looked forward to with eagerness. From the columns of the dailies
and the pages of the Annals we can gather the fact that
Corrupt municipal affairs were grossly mismanaged during several

Management years. The City Council, a body corresponding to the present
Criticised Board of Supervisors, was constantly putting through meas-

ures which were denounced as jobs, and the courts were noto-
riously negligent in the performance of their duties or hopelessly corrupt.
Such a condition of affairs invited censure, and the editor whose pen was
dipped in vitriol was in high favor, and his emanations were always looked
forward to with expectant eagerness. The writer who could tell the truth
in the plainest fashion possible and who could give the hardest knocks
shared popularity with the stump orator who voiced the grievances of the
crowd at the frequently held indignation meetings. This being the situa-
tion, it would have been astonishing if the publishers of newspapers had not
aimed to secure an editor whose philippics rivaled those of Demosthenes,
and pioneers of an observant disposition at a later day told that the reader
did not look in the News, the Herald, the Alta, or any of the live sheets
half so much for intelligence as to see who was being "lambasted."

Those were the days of "personal journalism" of a different sort from
that applauded or denounced at present. Signed articles were rare,
but every word in a scathing editorial usually proclaimed its authorship,
and the writer rarely shrank from mentioning names and left a well
defined impression on the reader's mind that when he said "spade" he
meant spade. As a consequence, personal encounters were numerous.
Gentlemen were accustomed to demanding satisfaction in the early fifties,
and when one felt particularly aggrieved because he had been indicted in

Path* $dta (Ealite ttm.

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DAILY ALTA CALIFORNIA
Containing account of wreck of the George Law.

Newspaper Press in the Early Fifties 15

the columns of a newspaper he was prone to ask the editor to meet him at
The SOme conveniellt P lace to be sn °t at. and thus bring about an

Days of amicable adjustment of differences. As the other editor was

Personal often the fellow at whom the finger of scorn was pointed,

Journalism there were occasional combats in which the principals were

newspaper men. The senior editor of the Alta was killed
in a duel in 1852, and other members of the Fourth Estate were called
upon to make satisfaction about the same time.

Affairs of honor during the early fifties were too common to make a
great impression unless the participants occupied a prominent political
position, and the newspapers disposed of them, as a rule, in a very offi-

hand manner. One journal was accustomed to using a degree
of epor s of brevity in its descriptions which suggested adherence to a

' 'Affairs of se t f Qrm like that followed in printing death notices. "John
Honor" Jones and Peter Smith met yesterday, and, after an exchange

of shots, in which the latter received a ball in the right arm,
the challenged party declared himself satisfied. Sam Merton and Bill
Dixon acted as seconds." Evidently the reporter felt that he was perform-
ing a duty in recording the event, and perhaps he thought that no details
were required because a sufficiently large number of interested spectators
had witnessed the affair, no pains being taken by anyone concerned to sur-
round the performance with secrecy.

The lot of the editor and publisher throughout the fifties could not
have been a very happy one, for the newspaper mortality record was too
high to permit those engaged in the business to feel assured that their ven-

ture might not also be interred in what was jocularly termed
News^ *he newspaper graveyard. It will be recalled that the pub-

paper lisher of the Californian felicitated himself upon the fact that

Mortality after six months' experience, contrary to expectation, his

journal had actually paid expenses, i Subsequently it was
transplanted from Monterey to San Francisco, and, after the gold discovery,
was merged with the California Star, the paper started under Mormon
auspices. Later the merged papers were absorbed by a new candidate for
favor, the Alta California, which, on January 22, 1850, bloomed forth as a
daily, the first in San Francisco. A glance at the list of publications
testifies to the hard rows the early publishers had to hoe. The most of
them have put up their shutters. The California Star, the Pacific News,
the Alta, the Herald, the Picayune (the first evening paper published in the
city), the Courier, the Balance and the Times and Transcript are all gone,
the only survivors of the very early days being the German Demokrat, the
Journal of Commerce (which dropped out for a period) and the Evening
Bulletin, whose founder, James King of William, was murdered by a city
official named Casey, who contributed to a weekly paper known as the
Sunday Times.

The Bulletin was started on the 8th of October, 1855, and the editor
in his salutatory announced that he had been driven into the experiment of
publishing, and that "no one could- be more fully sensible of the folly of a
newspaper enterprise" than himself. From such a statement, and the news-
paper mortality record, it may properly be inferred that the publishing
business was not very profitable in early days, a fact from which the further
inference may be drawn that the patronage was not very liberal as the

16 Journalism in California

expenses of conducting a daily such as those produced any time before 1860
were comparatively light: The plant required to produce the small four-
page sheets was of the simplest. An office equipped with eight
Monev hundred to a thousand pounds of type and a hand press were

Making adequate to turn out a metropolitan journal of the period.

Business Five or six men at the utmost were required to set the matter

and print the paper. The problems besetting the present-day
editor were unknown at the time, and it was literally true that there was
often difficulty in getting together enough type to fill the small space de-
voted to reading matter. Such a thing as "crowding out" news, or any-
thing else that had been "set up" was unheard of in the pioneer composing
rooms. Not infrequently, the condition arose described in the couplet :

Up jumped the devil, all so solemn,

And wrote two lines to fill out the column.

For the devil was a feature of the early printing office, and like as not in
some cases he may have jumped into the breach and provided the required
two or three lines to fill up, otherwise the edition would have appeared with
the blemish of a blank space.

CHAPTER III

POLICIES AND ATTITUDE OF THE PKESS
DUKING THE PIETIES.

Grafters Judged With Leniency — The Press and the Land Grabbers — Collectivism
Not in High Favor — City Lots Sold for a Song — Legislation to Remove Clouds
on Titles — The Squatter Troubles — Fraudulent Spanish Grants — An, Attempt
to Grab the Whole City — Limantour's Claim Pronounced Fraudulent in 1858 —
The Condonement of Evils — Subordination of Local Interest to National Affairs
— The Constitutional Convention of 1850 — The Slavery Question and the Disposi-
tion to Compromise — Filibusters and Filibustering — National Affairs Freely
Discussed by Editors — The Fugitive Slave Act Applauded — Contradictory Atti-
tude on the Subject of Slavery — Opposition to the Introduction of Slaves — Race
Prejudice Prevalent — Absolute Disregard of the Principles of Neutrality —
Advocacy of Cuban Independence in 1851- — The Manifest Destiny Idea — "Fifty-
four Forty or Fight" — Open Recruiting for Filibustering Expeditions — Editors
Who Thought Walker Was a Hero — Editors Who Could Smell Out Intrigues —
American and French Attempts to Grab Sonora — The Absorbing Editorial Topic
— No Sentiment in Favor of Dissociating Local From National Politics — A
Scolding Press Which Accomplished No Reforms — The Unceasing Attempts to
Gain Party Advantage — Warfare Between Editors.

ADEQUATE impression of the pioneer press of San
Francisco can be formed without carefully considering
the causes which produced the turbulent condition
which culminated in the decisive action of the Vigilance
Committee of 1856. The investigator cannot help being
profoundly impressed by the part played by the public
journals in bringing about a state of affairs which writ-
ers have vainly sought to excuse, but which, when care-
fully analyzed, are clearly seen to be faults of omission as well as commis-
sion. It would be easy, by a judicious selection of excerpts from the press of
San Francisco, to prove that a part of it was vigorously engaged at all times
between the date of the gold rush and the Vigilante episode which followed
the murder of James King of William, editor of the Bulletin, in the ex-
posure of corruption of all sorts; but the severe critic could easily adduce
numerous instances of leniency of judgment concerning practices which are '
now stigmatized as grafting. That was notably true of the attitude of
many papers toward the sale of the pueblo lands of the city. The disposi-
tion in many quarters was to regard them in the same light as the unsettled
national domain and to assume that those who came first had the right
to grab them. Theorizing on the subject led to the obscuration of the fact
that the proceedings surrounding their sale were often in the highest
degree irregular, and that those who had charge of their disposal never
gave a thought to the public interest.

18 Journalism in California

The uppermost thought, and it was entertained by the most respectable
of the newspapers of the city, was that the public would be benefited by the
lands passing into the hands of private owners, who would put them to

good use and benefit the community. It was argued that the
Conservatism experiment of collective use had proved a rank failure under
Early Spanish and Mexican rule, and that the true way to promote

Press improvements and encourage enterprise would be to put San (

Francisco on the same footing as other cities of the United
States. Observation seemed to justify this view of the case, for there was
little or no demand for town lots between 1839, when a survey was made
by Alcalde Haro, and 1847, when the principal part of the village of Yerba
Buena was laid out in fifty vara lots, four hundred and fifty of which
were applied for and sold at the absurdly low price of $12 each, to which
was added a charge of- $4 for deed and recording, making the total cost
to the purchaser $16. In addition to these fifty vara lots there were also
sold lots 100 varas square for $25 each, plus the same sum exacted for
deed and recording of fifty vara lots.

That the transference of the pueblo lands to private ownership resulted
in stimulating improvements is undoubtedly true, but subsequent sales were
made under circumstances suggestive of fraud in which the authorities were

accused of participating. In one instance, a batch of lots
Early was sold at $100 apiece, the money being pocketed by the

Land man makinar the sale, who fled with the proceeds when his

irregularities were found fault with. These rascalities and

others equally flagrant were subsequently condoned by legis-
lative acts, which confirmed the titles without giving much consideration to
their legal status, the paramount desire being to remove the clouds which
the taint of fraud threw over all conveyances. As a consequence of this
looseness of method, there was a period during which squatters asserted that
they had a right to settle on any unoccupied lands. Many collisions occurred
and the effect on the public mind, as mirrored in the press, was to create
a desire for a settlement which would establish titles without going into the
question closely whether the authority existed for granting them, and
presently the most respectable elements of the community were arrayed on
the side of possession. The squatter, who oftener than otherwise was a
hired person ready to risk his life for someone who had "staked" him,
generally belonged 'to the turbulent class, the so-called "Sydney coves"
taking kindly to the business.

It is not surprising that the major part of the press should have
earnestly urged the settlement of titles, for, in addition to the troubles grow-
ing out of the Colton grants and the Peter Smith water front purchases;

which were made with frightfully depreciated scrip, there wag
Settlement ihe constant menace of the fraudulent Spanish or Mexican
Titles l an( l grant. At one time every owner of property in Sart

Urged Francisco was harassed by the fear that the claim of a man

named Jose J. Limantour to practically all the land of anyr
value in the city might be held valid. Limantour set up that in 1843 he
had loaned the sum of $4000' to the Mexican Governor, for which he
received a grant in the neighborhood of Yerba Buena of four leagues, and,
in addition, the islands of Alcatraz, Yerba Buena, the Farallones and a
square league on the island of Los Angeles (Angel island). It was not

Policies of the Press During the Fifties 19

until April 22, 1858, that the Commission appointed by the Federal Govern-
ment finally decided that Limantour's claim was fraudulent. This decision,
and an earlier one of the Supreme Court of the State in October, 1853,
which confirmed the Alcalde grants, relieved the press of the difficult task
of justifying methods which the community knew would not bear inspec-
tion, but which the common welfare seemed to demand. Unquestionably,
the stable elements exerted a great pressure on the press in this particular
matter, but it was not always successful in repressing criticism which was
frequently vigorously expressed, although the conclusion almost invariably
reached was that the interests of society demanded the condonement of the
evils criticised.

Unquestionably, the land grabbing of the days immediately following
the gold discovery at Sutter's mill was largely responsible for the lowering
of the morale of the community. It was fruitful of much denunciation of
municipal corruption, which failed to . be effective largely
T 1 ^ because too many who were looked up to as leaders benefited

Land through' the abuses charged against public officials. Possibly,

Grabbing the business of exposure was overdone. Certainly there was

so much of it that it must have ceased to attract attention,
or it was, perhaps, subordinated in the public mind by contemplation of
much larger issues than the turpitude of public officials seemed to involve.
The period we are writing about was one of national unrest. The shadow
of slavery was over the land and men were filled with a vague dread of
the outcome. The country had just emerged from the war with Mexico,
and while there is no reason to believe that any considerable number of
persons who had rushed to California in search of the precious metal had
any doubts about the propriety of annexing the coveted province, the most
of them were tolerably well convinced that the slaveholding oligarchy was
not entirely satisfied with the decision reached by the Constitutional Con-
vention which met at Monterey in 1850, that California should be a free
State. Events were constantly occurring calculated to disturb the feeling
of security which had been engendered in the minds of a people pledged
to the principle of freedom of labor, but who were still under the thralldom
of the idea that the great question was one to be determined by the states.
Seward's famous apothegm concerning "the irrepressible conflict" did
not find expression until 1858, and before that time, in California, as in
other arts of the TJnion, the enemies of slavery were disposed to com-
promise, but their opponents never for a moment ceased their
Overshadowins 3 ^^ 688 ^ 6 tactics. The extension of the institution was con-
Slavery stantly in their mind, and efforts to gratify their desires were
Question ceaselessly pushed. California participated in these tactics
of the slaveholders in a greater degree than any other free
state of the Union. Its legislature was made the seat of intrigue, and
filibustering ventures of varied sorts, many of them having for their object
the acquisition of more territory from Mexico, were projected and financed
in San Francisco. The editors of San Francisco journals were far better
acquainted with what was going on than those of other sections, and moves
and motives were the chief editorial themes. Despite the fact that free
labor had won an overwhelming victory in the framing of the Monterey
Constitution, the State was filled with men who sympathized with the aims
of the South. It is astonishing to note how many San Francisco writers

20 Journalism in California

were inclined to applaud the passage by Congress in 1850 of the so-called
fugitive slave act. The arguments employed seem strange to this generation,
but not to the men of the day when Chief Justice Taney rendered his
celebrated decision in the Dred Scott case, in which he virtually declared
that a slave was a chattel, and that the rights of a human being did not
attach to him. That decision was rendered on March 6, 1857, but, shock-
ing as it now seems, it was the mere crystallization of the general attitude
toward the African slave, and in no other state did it find a more ready
acceptance than in California, from which slavery was rigorously excluded.
But while men, by their votes and actions in California, seemed ready
to extend a helping hand to those seeking to strengthen the institution, a
section of the press was indefatigable in its opposition to any movement
having for its object the introducion of servile labor ino the
Opposition gtat6i In 1852 a memorial was emt to the Legislature by

Servile a number of citizens of South Carolina and Florida asking

Labor permission to colonize a part of the State and to bring not

less than 2000 slaves to assist in the work of redeeming
assumedly wild lands. It was fiercely assailed by some papers and gingerly
advocated by one or two under the domination of Southern men, but the
sentiment was so unmistakably against the request that it hardly received
the courtesy of being formally tabled. No better index of the state of
public mind in the early fifties is afforded than the act of the Legislature in
1850 which disqualified any black or mulatto person or Indian from giving
testimony in a case in which a white was a party. This statute remained
on the books until 1863 and gave rise to much argument and furnished the
theme for many an editorial. Some queer views were expressed and not
a few of the warmest advocates of the discrimination found their inspiration
in the Scriptures. Although the modern school of biology had made some
headway in the first half of the nineteenth century, its teachings were not
widely accepted by the disputants, who preferred to lean upon the Bible, in
which they professed to find support for racial distinctions, and an abun-
dance of authority for maintaining the assumedly inferior in a state of
bondage.

When we turn to the early journals to discover the state of the public
mind toward the filibustering movements of the fifties, we are bewildered
by what seems a unanimity of approbation of what to us now appear to
be unmistakable efforts to extend the institution of slavery.
Filibustering There was no adverse criticism of the slaveholders' plans to
Openly annex Cuba under the pretense of securing liberty for the

Advocated oppressed Cubans, and such comment as was evoked by the
New Orleans riot in August, 1851, growing out of the
obstacles placed in the way of a filibustering expedition, was unfavorable
to those who sought to interfere with the enterprise. The Cuban independ-
ence scheme appealed to many of the San Francisco editors, and when
Slidell introduced his bill in Congress in 1859 for the appropriation of
$30,000,000 to be used in the acquisition of the "Ever Faithful Isle," it
was pronounced a measure well calculated to ease a situation which was
yearly becoming more tense.

This was one point of view but the practical indorsement of the policy
of aggression on neighbors by virtually the whole community, which en-
couraged such men as Walker, is explainable on the theory that the people

WILLIAM WALKER
The Nicaraguari filibuster.

Policies of the Press During the Fifties 21

were so obsessed by the manifest destiny idea that they lost sight of the
other possibilities which the acquisition of territory involved. An editor,
who has preserved for us the life and spirit of the early days
Manifest ' n ^' s "A nna l s 0I San Francisco," gives us a glimpse of the

Destiny extent of this obsession in a passage in which he outlines the

Idea fancied ease with which the empire of China might be con-

quered by energetic Americans, who could employ their
shrewdness as England did in India by playing one set of Orientals against
the other. With ideas of this sort permeating the editorial mind, it is not
surprising that writers for the San Francisco press should have looked upon
unscrupulous adventurers of the stamp of Walker as heroes, and shut their
eyes to the enormity of encouraging the rape of neighboring territory.

The obligation of neutrality was not much respected by any power
at that particular time. The war with China waged by Great Britain to
force that decrepit nation to open its ports to the traders of the West was
. still fresh in the minds of the pioneers, and the slaveholders'

Nations assault on Mexico, which followed the vainglorious boast

Concerning 0I Polk that England would have to move her Canadian
Neutrality boundary to 54 degrees 40 minutes or fight the United States,
was an equally fresh memory. The success in the one case
and the failure in the other greatly stimulated the manifest destiny idea.
The cession of Hongkong to the British prompted the desire to emulate,
and the failure to make good the "fifty-four forty" brag rankled greatly in
the minds of the manifest destinarians, who convinced themselves that the
ignominy of the backdown on the north could be wiped but only by stretch-
ing our empire southward. The star of the nation had traveled as far
westward as it conveniently could and what more natural than to look with
approval upon propositions to deflect it from its course and make it travel
southward until its rays penetrated the remotest part of "Greaserdom."

Thus talked the editors of the early days of San Francisco, and, while
they unburdened -themselves, men of the Walker stamp had no difficulty in
securing all the reeruits they needed to engage in their mad enterprises.
There was no Presidential warning issued against the unseem-
Deflance liness of making raids on peoples with whom we were at

f peace. The public conscience was not very tender on such

Law subjects as neutrality, and it does not appear that either

authorities or the warning voice of the press were heard in
denunciation of the flaunting of the filibusters' flag from buildings in San
Francisco, or the open financing of expeditions whose plainly expressed
object was the stealing of territory from countries with which we were at
peace. In 1852, when William Walker announced his scheme of establish-
ing a republic in Lower California the proposal was hailed with applause
and scrip or promises to pay based on the prospective revenues of the new
government was freely sold. "It is ever the fate of America to go ahead.
* * * So will America conquer and annex all lands. That is her manifest
destiny," declared one editor, and the exultation with which the news of
the occupation of La Paz by Walker was received, and the promptitude
with which volunteers offered themselves and were publicly enrolled, un-
checked by the authorities, point conclusively to an approbation not strictly
local in character. v

Later President Pierce, under pressure, after Walker had taken posses-

22 Journalism in California

sion of Granada, issued a proclamation — possibly because the filibuster had
allowed himself to be diverted from his earlier project of taking possession

of Sonora. That was in December, 1855 ; but, when he sailed
totriguea frorn San Francisco for Lower California on October 15,

of 1853, nobody interposed an objection. Those were days of

Foreigners intrigue, and. editors were kept busy trying to divine what

was going on. They were shrewd guessers and got to the
bottom of affairs without the aid of armies of reporters. As early as 1850,
two titled Frenchmen, Count Gaston Eaoul de Baoussett-Boulbon and an-
other, known as the Marquis de Pindray, found their way to San Francisco.
Both of these men were suspected of being emissaries of Napoleon III,
and, when the former, in 1852, sailed for Lower California with a band of
250 men, recruited in San Francisco, the papers were not backward in
charging that their purpose was not to colonize, as was intimated, but that
they were bent on creating a buffer state between Mexico and the United
States. Eaoussett had some dealings with the Mexican Government, but the
integrity of his purpose was soon called into question and he came into
open collision with the troops of Mexico in Lower California and later
succeeded in capturing Hermosillo. When he returned to San Francisco
his exploit was made much of by the people, but the Frenchman's plans
crossed those of the pro-slavery element, and an attempt to raise funds for
a second expedition was frustrated by the circulation of a report that the
whole of Sonora had been ceded to the United States. The French Consul
later became mixed up in the project and was tried for violating the
neutrality laws. He set up as a defense that the 800 men who were pre-
vented leaving San Francisco on March 29, 1854, on the British ship
Challenge were going there with the object of colonizing Mexico so as
effectually to prevent filibustering. The jury trying the Consul was unable
to agree, but the press found no difficulty in believing in his guilt, and dis-
played considerable acumen in the discussion of Napoleon's intentions and
made predictions which were well substantiated later by the events which
culminated in the death of Maximilian and the madness of his wife
Carlotta.

But these were minor issues, comparatively speaking, and, while
affording subjects for exciting comment, they never attained to the distinc-
tion of being the absorbing topic. That, from the beginning, was, and,

until the firing on Sumter, remained, the question whether
J£ e . . the slave oligarchy of the South or the free North was to

Editorial dominate the country. It was not whether slavery should

Topic survive as an institution in the United States; the problem

did not present itself in that way until some years after
Seward had declared that it was an irrepressible conflict. The Civil War
had grown a wearisome horror long before the people decided that slavery
must go, and there were still many who abhorred the institution who
doubted the wisdom of utterly dispensing with it even after Lincoln issued
the proclamation which put his name high on the role of fame. A cursory
glance at the editorial columns of the San Francisco press during the
years between the passage of the bill for the arrest of fugitive slaves and
that April day in 1861 when Sumter was fired upon shows that everything
was subordinated in the public mind to the "burning question." Assaults
on municipal corruption were merely digressions. There were many such

Policies of the Press During the Fifties 23

and the failure of the people to heed reiterated warnings had a tragic out-
come. But it was impossible to persuade men that attention to local affairs
need not be wholly subordinated to national considerations, and the ma-
chinery devised for the conduct of public matters entirely engrossed by those
fighting the battle which eventually had to be settled with weapons more
potent than ballots.

There were few at the time who had the temerity to suggest that
national and local affairs might be dissociated. The men who built up the
city, had been accustomed to a system which made the selection of municipal

officials a minor cogwheel in the national political machine.
Subordinate ^^ e ecms tant discussion of state's rights and the threats of
Local secession made as early as 1850 by the Southern Eights

Affairs Associations of South Carolina, the Kansas-Nebraska bill,

the settlement of Lawrence, Kansas, by anti-slavery men,
the Ostend manifesto calling for the purchase of Cuba by the United States,
the decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court that the fugitive slave law
was unconstitutional, the free State convention at Lawrence in August,
1854, and that at Topeka a couple of months later, so fully occupied the
attention of press and public it would have been strange indeed if any
serious effort had been made to, divorce local from national politics. There
was no such attempt. The press scolded and pointed the finger of scorn
at malefactors in office. Jobs were exposed and the negligence and turpi-
tude of courts were scathingly denounced, but it did not occur to anybody,
that the trouble was due to incivicism and misdirection of public virtue.
There was much of the former, as the sequel showed, but the positive con-
viction of the forceful few, that national considerations outweighed every-
thing else, was responsible for the perpetuation of a system which placed a
premium on neglect and finally produced an intolerable condition. The
constant struggle to gain a party advantage caused men otherwise well
meaning enough to wink at rascality. It was of more consequence to them
that the party which they believed was in the right should control the polit-
ical machinery from the ground up than that the city should be well gov-
erned, and the abstention of the respectable element from participation in
local politics was probably due as much to the feeling that they were power-
less to effect a reform of any sort while a great crisis was impending as it
was to indifference begotten by absorption in personal affairs.

It was the press which brought matters to a climax. Like in the dual
system of Zoraster, in which the powers of light and darkness are in con-
stant conflict, the Fourth Estate during the years preceding the outbreak in

1856, which taught the people of San Francisco that de-
Personal cency, when it' chooses to assert itself, can always win, was in
Scraps a perpetual state of warfare. Editors attacked each other
of Editors personally in the columns of their papers. They were not

content to make their assaults upon the weaknesses of the
opinions of their rivals, but sought to emphasize them by riddling their
characters. It all resulted in much bad blood, and occasionally in en-
counters, and finally in the murder of James King of William, which pro-
voked the uprising that had for its outcome the ascertainment of the fact
that the decent and orderly elements of the city had made a serious blunder
in tamely assuming that they were not able to keep the criminal classes
under control with the ordinary machinery of government.

CHAPTER IV

DISOEDEELY ELEMENTS AND THE VIGILANCE
COMMITTEE OE 1856.

Events That Led to the Committee's Activities — Neglect of Civic Duties by San
Franciscans — Ballot-Box Stuffing and Ballot Boxes With False Bottoms —
Municipal Extravagance — A Big Seduction in Expenditures — Nothing to Show
for Money Expended — David Broderick's Career as a Municipal Boss — Assaults
of James King of William on David C. Broderick — A Specimen Bulletin Edi-
torial in 1855 — Sudden Bise in the Popularity of the Bulletin — Popular Appro-
bation of Personal Journalism — Exposure of Jury Corruption — The Law and
Order Party — Casey Murders James King of William — The Vigilance Com-
mittee Hangs Cora and Casey — The Herald Ruined by Withdrawal of Advertis-
ing Patronage — Earlier Popularity of the Herald — Formation of the People's
Party — Conventionality Abhorred by Early Editors and Reporters — Honest Harry
Meiggs — Reporters Never Suspected His Shortcomings — His Unsuccessful At-
tempt to Divert Business to North Beach — Fraudulent Use of City Scrip — His
Flight From San Francisco and His Subsequent Rehabilitation in Peru.

EEY few occurrences prior to the Civil War attracted
so much attention or were more discussed than the do-
ings of the Vigilance Committee of 1856. It is a re-
markable fact, however, that, although the chief actors
responsible for the precipitation of the trouble were
editors, and that the recrimination which led to the
murder of James King of William was provoked by
dissensions regarding the distribution of Federal pat-
ronage, nearly all the critics on the Atlantic seaboard, and in Europe, where
the affair was made much, of, confined themselves to the question whether
when the ordinary safeguards of a civilized society are broken down by the
criminal element a community is not justified in setting aside the machinery
of the law and resorting to more direct methods of dealing with crime and
administering justice and punishment.

It does not appear in the vast quantity of opinion which found its way
into print that any of those responsible for its expression were disposed to
place the blame for the departure from the methods of civilized peoples on
the orderly elements of the community. There were some who in a feeble
way protested against mob rule and asserted that laxity in the administra-
tion of justice is always attributable to the loose notions of the society in
which it occurs, but the majority of the commentators treated the uprising
as if it were a matter of the people of San Francisco being suddenly put
on the defensive against a powerful band of criminals who had conspired to
rob and murder. And so it must have appeared to all who simply regarded

Vigilance Committee of 1856 25

the uncontradicted statement that in the first ten months of 1855 there had
been 489 murders in California, and only six legal executions.

But this style of criticism completely ignored the conditions which led
up to the crime which so shocked the better elements of the community
that they did not hesitate to accomplish in a violent and illegal manner that
in tt f w hich they could have brought about in a perfectly orderly

to * en 10n fashion had they displayed a tithe of the energy and de-
Civic termination to prevent the encroachments of the criminal

Duty class that they did in breaking up its practices when they

became unbearable. In short, it disregarded the fact that the
number of decent citizens was very much larger than that of the gang
which imposed its rule upon the community, an assertion amply beme out
by statistics, and the outcome of the uprising which showed that nothing
more was necessary than that citizens who desired to see good men elected
should go to the polls and vote, and see to it that their votes were properly
counted.

Instead of such a course being pursued, the good but negligent citizens
preferred to adopt a shirking attitude which they defended by asking:
"What is the use?" They assumed that ballot-box stuffing could not be

prevented, and stayed away from the polls because they
Is-the- would be counted out in any event. That this was the case is

Use shown by the fact that it was charged by James King of Wil-

Attitude liam that Casey, a contributor to the Sunday Times, who

afterward killed him, had been elected a Supervisor in a dis-
trict in which he was not even a candidate, the implication being that the
box was stuffed with ballots for him by designing men, who sought to put
him in office for corrupt purposes. It is also attested by the spectacular
exposure of a ballot box with a false bottom made after the Vigilantes
began to clean the Augean stables. That such infamous devices to defeat
the will of the people were regularly employed was notorious, but the evil
was allowed to go unchecked despite the constant demands for reform from
the section of the press which was making persistent assaults on municipal
corruption which went unheeded, perhaps because they were too vehement
and were open to the suspicion that they were inspired by men who desired
to get possession of the offices.

That there was extravagance, corruption and gross mismanagement of
municipal affairs in the years preceding 1856 is undeniable. The expendi-
tures of the city in 1853 reached $2,646,000. That amount seems small by

comparison with the present enormous cost of city govern-
Corruntion merit, but a reform administration in 1857, elected after the
and Mis- Vigilante uprising, managed to get along on $353,000. It is

management true that critics of municipal management by the officials

elected by the People's Party, which was the outcome of the
affair of 1856, declared that parsimony and neglect marked the adminis-
tration of the reformers, and that they did nothing for the city, but their
friends were able to retort that prior to 1856, although large sums were
annually expended, there was nothing to show for the expenditures. There
were other abuses than those complained of by that portion of the early
press which concerned itself about the demands made on the taxpayer, and
they were unquestionably more demoralizing than those which came in
for the severest censure, They were, however, condoned by the newspapers

26 Journalism in California ^^^_

and the people because they were generally practiced at the time, but their
effects were more disastrous than those produced by the grafting propensity,
for they were chiefly responsible for the selection of the venal and ineffective
Judges, who did not hesitate to pollute the fountain of justice to pay for
their appointments. As already pointed out, the tremendous influence on
the popular mind exerted by the burning questions growing out of the ag-
gressiveness of the slaveholding oligarchy made men subordinate local to
national issues ; it also tended to the acceptance of a political theory some-
what resembling that contained in the assumption that the end justifies the
means adopted to effect its accomplishment. The pecple were desperately
in earnest; party feeling ran high and there was no disposition to shrink
from practices, no matter how questionable, which voters thought would
insure the success of the cause they advocated.

The singlar anomaly of a man with professedly high ideals resorting
to the basest political methods can be explained only by assuming that he
felt certain that voters desirous of achieving the object aimed at by him
would view his actions with tolerance. David C. Broderick,
Aaainst S whose career as a boss and a legislator, and his tragic death

David C. on "the field of honor," fill a large space in the annals of the

Broderick city, was conspicuous as an advocate of free labor. He was
untiring in his opposition to the efforts to commit California
to the cause of slavery and earned the enmity of the class devoted to the
extension of the institution, the members of which, curiously enough, were
by no means all Southerners, or directly interested in that which they
advocated. There were plenty of what in the parlance of the period were
called "dough faces" in San Francisco who were apparently unconscious of
the fact that they were looked upon as "mudsills," although they were told
so frequently enough by the anti-slavery editors to become acquainted with
the Southern point of view, had they only taken the trouble to read what
was said about them. But they did not. It was the custom in those days,
as it is at present, for men to read that with which they sympathized and
approved, and to turn from that which is distasteful. Consequently, the
diatribes against Broderick were ignored and disregarded by many who did
not wish to believe the accusations brought against him. They by no means
came from one source. He had many enemies in both camps, almost from
the beginning of his political career ; but toward its close they were chiefly
composed of the active adherents of the pro-slavery cause or the members of
the "Federal Brigade," the name bestowed upon the office-holders appointed
in Washington, who were almost wholly Southerners, and many of them of
the sort designated as "carpet baggers" by the people of the South during
the reconstruction period following the Civil War. Before Broderick began
to be esteemed as a champion, he was the object of denunciation more
severe than any to which modern readers are accustomed, and candor
compels the admission that the charges brought against him could have
been substantiated in a court of law had he made the mistake of seeking
redress through such an agency.

Foremost among Broderick's assailants was James King of William
of the Bulletin, who began his assaults very shortly after commencing the
publication of that paper. No better illustration of journalistic methods'on
the eve of the Vigilante uprising in 1856 can be furnished than that which
a few quotations from King's announcement to the public and his attacks

r&&:

JAMBS KING OF WILLIAM
Murdered by James P. Casey in 1856.

TICTORIAI

TOWN TAIL

^-fce»OL3tXS.e3T 3E«a-A-fe.-A«>KB-

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^^K=

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<3> CHARGE UP WASHINGTON STREET.

mt\T-\xr&ny. ruzw fllat, 1BOO.

PICTORIAL TOWN TALK, "WITH AN ACCOUNT OP THE

VIGILANCE COMMITTEE'S POINGS

Vigilance Committee of 1856 27

on Broderick afford. In his salutatory, the editor of the Bulletin told his
readers that necessity, not choice, had driven him into the experiment of

publishing a paper, and that he was "fully sensible of the
James King of ^ °^ a newspaper enterprise as an investment of money."
William The public scarcely needed to be informed that King's news-

on Broderick paper venture was in no sense a business enterprise, for it was

well informed concerning his grievances, which were con-
nected with what he deemed the unjust treatment of his brother by the
politicians in the matter of a Federal appointment, and his further an-
nouncement that he intended to use his paper for the purpose of meeting
his enemies with weapons of their own kind was joyously accepted by that
part of the community which delighted in recrimination of the sort de-
scribed by the term "making the fur fly," while those who believed in his
integrity and honesty of purpose, about which there appears to have been no
question, despite the fact that the motives for some of his attacks suggested
personal animus, looked forward with eagerness to the effecting of reforms
through the instrumentality of an untrammeled press.

"It has been whispered to us," wrote King, in his salutatory, "that
some parties are about pitching into us. We hope they will think better
of it. We make it a rule to keep out of a scrape as long as possible; but,

if forced into one, we 'ar' thar', entiende ?' " This warning

Edftorial 1611 or " defi " was issued on 0ctober 8 > 1855 > and promptly drew
of Early fire, an d a week later the battle was on. One of the very first

Days objects of King's attacks was Broderick, who, in accordance

with the habit of the time, he nicknamed David Catline
Broderick. His arraignment of the politician was a piece of coarse invec-
tive, every line of which was calculated to incite violence. He charged that
he was endeavoring to have himself elected for the purpose of accomplish-
ing unworthy ends, and accused him of complicity in the job by which the
Jenny Lind Theater was unloaded on the municipality to be converted
into a City Hall, although unfit for the purpose. Other swindles and
robberies were laid at his door, and he was plumply accused of ballot-box
stuffing and other corrupt electioneering practices. On the following day
King continued his tirade, specifically indicating cases of men having paid
considerable sums of money to Broderick for nominations, which were
equivalent to an election, and paying for them nearly as much as the salary
attached to the office. Another attack he concluded with the remark:
"We have every confidence that the people will stand by us in this contest ;
and, if we can only escape David C. Broderick's hired bullies a little longer,
we will turn this city inside out, but what we will expose the corruption
and malfeasance of her officiary."

The allusion to "hired bullies" was not a figure of speech in this case.
James King of William knew what he might expect. He had no apprehension
of a libel suit, for the object of his assault did not dare to tempt the proof
which he knew would be forthcoming in a court, even one in
^ he . which justice miscarried as often as it did in San Francisco

Hired about this time. But the bullies did not meddle with the

Bullies bold editor, probably because they saw in the rapidly increas-

ing popularity of the new journalistic venture a danger flag
the sight of which gave then a premonition of what followed a few months
later. The sudden rise in popularity of the Bulletin gives an insight into

28 Journalism in California

the kind of journalism -which met approval in 1855, and at the same time
enlightens us concerning the reading habits of the public, for we are in-
formed that in less than a month the circulation of King's paper was 2500,
and that before the end of December it reached nearly 3500 copies daily, a
larger number than was circulated by any other newspaper in the city.
There are no accurate statistics of population for the year mentioned, but it
is probable that San Francisco in the closing months of 1855 contained
55,000 inhabitants. There had been an attempt at enumeration two years
earlier, which indicated that the State had about 100,000 population, and
it was estimated that during the winter of 1853-54 at least 50,000 lived in
the city, a fair proportion of this number being miners who early developed
the habit of making their way to the bay when the weather prevented mining.
The degree of popularity attained by the Bulletin testifies to the ap-
probation of a style of journalism scarcely tolerated nowadays. The rivals
of James King of William were no less vituperative, but his personalities
are drawn upon for illustration, because, at the time, and
Approbation for & long while afte ^ he wag exto u e ^ as a mo del editor. His

Personal contemporaries might have been persuaded that he was capa-

Journalism ble of making mistakes, but they were profoundly convinced

that 'his, methods were sound and productive of good results.
They found nothing shocking in his comments upon court procedure, and
when Cora was on trial for killing Eichardson and the jury was being
impaneled he was applauded for saying in the Bulletin : "Look well to the
jury. And, again, what we propose is this : If the jury is packed, either
hang the Sheriff or drive him out of town and make him resign. If Billy
Mulligan lets his friend Cora escape, hang Billy Mulligan or drive him
into banishment." Cora was a professional gambler who had a quarrel with
a man named Eichardson in a saloon and shot him on the 18th of Novem-
ber, 1855. The murder was not particularly notable of itself, but, as an
addition to the long list of the preceding months in city and State, it made
an impression which was greatly strengthened by the comments of the
Bulletin, but which would have weakened and died away if the editor had
not boldly drawn attention to the attempts made by the friends of the
murderer to secure immunity for him by corrupt methods.

It was openly hinted that a large sum of money had been subscribed,
the amount mentioned being $40,000, which was to be employed to fix the
court or buy a jury, and color was lent to the rumors by the repeated delays

in the trial of the case. The murder, like the remaining 488
Corruption recorded in the "Annals of San Francisco," might have
of . passed unnoticed, and gone unpunished, had not James King

Juries £ William let loose his stream of invective which washed

away the indifference of an apathetic and nearly cowed pub-
lic, and called forth in its stead one of the most remarkable exhibitions of
virile dealing on primitive lines ever witnessed in this or any other country.
If the outcome had not been so tragic, the investigator might almost be
tempted to say that it was the result of editorial "scrapping," but it requires
no extraordinary penetration- to discover that while James King of William
was the rod that attracted the lightning it was the suddenly awakened con-
sciousness of a long indifferent community that provided the tinder which
started a conflagration that burned with such fierceness it extinguished
civic enterprise while sweeping away criminality.

Vigilance Committee of 1856 29

It is not conceivable that all of those who lifted up their voices in dis-
approval of the Bulletin's harsh strictures sympathized with the criminal
class. There were plenty who in arraying themselves on the side of what
Th L they called "law and order" believed sincerely that they

and aW were fighting behind the bulwark of modern civilization.

Order They may have deprecated the tendency of the courts to

Party encourage criminals by postponements and other lax prac-

tices, but they felt certain that if the ordinary processes were
dispensed with society would be a rudderless ship and surely go on the
rocks. But those who sympathized with Casey were not among this num-
ber. Many articles in rival papers dealing with the subject of delay were
more a defense of evil practices than of orderly procedure, and some editors
were quick to align themselves on the side of those accused of shortcomings.
It is not surprising, considering the disposition to indulge in personalities
which had been the fashion for years that when King assailed the Federal
brigade Casey should have hastened to its aid, and that he should have
employed the favorite weapon of the period in the weekly paper to which
he contributed so frequently that he was regarded as its editor. Unfortu-
nately, the champion of the turbulent element had a history like many an-
other man who had found his way to California when the fame of the new
El Dorado was spreading about the globe.

His story was not unknown to San Franciscans. The fact that he had
made a slip in his old home in New York State had been brought out in the
course of a trial, and King, when the fight waxed hot, was not slow to use
the advantage it gave him. Cora had shot Kichardson in
wmiain S November, 1855 and nearly six months later he still remained
Assails James untried and there was every reason to believe that he never
P. Casey would be convicted, and King said so in plain terms. Casey

was extremely virulent in criticising the attitude of King,
indulging in many personalities, and the Bulletin came back at him in this
wise : "The fact that Casey has been an inmate of Sing Sing prison in
New York is not an offense against the laws of the State; nor is the fact
of his having stuffed himself through the ballot box as elected to the
Board of Supervisors from a district where it is said he was not even a
candidate, any justification why Mr. Bagley should shoot Casey, however
richly the latter may deserve having his neck stretched for such fraud upon
the people." This assault appeared on May 14, 1856, and King had no
particular reason for believing that it would cause serious trouble, for in
the preceding November he had reproduced from the California Chronicle
a strong denunciatory article in which the methods by which Casey was
elected Supervisor were referred to, and in which his Sing Sing record was
paraded without any harm ensuing. But the friends of Cora, the gambler,
saw an opportunity to create a diversion and they took the perilous course
of instigating the . assailed politician to avenge himself, which he did by
shooting King as he left his office.

The town flamed up at once. The committee called upon to deal with
the troublesome characters in 1851 had maintained some sort of an organi-
zation during the intervening five years and was swiftly brought into shape
for action. Officers were chosen, and they formed companies of well armed
men who made it perfectly clear by their attitude that they were going to
take the law into their own hands and dispense with the formalities of the

30 Journalism in California

courts. King, although the wound inflicted by Casey proved' fatal, lingered
six days after being shot. Meanwhile, the Vigilantes had taken Cora and

Casey from the custody of the Sheriff. The latter made some

j Murder resistance, but was persuaded by the determined attitude of

James King the members of the committee to deliver the prisoners into

of William their keeping. For a while there were signs of a conflict

between the persons who called themselves the Law and Order
party, in which the State authorities showed a disposition to participate, but
the determined front presented by the aroused citizens and the vacillation of
the Governor prevented a serious collision.

The committee, which awaited the result of the wound inflicted by
Casey, as soon as the death of James King of William was announced by
the tolling of the bell of the Monumental Engine Company, at once strung

up the two murderers side by side on gibbets, where they
Oasev^aneed were allowed to swing for several days to serve as a warning to
by the the wretched crew who had so long terrorized San Francisco.

Vigilantes According to the accounts of the journals which survived

the storm, the lesson was a salutary one and was taken to
heart by the disorderly element. Nugent's paper, the Herald, which
strenuously championed the Law and Order party and unsparingly de-
nounced the committee, was ruined by the concerted withdrawal of the
advertising patronage of the business community, and soon ceased publica-
tion. This action did not meet the unanimous approval of the Vigilance
Committee. It was deprecated by William T. Coleman, a prominent mer-
chant, who was chosen to head the banded protestants against official cor-
ruption and laxity, and who argued that no good results could be expected
from direct or indirect attempts to curb the liberty of the press. He did
not prevail, however, and the Herald was sacrificed.

The striking fact that Coleman should have opposed the extirpation
of the Herald suggests that its general course, apart from its unfortunate
attempt to defend or apologize for the shortcomings of the courts, was not

reprehensible, and an examination of its columns confirms
Beforethe ^ s view. It had attained to considerable popularity before
Murder of the Bulletin came on the scene and was regarded as the
King leading paper. It was undoubtedly the best edited daily up

to the time of its collapse, and the probabilities favor the
belief that Coleman's opposition to killing it were based on the belief that
the motives of those who advocated that course were inspired more by
hostility to its political course than to any other cause. Perhaps no ether
phase of the 1856 Vigilante uprising has presented greater difficulties to
the critic than the forcible extinction of the Herald, but it does not appear
that any of its contemporaries mourned its loss. Nor is there any evidence
in their columns of a consciousness that the problem which the Vigilantes
were called upon to deal with was due to incivicism. Through them all
there runs the singular assumption that by some extraordinary process,
which is not clearly described, the criminal element gained control, and
that the only possible way to shake off the incubus was the one adopted.

Occasionally, there was found in the columns of the papers warring
on municipal extravagance and corruption a recognition of the true cause
of the insolence of the law-defying class. The charge was made that men
who styled themselves good citizens were too busy attending to their own

"WILLIAM T. COLEMAN
Leader of Vigilance Committee of 1856.

Vigilance Committee of 1856 31

affairs to bother themselves about those of the community. Although there
are no quotable expressions of the belief that the respectable element was

numerous enough to beat the disorderly at the polls it must
Element Not flave ex i s ted, for it was no infrequent thing for an editor
Preponderant before 1856 to draw upon the affairs with the Hounds in 1851
in 1856 to support the assumption that all that would be necessary

to bring about a change would be to imitate the example of
the Vigilance Committee formed in the earlier year. Obviously, a con-
viction of this sort could not have obtained unless those entertaining it were
convinced that the people desirous of law and order were in the majority.
And such was the case, as was shown in the sequel. After the lynching
of Cora and Casey, a party which concerned itself exclusively with muni-
cipal affairs was formed, and its adherents had no trouble in maintaining
order at the polls and reducing election irregularities to a minimum.

Perhaps another cause may have operated more potently to prevent
good government than is generally suspected by the p'resent generation.
There was unquestionably in the early-fifties a bonhomie with which we of

the present day have little familiarity. The columns of the
Good^N^ture newspaper press of the fifties teem with evidence of its
in Early existence. Throughout their pages there was an astonishing

Days " absence of conventionality. Men were spoken of by their

first names, and their popularity could be gauged by the
friendly touch given by the writers for the press. The prefix "Mr." was
often used to suggest that the bearer was just a little too good for San
Francisco, while the hearty "Jack" or "Bill," and the caressing "Harry"
and "Charlie" conveyed to the reader the idea that there was something
genial about those who bore those and similar appellations. One of the
most remarkable figures in the early history of San Francisco, it is asserted,
was enabled to pull the wool over the eyes of the people for a long" time
because no one could possibly suspect a man known to every one by his
first name, to which the community had prefixed "honest," of being any-
thing else than he was popularly supposed to be.

When Harry Meiggs, on the 6th of October, 1854, fled from San
Francisco owing about $800,000 the community was astounded. The
press shared in the general amazement, for the popularity of the man was

so great that no one, least of all the reporters, thought of
ir" ht f regarding as singular the fact that he was in such trouble that

Harry ne was borrowing money at a frightfully high rate of interest ;

Meiggs nor does it appear that the commercial and financial editors

of the time concerned themselves very greatly respecting the
character of the securities offered by him, for, notwithstanding the strong
inclination of the newspapers to mix in personal affairs, the fact that he
was hawking scrip whose fraudulent character should have been easily
detected, he succeeded in imposing a large amount of it upon easy-going
lenders of money. Meiggs was a great promoter, and started his meteoric
career by an attempt to divert the business of San Francisco from the
neighborhood in which it first established itself to North Beach. He was
energetic beyond comparison, and from the day when he landed in San
Francisco in 1850 he was constantly pushing some enterprise or other.
When he conceived the idea of booming North Beach he built a road
about the base of Telegraph hill to Clarke's point, where he had invested

32 Journalism in California

a considerable sum of money, and constructed a wharf 2000 feet in length
from the foot of Powell street, which extended in the direction of Alcatraz
island. To forward his project of putting North Beach on the business
map he promoted the grading and improvement of many streets in the
section he was trying to boom. In pushing through these various under-
takings he incurred the heavy obligations which caused his ruin.

At the time he was operating, street work was paid for by warrants
drawn on the city treasury, which were signed by the Mayor and Con-
troller. In order to facilitate matters and save trouble, the latter official
was in the habit of signing entire books of the blank war-
Loose rants, and he found no difficulty in persuading the city's
Municipal chief executive to lend his signature in the same loose fashion.
Methods Q ne £ th ege DO oks was obtained by Meiggs from the clerk of
the Controller, who was a particular friend of the energetic
boomer. As there was no money in the street fund at the time, Meiggs
experienced no particular difficulty in negotiating the fraudulent warrants,
the unsuspicious money lenders not taking the trouble to inquire whether
those in whose favor they were drawn had performed the work or whether
there was anything due them. It may seem extraordinary to a more
cautious race of bankers that the value of the securities was not challenged
until the crash came, but the accounts agree that Meiggs' interest account
had climbed up to about $30,000 a month before an investigation was made
which caused the exposure which he anticipated by his flight. With the
aid of his brother, he made his escape on a vessel which landed him in
Valparaiso, Chile. It was supposed at the time that he had carried away
a large sum of money, but there is no good reason for questioning the state-
ment made by him later that when he reached the South American city
he had only $8000, and that before he got a fresh start in life he was
reduced to .the necessity of pawning his watch.

When Meiggs did get a start he soon accumulated a great fortune.
The amount of his accumulations was said to be nearly a hundred millions,
but that is probably an exaggeration. Whatever the sum, however, he used
a part of it to satisfy every creditor in full. Peru, the country
Melees ' n wn ^ cn ne operated as a railroad contractor, was not con-

Tries to genial to Meiggs and he experienced a great desire to return

Come Back to California, and to that end he sought while the Legislature
of 1873-74 was in session to have that body pass an act
ordering all indictments against him to be dismissed, and forbidding future
Grand Juries reopening the cases against him. The proposal met with no
adverse criticism and the act passed the Legislature by a practically unani-
mous vote, but Governor Newton Booth interposed his veto, rebuking the
legislators for their complaisance, and pointing out that the act of im-
munity, if adopted, would be regarded as a scandalous exhibition of defer-
ence to wealth as well as an unconstitutional usurpation of power. While
the State was saved the disgrace of condoning felony by legislation, the
comment of the press shows that the people at large saw nothing extraor-
dinary in the proceeding. It would, however, be a mistake to assume that
the community was governed by any other motive than the belief that Harry
meant to do no wrong, and that he was the victim of a perfectly laudable-
ambition to boom a part of the town in whose future he had great faith.

CHAPTER V

THE CALM THAT FOLLOWED THE VIGILANTE
STOEM OF 1856.

Decent Elements of Society Assume Control of Affairs — The People's Party— Drift-
ing in a Political Sargossa Sea — A Nominating Junta — The People Saved the
Trouble of Selecting Candidates — Seduction of Municipal Expenditures in 1857 —
Bulletin's Advocacy of Pay-as- You-Go Municipal Government — Newspapers
Easily Founded — Many Journals Live a Short Life — Limited Circulation of
Early Papers — The Contents of a Paper More Important Than the Number
of Copies Printed — Per Capita Consumption of Papers Very Small — A Host of
Forgotten Once Popular Journals — Newspapers Make a Limited Appeal to
Readers — Small Forces Eequired to Get Out Daily Papers — A Limited Police
Force and Scant Information Concerning Crime and Criminals — The Editor and
the Field of Honor — Gentle-Minded Men Who Called Each Other Hard Names —
The Attention Paid to Dramatic Criticism — Early Boosters of California's Cli-
mate — California Spoken of as God's Country.

MRP

K|rfflrr

ESJu L

HE storm is always followed by a calm. When the fury
of the Vigilante gale had subsided there was quiet sail-
ing for a long time. It was speedily discovered that
the decent elements of the city were greatly in the ma-
jority, and that it was only necessary for them to go to
the polls on election day and exercise a moderate degree
of watchfulness to prevent the abuses which had enabled
the disorderly classes to put venal and incompetent men
in office. Out of the Vigilante episode there came a municipal party which
retained power for many years, and to recur to the nautical metaphor,
when it obtained control, it trimmed its sails in such a way that in order
to catch the breeze of popularity it steered the "municipality into a Sargossa
sea of its own creation, in which it drifted about for many years without
getting anywhere in particular. This new organization was named the
People's party, and there was not the slightest doubt in the minds of its
creators that the appellation fitted it perfectly, despite .the fact that the
people had. no other duty imposed on them than that of going to the polls
and voting for the candidates put forward by a junta which derived its
original authority from the Vigilance Committee and finally converted it-
self into a self-perpetuating organization.

If the object of government is to achieve the results aimed at by the
stable elements of a community, the People's party, called into existence by
the desire to do away with corruption and extravagance in the conduct of
municipal affairs which had marked the years prior to 1856, must be
credited with accomplishing that result. Perhaps a combination of circum-

r 33

34 Journalism in California

stances assisted in furthering, the aims of the promoters of the party, chief
among which were the reduction of expenditures and the elimination of
the disorderly classes. Eighteen fifty-seven was a year of
Expenditures & reat nnanc i a ^ stress throughout the Union, and, despite the
Cut ? ac t that California was still producing gold on a great

Down scale, San Francisco did not escape the effects of the general

prostration. Business became very dull and it grew increas-
ingly difficult for the parasites of society who had flocked to the city to
maintain themselves. And, as is usually the case, with decreasing pros-
perity there was decreased, insolence on the part of the "swell mob," the
designation applied by the press to those who if the police were disposed
to ask pertinent questions could not always give a satisfactory account of
themselves. The depression would naturally have called for retrenchment,
but the inclination harmonized so perfectly with the necessity no effort
whatever was required to effect the extraordinary reduction already noted.
Had the condition of affairs produced by this resort to the policy of
retrenchment endured for a short period only, it would possess no special
interest for the student of civics, but it extended over many years. It there-
fore becomes an object of inquiry to determine whether the
Parsimonious s ^ c ^ pursuit of economy was due to the lessons administered
Policy to the extravagant and corruptly inclined by the Vigilance

Adopted Committee or to the adoption of narrow views concerning the

functions of municipal government. A very little research
makes it perfectly clear that the latter played by far the biggest part in
the course adopted after 1857, and continued during many years. There
is no question about the influence .exerted by the uprising. It was most
salutary, as may be inferred from the tremendous reduction of expenditures
for local purposes already quoted. It is inconceivable . that the depression
of 1857, no matter how severe, could have prompted so great a degree
of retrenchment, but the fact that after the recovery from the panic a course
bordering on parsirnony in dealing with municipal affairs was adopted, sug-
gests what was actually the case that some of the more powerful editorial
writers of the period were coming under the domination of the individualis-
tic idea, which was very assertive at the time. The Bulletin exhibited this
influence in a marked degree, and its editorial columns teemed with articles
in favor of a let-alone policy, so far as collective effort to provide municipal
conveniences was concerned, and it was insistent in its advocacy of a pay-as-
you-go plan for the city.

San Francisco at the time was sadly in need of many public improve-
ments. It had few small parks, and the idea of an extensive people's
pleasure ground had not yet been mooted. Its City Hall was a make-
shift affair and its streets were ill-paved and the sidewalks
Feaj^oi were wre t e hed. A few years earlier the desirability of caus-

Municipal i n g the roadways of the city to be constructed with some
Corruption regard to its topography was advocated, but, after 1856,
considerations of that sort were wholly lost sight of, and the
example of rectangularity furnished by one or two cities of the East was
blindly imitated. The impression derived from a perusal of many editorials
written between the occurrence of the Vigilante uprising and the close of
the sixties is that the fear of official corruption had become so ingrained that
no one had the courage seriously to propose anything which might reopen

HARRY MililGGS
One of San Francisco's earliest promoters.

The Calm that Followed the Storm of 1856 35

the doors of opportunity to extravagance. It is not impossible that this
abstention from discussion might have been produced by absorption in the
overshadowing question of the day. It might be assumed that such was
the case if the prodigious space devoted to articles on the extension of slavery
and cognate'subjects were alone considered, but the fact that during the
period referred to, side by side with profoundly earnest attempts to solve
the greatest of American problems, could be found efforts suggestive of a
livelier interest in purely esthetic matters than we find in many 'modern
newspapers.

At the time we speak of the newspaper was not developed to any
extent outside of the purely practical. It dealt chiefly with everyday affairs
and relegated art and literature to odd corners. Very often the apologetic

head "Miscellaneous" was placed over a bit of poetry, or

Newspapers a short story, as if the editor was not quite sure that they

S5 s ii y rt deserved admission to the columns under his control. Per-

a e haps the explanation of this attitude may be found in the

fact that very few persons concerned in the publication of
newspapers regarded journalism as a profession. It could hardly be con-
sidered such at the time for various reasons, chief among which was the
ease with which a newspaper could be called into existence. It has already
been told how James King of William started the Bulletin, convinced that
such money as he might invest in the enterprise would be lost. Undoubtedly,
there were others like him who entertained no hope of profit, but sought to
accomplish a purpose in entering the journalistic field. Still others saw an
opportunity to make a living, even if the business of publishing held out no
promise of great rewards; the latter may be properly inferred from the
number of papers called into existence, most of them, however, destined to
live only a short life.

The significant feature of the mushroom growth of newspapers in the
early days was the facility with which any one possessed by the desire to
enter the journalistic arena could achieve his wishes. It required very little

capital to create a plant capable of turning out such sheets
Papers ag were produced during the fifty decade of the nineteenth

Limited century. Although the Adams steam power press had been

Circulation invented as early as 1835, it did not speedily supplant the

old-fashioned hand press, and, indeed, there did not seem
to be much demand for a machine which would produce a great number of
copies, a statement attested by the fact that the paper of greatest circulation
in 1856 only boasted the issuance of 3600 copies daily. But the word
"boast" is misapplied in this connection. It does not appear that publishers
or editors concerned themselves half as much, about that phase of the busi-
ness as they did about what appeared in the columns of the papers printed
by them, and they oftener asked themselves what effect this or that article
had produced on the community than they did the number of copies issued.
Obviously, under such conditions, the relations of the business office and
the editorial rooms of newspapers were not the same as at present. Indeed,
not infrequently they were so closely associated as to be inseparable, and
in not a few cases the owner performed the functions of editor, publisher
and reporter, and made them fit in with each other admirably.

It was several years after Hoe built his first rotary press for the Parisian
paper La Patrie, in 1848, that machines of that, sort were introduced into

36 Journalism in California

this country, and it was not until 1861 that the first practical perfecting
press was put up in Cincinnati. It did not achieve a marked success, al-
though 8000 to 10,000 copies of a small sheet, printed on
Capital k°* n sides, could be turned Out by it in an hour. As late as

Invested in 1870, American newspaper proprietors were convinced that
Newspapers they would have to resort to England for a rapid printing
machine, the ' success achieved by the Walter press of the
London Times having turned attention in that direction. Prior to the
adoption of these rapid printing machines, with their accessories of stereo-
typing plants, engines to provide the power for running them and the
later development of the linotype, the starting of a newspaper enterprise
did not call for the investment of a very great amount of capital. A hand
press, which would turn out five or six hundred papers printed on both
sides, a few hundred pounds of type and the cases to contain them, and a
number of other essential but not very expensive articles constituted an
ample equipment for publishing a journal whose appearance on the street'
with an article written under high pressure created as big a sensation,
relatively, as a modern publication with press facilities capable of produc-
ing as many papers in a single hour as could be turned out in a year with
the more modest facilities of the papers of the fifties.

The comparative ease with which any one so inclined could embark
on a newspaper enterprise, owing to the cause indicated, accounts for the
large number of dailies and weeklies in San Francisco in the earlier fifties.
It is not to be attributed to any extraordinary development
j.weive of the appetite for news or such literature as was provided

in San a ^ the time. That may readily be inferred from the fact

Francisco that the combined issues of the twelve dailies that flourished

after a fashion in the years preceding 1856 did not exceed
15,000, a per capita consumption ridiculously small when compared with
that of the present day, when the demand for newspapers seems insatiable.
And this ratio of circulation was not greatly increased in San Francisco
until some years after the close of the Civil War, although in the meantime
the ability to produce a larger number of copies was facilitated by the
introduction of the cylinder presses, operated by steam power, which were
capable of printing over 10,000 single sheets an hour. As the city was
reasonably prosperous during most of the fifties, and very flourishing
throughout the Civil War, the limited circulations of the period must have
been due to some other cause than lack of mechanical facilities, and the
only one that suggests itself is the failure of the publishers to make their
papers generally attractive.

In this connection, a list of the papers published in San Francisco
with the dates of their birth, and, in most instances of their demise, from
1846 to 1859, inclusive, may prove both illuminating and interesting. The
first on the list was the Californian, started in Monterey in
p an J ,_ 1846 and transferred to San Francisco in 1847, to be merged
Earliest W1 * n the California Star, the plant for the production of

Newspaper which was brought to Yerba Buefia by Mormon colonists.
The merger took place in 1848. In 1849 the Alta Cali-
fornia, the Pacific and Prices Current were founded. The Pacific survived
two years and Prices Current was able to keep alive a little less than a
year. The Alta California, after occupying a leading position during a

The Calm that Followed the Storm of 1856 37

couple of decades, lost prestige during the seventies, and disappeared in the
eighties. In 1850 the Herald was started by John Nugent. It was nearly
ruined' by its attitude of hostility to the Vigilantes, but managed to survive
until 1862. The Public Balance was another of the ephemeral publications
of 1850, dying after a sickly existence of about six months. The Evening
Picayune, established in the same year, lasted for a brief period only. The
California Daily Courier endured for about two years. The birth of the
Journal of Commerce dates back to 1850. It is still published, although
it suffered an interregnum of two years, but has flourished since its revival,
it and the German Demokrat being the only surviving dailies of pioneer
days, the latter being first published in 1853. A French paper, Le Cali-
fornian, was started in 1850. In 1851 the Christian Advocate, still exist-
ing, and. the Christian Observer made their appearance. The Golden Era,
started in 1852, manifested literary tendencies from the start, and in 1854
was converted into a magazine.

In 1852 three other papers also saw the light. The Whig, the
Bugle and the Catholic Standard Weekly. The latter ceased publication
in 1855, the Bugle was merely a campaign paper. In 1853 there were
more new candidates for public favor. The Demokrat,
5f or | d already spoken of, the California Chronicle, the San Fran-

f an i a es c ^ o g^ ^^ ^ g c ommerc i a i Advertiser. The Sun shone

Public Favor until 1857, and then went into obscurity. The Commercial
Advertiser ran its career in four years, being absorbed by
the Daily Whig in 1857. In 1854 there were several new publications.
The Town Talk, afterward named the Times, started in that year, and in
1869 was taken over by the Alta California. The Town Talk, when pub-
lished as a weekly, essayed illustrations, portraits produced from wood cuts
being specially favored, although it occasionally pictured scenes. The
California Farmer, established in 1854, was discontinued in 1865. La
Chronica, a Spanish paper, started in 1854, dropped out in 1863. The
California Mail, started in 1854, had a checkered existence, and finally
dropped out of sight in 1878. The Benton Critic was a short-lived journal
started in 1854. The Abend Zeitung had its birth in 1854 and was still
running after the great conflagration in 1906. In 1855 the Fireman's
Journal, afterward the Spirit of the Times, was issued. In the same year the
American Daily and the Evening Bulletin began publication. In the fol-
lowing year the True Vigilante was issued. It' had a short life, making
its exit, when the committee conceived that it had finished its work.

Sunday Varieties commenced to bid for popular patronage in 1856
and lasted until 1865. A paper called the Daily Globe' was started in
1856. In 1858 it changed its title to the National, and lived until the
opening year of the Civil War. The Pathfinder, published
Pictorial to a( Jv 0Ca te Fremont's candidacy for President, was started

Weeklies . q the game year _ In lg57 {he California Eegister was

Fifties published. The Athenaeum and California Critic began

publication in 1858, and, in the closing year of. the decade,
llie growing popularity of the Police Gazette of New York tempted San
Francisco to imitate that publication, and it had a more or less successful
career until 1865. This long list of journals has led to some comment
hardly justified by the facts. At least one historian has drawn the inference
from it that San Franciscans were exceptionally eager for news in the early

38 Journalism in California

days, but their appetite, measured by modern standards of consumption,
was very small and was easily satisfied by the purveyors, whose facilities
would not have permitted them to provide a much greater quantity than they
did had the desire for it existed.

That the patrons of the newspapers of the fifties were dissatisfied with
the publications prepared for them might be inferred from the large mor-
tality record, but it is not probable that the many interments in the jour-
nalisic graveyards were due to that cause. It is more likely
Made J apers that the development of the reading habit did not keep pace
Limited with the increased aspirations for patronage; or, perhaps, it

Appeal would more exactly represent the fact to state that the public

had not acquired the habit of looking to newspapers for their
mental pabulum, not at all a surprising circumstance, when the motives for
producing them are considered. An epitome of the contents of a leading
journal of the early fifties has already been given. Anyone who will take
the trouble to examine it closely will speedily discover' that it appealed to
a very limited number of tastes. It almost wholly disregarded all classes
excepting those in search of solid information in the shape of news and
comment on politics and current happenings.

It is not intended to convey the impression that the papers whose names
are above quoted confined themselves to the publication of news and edi-
torial comment. ; They occasionally stepped aside from the straight and
narrow path. Not infrequently verse was admitted to the
Att StU t i6d columns of the soberest of the dailies, and sometimes fiction
to Attract an ^ jokes were permitted to obtrude themselves on the atten-
All Classes tioii of serious readers; but there is no evidence of any
studied attempt to attract all classes of the community by
presenting matter calculated to interest even those showing a disinclination
to be interested. The editor did not have for his motto, "We study to
please." He printed such facts as he could conveniently gather without
putting forth much effort, and if an unappreciative public refused to buy
his paper he ceased to publish it and allowed it to be included in the list of
"has beens." It is not to be inferred from this statement that papers pub-
lished under such conditions did not contain matter that was interesting;
the idea sought to be conveyed is that the editor of the fifties did not realize
that it is possible to stimulate the disposition to read, and, failing to appre-
hend' that possibility, he only catered for those in whom the desire for news
and comment, chiefly political, already existed.

At the close of 1853, when twelve dailies were published in San
Francisco, nine of which were morning and three evening, the entire news
gathering, force of the dozen, according to an estimate made by a printer
whose memory went back to that period, did not exceed
o'lfo^ 01068 n i ne teen persons. At the same time, there were two tri-
Daily weeklies and three weeklies, one Sunday paper and two

Papers monthly publications, one of which was devoted to literature

and the other appealed to the agricultural element. The
same authority who estimated the newsgathering force in 1853 ventured the
opinion, which was based on a tolerably intimate acquaintance with the
publication business of the years preceding 1856, that less than a hundred
and twenty-eight persons were employed in the newspaper offices of San
Francisco at any time before the introduction of power presses, and of this

The Calm that Followed the Storm of 1856 39

number not a few were engaged in job printing, many of the early dailies
supplementing the arduous work of getting out a news journal by doing
commercial work. As already explained, large, forces were not required.
The news field in the city was circumscribed. The district to be covered
by the reporters was confined to a few blocks. The police and the criminal
courts were close together, but the police were so greatly in the minority
that they did not interfere seriously with those who were supposed to be
under their supervision.

In 1849 there were only six constables in San Francisco, and no
particular anxiety was manifested because of the smallness of the force
when the population of the town was increased by the rush of gold hunters
to the State, many of whom, after a brief sojourn in the
Information mines, found their way to the bay. This indifference con-
Concerning tinued during several years and was partly responsible for
Crime the necessity of the citizens' organization taking the adminis-

tration of justice out of the hands of the constituted author-
ities, as they did in 1851 and again in 1856. It was not until the latter
year, when the Consolidation Act, framed by Horace Hawes, was adopted
that any considerable increase of the force was made, a fact which explains
the paucity of detail concerning crimes recorded in the early dailies. It not
infrequently happened that mention of a murder would be made, in which
no attempt to ascertain the name of the victim was apparent, and absolutely
no suggestion which would help the reader to determine the cause of the
crime or to guess who was its perpetrator. But while crimes of this sort
were passed over without much comment, barroom brawls, which had no
other outcome than a few blows or a bloody nose, were described with some
minuteness, especially if the participants happened to be well known.

The publication of divorce news was often accompanied by displays
of facetiousness. -One or two papers made a feature of recording matri-
monial separations without comment, in a department immediately follow-
ing that devoted to marriages. There was also a marked
Vicious tendency to deal in innuendo of a sort which would not be

Personal tolerated, for a moment in a modern daily, and it was more

Journalism or legg fruitful of crimes of reve nge. The author of the

"Annals of San Francisco" asserted that the work of ca-
lumnious writers was responsible for a part of the "sad daily record of
murders," and an examination of some of the ambiguous items which none
but a person perfectly familiar with the actors whose names and actions
were hinted at could understand, furnishes convincing evidence that he did
not err in laying the blame for some of the crimes of daily occurrence on the
sort of journalism he condemned.

But the journalism of the early fifties had its virtues as well as its short-
comings. Its editors took themselves seriously, and the public was inclined
in many cases to accept them at their own valuation. While they devoted

themselves to the elucidation of difficult political problems,
Wh t0 T k many of which offered themselves for solution in those days,
Themselves they on occasion, like Silas Wegg, dropped into poetry,
Seriously and some of them were quite as ready to "Decline and Fall,"

as Dickens' quaint character. Gibbon had a remarkable
vogue among the more erudite editors of the fifties^ a fact betrayed by
frequent quotations, and a marked disposition to find analogies for existing

40 Journalism in California

conditions in the pages cf his great history. The readers of newspapers
at any time during the years between 1849 and 1856 showed no impatience
when an editor drew upon the past for comparisons, and there was no
resentment aroused by the tendency to give a graceful turn to an idea by
rounding out a paragraph with a line or two of verse. Frank Soule, who
began his newspaper career as proprietor cf the Xcw Orleans Mercury,
was as much admired for his poetical work when editor of the California
Chronicle as he was for the vigor with which he expressed himself when
discussing political subjects.

There were other editors cast in the same mold as Soule, who also
occasionally broke away from the self-imposed limitation of gravity which
was thought becoming to the editorial column. It is impossible to escape
observation of the fact that the love of literature was con-
ColleKe-° f stantly seeking an outlet for itself in the daily press, and it
Trained ^ s surprising that it never became assertive enough to induce

Men the publishers of the days before the Civil War to anticipate

the later development of many-sidedness which has become
so conspicuous a feature of modern journalism. There certainly was talent
enough, for San Francisco in "the days of gold" was overflowing with
college trained men, not a few of whom when they were "down on their
luck" showed an inclination for journalism rather than dishwashing or
waiting on the table, occupations which men of education when their
resources were low found much easier than manual labor, which was much
better remunerated than writing for the press, if tradition is at all
dependable.

A glance through the files of the daily press of the fifties shows that
the rivalry of newspaper editors was intense, and v gives point to the asser-
tion of the author of the "Annals of San Francisco" "that they were partic-
ularly exposed, not merely to the literary raking fire of an-
d th S tagonists, but to their literal fire as well." Occasionally fail-

Field i n S to derive sufficient satisfaction from the opportunity to

of Honor relieve their feelings by expressing themselves without reserve

in the columns of their papers, they would demand the sort of
reparation which it was supposed could be obtained only on "the field of
honor." There were several such editorial meetings, and some of them
had a serious outcome, but as it was incumbent on the craft to maintain
its honor no one seriously deprecated the temporary abandonment of the
pen for weapons calculated to do more bodily harm if less capable of
inflicting mental torture. The practice of dueling*fell into desuetude before
the close of the Civil War, but long after its termination editors of rival
papers in San Francisco continued the impossible effort to settle differences
of opinion by calling each other hard names. And, curiously enough, if
the stories of those well acquainted with the old-time editors are reliable,
it often was the case that the most virulent of these newspaper swash-
bucklers were mild-mannered gentlemen outside of their sanctums. In the
language of James O'Meara, who knew the most of them well, they "would
not hurt a cat."

How much of the ferociousness displayed by editors in discussing each
other's assumedly weak points was due to the belief that the public liked
rewspaper scrapping it would be difficult to tell at this late day. When
the practice of hurling journalistic stink pots was most in vogue there were

The Calm that F ollowed the Storm of 1856 41

few college professors ready to explain the inner workings of a newspaper
office, and the editorial mind, so we are forced to rely upon the evidence of
_. p ... the actors in the wordy combats. One of these, in an article

Liked" 1C published in The Chronicle in 1886, describing the Broderick
Journalistic an( l Terry duel, declared that the first thing the reader of a
Scrapping newspaper in the early fifties would turn to was the editorial
columns to see what mean things were being said about the
other editor. If there was an article graphically described as "tearing the
hide off the hated rival," or unmasking his "unspeakable villainies," it was
pronounced "a hummer," and voted absorbingly interesting. The same
authority, however, was inclined to think that on the whole the sober ex-
pressions in which governmental policies were analyzed at great length
were more admired than "frothy nothings," which hardly concerned those
who delivered them with such emphasis.

As may well be imagined at a time when much attention was paid

to the drama by a public as fond of amusements as the people of San

Francisco, criticism occupied a prominent place in the newspapers. It was

the boast of the early press that the great artists who visited

Appreciation ^ c y.y were xmanimoug j n the expression of the opinion that

Dramatic f ne critics of the San Francisco papers showed a rare dis-

Criticism crimination. Perhaps the tribute was deserved, but there is

a suspicion that there was an extraordinary development of
the appreciative tendency. It may be true that few had actors visited San
Francisco during the fifties, but it is more than likely that the sentiment of
hospitality operated to keep the critics from speaking harshly about the
' performances of artists who had made such a long journey to entertain
them. Many of these dramatic criticisms were more noteworthy for their
analysis of the play than their estimates of the actors interpreting them, and
not a few of them gave evidence that the writers were Shakespearean stu-
dents. Perhaps the most remarkable peculiarity of this early criticism was
the tendency of the critics to indulge in comparison. There is more than
one instance of Only a passing allusion to the performance of the actor
criticised, while the bulk of the article is given up to enthusiastic descrip-
tion of the work of some other artist.

In the first chapter the fact is mentioned that the boosting habit was
inaugurated by a pioneer paper before the rush of the gold hunters began.
It was not dropped after their arrival in force. Editors occasionally became

tired of discussing such abstruse questions as the origin of
The the negro, and whether slavery was justified, and touched

Boosting Q p 0n subjects concerning which they could speak with more

Habit assurance that the reader would believe that they knew what

they were talking about. A favorite topic for leaders was
the climate of California. Articles of this sort seemed to breathe a con-
sciousness on the part of the editor that he was addressing himself to people
in the old home, a belief which was justified by the well developed practice
of mailing papers to friends in the East and in other parts of the world.
It was this custom, begun while the gold-hunting fever was at its height,
that laid the foundation on which the boosters of Los Angeles later raised
their climate superstructure. The pioneer editor was so accustomed to
speaking of California as "God's country," and urged the claim so per-
sistently that the world accepted it without dispute.

CHAPTER VI

VAKIOUS TEOUBLBS ON THE EVE OF THE
CIVIL WAE.

Effect of Telegraph Construction on Appetite for News — San Francisco • Papers
Take ,on a More Newsy Appearance — Backroom Nominations Cheerfully Ac-
cepted — An Insistent Demand for ^Retrenchment — Hot Discussions of Burning
Questions — No Doubt Eegarding Stand Taken by Editors — David C. Broderiek's
Career in San Francisco — Broderiek's Championship of Free Labor— Loose
Views Concerning the Institution of Slavery — Broderick Elected United States
Senator — Broderick and Terry Members of Law and Order Party in 1856 —
Terry Kills Broderick in'a Duel — A Forerunner of Evils to Come — Not Much
Interest in State Division — San Francisco Not Eager to Become a Capital — All
Agreed on Subject of Importance of the Harbor — Fremont 's Prophetic Instinct —
Maritime Proclivities' of Early Press — The Defeat of the Bulkhead Scheme — A
Seawall Project Headed Off — Editors Stimulating Agricultural Development —
Advocacy of Big Farms — The Mining Industry Eegarded as the Premier.

N" HIS "A Senator of the Fifties," Jeremiah Lynch
quotes from the diary of an American Navy chaplain
the statement that although the discovery of gold was
made in January, 1848, the news of the event was not
carried to Monterey until the following May. There
was a continuous improvement in the matter of the
dissemination of news after this period, but the rate of
progress was comparatively slow until after the com-
pletion of the telegraph line between the Missouri river and San Fran-
cisco in October, 1861. The stimulating influence of the desire for war
news after that date had the effect of inducing editors to display more
activity in gathering intelligence from the interior of the State, and there
was a distinct improvement in the appearance of the news columns of the
daily papers. The tendency to eliminate all details and get at the nub of
the story was beginning to give way to something remotely resembling
amplification, and occasionally a disposition was shown to present more
than the bare facts. But the journalists of the Civil War time were
still dominated by the idea that people cared much more for opinions than
facts.

After the subsidence of the passions aroused by the arbitrary action of
the Vigilance Committee, there was for a time an eager interest in munic-
ipal affairs, which manifested itself in the form of strict attention to the
performance of civic duties. Good citizens went to the polls and' voted for
the ticket framed for them in the secrecy of a back room, and it never
occurred to them that they were being deprived of an important preroga-

Troubles on Eve of Civil War 43

tive because they had taken no part in making the nominations. Their
chief concern seemed to be to get good men to run for office, and they did
Assault no ^ as ^' or a ^ ^ eas ^ "^ no ^ Mother themselves about the man-

People's ner °f their selection. When candidates were put up by the

Party People's party they voted for and elected them, and when the

Junta result they aimed to accomplish, namely, the reduction of

excessive expenditures, was achieved, they were satisfied. The
satisfaction of the majority with the outcome did not, however, have the
effect of silencing criticism, and many tart editorials directed against the
undemocratic practice of surrendering the right of selection were
written.

It was several years, however, before any impression was made on
the community, which had adopted "let well enough alone" as its motto.
Cut taxes to the bone, was the demand, and when men were elected who
acceded to it, there was no disposition shown by the majority
the ! Liberty °^ Vo ^ ers *° question the method by which officials so satis-
of the factory in that particular were secured. But much ink and

People good white paper were consumed in the preparation of scorch-

ing articles the purpose of which was to convince the people
that they were being deprived of their liberties. The agitation was per-
sistently kept up, and, ultimately, the Legislature, in the session of 1865-66,
passed a primary law which for some time was "regarded as democratic
enough to satisfy the most exacting. The resort to it finally had the effect
of procuring for the people a chance to substitute for the men carefully
selected by interested taxpayers, determined upon keeping down the rates,
candidates who were not always economical, but were ready to promise to
pay attention to the rising demand for improvements of various kinds, many
of which were mooted but few of which were given a serious thought until
some years after the surrender at Appomattox.

If there was one thing that distinguished the journalism of San Fran-
cisco during the three or four years preceding the firing on Sumter, it was
the earnestness of the discussion precipitated by the various events which
indicated to the thoughtful that a collision between the North
Discussions an ^ South was inevitable. The attack by pro-slavery men on
of Great Lawrence, Kas., in 1856, and the assault in Congress on

Questions Charles Sumner by Brooks in the same year ; the Dred Scott

decision in October, 1857; the Lecompton convention, held
a month later, which adopted a pro-slavery constitution, and the second
Lecompton convention in 1858 were all discussed at great length in all their
bearings, and sometimes with a virulence which foreshadowed the bitter-
ness of the impending conflict, which some of them seemed inclined to
regard as desirable. There was no trimming. The editorials, although
often verbose to a degree rarely met with in a modern newspaper, left the
reader in no doubt as to where the editor stood and it may be said in passing
that the man who subscribed for a paper in those troubled times was
governed entirely by the desire to secure a journal with the views of which
he was in accord.

While the editors of the San Francisco papers at all times between 1857
and the firing on Sumter in 1861 had much to say about national politics,
they, not unnaturally, gave especial prominence to those events which
touched them most closely!. The actions of the Vigilance Committee for

44 Journalism in' California

a long time after the quietus put on the criminal classes by its energetic
methods were frequently dwelt upon, and an astonishing amount of space
was devoted to determining just at what particular moment an event oc-
curred, or the precise words uttered by some actor in the con-

of e Eoom * es ^ wn i cn Ba( l ^ or ^ s a ' m * ne restoration of order. It is not

f 0r surprising that these verbal disputes should have arisen, for

Dispute the prominent persons opposed to the course of the Vigilance

Committee claimed to be the champions of "law and order,"
and doubtless there were many who were firmly convinced that the Vigi-
lantes were a destructive mob. When such a difference of opinion exists
there is obviously much room for contention, and it was availed of to the
full extent that space permitted.

A scarcely less fruitful subject of dispute was the causes that led up
to the duel between David C. Broderick and David S. Terry, which proved
fatal to the former. The "affair of honor" took place in this city on

Monday morning, September 12, 1859, and the circum-
Career stances point conclusively to the encounter being the outcome

David 0. °f political rather than personal differences. Broderick was

Broderick among the first in the rush for gold, but he chose to seek for

it in other places than the placers. Although born in Wash-
ington, he was a New Yorker and perfectly familiar with the methods of
the worst school of politicians of the metropolis, and was not long about
putting them in practice in San Francisco. He made money in real estate
deals, and his name was mixed up with the unsavory job by which Peter
Smith secured a large slice of the water front through the connivance of
corrupt municipal officials. It was not charged that he was in the alleged
conspiracy, - but there is no doubt that he profited by the sales which were
contrived with the object of permitting Smith to profit by his cunning
manipulation of city warrants. It was also freely asserted- that Broderick
in his capacity of boss collected large sums of money from candidates for
offices, which were supposed to be devoted to promoting the interests of
the party, and that he was not backward about taking a commission for
his trouble. He also made considerable money in the business of private
coinage during the period when the Federal Government was so remiss in
its duty that in the midst of an abundance of gold there was no lawful
circulating medium, all the gold coin in use in California being struck by
individuals without a shadow of authority.

There is no reason to doubt that Broderick was sound in sentiment,
despite the blemishes upon his character, which were as much the fault of
the methods of the time in which he played his part as they were of the

defects in his general make up. From the beginning he had.
Vitws rminate identified himself with the cause of free labor, and in the
of " Legislature and out of it, he boldly stuck to his colors. It

Slavery was one of the anomalies of the politics of the period that men

with widely divergent views respecting slavery should be able
to work together as members of the same party, a condition of affairs wholly
due 'to the fact that no consciousness of the immorality of the institution had
been developed in the rank and file of the American people. The career
of Broderick and the arguments of the San Francisco press all through the
fifties indicate clearly that such hostility as existed was engendered by self-
interest, and that opposition to the extension of slavery, except that dis-

Troubles on Eve of Civil War 45

played by a few extremists, was wholly regarded from the standpoint ol
expediency. A man might be a "free soiler" and resent with indignation
the imputation that he shared the ideas of the small band of abolitionists
who were giving Southern statesmen so much concern.

Thus it happened that Broderick, although constantly interfering with
the plans of the Southern contingent in California, who never lost sight of
the desirability of attaching the Golden State to their cause, was able to

have himself elected United States. Senator at a period when
Elected** tne ^nation was becoming extremely acute, and when the

United States slaveholding oligarchy was leaving no stone unturned in its
Senator efforts to secure absolute control of the legislative as well as

the administrative branches of the Federal Government. ' It
was said of Broderick after his election that his success, notwithstanding
the tension, was a personal success, and that legislators voted for him be-
cause he was Broderick and not particularly because they shared his views
concerning the burning question of the day. Whether this correctly de-
scribes the situation or not, it is a fact that when he began to make his at-
tacks on Buchanan he quickly became the idol of that element in the
community which viewed with disgust and suspicion the encroachments of
the Federal. brigade, composed as it was of office seekers from the region
south of the so-called Mason and Dixon's line, at the same time that
he incurred the emity of the Southerners, who realized that he would
prove a formidable obstacle to the carrying out of plans mediated by
them.

It was assumed by some that David S. Terry was chosen as the instru-
ment to remove Broderick, but it is more than likely that he required no
other inspiration than that of an intolerant dislike of opposition to the

extension of slavery. Terry came from Texas to California
David S. j n jg^g as a m01ln t e d ranger. He engaged in the practice

and 7 °f the law and was elected Associate Justice of the Supreme

Broderick Court on the Native American ticket in 1855. Before that

event, he had come in conflict with Broderick, opposing him
in the convention of 1854. During the trying Vigilante times Terry arrayed
himself on the side of the Law and Order party, and was perilously near
sharing the fate of Cora and Casey, being arrested 'at the instance of the
committee and tried for resisting its officials, one of whom he cut with a
bowie knife while in the act of serving a summons whose validity Terry
would not recognize. Broderick was also in sympathy with the Law and
Order party, and afterward remarked bitterly that he had paid a newspaper
$200 a week to defend Terry's cause when he was being tried by the
Vigilante Committee, which deemed it expedient to refrain from carrying
out the desire of the section of the organization favoring what it called
"a clean sweep." The fact that the two were on the same side in the
Vigilante uprising cannot be taken as evidence that they were in political
accord ; nor is it to be regarded as pointing to either of them sympathizing
with the criminal element.

The fact seems to be that Terry hated Broderick with all the vehemence
of an intensely intolerant man. Terry was a Southerner of the sort who
made a fetich of their section. He looked upon any one planting himself
in the path of Southern desires as an enemy. Among his friends he was
reputed to be kind-hearted, but he had acquired the habit of speaking cyn-

46 Journalism in California

ically of those whom he antagonized. In the course of a speech made by
him he referred to Broderick as a follower of "the black Douglass, whose
name is Frederick and not Stephen." Broderick resented the
Kills' coarse sarcasm, and remarked in the hearing of some one who

Broderick carried the tale to Terry, that he once considered the latter as
in a Duel the only honest man on the Supreme bench, "but now I take

it all back." It was two months after the remark was made
before Terry demanded satisfaction. The meeting took place and Broderick
fell at the first shot. Stories were told and believed that the pistol used by
the Senator was "quick on the trigger," and that he had no chance for his
life, but it is not likely that they were true. Terry was not a coward nor a
murderer ; he, as well as his victim, were the product of unsettled times in
which passion rather than reason swayed, and they must be judged by the
standards of that period and not those of our own day. Terry was placed
under arrest in San Francisco and charged with the crime, but the case was
transferred to another county and he was acquitted.

Broderick was not the only victim of the political tension of the late
fifties, but the conspicuousness of his position caused his encounter to be
more discussed than any other occurrence in San Francisco, with the ex-
ception, perhaps, of the Vigilante episode. It was remarked
ofWlat" 11161 ' JV Editor James O'Meara, who sometime in the eighties
Was to wrote a series of articles about pioneer days, that the quantity

Come of matter written about the Broderick and Terry duel would

have filled a big library if it had all been gathered. That
the affair should have been productive of so much comment is not at all
singular, for the men who wrote about it realized that the tragedy was a
forerunner of what 'was to come, and almost unconsciously they invested it
with its real importance, many of them treating it as if it were a national
event, as, indeed, it was in more senses than the narrow one that it attracted
and startled the whole Nation. The historian seeking to gain an insight
into the minds of men in the closing year of the fifty decade of the nine-
teenth century can find plenty of material in the diverse opinions of the San
Francisco editors which found expression in the endless stream of articles,
written not so much to prove that Terry was right or wrong, as they were to
establish the justice of the cause they advocated.

■ It might be inferred from this comment that the San Francisco editors
were prone to make much of an event because they wrote with, facility, but
an examination of their editorial columns would not justify such a con-
clusion. There were some subjects to which an unlimited
Quesfon quantity of space was accorded, but others to which a later

of State generation, under changed circumstances, has attached a good

Division deal of importance were dismissed very cavalierly. Among

these was the question of State division. On the 19th of
April, 1859, the Legislature passed a State division measure which would
have permitted the six southern counties of the State to separate themselves
from the north. It would be difficult to divine from the limited degree of
attention accorded to the proposal whether any concern was felt by the
people of San Francisco over the prospects of separation. On the whole,
the calmness of treatment suggests that San Franciscans would not have
bothered themselves if the secession had taken place, and, perhaps, the
indifference shown by the metropolitan press was responsible for the

Troubles on Eve of Civil War 47

failure of the proposition to advance further than to the permissory
stage.

This attitude of indifference was not confined to the matter of State
division. In 1860, owing to the flooding of Sacramento, the Legislature,
then in session, adjourned to San Francisco. The necessity imposed on the
. solons of leaving the capital city started a removal move-
No* Ea a ger lSC ° meni U reach ed the stage of an offer of $150,000 to be
to Become use d for the construction of a new capital, and of any one
a Capital of the city's public squares but the Plaza for a building plot.

The suggestion, while not ignored, was so quietly treated by
the press as to create the impression that the editors were convinced that
neither city nor the State at large would be benefited by the location of the
capital in a great seaport. Such discussion as there was of the subject
was on a tolerably -high plane, and only a few articles permeated with the
booster spirit appeared. Whether the press affected an indifference it did
not feel could not be told from the tone of the few articles published. It is
unlikely, however, that there was any affectation. The position assumed
was very like that taken when the question of capital location first came up
in 1850. No effort to secure the honor so eagerly sought by other places
was made by San Francisco, which planted itself on the proposition that
the future greatness of the city would depend on the commerce of the bay,
which it was thought would accomplish wonders without adventitious aid.
There was one subject on which the press of San Francisco was in
complete accord at all times, and that was the importance of the harbor.
There was much written about the development of commerce through the

instrumentality of convenient ports for the handling of the
on Which products of the country, and the reception of the exchangeable
There Was productions of foreign countries. Although the talk -of a
Agreement railroad which would connect the Atlantic and the Pacific

began very shortly after the gold discovery, the minds of
men naturally reverted to things with which they were familiar. In 1849
railroads were not numerous in tolerably well peopled regions, and there
was then no conception of their possibilities as a transportation factor which
can now be regarded without amusement. The ideas concerning them were
as hazy as those which might have been excited by the quotation of Puck's
promise to put a girdle about the earth in forty minutes. The first legisla-
tion purporting to regulate freight and passenger rates shows this plainly,
as it permitted charges which would have been absolutely prohibitory. But
there was no such uncertainty concerning ocean transportation. Men knew
what had been accomplished through its agency. It was not at all strange
that Fremont should have christened the entrance to the bay Chrysopolae.
When he surveyed the broad waters of a harbor whose extent rivals that of
an inland sea his mind reverted to the glories of ancient Byzantium, and he
pictured a stream of commerce flowing through the "Golden Gate" which
would enrich those who handled it, and the gold hunters who translated
his Greek appellation into plain English shared his views, and their
descendants have never wavered in their adherence to them.

It is sometimes assumed that this belief has been entertained at the
expense of a more speedy rate of progress which might have been attained
had San Francisco not been so wedded 'to her harbor. But it would have
been difficult to convince those who as early as 1856 pinned their faith to

48 Journalism in California

the desirability of uniting the Atlantic and Pacific by means of a canal

that they were in error. This project might have been achieved long before

the completion of the first overland railroad, an event which

Union ^ not occur UIlt ^ 1869 > had not ttle ^rig 1163 °^ a ri Y a ^ °*

of Two Commodore Vanderbilt, carried through with the aid of

Oceans Filibuster Walker, frustrated the plans of the Accessory

Transit Company, which had obtained a concession to cut
a canal through Nicaragua. But the failure of the plan in those early days
was powerless to destroy the belief that the destinies of great cities are de-
termined by their proximity to vast bodies of navigable waters, which,
though apparently separating them from other countries, actually make
them neighbors to the whole world. Although the thought of uniting the
two oceans had its birth when Balboa first saw the Pacific, it was the abiding
faith of the people of San Francisco who had the first really practical con-
ception of a scheme of canalizing Nicaragua, which kept alive the idea
which has been achieved after sixty years of patient waiting.

It is not strange that a people bold enough to conceive the possibility
of cutting a canal from ocean to ocean should have set much store by the
commerce borne on their waters. If one were seeking for distinguishing

peculiarities in the early press of San Francisco he would
Maritime g n( j mucn evidence of its permeation by the maritime spirit,

of Early ^ glorified the exploits of its first wharf builders. Not a

Press little of the popularity of Harry Meiggs was due to the

admiration excited by his enterprise in constructing the long
pier extending into the bay which bore his name for many years, and it was
not difficult for the poetically inclined editor to find a resemblance to the
canals of Venice and a presage of the future greatness of the port in the
vigor with which the cove of Yerba Buena was converted into dry land,
thus bringing ship and merchant closer together. The breeziness of the
salty deep is discovered in the commercial columns of San Francisco's first
newspapers, and not a little of the best information we have of the life of
the people is found in that department of the daily journals. It is to that
part of the paper one turns with interest because in the very succinct but
often glowing descriptions of the performances of the clipper ships we get
a glimpse of that love of the sea which seems to have taken possession of so
many who found their way to California in pioneer days.

Those were the days of long distance races in which the contestants
performed their feats of swiftness without the stimulus which the knowledge
of a rival's position imparts. In 1852 seventy-two clipper ships entered the

harbor of San Francisco, their average passage from New
of e c°lljfper York to San Francisco being 125 days. The Flying Cloud
g nip held the record, covering the distance between the Atlantic

Exploits and Pacific ports in eighty-nine days. The departure of

these vessels which usually sailed between the ports of New
York or Boston and San Francisco was known to the citizens of the latter
city, who did not, in the case of favorites, need to be told when they were
sighted by the Telegraph Hill lookout how many days they had been out.
Nor did readers need to be told, as they were in the succinct accounts of
the nautical reporter, who sailed the gallant craft, for they knew their
names as well as the modern baseball fan does those of the favorites of the
diamond. That one realizes at once who notices the intimate touch of the

Troubles on Eve of Civil W ar 49

water front writer, who employed his nautical terms in the full assurance
that those who read what he wrote would not be bewildered by his technical-
ities, nor surprised that he should become poetical in describing the majes-
tic appearance of a clipper as she came through the Golden Gate with all
her canvas drawing.

If the attempt were made to judge the interest of San Franciscans in
public and private affairs in the fifty decade by the amount of space devoted
to their discussion in the press, it would undoubtedly be found that the

average citizen regarded questions concerning the future of

A Raid the harbor as next in importance to the engrossing topic of

on the the aggressions of the advocates of the extension of slavery.

a er ront rp^ e< Jitorial columns of the earlier years teemed with articles

touching the disposition of the lands on the water front. It is
true that many of them were woefully indicative of an earnest effort to lock
the stable door after the horse had been stolen, but they bore evidence that
the stable was still regarded as valuable even if the steed had been
feloniously appropriated. The great hubbub raised over the unscrupulous
disposal of water front lands was fully equaled by the commotion produced
by the attempt to change the bulkhead line. An act of the Legislature,
passed in 1851, was supposed to have permanently established the line
beyond which wharves might not be extended, but in 1853, undoubtedly
instigated by San Francisco political jobbers, an interior member introduced
a bill having for its object the extension of the line beyond the survey
originally made under the earlier act. The bait offered to the country
member by the schemers was the promise of part of the money which would
be derived from selling the 600-foot extension into the bay, but the real
purpose was to give the holders of Peter Smith scrip lands a valid claim on
their purchases^ to which the city could give no title because it possessed no
proprietary interests beyond the red line laid down on an earlier map.

The denunciation of the project was so fierce that members elected to
the lower house from San Francisco resigned because they had lost the
confidence of the community represented by them. Charges of corruption
, were freely made, and the alleged lobbyists retorted on the
F lselv newspaper editors with personalities. In a speech made in

Accused Sacramento while the excitement ran high a lawyer denounced

Editor a writer, who afterward attained prominence as a reformer,

as "a liar who lied by day, and lied by night and lied for
the lust of lying." This onslaught proved ineffective; the antagonists
of the bulkhead scheme were victorious. At one stage in the legislative
game it promised to go through with a hurrah, the then Governor, Bigler,
being committed to the project, and defending his attitude by asserting the
need of the State for the revenues that would be derived from the sale of the
600-foot strip along the entire water front. Although the Assembly passed
the bill by a large majority, it was defeated in the Senate by the casting
vote of the Lieutenant-Governor, who earned fame by breaking the tie and
recording himself as against the measure of spoliation. It is one of the
anomalies of public accusation that the rhetorical effort directed against
the editor by the lawyer was frequently revived in after years and appar-
ently accepted as truthful by people who refused to take the trouble to learn,
as they might easily have done, that the editor had spoken the truth and
that his accuser was the liar.

£0 Journalism in California

The defeat of the bulkhead scheme was conceded by all critical
pioneers to be due to the vigorous opposition of the press, and, after the
excitement had subsided sufficiently to permit a calm review of the affair,
iti t it was agreed on all hands that a great disgrace had been
Securing " ° avert ed, an opinion in which the modern investigator will
a concur. It is not so certain, however, that another project

Seawall opposed with nearly as much vigor as the bulkhead extension

job deserved the bad name which the press bestowed upon
the enterprise. In 1860 the San Francisco Dock and Wharf Company
offered to build a stone bulkhead along the entire water front, conditional
upon the corporation being permitted to charge shipping for the use of the
facilities which were to be provided. A great outcry was raised, and strong
arguments appeared in the daily press pointing out the danger of monopoly.
It was admitted that the State would have the right to regulate charges,
and thus protect those who through necessity were obliged to use the
wharves from extortion, but abundant reasons were advanced against trust-
ing to such doubtful protection. They proved cogent enough to defeat the
enterprise.

Fifty-four years have elapsed since the offer was made, and it may
be interesting to consider what would have been the result had the San
Francisco Dock Company been permitted to construct the stone bulkhead.
Under the terms of the grant asked for, at the expiration of
A fifty years the bulkhead would have become the property of

Neglected the State. There is every reason for believing that the enter-
Opportumty p r j se would have been vigorously prosecuted had the con-
cession been granted. The corporation showed its constructive
ability in digging a graving dock out of the solid rock at Hunter's point,
a business enterprise which has been conducted with ability, and apparently
to the satisfaction of the interests served. We may, therefore, assume that
the bulkhead would have been built, and that in 1910 it would have become
the property of the State. In the meantime what has happened? Instead
of securing a stone bulkhead, we are still making feeble efforts to provide
a seawall, an undertaking begun on paper in 1863, but not actually com-
menced until 1867, and still a long way from completion. Meanwhile,
shipping entering the harbor and using the facilities provided by the State
has annually contributed an amount of revenue which would have satisfied
the demand of the most avaricious corporation, as it would have provided
sufficient income to pay a handsome profit on any sum likely to have been
invested in the construction of the stone bulkhead.

It cannot be said that the press manifested the same lively interest in
other matters as vitally affecting the growth of the city as they did in the
safeguarding of the port. After the passage of the Consolidation Act in
1856, the people seemed to have settled down to the con-
Demand viction that it completely answered the requirements of a
for Public growing community. The measure bristled with prohibitions,
Improvements but, as the fetters were self-imposed, those who wore them
did not chafe under the restraint. They were kept from
doing so by the constant insistence of the guiding element that the really
essential thing in a city is to keep down the tax rate. The acceptance of
this view proved an obstacle to public improvements. Years before the
upheaval in 1856 fault had been found with the tendency of the people of

Troubles on Eve of Civil War 51

San Francisco to ignore the desirability of public breathing places. There
was no improvement in this regard until some years after the close of the
Civil War. Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, there was an easy acceptance
of existing conditions. If there was any disappointment felt over the fact
that the census of 1860 showed a population of only 56,802, it was con-
cealed under an affectation of the belief that it was really marvelous that a
place which only a dozen years earlier was a sleepy village of less than 500
souls had become in so short a space of time a bustling city with all the
modern conveniences; by which the writers meant to convey the fact that
the inhabitants were provided with gas and water and a make-shift sewerage
system while studiedly refraining from dwelling on such drawbacks as bad
streets, inadequate public buildings and pleasure grounds and other con-
trivances contributing to the comfort of urban life.

It could hardly be said that the city vegetated during the years between
1857 and 1861, even though public improvements were neglected. Its
trade flourished after the depression of the first named year had passed

away, and there were great hopes built on the promise of the
The City development of the agricultural resources of the State. These

and the were n °t greatly diversified at the time, but editors surveying

Farmer the advances made between 1850 and 1860 found a subject

for felicitation in the increase of farms from 872 in the first
named year to 18,726 in the latter, and in the enlargement of the area of
improved land from 4,333,614 acres to 6,385,724 acres. The fact that
farm products of the census year were valued at $48,726,804 was dwelt
upon with pride and predictions of a great future expansion were freely
made. There does not appear to have been any perception of the horticul-
tural possibilities of California, although the editors were alive to the fact
that California could produce excellent fruit. Indeed, the papers were in
the habit of claiming that California fruits were unrivaled, but few ven-
tured to go further than to suggest that envious Easterners would do well
to come to the Coast if they really wished to enjoy the delights of life. _ They
had no idea of the mountain going to the consuming Mohammed, as it does
at present ; when they thought of exports they had in mind wheat and flour,
of which the equivalent of 558,546 centals were shipped from San Fran-
cisco in 1860, giving rise to dreams of a great future for that cereal, which
were realized a couple of decades later by exports aggregating nearly
25,000,000 centals.

The satisfaction experienced through contemplation of the agricultural
possibilities of the State was somewhat weakened by the apprehension felt
by some that the disposition to hold intact the large Spanish and Mexican

land grants would interfere with the settlement of the most
Advocacy fertile tracts by an industrious population; but singularly
of Big enough the same papers which dwelt with emphasis on the

Farms desirability of dividing the land into small tracts, could find

space to discuss with approbation views inimical to minute
subdivision which found expression in the writings of the foremost sociolog-
ical writers of the period, and a few editorials may be found in which
the idea is advanced that a happy and prosperous farming community can
only be created by affording men a chance to work a large piece of land,
160 acres being pronounced the minimum requirement of a farmer who
wished to be truly comfortable, Discussions of this character were not

Journalism in California

The Press
and the
Mining
Industry

uncommon in the city press of the fifties, and the interest manifested in
agricultural development was only second to that with which the mining
outlook was considered.

Mining throughout the fifties was regarded as the mainstay of San
Francisco. Although the enormous output of 1852 of over $81,000,000
had fallen to a little more than half that sum in the closing year of the
decade, the attitude toward the industry remained nearly the
same as during the days of the gold rush. Occasionally, the
writers who regularly reviewed the conditions in the mining
region ventured to suggest that the industry must lose in
importance, but various circumstances contributed to the
deep-seated impression that there would always be enough of the precious
metals mined in California to enable mineral production to keep its premier
position. This opinion was seemingly justified by the discovery and open-
ing of quartz mines in this and the neighboring State of Nevada. The
celebrated Comstock lode had been discovered, and its argentiferous quality
ascertained as early as 1853, but it was not until 1859 that the richness
of the discovery became generally known, when a rush to the new mines
took place which rivaled those to the Frazer river and the Klamath black
sand beach diggings. The discoveries in Nevada outranked in importance
any made outside of the boundaries of the State, and strengthened the con-
viction that mining would always be California's dependable industry, an
opinion which did not yield until the break up of the great landed estates
caused a diversified agriculture to usurp first place.

CHAPTER VII

JOURNALISTIC METHODS OP THE LATE FIFTIES AND
EAELY SIXTIES.

A Long List of Defunct Newspapers — Papers Conducted to Forward Political
Aspirations of Owners — Wires Sparingly Used in Early Days — Use of Italics
in Early Days — The Tyranny of the Composition Room — The Day When Many
Jobs Were Performed by One Person — When Big Type Was Frowned Upon —
Effects of the Cheapening of White Paper — The Big Increase of Price During
the^ Civil War — Early Day Reporting Criticised — Not Many Trained Beporters —
Editors Guess What Beporters Pail to Discover — Facts Carefully Concealed by
Papers — The Press and the Slavery Question on the Outbreak of the War — A
Minister Who Would Not Pray for the President — Few Editors Called to an
Accounting for Their Proclivities — A Civil War Fighting Editor — Newspaper
Offices Gutted When Lincoln Was Assassinated — Adherence of California to Gold
Money — The Specific Contract Legislation — Influence Exerted by the Press to
Promote Honest Monetary Dealing.

HE most of the daily and weekly publications of San
Francisco started during the fifties had passed out of
existence before Sumter was fired upon in April, 1861,
but there was a formidable list of survivors of ail shades
of opinion still bidding for public favor. The fortunes
of some of the latter had suffered greatly through a
tendency to run counter to the desire for better munici-
pal conditions, notably the Herald, which lost the bulk
of its advertising patronage after the shooting of James King of William
by Casey. It was nearly ruined, but managed to keep alive until 1862,
when it finally collapsed because its Southern supporters had taken them-
selves to regions where secession was more popular than in San Francisco.
Included in the number of the departed journals were several whose
editors had enjoyed a transitory popularity, and others which the records
and the evidence of the papers themselves suggest had no excuse for con-
tinued existence. The long mortality report embraces the
California Star, San- Francisco's first paper ; the Pacific, which
ran its course in a couple of years ; Prices Current, still more
ephemeral, lasting only a year ; the Public Balance, with a
life of six months to its credit; the Evening Picayune, the
California Daily Courier, La Californian, which catered in a literary way
for the very considerable French colony of early days; the Benton Critic,
the American Daily, the True Californian, which supported all the policies
of the Vigilance Committee and had the reputation of being edited under its
auspices; the Daily Globe; the Pathfinder, started in 1856 to boom Fre-

A Long
List of
Defunct
Journals

54 Journalism in California

mont's candidacy for the Presidency; the Golden Era, the first literary
paper ; the Whig and the Catholic Standard Weekly ; the Bugle, a campaign
paper; the California Chronicle, the Commercial Advertiser and the Cali-
fornia Eegister.

This extended death record might convey the impression that San
Francisco was a bad place for newspapers in the early days, if it were not
for the fact that the survivals were numerous enough to give assurance that

newspaper readers were by no means deprived of the oppor-
All Their tunity to exercise a choice of policies, for they reflected all

Onf shades of opinion. Nor does the fact that several other papers

Basket entered the contest for favor while the Civil War was in

progress dispute the accuracy of this assertion. That merely
emphasizes an opinion, expressed elsewhere, that the affections of San Fran-
ciscans in the early stages of the growth of the city were not long fixed on
any particular object, and that publishers, as a consequence, were compelled
to keep in accord with their following or pay the penalty. This disposition,
and the fact that the disappearing journals put all their eggs in one basket,
not having acquired the modern method of holding readers by various de-
vices, explains the excessive mortality above noted, and the further fact that
most of the papers which weathered the storms of the fifties and lived well
into the two later decades have since gone on the scrap heap.

The resident of San Francisco in this exposition year, familiar with
the public journals of the city, who will take the trouble to scan the list of.
papers surviving the fifties, will note that few of them have attained to the

dignity of a jubilee. The Alta California, founded in 1849,
On the wag run w ^ n YaT yi n g success until the nineties, when it was

the 6 ° compelled to succumb to a steady loss of patronage which

Civil War followed the acceptance of the opinion that its owner, a man

of wealth, had acquired it to advance his personal fortunes.
As is usual in such eases, the news side of the paper was neglected, every-
thing being subordinated to the object for which the paper was published.
Perhaps the fact that it was forced to turn a political somersault contributed
to the result. The Herald, driven out of existence by the Bulletin, scarcely
heard the first guns of the Bebellion. -The Fireman's Journal, afterward
the Spirit of the Times, had the distinction for a while of being San Fran-
' cisco's only sporting paper. It ceased publication some time after the death
of its founder, Marcus D. Boruck, who, like many of the early editors, was
as much politician as journalist. The Call, established by a group of
printers in 1856, was purchased by M. H. de Young in 1913 and ceased
publication as a morning daily. The Sunday Varieties endured until
1865. It and the Police Gazette, which died in the same year, furnished
publications which met a want that seemed tolerably persistent in the days
before a better class of weekly papers made their appearance. Of the long
list, only the Bulletin, the German Demokrat and the Abend Zeitung of
the daily publications have endured to the present day. The Daily Times,
which began as the Town Talk, was merged with the Alta in 1869, and
the California Mail, started in 1876, received its quietus at the hands of
an Englishman named Dalzell, who married -the actress Dickey Lingard.
Dalzell sought to make the Mail brilliantly sensational and was -meeting
with measurable success until he made the error of converting his journal
into an advocate of the candidacy of a Democratic aspirant for the United

Methods of Late Fifties and Early Sixties 55

States Senatorship, who withdrew his helping hand when scandalously
beaten in the race.

It cannot truthfully be said that there was a great improvement in
journalistic methods after the opening of the overland telegraph in 1861.
Although theoretically, the metropolis of the Pacific Coast was put in close
touch with the East, the wires were used so sparingly for the transmission
of intelligence the city remained as provincial as in the days when the
steamers and the pony express supplied editors with the bulk
Wires f their copy. But there was a distinct improvement in the

U^ed™ 2 y appearance of the newspaper, which became more formidable

in size, the number of columns of the more prosperous jour-
nals being increased, but the four-page paper remained the
favorite form. In the advertising columns, and in those parts of the paper
devoted to news and miscellaneous reading large type was eschewed. The
editorial columns were helped out by the use of a larger faced type, but
that was more for the purpose of enhancing the dignity of the utterances of
the man on the tripod than to a desire to spare the eyes of readers or to
emphasize the subject matter. The latter result was secured by a liberal
use of italics, the employment of which in great quantity was supposed to
stamp an editorial as a forcible expression of opinion.

Those were the days in which the composition room had more to do
with the make up of a daily paper than it has at present. The printer had
his ideals and he succeeded in imposing them upon the editor. During the
fifties, sixties and seventies there was little difference of
Tvrannv opinion inside or outside newspaper offices respecting

f ae typography. The advertiser was apt to accept without chal-

Printer lenge the judgment of the foreman, who was convinced that

big display type was a blemish. There was a saying cur-
rent in newspaper offices that it was impossible to make a nonpareil paper
with long primer type, and when the printer employed the term nonpareil
in this connection he had in mind the definition of the word and attached to
it its full meaning. A knowledge of this fact will help the reader to under-
stand what the author of "The Story of the Files" means when she said
that the community was startled by the appearance of an editorial paragraph
in the American Flag "set up entirely in caps." We have no detailed
information respecting the trouble brought upon himself by the innovating
editor, Calvin B. McDonald, who was nicknamed "the thunderer," but
it is safe to assume that the most savage of the arraignments of Copperheads
for which he was famous in his day provoked less startled surprise than this
departure from journalistic precedent.

A comparison of the typography of the years now under discussion
with that of the present day discloses a change which was so gradually
effected that few editors could tell when and how it came about. The
variation is all the more remarkable because it synchronizes
Printer, Pub- w j^ ^e g row th f the power and influence of the typo-
Editor graphical unions and the expansion of the use of machinery
Combined in the production of newspapers. It really amounted to a
complete abdication of the privilege' which the printer once
exercised of dictating how the paper should be made up. As a matter of
fact, it did not constitute a usurpation on the part of the printer, it was
rather a crystallization of a practice which had its beginning when news-

56 Journalism in C alifornia

papers first came into existence, because, as often as otherwise, the printer,
the publisher and the editor were combined in one person. It is not neces-
sary to go back to the infancy of journalism to find instances of such a com-
bination. San Francisco furnishes several. Not a few of its early papers
were established by men whose knowledge of the "art preservative of all
arts" was gained before the ambition to fill the editorial chair took posses-
sion of them, and there are many cases of printers uniting for the purpose
of starting papers which achieved success. The Morning Call owed its
start to the action of several printers who united , their fortunes for that
purpose. It is true that they lost control after the paper had gained im-
portance, but they left their traditions, which were closely adhered to for
many years.'

If the editors of the fifties and the sixties could have foreseen the
changes which a half a century would bring about they would have wondered
why they should occur. It would have been difficult to convince them that

a statement made in type three or four inches in length could
Dav of carry more weight than one printed in nonpareil or agate.

Small Their own experience taught them that violent sensations

Type could be produced by language expressed in the minutest of

characters. They could not have been persuaded that a gen-
eration would follow them which would become so accustomed to loud type
that it would lose the ability to comprehend anything modestly stated.
Advertisers who had preserved some idea of relativity would have been
equally surprised if they could have peered into the future and seen the
devices resorted to by their successors to attract attention, but they would
probably have divined much more quickly than the editor why it is necessary
to shout very loud if one desires to be heard above a bedlam of voices.
Being gifted with discernment, the advertisers of the days we are speaking
of were content to proclaim their wares in moderate terms and type, and
they doubtless carried as much conviction as the bigger type and greater
space employed in 1915.

In the early sixties, there was much less talk about journalism by news-
paper men than there is at present. It is true that there were fewer in the
business, which at that time was not conceded to be a profession. It is

probable, however, that a consensus of editorial opinion in
r d's idea ^ an Francisco a t an y time in the sixties would have been in
of the Paper accord with that later expressed by Whitelaw Eeid in an
of the Future address delivered at Xenia, Ohio, in which he pictured the

newspaper of the future as a sheet in which the advertiser
would be a negligible quantity, and, therefore, small and convenient to
handle. It would be written by Macaulays, with the faculty of observation
highly trained, and well enough equipped in a literary way to tell a story
as interestingly as the gifted English historian. When the editor of the
New York Tribune indulged in this surmise he had no vision of the linotype,
and the wonderful effect it would have upon the production of newspapers,
and he must have been influenced by the high price of paper which obtained
during the war and down to the time when the process of manufacturing
from wood pulp was perfected. Up to the middle of the nineteenth century
the paper employed in bookmaking and for printing newspapers was made
of rags, and, while machinery had been employed as early as 1803, no
very marked results in the way of cheapening were effected until after 1853,

Methods of Late Fifties and Early Sixties 57

when a machine was invented by a Frenchman which paved the way to
supplanting the hand-made product.

On the eve of the Civil War, the effects of the improvement in the
manufacture of paper were beginning to be felt in reduced prices. It does
not appear, however, that the reduction operated as a stimulus to the
production of larger papers during the ante bellum period.
Adherence The rivalry between publishers took another form than that
Policies °^ trying to outdo each other in the size of their issues. As a

matter of fact, it was largely confined to bidding for favor
by adherence to a policy. The competing journals were
apparently satisfied to operate in the fields which they had created for them-
selves by the expression of political or other opinions. As already stated,
the Bulletin, after the adoption of the Consolidation Act, became the ex-
ponent of extreme ideas of individualism and, economy. The Alta's free
soil proclivities were maintained under the management of Fred Mac-
Crellish. The Call, which came into the possession of Pickering, Fitch and
Simonton after its foundation by a number of printers in 1856, endeavored
to occupy a neutral position, seeking the favor of all classes and succeeded
to such an extent that before the end of the sixty decade it undoubtedly had
a greater circulation than any of its competitors.

If any disposition had existed to break away from the stereotyped four-
page issues of the fifties it would have been checked by the sudden rise
of the price of paper which followed the outbreak of hostilities between the
. North and South. The advance was not confined to San
Paper During Franeisco - In a11 P arts of the East publishers found it nec-
the Civil essary to advance their subscription rates, but such a course

War was not imposed on San Francisco papers because their

charges to subscribers were high enough to bear the increase.
But. there was no temptation between 1861 and 1865 to increase the cost
of newspaper production by the process of enlargement or by engaging in
enterprises which involved the expenditure of extraordinary sums of money.
It is not surprising that this should have been the case. With the best
intentions, publishers compelled to pay 13y 2 cents a pound for printing
paper would not be encouraged to put forth blanket sheets such as those
issued by all the' great metropolitan dailies of the twentieth-century. This
high cost was not maintained at all times between the years named, but it
remained at a very high average during the entire period, and for many
years afterward it was sold at a figure calculated to deter even the enter-
prising publisher from thoughts of giving his patrons more for their money.
It has been said that the art of reporting was not highly developed
during the fifties, and that statement could be applied with equal truthful-
ness to the decade following, and especially to the reporting for the jour-
nals which appeared to have established themselves in the
Reporting public favor. In 1887, George E. Barnes, who was then writ-
Early ing for the Morning Call, indulged in some retrospective de-
Days scriptive suggested by the sight of a copy of that publication
produced thirty years earlier. He said : "Speaking of the
reportorial work as it appears in this minute specimen of journalism, it must
be conqeded that it is beneath contempt. Reporters and the material worthy
of reporting were scarce in those days. There were Father Taylor, Ned
Knight, Huffner, George Dawson, Urmy, Cremony, Manny Noah, Living-

58 Journalism in California

stone, Hittell and one or two others on the larger papers, and a good deal
of the reporting when the people began to weary of bald fact was much
in the style of the reporter described by Butler. * * True or
false, it is all one to him. * * He is little concerned whether
it is good or bad, for that does not make it more or less news, and if there
is any difference he loves the bad best, because it is said to come soonest."
Barnes thought this condition of affairs was happily past when he wrote
in 1887. Time and population had cured all the defects and journalism
was on a high plane, and "from a mere parasite, gambler or censurer, the
editor has come to be as Napoleon the First said, 'a giver of advice, a
regent of sovereigns, a tutor of nations.' "

It does not appear that this lofty plane was reached during the years
while the Civil War was in progress. The reporting throughout the sixties
was not sufficiently bettered to make improvement visible. The reporters

were built on the same lines as those described by Barnes,
Povertv an< ^ man y of them were survivals from the earlier day. Un-

f der some circumstances, it might be supposed that apparent

News dullness was due to enforced brevity, but such an idea would

be promptly dismissed by the investigator who can find evi-
dence in abundance that there was plenty of space to spare for inanities
grouped under the heading of "Miscellaneous," or for articles marked
"contributed," which discussed political and philosophical subjects at great
length. The modern editor will find no difficulty in determining the true
cause of the poverty of local and State intelligence in the papers of the
sixties. It was due chiefly to lack of training along the lines of observation,
with the result that most of the time the reporter was unable to furnish
details, not because they were not desired for the thirst for intelligence was
as keen in the sixties as it is now, but because he did not see enough
to be able to write a story. As for Barnes' queer assumption "that material
worthy of reporting was scarce in those days," it is utterly negatived by the
undoubted fact that the most of them crowded more excitement into
twenty-four hours than is now experienced in a week.

Certainly, there was plenty to report during the days following the
election of Lincoln, but the reporters did not avail themselves of the oppor-
tunity afforded them. San Francisco was a hotbed of intriguers, whose

schemes were freely conjectured by editors, but never exposed
Facts until the schemers showed their hands. Months before the

Covered 7 ^ rs ^ & un was ^ re ^' there was a hegira of Southerners from

California. The purpose of their flight was well understood

and darkly hinted at by editors, but there is no description
of the movement in the local columns of the papers of the time. When the
Confederated States adopted the act of secession there was an extraordinary-
interest in the actions of the few Federal troops garrisoning the apologies
for forts which defended the harbor, but no venturesome reporter tried to
furnish a picture of possibilities. There was no censorship, but real infor-
mation as to what was going on was as meager as it was during the progress
of the European war of 1914-1915. In 1863, a group of Confederate sympa-
thizers planned to capture a Pacific Mail steamship with the object of con-
verting her into a privateer. This accomplished, the conspirators intended
to sail in their prize to the scene of the wreck of the Golden Gate, where
another steamer of the Mail Company, the San Francisco, was endeavoring

Methods of Late Fifties and Early Sixties 59

to recover the sunken treasure. The Confederates hired a schooner and
crew, but the affair was so bunglingly conducted that the Custom-house
authorities nipped the project in the bud. The newspapers knew what was
going on, but were unwilling to take anyone into their confidence, and,
until the would-be privateers were haled into court, the public had no de-
tailed story of an event to which California's historian, Hittell, accorded
several pages.

The criticism of reporters quoted' above indicated the attitude of the
press toward news throughout the decade. San Francisco was far removed
from the scene of conflict, but there were plenty to respond to the call for
volunteers. There were the same scenes of excitement at-
£ it tending the recruiting as those witnessed in the East, but

Mightily the soberness of treatment of the quick response in the news

Stirred columns, and the meager space allotted to recording the dis-

plays of patriotism would have left a stranger in ignorance
of their occurrence, if the vehemence displayed in the editorial columns had
not made it clear that San Francisco was mightily stirred. Perhaps it was
more fitting that the exuberance of feeling should find expression in the
columns devoted to opinion, but, judged by modern standards, the city
editors were delinquents, who have left much to imagine which might have
been cleared up had their reporters been trained to treat as interesting events
occurrences which may have seemed commonplace to them at the time.
Fortunately, the reportorial delinquency is fully repaired by the effusive-
ness of the writing editors, whose invective leaves nothing to the imagina-
tion. Their rhetoric was of the sledge-hammer kind, and the reader never
had any difficulty in determining who was smashed by the blows delivered.
At the beginning of the war, sentiment seemed to be -very nearly evenly
balanced in California. In the election of 1860 Lincoln had carried the
State by 1000 plurality, the Democratic candidate receiving 38,000 and
the Eepublican Electors 39,000, but there was a rapid change
and the 83 °^ opi* 1 * 011 when the people grasped the idea that secession
Slavery meant the disruption of the Union. In an astonishingly

Question brief period the Southern sympathizer began to lose caste.

The despised "mudsill' asserted himself, and presently con-
cluded to cut loose from the party whose leaders affected to despise him
and his kind. After the first flurry, the fear that the secessionists might
succeed in gaining possession of the forts in the harbor disappeared and
Union men settled down to the conviction that it would be their task to
prevent Confederate operations in Arizona and in the northern states of
Mexico. The quota of troops required of the State was easily filled by
volunteers and recruiting was brisk in the city. The burst of Union
enthusiasm did not, however, wholly extinguish Southern sympathy, nor did
it take on an intolerant shape. The journals devoted to the Northern
cause kept pace with those of the East, and some of them were a trifle ahead
of the latter in recognizing that the institution of slavery was doomed. A
few years before the outbreak of hostilities the Legislature of the State,
under Southern inspiration had by resolution denounced Broderick because
of his stand in opposition to the extension of slavery; in 1863 the same
body, by a nearly unanimous vote, eulogized him as a patriot and appro-
priated a sum of money to erect a monument to his memory in Lone Moun-
tain Cemetery; and a year later, on the 4th of March, it adjourned out of

60 Journalism in California

respect to the memory of Thomas Starr King, whose voice was heard in the
pulpit, on the platform and in the lecture-room in appeals to California to
stand by the flag.

There were ministers, perhaps, who sympathized with the South, but
only one ventured to brave public opinion, and he was quickly impressed
with the sense of his error by a significant warning in the shape of a stuffed

dummy hanging at the entrance of the door of his church.
Not Prav ^ s °^ ense consisted in omitting from his service the prayer

for the f° r the President of the United States. He took the hint,

President and, as he was disinclined to offer supplications for one whom

he looked upon as an enemy to his section, he extricated him-
self from an embarrassing situation by abandoning the city and returning
to his home in the sunny South. Events of this sort occupied a great deal
of space in the editorial columns of the papers, and it is to the credit of the
citizens that they were not possessed of the intolerant disposition with which
they were charged by those with Democratic leanings, for had they
been the action precipitated by the assassination of Lincoln would certainly
have been anticipated years before it finally occurred. It is astonishing
that the violent expressions which were freely indulged in by Democratic
journals should have passed without official rebuke or action of the sort
taken in the case of Vallandigham in Ohio, but it was the policy of the Gov-
ernment to close its eyes to all but overt acts, and the bastile only received
one or two offenders during the long conflict, and they were not taken from
the ranks of newspaper men.

Perhaps the authorities were convinced that the defenders of the Union
were able to attend to the matter without assistance, but expressions of
sympathy for the Confederate cause were not allowed to pass unnoticed

by the Union editors. Particular attention was paid to them
CvilW r ^ Calvin B. McDonald, who filled the columns of the
Fighting American Flag, published by D. 0. McCarthy, with denun-

Editor ciations of the "Copperheads" and their doings. McDonald

was a forceful writer. He had been in journalism since 1854
in the city, but did not have the nickname of "the fighting editor" bestowed
on him until the flag was fired upon. Before that time, he was more
disposed to drop into poetry than to indulge in invective. He did not
part with the poetical tendency when he donned the armor of the fighting
editor, but his verse was of a different sort and fitted in with the spirit
of the times. He had the faculty of arousing bitter resentment in those
against whom he directed his editorial shafts, and succeeded in provoking
retorts of a sort which were remembered by the community when the day
of reckoning came. One of the journals to which he paid especial attention
was published by the men who afterward founded the Examiner. He had
succeeded in making their paper so odious that when the horrified com-
munity heard the news of Booth's treasonable assault on the President the
office of the publication was gutted. Similar treatment was accorded to the
News Letter, whose proprietor and cynical assistants never lost an oppor-
tunity to show their sympathy with the secession movement. No personal
violence was offered to the publishers, but that was due to their good for-
tune in being out of the way of the mob when it descended in its wrath upon
their offices.

While the attention of editors during the Civil War period was not

Methods of Late Fifties and Early Sixties 61

wholly engrossed by the conflict, there was more written about it, and its
effects on the State, than any other subject. The attitude of California
as voiced by the press of the State in those days was not always clearly
understood at the East; but that is not surprising when it is borne in
mind that there was considerable difference of opinion concerning the proper
course to pursue in the vital matter of the practical refusal to accept the
paper emitted by the Federal Government. There was no concerted action.
It was simply a case of a people having the ability to keep in
Press circulation a money which less fortunate sections of the Union

and Gold were unable to obtain in sufficient quantities to supply their

Payments needs, deciding to adhere to that which they were accustomed

and refusing to substitute for it a variable currency. There
was a marked division of opinion respecting the propriety of that course,
but the cleavage was not along well defined political lines. The aversion
to paper money was not due to lack of sympathy with the Union cause,
although there were many who feared that it might be so construed, among
the number Governor Leland Stanford, who, in a message to the Legisla-
ture, adversely criticised the action of the State Treasurer, who took ad-
vantage of the depreciation of greenbacks and paid California's proportion
of the direct war tax in legal tender notes. Stanford proceeded upon the
.theory that the State should disregard the depreciation and pay in gold,
but the Washington authorities answered that the legal tender money had
been advisedly received and that if gold had been paid California would
have contributed more than its quota.

The mercantile element of San Francisco displayed less sensibility and
adopted a course which resulted in greatly stimulating business. They
adhered steadfastly to gold currency, and used the metal to great advan-
tage making purchases of greenbacks with which they met
' R ^ sult their Eastern obligations. As the range of prices of most

Adherence commodities sold in the California markets was nearly as high
to Gold as in sections where legal tender money was used, the prac-

tice resulted in great profit to the merchants, and their pros-
perity had a stimulating effect on industry generally. The necessity of
buying greenbacks created a lively dealing in them, and, while in Few York
gold was quoted at a premium, on the exchange in San Francisco the process
was reversed, and greenbacks were bought at a discount. The uncertainty
regarding the propriety of the course was mirrored in the editorial columns
of the newspapers, but the discussion reflected the current prejudice in
favor of gold money, which dated back to the time of the formation of the
State Constitution at Monterey, when an article was- inserted which abso-
lutely prohibited the emission of paper money. It was impossible, to remove
this prejudice, which found concrete expression in specific agreements to
pay in gold. These agreements were authorized by statute, and the Su-
preme Court of the United States affirmed the validity of such contracts.

The active dealing in legal tender currency was a source of scandal
and the charge was made that the Legislature was improperly influenced,
but there was no evidence forthcoming to substantiate the loose statements
concerning the matter which were made by the editor of the American Flag,
who, when cited to the bar, refused to answer the questions put to him.
The probabilities favor the belief that the Legislature in refusing to
repeal the legislation authorizing specific contracts was in accord with public

Journalism in California

Specific

Contract

Legislation

opinion. Although the discussions of the subject were voluminous, it does
not appear that the editdrs were apprehensive that the use of paper money
would result in driving gold out of California. At the
time, the annual production from the placers and other
_ sources was still great enough to give assurance that there
' would be enough gold to supply the people of the State with an
abundance of non-fluctuating money. There was some percep-
tion of the fact that so long as the State could maintain a favorable balance
in its dealings with the rest of the world its gold coin could not be drawn
away from it, provided steps were taken to prevent its being sold in order to
obtain a cheaper money, and it was assumed that the specific contract act
guarded against such a contingency, an assumption borne out by the fact
that Californians have retained the metals to this day as their principal
circulating medium.

There is one circumstance connected with the retention of or adherence
to gold money that deserves especial mention, for it exhibits in a marked
degree the power of -the press to influence public opinion. There is no
question but that when greenbacks began to afford an oppor-
tunity to the unscrupulous to scale their debts by paying in
depreciated legal tender money, a disposition to take advan-
tage of the situation existed, which might easily have become
general had not the most reputable part of the press constantly
denounced the immorality of the proceeding. So severe was the denun-
ciation of those who sought to escape their obligations that a genuine fear
of ostracism was created, which was not entirely groundless, for there are
same instances of individuals seeking to pay their gold debts in depreciated
currency being held up to public scorn. That there were not many in-
stances and perhaps a general departure from the straight path of fair
dealing was chiefly due to the insistent advice of the newspapers that it pays '
to be honest. They may have been wrong in advocating a policy which put
them out of touch with the monetary system of the major part of the Union,
but they were unquestionably right when they advised in strenuous terms
that depreciated greenbacks should - not be used to pay debts incurred while
the State' was on a gold basis.

The

Influence
of the
Press

CHAPTER VIII

THE CHEONTCLE ENTEBS THE FIELD OF SAN" FKANCISCO

JOUKNALISM.

Advent of the Examiner — Its Founders — The Youthful Projectors of The Chronicle
— Acumen Displayed in Selecting a Title — An Amusement Loving Public — A
Newspaper 'From the Very Beginning — San Francisco Restaurants During the
Sixties — The First Home of The Chronicle — Hustling to Get Money for a
, Start — Eapid Growth of Popularity Eases Finances — Mark Twain's Contribu-
tions to the Dramatic Chronicle— The Budding Author Has Desk Boom in Dra-
matic Chronicle Office — Bret Harte Helps Out With Interesting Squibs — The
Criticisms of Tremenhere Johns of the Dramatic Chronicle — The Efforts of the
Beginners Cause Amusement — Prosperity Soon Follows Success — Movement to
New Quarters on Montgomery Street — A Handsome Sign, of Which the Youth-
ful Publishers Were Very Proud — A Theater Manager and Actress Who Dis-
like Criticism — First News of the Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln —
Early Efforts to Illustrate a Daily Newspaper — Extras Tell of the Gutting of
Local Newspaper Offices.

g=^gps==j]HE most notable journalistic occurrence of the last year
of the Civil War was the birth of the only two English
morning papers that have survived the vicissitudes of
the intervening fifty years. It was in 1865 that the
San Francisco Chronicle and the Examiner made their
advent in the field of journalism in this city, but the
circumstances attending their entrance were widely
divergent. The Examiner was practically founded on
the ruins of the Democratic Press, which was swept out of existence in an
ebullition of popular rage provoked by the assassination of President Abra-
ham Lincoln. Its nominal proprietors were William S. Moss, B. F. Wash-
ington, Charles L. Weller, Philip A. Eoach and George Penn Johnson.
,They may not have deserved all the opprobrium heaped upon them by the
fighting editor of the American Flag, but the columns of the new candidate
for public favor indicate that the arrangement entered into by Grant and
Lee at Appomattox was no more to their liking under the changed name
and conditions than when the summary gutting of their office was resorted
to by an infuriated populace. The Examiner also differed from the other
new competitor for patronage in being conducted by men with journalistic
training, who had the backing of a political party by no means disheartened
by its loss of power during the war, and which, before its echoes had died
away, regained control of the State offices.

It is almost impossible to. describe the beginnings of The Chronicle in
the sober terms of historical narration. The attendant circumstances and

64 Journalism in California

the subsequent career of the paper give a tinge of romance to a statement
of what would otherwise be prosaic and very commonplace facts. Other
boys with large ambitions have started papers, and some have achieved a
measure of success, but none that we know of has realized as
Pounders "^ u ^ v w ^at was sou ght to be accomplished by the youthful

of The founders of the San Francisco Chronicle. The story of the

Chronicle starting and growth of the paper shows that its success was

not due to adventitious circumstances. It was founded at a
time when the ventures of others were meeting with failure, and its continu-
ous growth was attended by a constant battle for public approval, but not by
truckling to the holders of every vagrant sentiment, or by the adoption of
a neutral attitude. The Chronicle had opinions from the first day that it
saw the light,' and did not shrink from maintaining them with persistence
and courage at all times.

Perhaps no journal attaining to prominence was founded under circum-
stances so singular. Although Charles and M. H., who were soon to be
familiarly known as the de Young boys, aimed from the very beginning to
create a newspaper, they modestly started their enterprise as a
Numhw the ater house bill, under the title of "The Dramatic Chron-

of The icle." An examination of the initial number, which appeared

Chronicle on January 16, 1865, at once discloses the fact that the title

was a misnomer. Throughout its sixteen columns there is
plenty of evidence that its publishers were dominated by the idea of making
it particularly interesting to theatergoers, but its sub title, "A Daily Eecord
of Affairs Local, Critical and Theatrical," revealed what was in the mind of
its founders, and proclaimed a purpose which was well foreshadowed in the
four pages of the little 10 by 13V2 inch sheet.

As interesting, perhaps, as the fact that the Dramatic Chronicle was
a newspaper from the first day of its publication is the acumen displayed
by Charles and M. H. de Young in selecting the drama as the vehicle by
which recognition and popularity could be secured for their
Title to venture. Never was there a community more completely

Conjure devoted to the pleasures of the theater than San Francisco.

With From the day of the first, performance in the city by a semi-

professional troupe in 1848, down to the time when the
Dramatic Chronicle saw the light, the drama had been a passion in the city
by the Golden Gate. Its citizens prided themselves on the fact that the
greatest artists visited them, and the writer of "The Annals" takes partic-
ular pains to mention that they knew what was good and would not tolerate
that which was bad. Doubtless, he could furnish evidence to substantiate
his assertion that visiting actors, whose fame was national, admitted that
the critics of the numerous papers of the early fifties were discerning men.
That they did not hesitate to say in plain terms about a play, and those
who interpreted its characters, just what they thought, is. attested by many
surviving, scathing criticisms.

The spirit of the fifties still survived in 1865, when the Dramatic
Chronicle began to bid for favor, and no better method of getting public
attention could have been adopted than that of the "de Young boys,"
aged 19 and 17, respectively, Charles de Young being the senior. Had
they simply got out a play bill, their enterprise must have ended as it
began, but they did nothing of the sort. The only resemblance to a pro-

^33 I>AI l5 ,

* O'lLI RECORD Ot A'FAIHS— LOCAL. CRITICAL ANO THtlTRICAL

(OK». vi Cl», Sl'M

BAN FRANCISCO. CALIFORNIA. WnnNDSQAY, MAY 34, 1M«!J.

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TITLE PAGE OF THE DRAMATIC CHRONICLE
Showing form in which San Francisco Chronicle first appeared.

THE HOME OF THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE ON
MONTGOMERY STREET IN 1865.

Up-to-Date Methods of The Chronicle 65

gramme is that which the formal mode of printing the names of characters
and players- presents. In all other particulars it differed, and in the
material one of hour of issue. The publishers of the Dramatic Chronicle did

not wait until the theaters opened. It was well distributed
Newspaper in the mi< ldle 0I the day, when the restaurants were crowded,
From the an d they were numerous and large at the time. Indeed, in

Beginning 1865, and for many years afterward, San Francisco Was noted

as a city of eating places and lodging-houses rather than of
homes. There were establishments in the middle of the sixties that boasted
serving as many as four thousand dinners a day, and their proprietors were
pleased to assist in the promotion of the digestion of their patrons by placing
on their tables the freely distributed paper with its bits of news and its
bright paragraphs. This circulation was supplemented by distribution in
the theaters and other public places, and it soon became of sufficient im-
portance to cause advertisers to "sit up and take notice."

Before attempting to give an idea of the make-up of the Dramatic
Chronicle it will be interesting to describe the place and means of its
production, and the financial resources of its founders. The plant was not

large, nor was a great sum of money used in launching the
Chronicle's enterprise. The paper could scarcely boast a home of its
First own, for it was produced in the corner of a room occupied

Home by the job printing establishment of Harrison & Co., on Clay

street, east of Sansome. That was then the heart of the
city, and the neighborhood, for a dozen years afterward, remained the
publication center, the Chronicle, Bulletin and Call maintaining their plants
there until 1879, when the erstwhile Dramatic Chronicle moved into a build-
ing on the corner of Kearny and Bush streets, constructed for its especial
use. In the office of Harrison & Co., the quarters of the new aspirant for
public favor were very limited. Room was provided for two type frames,
and alongside of them there was a makeshift desk, upon which the printer
edited his copy; for editor and printer were combined in the person of».
Charles de Young, his brother Henry assuming the responsibilities of the
business management.

Despite these modest beginnings, the duties of the business manager
were by no means light. Harrison & Co. were hard-hearted landlords,
rnd took no account of the ambitions of their tenants. The rent of the

quarters of the Dramatic Chronicle and the use of the Adams
1° rt nt press on which the paper was printed was $75 per week,
Financial P al "t of which had to be paid in advance. This involved the

Transaction necessity of hustling on the part of the business end of the

concern. A loan of $20 was secured from a friend upon
the distinct assurance that it would be repaid at the end of the week. As
the circulation brought in no cash, the revenue of the paper had to be ob-
tained from advertisers. Perhaps the first patrons may have felt a little
dubious about receiving returns upon their investment, but such a feeling,
if it existed at any time, must have speedily disappeared when they dis-
covered the avidity with which the little sheet was read in restaurants and
theaters, and the disappointment betrayed when, the supply of. Dramatic
Chronicles ran short.

As already noted, the Dramatic Chronicle, in addition to the pro-
grammes of the different theaters in which it circulated, contained a varied

66 Journalism in California

assortment of original and selected matter, and some news, both telegraphic
and local. There were nine and a quarter columns of advertisements in the
first issue, the remaining six and three-quarter columns, the equivalent of
about two columns of solid matter of the present daily, being
of "the S devoted to reading matter. The most conspicuous feature of

Earliest the latter was the dramatic criticisms and the squibs directed

Chronicles against' the writers on the contemporary press. At that time
the local writers were well known to the public generally, and
their peculiarities were so well understood that none of the pungency of the
items touching on the foibles of the staffs of the American Flag, the Call,
the Alta and the Times was lost. The more satirical the allusions the better
the readers liked them.

Eestricted as were their quarters, the youthful publishers of the Dra-
matic Chronicle were able to spare desk room for Mark Twain, for which
he paid in contributions. In those days Mark had not acquired the fastidi-
. ( ousness concerning his surroundings for which he became
Contributions 8 n0 ^ e( ^ wnen fortune smiled upon him. He was then acting
to The as correspondent of the Carson Appeal. San Francisco was

Chronicle the mecca of all Nevadans in the sixties, and the representative

of a prosperous Nevada paper ranked as high as the editor
of the publication. So far as the desirability of the position was concerned,
there were few newspaper men in what afterward became the Silver State
who would not cheerfully have exchanged with the fellow fortunate enough
to be able to live in "Frisco." At any rate, Mark never developed a great
fondness for his sage-brush surroundings, and found life more congenial
"at the bay," even though he had to put up with a rude redwood desk in a
stuffy printing office.

Although Mark was the correspondent of an outside paper, he was
well known in the city at the time. His letters to the Carson Appeal were
widely read in San Francisco and throughout the Coast and were greatly
appreciated for their wit and quaint cynicism. He was far
an^ the from being celebrated in those days, and that probably accounts

Carson f° r the fact that the Dramatic Chronicle made no special brag

Appeal about his contributions. Many of the satirical bits about

San Francisco editors which appeared in the columns of the
little sheet were written by Twain to relieve his feelings. Whether because
he resented lack of appreciation, which he received in such full measure
afterward, or for some other reason, Twain delighted in prodding his fellow
workers on the press. The late William S. Wood, who at one time worked
with Clemens on the Virginia Enterprise, declared that his most biting
satires were devoid of malice, and that their production was uninfluenced
by any other motive than an irresistible desire to "stir up the monkeys."

Bret Harte's contributions were due as much to the desire to get
something out of his system as to any other cause. He, too, like Twain,
found the inclination to take a pot shot at public characters
Resort hard to resist, and many a bright squib whose anonymity pre-

for vents its identification, could be verified as his if the first edi-

Bohemians tor of The Chronicle were alive to bear testimony. Harte, like
Twain, frequently visited the young journalists at their
establishment, which became somewhat of a resort for early bohemians. In
subsequent years, numerous poems and stories written by Harte appeared

MARK TWAIN

Up-to-Date Methods of The Ch ronicle 67

in The Chronicle. Some of them bear no indication of having been copy-
righted, and it is not impossible that there may be fugitive bits of verse
from the. pen of the author of "The Heathen Chinee" concealed in the
columns of the struggling little daily which do not appear in any of his
collected works. And it is not unlikely that some of the facetious criticisms
of Twain's lectures delivered in San Francisco, which appeared in The
Chronicle, were written by himself. Anything he wrote would have been
welcomed, for he was persona grata in the office and understood the value of
publicity.

At this distance of time, and since Harte and Clemens have achieved
fame, a writer in reviewing the beginnings of The Chronicle may attach
undue importance to the fact that they helped to give its founders a start
on the path of popularity ; but no one who studies the methods
Up nS °^ * ne y° u thful publishers will fail to recognize that the really

a important factors in the early upbuilding of the paper were

Circulation the business acumen displayed in securing the attention of the
reading public, and the recognition of the marked preposses-
sion of San Franciscans for the drama. Ingenious managers have devised
many modes of extending the circulation of their journals, but it is doubtful
whether any one before or since hit on the expedient of making a paper do
double duty. In England it was once the custom to hire out copies of the
London Times, but, in that and similar cases, the middle man profited. The
double circulation of The Chronicle was secured in a different manner.
Every night, after the performances in the theaters, the de Young boys
gathered up the crumpled Dramatic Chronicles, smoothed them out as nicely
as possible and mailed them to interior hotels, thus obtaining for their sheet
a country circulation and considerable reputation.

Of course, reputation could not have been achieved had there not been
a reason for its formation other than the persistent circulation of sheets of
printed paper. That reason was very patent to the average reader of the
period, who had no difficulty in recognizing that the Dramatic
Critic™ 3 '* 10 Chronicle was meeting a real want in satisfying the desire for
Who Hit news concerning the drama. It was promptly perceived that

Hard the little sheet was no mere play bill. It contained a quantity

of interesting intelligence concerning persons in whom the
community tobk a great interest. That was real news to a people as fond
of the theater as San Franciscans were at that time and for a long while
afterward, and it was only obtainable in the paper which devoted close
attention to the fortunes of the artists who had visited the city or who con-
templated a visit. But this feature was overshadowed in importance by the
frank and discerning criticisms of Tremenhere Johns, who could be
facetious, scathingly denunciatory or enthusiastically approbative when the
circumstances seemed to call for such a display.

There was a tendency at first to regard with amusement the presumption
of the editor of the Dramatic Chronicle jn permitting his little journal to
take on the airs of the bigger and longer established papers,
f_? ign but their managers were soon obliged to recognize that ex-

Bulletin pressions of opinion when well found make an impression

Board which has to be reckoned with. They saw that the freely

distributed Dramatic Chronicle was being widely read and
that advertisers were appreciative of the fact and were beginning to seek

68 Journalism in California

its columns. The result of this increasing prosperity enabled the paper to
move into more pretentious quarters on Montgomery street, near Clay.
Here it was housed in one large room, a portion of which was devoted to
the typesetting, the front part being provided with a counter for the trans-
action of business. The young journalists now owned their type and furni-
ture and were especially proud of an imposing bulletin board' on which the
name of the paper appeared on a gilded background, challenging the atten-
tion of all passers-by and arousing interest in the fortunes of the aspiring
publishers.

This interest was being added to in other ways. The disposition of
Critic Johns to tell the truth brought the Dramatic Chronicle into collision
with Manager Maguire, who was then conducting the theater which bore

his name. Matilda Heron, a famous star of the early sixties,
With'a 11 whose prosperity had the effect of greatly increasing the

Theater avoirdupois of the tragedienne, essayed the role of Camille.

Manager Johns ventured the opinion that 200 pounds of adipose were

not calculated to create the impression that she was suffering
from consumption. The actress became very angry and demanded that the
Dramatic Chronicle should not be circulated in the theater. The exclusion
was resented, and a bitter fight ensued in the course of which the manage-
ment was severely criticised, The Chronicle being provoked to take such a
course by articles which Maguire printed in a little paper called the Daily
Critic, started by the irate manager to defend himself 'against criticism.
Among the assertions made by The Chronicle was one to the effect that the
manager freely admitted to the theater improper and notorious characters,
and that his negligence in this regard was resented by the public. The
charge caused Maguire to commence an action for criminal libel, which was
never prosecuted because the paper was fully prepared to substantiate its
allegation.

When the news of the assassination of Lincoln was received on the
morning of April 15, 1865, the Dramatic Chronicle was just three months
old and did not boast a telegraphic news service. But its editor was

resourceful. The morning papers had all been issued without
N" lrS ^ of a wor< ^ concerning the tragedy. At 8 o'clock the Western

Lincoln's Union Telegraph Company posted a bulletin with some de-

Assassination tails. The Dramatic Chronicle a few minutes afterward was

on the street with an extra, which was eagerly bought. The
company received more news and posted it, and the enterprising little
Chronicle spread it broadcast by means of a second extra. The people were
soon in a frenzy of excitement and began raiding the offices of the news-
papers of known secession proclivities. The Democratic Press, published
by Moss & Co., and edited by Phil Eoach, had all its type and material
thrown into' the street. The office of the Occident, a Methodist religious
weekly, edited by Eev. Dr. Fitzgerald, was treated in like manner, as was
also Marriott's paper, the News Letter. The police were called out, but
displayed no particular desire to interfere with the mob, the successive
spasms of which were duly recorded in Chronicle extras, the energetic little
aspirant for public favor having the whole field to itself, its bigger rivals
not having realized that something had happened. M. H. de Young acted
as reporter. He followed the mob, and as quickly as he could secure details
he wrote them up and ran to the office, where his brother Charles set up the

BRET HAKTB

Up-to-Date Methods of The Chronicle

Early
Efforts .

at
Illustration

type. Extras were put on the street after each occurrence, all of which were
snapped up by an intensely excited people eager for the latest news.

An interesting fact connected ■with the publication of the news of the
assassination of Lincoln is the recognition by its young editor of the de-
sirability of illustration. On the 16th of April a portrait of the assassin
Booth was printed. It was from a wood cut, which the reader
was informed had been produced in two hours. It was a good
likeness of the actor, . and was significantly adorned with a
noose. The Chronicle was so well satisfied with its perform-
ance it repeated it on the day after. A few days afterward
the scene of the assassination was illustrated in The Chronicle. Like the
portrait, it was from a wood engraving, the drawing for which was by
Tojetti, a well-known San Francisco artist. These pictures were not the
first to appear in The Chronicle. On February 2, 1865, a portrait of
Edward Everett was printed. It has been claimed for these publications
and some which appeared a short time afterward that they are the earliest
indications in an American paper of the disposition to make illustrations a
feature of daily journalism. '

CHAPTER IX

MANY INNOVATIONS BY THE BROTHERS, CHARLES AND
M. H. de YOUNG.

The Chronicle Begins to Make Investigations— Early Contributors to the Sunday
Edition — Charles Warren Stoddard, Prentice Mulford and Anna Cora Mowatt
Ritchie — The Chronicle's First London Correspondent — The Prefix Dramatic
Dropped — The Daily Morning Chronicle — The Earthquake of 1868 — An Extra
Issued While the Earth Was Trembling — The Enterprise of the Bulletin—
Career of the Alta California — Policies of the Bulletin and Call — The Attitude
of the San Francisco Press Toward the Railroad — Fear of Goat Island Becom-
ing a Rival City — When the Southern Pacific Was "The Railroad "—Little
Distrust of the Future — The Press Confident That the Railroad Would Promote
Prosperity — The Mania for Mining Stock Speculation — The Rush to the White
Pine Mines — A Hopeful Press on the Eve of Hard Times.

HE Dramatic Chronicle, though bright and breezy, did
not accomplish an immediate revolution in journalistic
methods in San Francisco. It is just possible that its.
repeated increases in length and width may have at-
tracted the attention of the established papers, but they
showed no signs of welcoming or discouraging the
stranger. They may have been annoyed at its proper
sity to do unexpected things, as in the case of the extras
announcing the news of the assassination of President Lincoln, but they
still looked upon it as a play bill and entitled to no special consideration
as such. It was not until the ambitious journalists began to engage in the
work of investigating the affairs of institutions that had thitherto enjoyed
immunity from criticism, that its mature rivals began to notice its existence
by intimating that it was a sensational sheet and therefore unworthy atten-
tion. Somehow or other, although the Call and the Bulletin vehemently
asserted that no one believed what appeared in the columns of The Chronicle,
its assertions usually created a stir, because they were backed up by details
which stamped them as something different from the not infrequent assaults
on municipal shortcomings in the past, which, as a rule, were unaccompanied
by specifications.

Perhaps the fact that the Dramatic Chronicle's advertising patronage
was increasing rapidly gave the older papers more concern than its innova-
tions. During the first three months of its existence advertisements in-
creased from nine and a quarter to fifteen and a half columns. As the
paper only contained twenty columns of matter, the proportion of reading

CHARLES WARREN STODDARD

Innovations and Investigations 71

was very small, but the brightness of the squibs, and the fact that a fair
share of the advertising was news of a sort looked for by the community,
caused the popularity of the Dramatic Chronicle to continue to grow.
There is evidence that the proprietors were well satisfied with
Patronage 6 ^ e success they were achieving, for on the first anniversary
of The °f the publication, January 16, 1866, there was a poem of

Chronicle felicitation headed "Our Birthday," and a cartoon, "The

Infant Hercules," which depicted The Chronicle in the act
of destroying its envious competitors, who were pictured as snakes. A few
days later, the first signed contribution of Charles Warren Stoddard ap-
peared. It was a poem entitled "To an Uncrowned Poet," and marked the J
beginning of a connection which endured for many years.

At frequent intervals during 1868 the Dramatic Chronicle contained
accounts of incidents in which Bret Harte figured ; there was also a manifest
disposition to boost Mark Twain, and the manner of the boosting is so sug-
gestive of the humorist's peculiar style that one might readily
Contributors pardoned for suspecting that he knew something of the

of The authorship. An editorial printed on July 3, 1868, in which

Chronicle remarks made in a lecture delivered by him on the previous

evening were liberally quoted and highly complimented, must
have been appreciated at a time when Mark was not so much of a stage
lion as he later became. A few days later, on the 11th of July, 1868, the
Dramatic Chronicle introduced to its readers Mrs. Anna Cora Mowatt
Bitchie, in a London letter, and proudly announced that she would there-
after act as its exclusive correspondent at the British metropolis. The letter
was noteworthy as foreshadowing the paper's intention to add to its literary
attractions, and because it was a month in transit. A couple of weeks later
a sketch entitled "The Eagle Bird," by Prentice Mulford, marked that
writer's advent in San Francisco journalism. He continued to write for
The Chronicle almost to the day of his tragic death, caused by the capsizing
of a sloop yacht which he was sailing on the Hudson river.

On the 1st of September, 1868, the Dramatic Chronicle appeared, as
"The Daily Morning Chronicle." In dropping the prefix "Dramatic,"
which it had borne for over three years and a half, the paper lost none of its
brightness. It was now a four-page sheet with seven columns
™ e to the page. It had literally grown by inches, its original

"Dramatic" length of column having increased from 13y 2 to 22y 2 inches,
Dropped and it contained about three times as much of all varieties of

matter as it did when it first made its bow to the public. On
its first page it presented an article, "An Evening With the Bruisers,"
the sub-title of which, "A School for Crime and Some of the Scholars,"
indicated the attitude of the paper toward the then popular exhibitions of
"boxing." The first number of the morning edition was particularly strong
in editorial, two and three-quarter columns being devoted to comment. All ,
the features of a full-fledged daily were introduced, including -commercial
and marine news. The contents of the twenty-eight columns _ embraced :
Advertisements, 15 columns; local news, 8^4 columns; telegraphic and mail
news, 2 columns, and editorial, 2% columns.

On the following day a poem by Bret Haite, entitled "The Hero of
Sugar Pine," was published. As already stated, there is no indication that
it was specially written for The Chronicle, and the same may be said of

72 Journalism in California

"The Stage Driver's Story," "The Executive Committee of the Colored
Population," "The Babes in the Woods" and "For the King," which ap-
peared at intervals between 1868 and 1874. The fact that they were not

copyrighted, and that no special claim was made for them is
and not slir P r ising, for the author had not yet found himself. The

Joaquin same comment applies to some short poems by Joaquin Miller,

Miller who, when they appeared, was glad to break into print on

terms which did not involve the recognition of the counting-
room. Later, Joaquin became a regular contributor of The Chronicle to
the great grief of the editors, who were called upon to decipher his wretched
chirography, which was also the despair of the printers, and was received
by them only under protest. Occasionally, the poet's copy was so bad it
had to be relegated to the waste basket. That was the case with at least
two letters of a series written from Europe, one of them, as nearly as could
be ascertained, dealing with the origin of the search of Jason for the Golden
Fleece, which he argued was not a myth, but a real occurrence.

On the 21st of October, 1868, the Daily Morning Chronicle was
afforded an opportunity to exhibit its enterprise under trying conditions.
The bay region on that date was visited by a severe earthquake shock, which

did considerable damage to buildings constructed in an un-
issued tra substantial manner. The first shock occurred at 7 :54 A. M.,
Under an d was followed at 10 :35 and 11 :20 by less severe shocks.
Difficulties At 1 :30 P. M., The Chronicle issued an extra containing

nearly six columns of fine print, consisting of brief paragraphs
devoted to describing the extent of the damage, and noting the few casual-
ties which accompanied the seismic disturbance. It was a fine piece of re-
porting, and a source of special wonderment to later editors, who were at
loss to understand how the feat was accomplished with the comparatively
small force at the disposal of the de Young boys. The explanation was
simple. It was a case of rapid organization. Everyone connected with the
establishment was drafted into the service. Carriers, printers, clerks and
pressmen each contributed his mite of observation in the district especially
assigned to him.

But the journalistic enterprise displayed in getting the facts before the
public so promptly is no more noteworthy than the sensible comment in the
editorial columns on the succeeding day, which was designed to be reassuring

and certainly had that effect. The editor remarked : "The
Shake severest shock San Francisco has ever experienced, or is likely

After to experience, has come and gone, resulting in less damage

All to life and property than attended the great earthquake in

London in John Wesley's time." This sounds like making
the best of a situation, as does also the assertion, made a day or two later,
that "the crowds that filled our streets on Tuesday did not wear an aspect
of sadness or depression. In fact, a stranger ignorant of the cause of the
excitement, would think they were enjoying some great holiday." But
there was no possibility of mistaking the significance of the statement made
in the real estate records on the following Sunday morning in which the
writer said : "The recent severe earthquake shock has caused a temporary
dullness, but no depression of values ;" nor would it be possible to interpret
the action of The Chronicle in getting out an illustrated earthquake edition
as an exhibition of lack of confidence, for it was filled with matter calculated

Innovations and Investigations 73

to convince the reader that while earthquakes may be put in the category of
undesirable manifestations, on the whole they do not remotely approach the
destructiveness of cyclones, floods and other phenomena unknown to San
Francisco.

With eight years and more of a start, the Bulletin, which was still
the paper printing the greatest quantity and variety of matter in 1866, was
in a fair way of being ousted from its premier position when The Chronicle
dropped the prefix "Dramatic." It retained its early four-
Enterprise P a S e f° rm ' an d the eight columns to the page inaugurated
of the some years earlier. The average of a period extending over

Bulletin several years after the above date shows about nineteen

columns of advertisements daily, to thirteen of varied matter,
in which telegraphic news was not conspicuous. Several issues of 1866-67,
and 1868 exhibit these proportions. Telegraphic news, 1 column ; mail
correspondence, 2 columns; reprint, 3 columns; editorials, 2 columns;
markets, financial and commercial news, 1% columns; marine news, %
of a column ; local or city news, 2y 2 columns, a large proportion of the latter
being bald accounts of the doings of municipal officials and very brief
court notes. In 1870 telegraphic news had increased to about three columns
daily, but some of it lacked up-to-datedness, being a day old. A little
earlier than this date the Bulletin departed from a long maintained practice
of grouping its news under a general heading in paragraphs without heads,
and ventured on the bold experiment of making it easier for the reader to
find what he was interested in by putting heads on some of its news items,
and, in the same year, it printed a map of the Franco-Prussian war zone,
one of its few ventures in the field of illustration.

The Alta, established in 1849, still retained its prestige at the close
of the sixty decade. In 1869 it absorbed the Times and was regarded by
the community as the representative of the substantial elements. Its course
was conservative, even in the matter of gathering and pre-
of ^he senting the news. Its subscription price was higher than

Aita fhd; of any other city paper, and it had a monopoly of the

California shipping and auction advertising, and of the general adver-
tisements of the jobbing trade. It was conceded to be the
special representative of the commercial element, and scarcely considered
as a rival the Call, which a few years earlier had been launched as a
co-operative enterprise by a few printers. The Call started out with the
purpose of obtaining subscriptions by offering its paper at the temptingly
low rate for the period of \2V 2 -cents a week, excluding Sundays, on which
day it was not issued. Its success was only moderate and its circulation
probably did not exceed ten or twelve thousand daily at any time during
the sixties. Its policy was in marked contrast to that of the Bulletin, which
for many years was extremely aggressive in its opposition to expenditures
for municipal purposes.

The joint ownership of the Bulletin and Call by the same proprietors
was the source of much ill-natured comment directed chiefly against the
latter. The Bulletin was managed by George K. Fitch, and the Call by
Loring Pickering and James A. Simonton, the latter, up to the time of
his death, being the representative of the New York Associated Press before
the formation of the present association, which was accomplished by a mer-
ger process. It was generally understood that the distinctly different policies

74 Journalism in California

pursued by the two journals was the result of an understanding which had
for its object the pleasing of all sorts of readers. Fitch, who was very
familiar with the conduct of municipal affairs and took an
and^all active interest in local politics, was to continue the course

Under One which James King of William and the march of events seemed
Ownership to have marked out for the Bulletin, while Pickering elected
to secure the patronage of a cosmopolitan community in
which the disposition to find lines of cleavage early manifested itself. The
mode adopted to accomplish this object was adherence to innocuousness,
and the editor of the Call developed a facility of avoidance which was
masterly, his journal on most subjects carefully avoiding the expression of a
positive opinion.

The Bulletin was the very antithesis of the Call. It expressed itself
with boldness and vigor upon most topics and its editorials were well
written. There is no doubt that between 1856 and 1870 it was the most
important factor in promoting the fortunes of the People's
M° thn" P aT ty> an< i it was well understood in political circles and by

of the the informed in the community that it had a voice in the

People's Party selection of candidates for municipal offices, a duty assumed
by a junta after the frightful miscarriage of the more demo-
cratic primary system in the years prior to the Vigilante uprising. This
usurpation came in for a great deal of criticism from rival journals as the
years wore on, and the memory of the saturnalia of extravagance and
corruption preceding 1856 faded from the public mind, but it was power-
less to shake the popular conviction resulting from Fitch's teachings, that
the only safe plan of dealing with municipal officials is strictly to limit
taxation. He had succeeded in persuading citizens that the consolidation
act framed by Horace Hawes, with its numberless restrictions, was an ideal
fundamental law, and that the best municipal government was that sort
which reduced public expenditures to a minimum.

There were few who openly dissented from this opinion until the close
of the sixties, when dissatisfaction began to be expressed over the failure
of the city to provide public buildings commensurate with its growing im-
portance. There was also a growing demand for a park
j elf " . which would provide a desirable resort for the people who

Restrictions were obliged to patronize a private pleasure ground when
they wished to take an outing. The Chronicle was one of
the earliest advocates of a more liberal course and insisted
that some means would have to be adopted to break through the self-imposed
restrictions if San Francisco was to be put in readiness for the influx of
immigrants which it was expected would follow the opening of the transcon-
tinental railroad. This event had long been a subject of comment in the
editorial columns of the city press, and, while there was much divergent
opinion respecting the methods adopted by the beneficiaries of the liberality
of municipalities, counties, states and the Nation, there was none respecting
the enormous advantages that were to accrue to San Francisco on the com-
pletion of the overland highway. The railroad was to effect a complete
metamorphosis. The earlier argument so diligently urged, that it was a
military necessity, ceased to be employed when it was seen that the civil
conflict must inevitably terminate long before the road could be completed,
and critics could be outspoken in their condemnation of methods which
smacked of monopoly without having disloyalty imputed to them.

Innovations and Investigations 75

Perhaps the earliest cause for general distrust was that excited by the
unconcealed desire of the constructors of the Central Pacific to head off all
rivalry. The city and county of San Francisco had joined with San Mateo
~ and Santa Clara counties in extending aid to a road connecting
^ears ^e city and San Jose, which was begun in 1860 and com-

Railroad pleted in 1864. The city had also extended aid to the

Monopoly Western Pacific to the amount of $400,000. The two sub-

sidies aggregated $600,000, which the railroad managers re-
ceived in the form of bonds, giving an equal amount of stock in exchange.
The city authorities were persuaded to surrender the stock, the consideration
being the return of $200,000 of the bonds, reducing the city's railroad in-
debtedness to $400,000. This action was criticised by a part of the
press and defended by another section. In 1865 the Southern Pacific was
incorporated, and it soon became apparent that the chief object of the
formation of the new corporation was to prevent the entrance of the Atlantic
and Pacific, a company which proposed to construct a railroad. as nearly
as practicable along the line of the thirty-fifth parallel of latitude, which
was to be aided by a liberal land subsidy.

It would be hard to determine the real sentiment of the community
toward the Southern Pacific at this time. The incorporators were the same
men as those who projected and were in the way of successfully carrying
out the Central Pacific scheme. They were Sacramentans,
Desir^for ^ut ^ a ^ ^ ac * seeme( ^ to excite no jealousy, perhaps because
Railroad it was plainly seen that while the overland railroad nominally

Connection had its beginning at that city its true terminus on the Pacific
would be San Francisco. Undoubtedly, the boldness, which
characterized the operations of Huntington, Stanford, Crocker and Hopkins
inspired. confidence in the success of their undertakings, and there was a
strong desire prevalent for railroad connection with the southern part of the
State, with which communication was slow and infrequent at the time. It
is not improbable that in addition to these motives the inertia produced by
the hostility to taxation for improvements played its part and made the com-
munity indifferent to the warnings of those who saw a menace to the future
prosperity of the State in the attempt to shut off rivalry. Whatever the
cause, the attitude of the State toward the project was sufficiently acquiescent
to permit Congress to adopt a course which excluded the Atlantic and
Pacific from entrance to the State for many years,

Somewhat different was the course adopted when in 1869 an attempt
was made to persuade San Francisco that it would be to its interest to permit
the Central Pacific to acquire Goat island for terminal purposes. Papers
which had not displayed any anxiety regarding the possible
^ ar evil effects of shutting out a rival transcontinental railroad

Goat Island became bitterly antagonistic to the proposal, and assailed it
Rivalry on various grounds. The Bulletin seemed to be particularly

apprehensive that the granting of the 300 acres, which was
about the area of the island, would result in the creation of a rival city in
the bay, which would seriously injure the business of the port of San Fran-
cisco. California's representatives in Congress would cheerfully have
•assisted in carrying through the project, but the uproar created deterred
them from acting, and Goat island still remains an asset of the Federal
Government, which may at some future day be put to a more beneficial
use than the limited one it now serves.

76 Journalism in California

Looking backward, and reviewing some of the circumstances attending
the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, it does not seem sur-
prising that its projectors met with a great deal of hostility. In the early

stages of the enterprise the utmost liberality was displayed
Practices of ty the people, and when the enthusiasm flagged it was
Railroad stimulated by devices that transcended ordinary criminality.

Managers Bribery was freely employed to accomplish purposes conceived

in the fertile brains of the builders. They were unwearied
in their pursuit of favorable legislation, and shrunk from no measure which
they deemed necessary to protect their interests. Although beneficiaries
on a huge scale, they repaid those who conferred the benefits by charging
excessive rates for the services performed by them and by practicing all
sorts of discrimination to advance their own personal fortunes and those of
chosen friends. It would have been extraordinary, indeed, if this condition
of affairs had not influenced the journalism of the time. And it did to a
degree hardly conceivable by the newspaper reader of today, who still hears
the echoes of the conflict which began while the Civil War was raging, and
which some politicians would like to see continued indefinitely, although the
cause for hostility has long since disappeared.

It is one of the anomalies of this long continued discussion that the
State, when there were the best of reasons for hostility to the railroad which
practically had a monopoly of transportation, and sought to perpetuate it,

refused to use the power it had to compel fair treatment;
Francisco while now, that the machinery for effective regulation exists,

Press and an< l is persistently exercised, there should be an affectation
the Railroad of fear of the machinations of the corporation. The railroad

has been rendered powerless for harm and it is amazing that
it should still be regarded with fear. It shows a lack of intelligent appre-
ciation of the situation. It is not difficult to follow the curious variations
in the attitude of the San Francisco press toward what for a long time
was called "the railroad,", an expression singularly inappropriate at the
present day, when three rival transcontinental roads are bidding for favor,
but which fittingly indicated the Southern Pacific corporation when it
absolutely controlled the transportation facilities of California, and made
freight and fare rates tell in an unmistakable fashion the story of a grinding
monopoly. As this narration progresses, it will be seen which papers fought
the railroad when the people needed a defender, and those who rushed to
the aid of the corporation will be pointed out.

The last spike of the first transcontinental road, built assumedly as a
war measure, was driven May 10, 1869. As heretofore remarked, the com-
pletion of the road was looked forward to hopefully by the community, and

this hopefulness found frequent expression in the press, some-
Forward times in a very exuberant fashion. There apparently was
With little distrust of the future, although there were rumblings of
Hope the trouble which culminated in the sand-lot disturbances

a few years later. The people of San Francisco had received
a foretaste of the evils of mining stock speculation, but, as is often the case,
they were more inclined to blame something else than the true cause for the
slackness of business, which it was expected would be ended with the advent
of the railroad. The town still believed that mining was the backbone of
San Francisco's prosperity, and could not be persuaded that there was a vast

Innovations and Investigations

Mining

Stock

Speculation

difference between the legitimate practice of that industry and dabbling in
stocks which had become very general toward the close of the sixty decade,
owing to the discovery of rich ores on the Comstock. The lode was first
found in 1853, but the extent of its richness was not disclosed until 1859,
when the argentiferous character of its ores was made known.

Although reports intimated that the ores were fabulously rich, the
Comstocks did not possess the attractiveness of the placers, but they drew to
Nevada a comparatively large number of prospectors, who found a country
abounding in minerals. Up to 1859 brokers were not very
prominent in San Francisco. The few who called them-
selves by that name dealt chiefly in local securities, and
when the legal tender money of the United States began to
depreciate they included the sale of currency in their opera-
tions. The San Francisco Stock and Exchange Board was formed in 1862,
with forty members, and the number suggested a nickname which was freely
applied, indicating the degree of esteem in which the profession was held.
On April 15, 1863, a second board, known as the San Francisco Board of
Brokers, was formed, and three months later still another organization,
named the Pacific, had come into existence. Altogether, in the short space
of a year, the professional dealers in mining stocks had increased to 160,
the first-formed board, yclept "The Forty Thieves," having doubled its
membership. It is hardly necessary to accompany this recital of the rapid
expansion of the cult with the statement that the community was infected
with the fever of speculation.

Perhaps the press was responsible for the attitude of aloofness which
the community assumed toward mining stock speculation in its early stages.
The Bulletin refused to recognize the operations of the first-formed board
as legitimate objects of newspaper notice, and declined to
publish the quotations of stocks for quite six months after the
opening of the exchange, and then did so seemingly under
protest, furnishing no further information than that contained
in the printed lists of bids and sales. The Call, likewise,
saw no reason for getting excited about a matter which was engaging the
attention of the whole community, and was nearly as cautious as its
evening contemporary. The Alta was more liberal, but none of the dailies,
until some years afterward, countenanced the belief that found almost
general acceptance that a lively stock market was a good thing for business.
It is interesting, nearly a half century after they were written, to read
articles in which the writers solemnly argued that a community cannot get
rich by gambling, and that marking up the price of stocks did not increase
their value any more than "changing the price tag on a coat would make it
a better or more valuable garment."

Early
Hostility
to
Speculation

CHAPTER X

STOCK GAMBLING AND OTHER TROUBLES
IN THE SEVENTIES.

Conditions Preceding the Adoption of the Constitution of 1879 — Henry George's
Connection With The Chronicle — General Protest Against Land Monopoly —
Disturbing Eesults of the Spanish and Mexican Land Grant System — The
Eevivifying Influence of the Finding of Large Bodies of Ore in Nevada — The
Big Bonanza Discovery and Its Effects — The Bage for Gambling in Mining
Stocks — Stock Gambling an Excuse for All Delinquencies— The Big Deals Put
Over — Mem Who Yearned for Misinformation — The Failure of the Bank of
California and the Death of Balston — Manufacturing Enterprises That Did Not
Succeed — Early Aspirations for a "City Beautiful" on the Bay of San Fran
cisco — The Industrial Activities of Balston- — The First Irrigation Project and
Its Outcome — Abatement of- the Speculative Mania — A Milked-Dry Community.

HE failure of superficial observers of the course of events
in California to go back far enough in their effort to as-
certain the cause of the so-called sand-lot troubles has
led to many misconceptions. If the inquiry is to be
thorough it must begin in the opening years of the
seventies, and it will be found in the editorial com-
ment and in the news columns of the San Francisco
press; and perhaps it is not taking an extreme view of
the matter to say that an editor who subsequently attained an inter-
national reputation as an economic writer started a movement, the progress
of which could not be arrested until a complete reform was effected. It
does not matter that it was not brought about in the mode he conceived to
be proper ; the really important thing is the fact that the monopolization of
the land which he dwelt upon was broken, and the abuse which he con-
demned was effectually and permanently done away with in California,
which, to his alarmed vision in 1870, presented the spectacle of' a great
State in the hands of a few landlords, who would ultimately control all the
land within its borders.

The writer referred to was Henry George, author of "Progress and
Poverty," who began his literary career, as many others have done, as a
typesetter, graduating from the compositor's case to the editor's desk.
George was a very earnest and an intensely sympathetic man,
George's Con- an< ^ ^ n ^ e P 013 ^ 011 °f editor he was disposed to inaugurate
nection With crusades against oppressors. In 1873, while acting as editor
The Chronicle of the Evening Post, he took up the case of some sailors
who had been brutally treated by the captain of the ship
Sunrise and his officers. His earnestness and the vigor of the prosecution,

Stock Speculation and Land Reform 79

which was conducted with the assistance of W. H. L. Barnes, one of the
city's foremost attorneys, resulted in the conviction and punishment of the
offenders. The case attracted international attention and won a decoration
for the attorney, and the editor of the Post received as his reward the
applause of the community. Prior to George's connection with the Post
he had done some editorial work for The Chronicle, which had, as early as
1869, begun to express its disapprobation of the policy of encouraging land
monopoly. The files of The Chronicle between 1870 and 1873 contain
several editorials on the land question which were probably written by him,
none of which, however, suggest the physiocrat idea of making the entire
burden of taxation fall on land. There is one in particular in which the
writer expressed views very similar to those which had earlier appeared in
an article published in the Overland Monthly over George's signature, in
which he predicted that the overland railway, approaching completion,
would prove a detriment rather than a benefit to the State of California.

George and The Chronicle were by no means alone in their antagonism
to land monopoly. All the papers recognized the big holdings resulting
from the liberal grants made by the Spanish and later by the Mexican
government as a great evil, but some of them did not permit
Opposition the criticism to extend to the gifts made to the overland
Land railroad by Congress. There is nothing surprising about

Monopoly this abstention, for it was supposed that the provision in the
subsidy acts which required the corporation to sell the granted
lands at a price not exceeding double the minimum charged for Govern-
ment lands would result in the alternate sections being promptly sold to
settlers. It was not foreseen that the device of contract and finance com-
panies, which had enabled the builders of the transcontinental railway to
acquire immense fortunes by contracting with themselves, would be em-
ployed to successfully lock up the most desirable land so that it might be
sold at prices in excess of those fixed by the subsidy act. And, besides,
the notions concerning the disposition of Government lands at the time
were exceedingly liberal, as the records will show, the opinion generally
prevailing that the sooner they passed into the possession of settlers, or into
private ownership, without restriction, the better it would be for the
country at large.

But the most potent influence in diverting attention from reform move-
ments was the sudden change in business conditions produced by a brisk
speculative movemet in the mining stock market in 1872, which was
accentuated by the discovery of the fabulously rich mines
The Big which afterward became known as "The Big Bonanza." This

Discovery lucky find in 1875 was immediately followed by a fever of
in 1875 speculation which made that of the previous decade seem in-

significant by comparison. The Big Bonanza consisted of
several mining properties on the Comstock lode in Nevada, known as the
Consolidated Virginia. These valuable mines were owned by four men,
John W. Mackay, James G. Fair, James C. Flood and William O'Brien.
From first to last they produced nearly two hundred million dollars to
which must be added about $138,000,000 more taken out of other mines
of the Comstock in previous years. It would have been impossible to
have injected into the channels of trade so vast a sum without giving a
great impetus to business and creating an atmosphere of prosperity fatal

80 Journalism in California

to the practice of economy. Easy come, easy go, produced a condition o
artificial briskness which did not reckon with the future. Everyone wa:
anxious to get rich, and everyone speculated in the hope that fortuni
would smile upon him. It was a great gamble in which the dealers usee
marked cards; the public was not unaware of the nature of the game
nor of the character of the men who shuffled, cut and dealt, but that mad<
no difference. They "sat in," and submitted to being fleeced with a meek
ness which deservedly earned for them the name lambs, which was con
temptuously applied by those who sheared them.

The press for a while was influenced by the glamour produced by th<
enormous output of the precious metals, and saw little that called for se
rious deprecation. The objection of the earlier period when a mereham
who dabbled in stocks was regarded with suspicion had disappeared, anc
few escaped the contagion. Everybody bought- shares. The minister anc
his deacons, the master and his servant, the doctor, the lawyer, the me
chanic and the day laborer were all eager investors, and
KTn'ne watched the reports of the fluctuations of stocks with fe-

Stock verish interest. The established press no longer satisfied the

Gamble unlimited demand for news and gossip about the mines, and

special class papers were called into existence. The little
sheet with quotations known as the Stock Eeport expanded into a good-
sized paper, chiefly if not wholly devoted to mining intelligence, and a new
candidate for favor, named the Stock Exchange, came into existence. The}
have both passed away, but during the period when the excitement rai
high they were in great demand and were read with much interest, nol
alone for their mining news, but as well for their bright and breezy com-
ment on current events and the foibles of the actors in the big speculative
game. They by no means occupied the center of the stage, for the dailies
generally were quick to perceive the eager interest of the community in al]
things pertaining to the mining game and ministered to it in various ways
The methods of the mine operators were essentially secretive and investiga-
tions started for the purpose of learning facts or to expose misrepresenta-
tions were common, and it may be added that exposure and truthful infor-
mation produced little effect on the public, the gambling mania having foi
the time destroyed its capacity for rational thought and action.

The occurrences of the three or four years while the excitement rai
highest would have provided subjects for many a novel, for they realized te
the fullest the saying that fact is stranger than fiction, and were suggestive
of plots which were hardly imaginable. Fortunes were made
Stocks an( j j og ^. ovenjight- the saloon-keeper of yesterday was the

the millionaire of tomorrow, and the man in comfortable circum-

Mischief stances who risked the hazard of the game emerged from i1

stripped. There were tragedies innumerable, and San Eran
Cisco's suicide list was abnormally swollen. Did a man go wrong in i
business way, the blame was placed on stocks. A trusted treasurer wai
shy in his accounts some $300,000, and the public did not wonder, for th<
explanation came promptly that stocks did the mischief. If a corrupt offi
cial seemed to be accumulating wealth too rapidly suspicion as to iti
source was diverted by the information that he had made a winning. Thi
community was easily satisfied and manifested a disposition to regard thi
basest forms of deception as a joke. A minister was given a tip in con

Stock Speculation and Land Reform 81

fidence by a wealthy operator. The pointer proved to be a false one, and
the generous manipulator with professions of regret made good the divine's
loss, but the deacons and the other members of his congregation who shared
the information confidentially imparted to him paid the piper.

The twentieth century speculator in grain probably gets as much excite-
ment out of a market in which a fraction of a cent represents points, but
movements of that sort cannot possibly appeal to the imagination as the tre-
w u . . mendous fluctuations in the value of shares expressed in dol-
Pine ^ ^ ars ^ in the 7 ears following the uncovering of the Big Bon-

Streets anza. The stock of Ophir, quoted at $65 on October 6, 1875,

Compared was down to $39 on November 4th. California was depressed

from $54 to $21 in an equally brief period. These rapid al-
ternations were not confined to the stocks of the mines known to be produc-
tive. Shares of companies concerning which the public had no information
other than that which interested parties chose to impart were as eagerly
dealt in as if they were dividend-paying concerns. If a strike was made
in a productive mine -the shares of all the companies located in the neigh-
borhood rose in sympathy. Men seemed to yearn for misinformation and
misrepresentation, and regarded with disfavor those who sought to open
their eyes to the facts. The manipulators were ready with calumny to
assail those who exposed their deception. If a newspaper persistently
warned its readers that they were being made the victims of adroit rascals
no attempt was made to disprove its accusations; a rejoinder from .the
accused that the accusing editor had been "stung" sufficed. It did not
occur to a community obsessed with the desire for gain to reflect that ex-
perience is excellently adapted to qualify a person to give advice.

Perhaps the most tragic occurrence of this saturnalia of speculation
was the death of W. C. Ealston, the president of the Bank of California,
which closely followed the temporary closing of the doors of that institution

on the 26th of August, 18.75. Ealston's business career was
o/the 6 one °^ exce ptional brilliancy. He was untiring in his efforts

Bank of to promote industry of all kinds, and his desire to stimulate

California the development of the resources of the State was unbounded.

His failures have sometime* been treated as avoidable
blunders, but some of them were based on economic ideas usually reckoned
as sound. He used his personal funds and those of the bank liberally to
stimulate manufacturing. The production of wool was a leading indus-
try of the State, but the raw material was shipped to remote countries to be
fashioned into cloth, which was sent back in the form of goods ready for
consumption. Ealston sought to correct this economic absurdity by found-
ing the Mission Woolen Mills. The factory succeeded in producing ex-
cellent flannel, cloth and blankets, but did not pay as an investment. It
was preposterous to bring carriages and wagons thousands of miles when
they could be made at home, but the Kimball Carriage Factory, although
■ it turned out fine vehicles, was a financial failure. The West Coast Furni-
ture Company started by him was equally unfortunate. We now know
why these ventures failed, and realize that manufacturing cannot be forced
in a region with a limited consuming population and a high labor cost,
but our knowledge is largely founded on his painful experiences.

That he failed in some enterprises does not detract from the fact that
he was the foremost man of his day in San Francisco, standing head and

82 Journalism in California

shoulders above his rivals and detractors. In addition to the concerns above
enumerated, he was instrumental in promoting many others.
of an ° He was es P ecial ly interested in irrigation and long before
Irrigation Californians had broke away from the belief that the future
Project of agriculture was bound up with the cereals he began to

stimulate experiments in intensive culture. He was among
the most energetic in promoting the project of redeeming the west side of
the San Joaquin valley by the construction of a canal which was to lead
the waters from Tulare to tidewater. He had unbounded faith in San
Francisco and was the first to give practical effect to the claim that it was
capable of being made "the Paris of America." He conceived the magnifi-
cent project of building the biggest and handsomest hotel in the world, and
the conception was nearly realized when he was drowned at Black point on
the bay, succeeding the closing of the doors' of the bank whose affairs he
had controlled for so many years.

The failure of the bank was precipitated by a struggle for the control
of one of the great mining properties, the contestants being the men who
originally had possession of the Bonanza mines. Although the public
had unbounded faith in the solidity of the Bank of California,
Fattureof there were occasional doubts expressed respecting the pro-
Bank of priety of a man in the position of Ealston engaging in such a
California contest, but the common assumption that all those heavily in-
terested in the institution were standing together hardly left
room for the suspicion that he was acting on his own responsibility. Al-
though Ealston was regarded as a man of immense wealth, capable of
taking care of himself, he was generally associated in the popular mind
with the group with whom he operated and which was commonly spoken of
as the bank crowd. It is not necessary to go into details of the contest in
which Ralston was worsted, further than to say that it made a heavy draft
on the institution's reserves. So unexpected was the outcome that on the
morning of August 26th large deposits were made by well informed opera-
tors. But this confidence was disturbed with startling rapidity. At 2 p. m.,
a small crowd had gathered at the teller's window; at 2:15, a run had
developed ; at 2 :40, Ealston stepped from his private office and ordered
the teller to cease paying. The next day the banker, while bathing at Black
point, as was his daily practice, was seized with a cramp and was
drowned.

' The effect on the community was amazing. The failure and the rapidly
following tragedy divided the city into two camps. Concern for the effect
of the suspension of payments was subordinated in the minds of the majority
by genuine sympathy for the victim of what a later and
Dv'ded calmer judgment decided was loose banking practices. A

Into Two P ar t °f the P ress was sweeping in its denunciations, endeavor-

Camps ing to throw all the blame upon Ralston, disregarding the

fact that those interested with him would have cheerfully
shared the benefits if he had won out. At first, it was proposed to declare
the bank insolvent, but the liability of stockholders act proved an obstacle to
such a course and rehabilitation was agreed upon, William Sharon shoulder-
ing the chief responsibility. As soon as the affairs of the bank could be
thoroughly investigated payments were resumed, and the institution
promptly resumed its old-time leading position. On the 4th of November

INTERIOR COURT OF PALACE HOTEL.
Erected by W. C. Ralston in 1875, destroyed by fire of 1906.

Stock Speculation and Land Reform 83

following the Nevada Bank was started by Flood, O'Brien and Mackay,
but it never attained to the financial importance of its rival.

The failure of the Bank of California did not put an end to the
speculative game, but there was a visible abatement of the fever and a
growing disposition on the part of the people to take an account of stock.

Before the death of Ralston The Ghronicle had frequently ■
of the pointed out the pitfalls prepared for the feet of the unwary,

Speculative ou t after that event it was unceasing in its exposure of the
Mania false pretenses of manipulators, its -most effective work in

this regard being statistically accomplished. Day after day
articles were published showing how purchasers of stock were duped by
the issuance of false statements, and the large amounts paid in the form of
assessments, which were consumed in the maintenance of high-priced offi-
cials and handsomely appointed offices, were paraded. But, while the
statements made were undeniably truthful, it is doubtful whether they
would have made much impression if the meretricious appearance of pros-
perity could have been maintained. That was impossible, however, because
the community had been milked dry; and, unfortunately, the lack of diver-
sification of industries had prepared the way for something like a complete
breakdown. When the State was visited by a disastrous dry season in
1876-77, it so curtailed production that prosperity fled, and, in its place,
there was unemployment, discontent and those uneasy manifestations which
are taken for a desire for reform, but, as the sequel in this case shows, are
sometimes a realization of the couplet:

The devil was sick, the devil a monk would he;
The devil was well, the devil a monk was he.

CHAPTER XI

THE STOEY OF GEOEGE M. PINNEY AND A BIG
LIBEL SUIT.

Result of Agitation Against Land Monopoly — The Product of the Bonanza Mines —
An Extremely Capable Chief Clerk of the Mint — The Meteoric Career of George
M. Pinney — Broker, Millionaire, Enlisted Man and a Political Boss All Boiled
Into One Personality — Pinney Meets With Reverses and Flees the Country —
His Adventurous Voyage to South America — Sends Out S. 0. S. Calls, Which
Are Not Heeded — Pinney Surrenders Himself as a Deserter From the Navy —
Pinney Makes Accusations Which Create a Sensation — Politicians Invoke the
Law of Libel — The Chronicle Assailed for Exposing Political Corruption — How
an Editor Got Rid of Some Bad Eggs — Pinney Has an Attack of Forgetful-
ness — Pinney 's Financial Operations Cause the Wreck of Several Banks — Crea-
tion of a Bank Commission the Result of The Chronicle's Exposures.

HE facts cited establish beyond dispute that the so-called
sand-lot troubles did not come from a clear sky. There
were evidences of discontent long before the eruption
took place, and they were by no means the product of
riffraff talk. They were genuine manifestations of dis-
satisfaction with a condition of affairs which meant mis-
chief and were a source of apprehension to the thought-
ful. Henry George's diatribes against land monopolists
and the vigorous editorials of The Chronicle may be chargeable with stir-
ring the public mind, but it cannot be urged that they gave an untrue pic-
ture of the situation or that their prophecies might not have been fully
realized had not the agitation stirred up by them effected a genuine and
enduring reform. It is a fact that the bettering of affairs was not accom-
plished by the adoption of George's panacea, and it is equally certain that
The Chronicle did not foresee the method by which land monopoly was
eventually rendered impossible in California, but, on the other hand, it is
true that the agitation of the seventies paved the way for the adoption of a
system of land taxation which made it impossible for the owners of great
tracts to preserve them intact.

It has been related how the agitation which seemed to have opened so
formidably in 1872 was interrupted by the spasm of prosperity produced
by the discovery of the Bonanza mines and the successful workings of other
properties on the Comstock, which, according to a computation made by a
careful stockbroker, added at least $340,000,000 of the precious metals
to the world's stock in the course of a few years, but the conciseness with
which the salient facts of the great speculation was presented pre-
vented the mention of some details of a highly interesting character to

The Chronicle Assails Corruption 85

the student of economics, and still others the relation of which would corrob-
orate the assertion that the city was half crazed by the passion for gambling.
It is not essential that the reader should be informed that the
Circumstances caller of one of the stock boards advertised his prosperity by
Linked wearing a fresh pair of pantaloons every day in the year, or

Together that it was considered a joke for a nourishing broker to be

seen with his wife on the Cliff House road rather
than with some other "lady," but, in order to understand clearly the
origins of a trouble which caused the closing of several banks, the temporary
obscuration of a national party in the State, one of the most bitterly wagett
wars against a newspaper and which finally played a leading part in causing
the adoption of the Constitution of 1879, it will be necessary to relate with
some circumstantiality a number of occurrences which, when properly
linked together, tell a story abounding in more exciting experiences than
can be found between the covers of the most sensational novel.

During the early part of his incumbency of the position of superin-
tendent of the United States Branch Mint in this city, Oscar H. La
Grange had for his chief clerk a man named George M. Pinney. Pinney
was a person of exceptional attainments, as the sequel will
Extremely show. There was no doubt about his competency. All the
Capable civil service examiners, aided by a perfect merit system, could

Clerk not have found a more capable chief clerk. Had Pinney ap-

plied his talents exclusively to the performance of his duties
he would have been a model functionary, but he had other fish to fry.
Whether all of his qualifications were known to those who placed him
in his position, or whether he developed them after he became chief
clerk, is a matter of doubt, but it is certain that very shortly after he entered
the Mint he began to take a hand in local politics, so far as they connected
up with 'the selection of Congressmen and Senators. La Grange, who
owed his appointment to President Grant, who knew him as a soldier, was
an easy-going sort of individual, who readily fell in with the idea that the
chief duty of a Federal official was to help along the men who put him
into position. Consequently, he rarely interfered with his principal sub-
ordinate, who, in spite of his devotion to politics, seemed to experience no
difficulty in running the office.

But, despite* his proficiency, Pinney was only a man after all, and
could not perform the impossible feat of being in several places at one time.
He would have experienced little trouble in holding down his chief clerk-
ship job and manipulating local politics concurrently, but
A Too when he attempted to combine with those activities that of

Sided" stockbroker on the floor of an exchange in a period of great

Functionary excitement, he found that he had his hands more than full
and had to be relieved. He was too useful a man to be
.permitted to get out of politics, so another position was found for him, and
this time it was in an office in which there were no strings of duty on him.
He was made chief clerk of the naval pay inspector, but under conditions
which might have been regarded as a degradation by those who did not
know all the circumstances. In order to fill the position, he had to be
enlisted in the Navy. The enlistment was merely a formality, for, as the
records show, Pinney from the beginning was the boss and Eufus C.
Spalding, his nominal superior, was as putty in his hands.

S6 Journalism in California

Pinney, for a while, was very fortunate in mining ventures entered
nto after his purchase of a seat on the exchange. In 1872 he was sup-
losed to be a millionaire, and it was known that he had an interest in

properties ' in Idaho which were regarded as valuable. But
'fnney's he was not a cautious operator. While not a plunger, he

Meteoric was bold and quite ready to take big risks, and when the

iareer Bonanza craze was at its highest he was speculating with

great freedom. No one thought of asking where the large
urns of money staked by him came from. In the midst of a crowd of
renzied people all bent on getting rich, a bank burglar might have invested
lis loot if it consisted of marked greenbacks without exciting suspicion,
.nd, for a man who had the reputation of being on "Easy street," and who
ras supposed to own rich mines in Idaho, it was not thought strange that
le should be putting up large sums on margin. Nor was it considered a
natter worthy attention or comment that he should be operating with the
hief local boss of the Bepublican party, the man who had the reputation
if arranging delicate affairs with the Legislature for the railroad managers,
ind who enjoyed the intimate friendship of a United States Senator and
Congressmen.

Like many others, who for a while seemed to be riding on the crest
if the wave of prosperity, Pinney suffered reverses. His mining adventures
n Idaho went to the bad, and the sources of his former supplies of "mud"

were dried up, and one fine morning he was numbered among
^ n, i® y the missing. His sudden disappearance excited little atten-

mth tion on change ; there were too many who were dropping out

jeverses without explanation to create a commotion, and, . as no one

seemed to be hurt, no fuss was made. Something like a
ensation was created in social circles as it was understood that George had
leserted his wife, a very estimable woman, and had fled with a disreputable
! emale. The memory of the affair was revived by the steps taken by Mrs.
Pinney to secure a divorce, and occasionally San Franciscans were reminded
hat Pinney was still alive by floating rumors from South America that
le was flourishing like a green bay tree, especially in the neighborhood
if the high-class gambling houses of the cities of the Latin-American
•epublics, the most persistent of the stories locating him in Valparaiso,
Chile.

Eumor told the truth, but not the whole truth. Pinney did reach
Chile, but he was not satisfied with life as he found it in the seaport of
Valparaiso. Perhaps he might have been had his former pals continued
t to pay attention to his demands for money, but they refused

Bargain 8 to ^° so ' doubtless thinking that a man so faT away as Chile

With the could not harm them. They had furnished him with $12,000

Skipper when he fled on the British ship Baron Ballantyne on the

1st of September, 1875. This amount, if frugally used,
hould last a resourceful man like Pinney a long time, they thought, and
et it go at that. But Pinney was not frugal, but he was resourceful. That
le was not frugal is attested by the fact that when he got tired of the
roman who had accompanied him he paid the Captain of the Ballantyne
^2000 to put him ashore at Pernambuco. It is said that the bargain was
'acilitated by the fact that the skipper had become infatuated with the frail
me. Be that as it may, Pinney was put ashore in the Brazilian port and

The Chronicle Assails Corruption 87

thence made his way to Chile, where he enjoyed himself getting rid of the
remainder of the amount with which he was staked by his wicked but
careless partners.

When Pinney's S. 0. S. calls went unheeded, he resolved on the course
which resulted in making a great deal of exciting and important San
Francisco history. He pulled up stakes in Chile and sailed for the
Pin 's United States, and one fine May -day in 1877 he made his

S. O. S. appearance in the city of Washington. Notwithstanding the

Calls fact that he had formerly enjoyed the intimacy of Senators

Unanswered and Eepresentatives, not to speak of numerous Federal offi-
cials, he neglected to call upon them, but, instead, marched
straight to the Navy Department and there surrendered himself as a
deserter. It appears, however, that they were not looking for deserters
of his kind, and treated his surrender as a useless formality. But Pinney
was, for the moment, disposed to treat it seriously, and sought the cor-
respondent of the San Francisco Chronicle at the national capital. To
him Pinney told a story of fear of being arrested that had haunted him
for a couple of years or more, and which he had sought to assuage by sail-
ing several thousand miles for. the purpose of delivering himself to the
authorities. He also told a tale which was telegraphed to The Chronicle,
the appearance of which on the morning of May 7, 1877, shook San Fran-
cisco from center to circumference, and which caused nearly as great a
commotion at the national capital, pointing as it directly did at corrupt
practices of naval contractors.

Pinney's relation can be condensed into the statement that he charged
certain contractors named Montaigne, Hanscom and Jordan with improp-
erly obtaining large sums of money for repair work alleged to have been
done at the Mare Island Navy Yard, and that Senator Aaron
Made** 10118 A ' Sar g ent and Congressman Horace F. Page knew of the
by irregularities. He also stated that Page had paid $3 apiece

Pinney for a number of votes cast for him, and indicated in a

general way the existence of a ring which had succeeded in
gobbling a vast quantity of arable land under the loose provisions of the
desert land act. The accusations fitted in with charges iterated and reiter-
ated by the New York Sun, and which were being investigated by Congress,
that large sums of money were being spent under the guise of repairing to
build new ships which at that time was accounted a high crime by Demo-
crats, it being the policy of the party, which had a big majority in the
House, to discourage the creation of a Navy, at least until they could con-
trol its construction. The reason assigned for this attitude was the belief
that the Navy Department's affairs were being corruptly administered by
the Eepublican Secretary, Secor Eobeson.

The appearance of the dispatch in The Chronicle on the morning of
May 7th was th» signal for an attempt to have its proprietors criminally
indicted in every county in the State, but the effort proved successful in
one county only, that of El Dorado, which contained the home town of
Page, who had followed the honest occupation of stage driver before he
engaged in politics. This forced The Chronicle to incur heavy expenses,
its witnesses being compelled to. travel great distances in order to testify.
The trial was a protracted one and was bitterly contested. The accused men
had a number of prominent attorneys and The Chronicle was well repre-

88 Journalism in California

sented on its side by Alexander Campbell and 'David S. Terry. Pinney
. . was the principal witness, being on the stand several days.

Invoke^ 118 During the course of the trial he made many revelations con-
the cerning the methods of the men in control of the destinies of

Libel Law the Eepublican party in California, and of the means

adopted by them to improperly secure large tracts of Govern-
ment' land. In his testimony on the first trial he touched upon the methods
of the Navy pay inspector's office, and disclosed what was known to only
a few at the time, that at least two San Francisco banks held large quan-
tities of worthless paper which had been accepted as security for loans
made to him.

The first trial resulted in a failure to convict; the proprietors of The
Chronicle were not acquitted by the jury, but the people of the State showed
their confidence in the paper by greatly adding to its circulation and by

converting a big Eepublican majority in California into a
Chronicle's rousing lead for the Democrats. The Chronicle had always
Exposure of been stanchly Eepublican, but never hesitated to assail what
Abuses it, considered abuses. Very early in its career it had come

into collision with the petty municipal bosses, who resented
interference with their slatemaking. Following the example of the People's
party junta, they sought to put a ticket forward which was filled with
objectionable names. Charles de Young protested to the manipulators, who
asked him what he was going to do about it, facetiously reminding him that
The Chronicle was a Eepublican paper and would have to stand by the
party. It was a late hour at night when he received the refusal to be
decent, but not too late to convince the bosses that they had made a mis-
take. He hurried to the office, called in the Managing Editor and asked
him what editorial he had. He was given the titles of several stirring
Eepublican articles, whooping up the national candidates. "I don't want
any of them," was the abrupt comment. "Have you nothing else?"
"Absolutely nothing," was the reply. As no explanation was made, the
Managing Editor ventured to lighten the gloom occasioned by the prospect
of being called upon to produce a couple of columns of editorial at mid-
night by a joke. The Chronicle at the time had a special' writer on
agricultural subjects who lived in the country, and a batch of his matter
had just been received by mail. It was usually redolent of the soil and
ponderously technical, for he was a real farmer, so the M. E. supplemented
his statement that there was nothing with the information that he had "Stock-
ton's manure," the name by which the ribald compositor designated Mr.
Stockton's contribution. "Just the thing," said Mr. de Young, slapping
his thigh. And the next morning The Chronicle appeared with a learned
discussion of different brands of fertilizers, an eloquent appeal to plow
deeply, and other abstruse comment, but not a word of politics. The
hint was taken, and the objectionable impossibles were taken off the
ticket.

Perhaps the political fortunes of the men who dragged The Chronicle
to Placerville would have been better served if its proprietors had been
acquitted. But they were insistent upon a second trial, and that forced the
paper to exert itself to the utmost to fortify the charges made by Pinney,
for there were signs that he had accomplished his purpose and that some
sort of an understanding had been reached with those with whom he had

The Chronicle Assails Corruption 89

been at variance. When first on the stand Pinney told a straightforward
story and showed a marvelous memory for dates and minute occurrences;
p when testifying at the second trial he developed as great a

Loses y capacity for forgetting as he had had earlier for remember-

His ingj and The Chronicle was nearly put in the awkward posi-

Memory tion of discrediting its chief witness. Nevertheless, the prose-

cution failed, the jury disagreeing, as in the first case. It is
impossible to tell just what influences were used to "pull down" Pinney,
but a guess may be ventured that it was in some way connected with the
fact that civil suits were instituted by the banks that had accommodated
him when he was dealing in stocks. It was a forlorn hope, but their man-
agers evidently believed that Pinney, if pressed, would present evidence
which would connect solvent persons with his transactions. The attempt
failed, however, but it succeeded in depriving The Chronicle of its chief
witness. He went back on his word, and struck hands with the men on
whom he had "peached."

The banks never recovered a cent from Pinney or his partners. The
paper on which they had loaned so freely was worthless, but it was so
cunningly devised that it might have deceived men more cautious than San
Francisco bankers were durinsr .the seventies. It had the
B^k^ 1 sanction of the Secretary of the Navy and was known as

j^g Navy pay certificates. This designation sounded well, for

Wrecked the certificates plainly recited that the amounts they repre-

sented would be paid when funds should be available. They
purported to be issued to the contractors Montaigne, Hanscom and Jordan,
but whether the latter were always cognizant of the use of their names has
not been divulged. The mess was too nasty to be stirred up much, and
the civil suits were not pushed and were finally sidetracked. The banks
most seriously, involved were the Saving and Loan Society and the Masonic
Bank, the two holding Pinney's notes secured by the "fake" certificates to
the amount of half a million dollars. Pinney's exposure and the vigorous
demands of The Chronicle for a better system of bank examination resulted
in the creation of a commission by the Legislature of 1877-78, which did
some effective work. Its inquiries divulged the extreme weakness of several
banks, whose doors were closed by the Commissioners.

Prior to the creation of this Bank Commission, there was absolutely
no public supervision of the affairs of California financial institutions. The
law required that reports should be made at regular intervals, but there
was no one to challenge their accuracy, and depositors were
p° hl . in the dark respecting the real status of the institutions to

Supervision which they entrusted their money. They were called upon to
of Banks exhibit a degree of confidence which would be regarded as

amazing nowadays. The Bank Commission act of 1877-78,
however, was only a half-way reform, because of the parsimony of the
Legislature, which refused to make adequate provision for clerical services,
and, as this narrative progresses, it will be seen that the same fault was
responsible for the failure of a provision of the Constitution of 1879 to
anticipate the regulative activities of the Interstate Commerce Commission. 1
The people saw clearly the necessity for the application of restraining
measures to curb the rapacity of the transportation corporations, and
created a body and gave it ample powers to carry out the popular will;

Journalism in California

but, as soon as they had accomplished that much, they ceased their efforts,
elected men to the Legislature who were obedient servants of the railroad
and accepted as Eailroad Commissioners and members of the Board of
Equalization men practically nominated by organizations who were to be
subjected to their surveillance.

CHAPTER XII

THE CHRONICLE'S SUCCESSFUL FIGHT FOE
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1879.

A Misrepresented Organic Law — Assaults on the Men Who Framed It — The Un-
reasoning Fears and Unscrupulous Methods of Its Opponents — The Chronicle's
Vigorous Fight for the Instrument — Big Sums of Money Expended to Beat
the New Organic Law — Fruitless Efforts to Muzzle The Chronicle — Threats of
Withdrawal of Patronage Fail to Intimidate — The Charge That It Was a Sand-
Lot Instrument Refuted — Framed by the Best Legal Talent of California —
The Chronicle's Defense of the Freedom of the Press — Composition of the
Constitutional Convention — A Thoroughly Discussed Document — Settling a Ques-
tion of Newspaper Makeup — Meetings Organized by M. H. de Young — A Big
Meeting in the Mechanics' Pavilion — Victory Celebrated by Fireworks.,

HEEE probably never was a more misrepresented and
misunderstood political instrument than the Consti-
tution adopted by the people of California on the 7th of
May, 1879. Embracing, as it did, nearly every reform
the American people are now seeking to bring about, it
was denounced throughout the length and breadth of
the land as a mob-inspired monstrosity, and for many
years was held up as an awful example of what can be
accomplished by agitators when the electorate cuts loose from "born"
leaders and tries to make laws ior itself. It would seem impossible that
men and their work could be as wantonly libeled as were the framers of
the Constitution of 1879, and the product of their long and arduous
labors, in these days when printer's ink makes it possible easily to ascertain
the facts concerning any event of enough consequence to be fully reported,
but it was chiefly because so much attention was devoted to the instrument
by the newspapers that the truth about it was obscured. There was so
much evidence that men shrunk from studying it. Even a historian of
the standing of Bryce, confessed, in acknowledging a blunder committed by
him in discussing the subject, that he had neglected to examine the only
evidence available — that contained in the files of contemporary newspapers
— because to have done so would have consumed too much of his valuable
time.

It is now indisputable that the allegations made when the uproar
against the sand lot was loudest were false, and that the men who opposed
the adoption of the instrument did so because in most cases they were the
victims of an unreasoning fear that an attempt to curb the aggressions of
corporations would prove destructive to business. This was the view taken

92 Journalism in California

by the representatives of all the "interests," whose members organized
themselves for the purpose of fighting the instrument and raised a large
sum of money, which, in a spirit of braggadocio, they declared was big
. enough utterly to wipe out the agrarian and socialistic spirit

of lc *^ ms which they said was halting the progress of California and

Unreasoning driving capital from the State. The sum commonly named
Fear as being at the command of those conducting the campaign

against the "new" Constitution was $750,000, and the proba-
bilities favor the belief that the amount was not greatly exaggerated. It
was used to hire halls and speakers and to buy space in newspapers. Every
journal in San Francisco but one was secured for the work of assault, ana
while the opinions of the editors may have been honestly expressed, it is
nevertheless true that they temporarily profited by turning over a large
part of their papers to the bureau for a consideration.

The one paper which advocated the adoption of the instrument was the
San Francisco Chronicle. Undeterred by menaces, and unmoved by
promises, it took on its shoulders the herculean task of answering all the
arguments and misrepresentations directed against the instru-
Job S Under° US ment h ? a11 the s °- called "leading" journals of the State. It
taken by was a stupendous job and at the outset it practically had no

The Chronicle support, but, as the campaign advanced and the people be-
came aroused, the paper succeeded in securing assistance,
for it also found it necessary to effect an organization, hire halls and induce
speakers to lay before voters the arguments in favor of the adoption of
the new organic law. The financing of the movement for adoption was
wholly assumed by Charles and M. H. de Young and backed by the re-
sources of their paper, the San Francisco Chronicle. Its efforts were some-
times referred to derisively, but it was impossible to charge that it was
helped by the "interests," for they were all on the other side. The only
support received was that which the people gave, but in the end it proved
more profitable than that accepted by the other papers from the railroad,
the insurance companies, the banks, the gas companies, the water company
and practically every capitalist, merchant and business man of consequence
in the city, who were all lined up against the instrument.

It was a trying decision for the two brothers de Young to make, and
there was more than one conference before it was reached. Virtually to
assume an attitude of opposition toward the elements of a community from
. which a newspaper derives the main part of its direct support

Muzzle ° required nerve. Under ordinary circumstances, the business

The P ai "t °f a community does not seek to interfere even remotely

Chronicle with the policy of a newspaper. Only two such blunders

have been made in California. The first was when the Vigi-
lantes attempted to drive the Herald out of business in 1856, an act
which the sagacious leader, William T. Coleman, condemned, and that
of 1879, when pressure was exerted on advertisers to induce them to with-
draw their patronage from The Chronicle. The first effort was practically
successful, for the Herald died a lingering death. That directed against
The Chronicle had a different outcome. When intelligence was brought
to its proprietors by patrons who objected to underhand methods, that a
committee of women, headed by the wife of a prominent railroad official,
was threatening withdrawal of patronage from merchants advertising in

DENNIS KEARNEY
The Sand Lot agitator of the seventies.

Successful Political Fight 93

The Chronicle, the bold announcement was made that The Chronicle pro-
posed to discuss the Constitution on its merits, and that if any attempt was
made to interfere with it doing so, it would resent it, or, to put it plainly,
if it was struck it would strike back with all the vigor at its command. •

The intimation sufficed; the intimidating committee was called off
and during the remainder of the campaign the bureau trusted to defama-
tion and such arguments as it could advance to encompass the defeat of the
instrument. The silly lie most persistently iterated was that
Not a S which misled the East and caused • it to condemn the pro-

Sand-Lot posed organic law without giving it so much as cursory atten-

Instrument tion. That any Eastern editor who denounced it as a sand-
lot document ever read it through is inconceivable. The com-
ment in the most prominent journals was silly twaddle, and could all be
boiled down into a declaration of belief that the mob had taken possession
of California. The Eastern press simply accepted the accusations of the
bureau formed by the interests as facts. That they should have done so
is, perhaps, not surprising, for the weight of so-called respectability was in
the scales against aspirations for reform ; but it is cause for wonder that an
investigator of the standing of the author of the American Commonwealth
should have accepted statements so easily disproved.

The Constitution of 1879 was not the product of the sand lot; it was
framed by the best legal talent of the State, and it voiced the demand of
the people for a system of taxation which would destroy the tendency to
hold immense tracts of land in the ownership of single in-
bsMtoe dividuals, and responded to the urgent need for the regula-

Best Legal tion of transportation and other corporations. The move-
Talent ment in favor ■oi holding a convention was started years be-
fore the name of Denis Kearney became known and before the
sand lot was used as a meeting place. On the night of September 7, 1877,
Kearney made a speech in Dashaway Hall and announced that a meeting
would be held on the lot in front of the City Hall, then in process of con-
struction, on the following Sunday. But two years earlier resolutions had
been adopted by the Senate and Assembly of the Legislature of 1875-76
denouncing land monopoly, and, on the 3d of April, 1876, an act was
passed authorizing the submission to the people of a proposal to hold a
Constitutional Convention. The election was held on the 5th of September,
1877, and the proposal was carried by a vote of 7-3,460 in favor, 44,200
voting against. In conformity with the provision of the existing Constitu-
tion, the Legislature of 1877-78 passed an act calling the convention and
ordering an election of delegates, which was held on June 19, 1878.

Bryce's indictment of California Legislatures, that they were composed
of mediocre men and were hopelessly inefficient and often extremely cor-
rupt, while in the main correct, did not accurately describe the body which
assembled in December, 1877. The session was productive of
Reforming several reform measures, and members seemed animated by a
Legislature desire to remedy land abuses. It is true that many were
under, the domination of the railroad, but there was a vigorous
opposition to the attempt of Stanford, who personally super-
vised the operations of a lobby which sought, to put through legislation de-
sired by the railroad. It was at this session that Grove L. Johnson, the
father of Hiram, introduced an act in the Assembly which had for its

94 Journalism in California '

object the muzzling of the press. It was known as the retraction law, and
was justly suspected of being inspired by the desire to gag The Chronicle,
whose course had made it obnoxious to the interests and especially to the
Central Pacific managers. The Chronicle defended the freedom of the
press with its characteristic vigor, and succeeded in beating the measure in
the House, in which it originated. It followed up its victory by an assault
on the privilege which rascals had thitherto enjoyed of persuading Grand
Juries m several counties to bring indictments simultaneously against pub-
lishers of newspapers, and had placed on the statute books a law which
limited the place of action to one county only. This principle was sub-
sequently embodied in the Constitution of 1879, which recites that "indict-
ments found, or information laid, for publication in newspapers, shall be
tried in the county where such newspapers have their publication office, or
in the county where the party alleged io be libeled resided at the time of
the alleged publication, unless the place of trial shall be changed for good
cause."

The convention finished its work on the 3d of March, 1879, and the
Constitution was submitted as a whole to the electorate of the State on
May 7, 1879. It was printed in its entirety in the newpapers, and

during the sixty-five days between its submission and the
Thoroughly election it received a more thorough discussion than any
Discussed document ever submitted to the voters of this country. There

Document were some of its provisions that received more attention than

others, but none was ignored. When The Chronicle went
into the contest, it did so with the intention of winning. The de Youngs
were satisfied that it embodied the principal reforms for which they had
contended when they decided upon advocating its adoption. If they had
had any doubts on the subject they would have been speedily resolved by the
action of the combined interests in forming a bureau equipped with
$750,000 to beat the new Constitution. They had an uphill job before
them, but they never faltered. Day after day their paper discussed every
phase of the rather voluminous instrument. Column upon column was de-
voted to argument and the editorial rooms were converted into a bureau of
information. It was no unusual thing during the noon hour for men to
abridge their lunch for the purpose of having some moot point resolved by
the editor in order that they might successfully controvert an argument
advanced by an antagonist.

Never was a paper so . completely engrossed by one subject as The
Chronicle was during the sixty-five days between March 3d and May 7th,
1879. An article written by one of the editors, captioned, "One Hundred

and One Eeasons Why the New Constitution Should Be
c l iv Adopted," was submitted to Charles de Young, who directed
Engrossed that it be used the next morning. The pressure of other
Paper matter was so great the editor concluded that it could be held

over until the following day. About midnight Mr. de Young
appeared in the office and asked what position had been given the 101 article.
He was told that it had been crowded out. "It must go," he repeated.
"Come and show me where to put it," demanded the editor who added
that there were already some thirteen columns of new Constitution matter
in the paper and little else but advertisements. They adjourned to the
composition room and inspected the forms. It was a hard problem he was

Successful Politic al Fight 95

called upon to solve, but the solution- came promptly. "Take out this,
and this, and this," he said, rapidly indicating a number of features on
the last page ; and the next morning The Chronicle appeared minus the
bulk of its commercial matter. "They won't miss it," he remarked, "they
(the public) are thinking too much about beating us to pay much attention
to markets and stocks." His brother, M. H. de Young, was called upon to
display equal energy in another field. On him devolved the work of or-
ganizing meetings and securing meeting places, in the city and elsewhere.
The task was not a light one. The bureau of the interests early in the
discussion deliberately hired every obtainable hall for the purpose of shut-
ing out the advocates of the new Constitution. They forgot the Mechanics'
Pavilion, Mr. de Young secured it, and the biggest indoor meeting ever
convened in California was held under its roof. The floor area was so
large that there were practically three meetings in full blast at once, there
being enough speakers to go around.

When the morning of May 7th arrived, M. H. de Young was so con-
fident of success he laid in a stock of fireworks for the purpose of celebrat-
ing the victory. There being but one proposition, the vote was easily and
quickly counted, and the night was still young when bombs,
in'Seadiness skyrockets, roman candles and red fire announced to the

for people of San Francisco that the new Constitution had been

Victory adopted by a decisive majority. The vote was an unusually

full one, 145,093 out of a total of 161,000 qualified electors
casting their ballots. When the vote was finally canvassed, it was learned
that the instrument had been adopted by a majority of 10,825. Words
cannot describe the disappointment and chagrin of the men operating the
bureau. They had derided the influence of The Chronicle and laughed at
its predictions of success. They did not realize that, for the time at least,
the people of California were bent on securing the reforms which the new
Constitution promised them. Their astonishment was so great that they
forgot that in denouncing The Chronicle for bringing about the result
they were paying the paper an unequivocal compliment, which it deserved,
and that at the same time they were advertising the fact that its rivals were
destitute of real influence.

The Constitution of 1879 deserved the support which the people gave
it, for it provided the means to effect every reform demanded by them. It
created a Eailroad Commission with powers as plenary as those conferred
upon the Interstate Commerce Commission by Congress, or
Deserved ^y * ne D0( ty which now effectively restrains the transportation

Support companies of the State. It created a State Board of Equali-

It Received zation which, had not a corrupt court deliberately misinter-
preted the provisions of the article creating it, must have
completely eradicated the practice of favoring large landowners at the
expense of the general taxpayer, and which, even after its emasculation,
sufficed to remove the chief abuses which raised the cry of unequal taxation
and made the growth of land monopoly impossible. The adoption of the
Constitution of 1879 was followed by the cry that it was driving capital
out of the State. It is true that some owners of money left California, but
they were chiefly of the sort the State was well rid of, and, besides, they
had milked the kind of people upon whom they preyed dry. Their de-
parture was so speedily followed by an era of prosperity that a careless

Journalism in California

writer might easily fall into the blunder of assuming that their exit had
something to do with the change for the better, if he were not warned that
the true cause was the sudden awakening to the fact that it pays a people
better to devote their energies to the development of resources than it does
to speculate or sit in a game with men who hold marked cards.

CHAPTER XIII

OLD-FASHIONED METHODS OF NEWSPAPEKING
DISAPPEAEING.

Journalistic Progress in San Francisco — History iir Outline — Appearance of News-
papers During the Seventies — Breaking Away From Conventionalized Methods —
San Francisco's First Eight-Page Paper — An- Old-Time Supplement— News-
paper Offices on Side Streets — Publication Center in Unsavory Quarters —
The Chronicle's Bold Move to Kearny Street — First San Francisco Newspaper
to Have a Real Home of Its Own — Newspapers That Lacked Confidence in the
Future — Changes in Ownership of Papers — The Bulletin and Call Under Picker-
ing, Fitch and Simonton — Printing on a Hand-Fed Press— Highly-Paid Hand
Composition — Newspaper Career of Henry George — Robert Louis Stevenson and
the Newspapers — Bryce's Opinion of The Chronicle — Writers With Imagina-
tion — The Pioneer Sunday Magazine of the Daily Press.of America — Reporting
Sports and Sport News — San Francisco's First Sporting Editor — Newspaper
Staffs Recruited From the Pulpit, the Schoolroom and the Bar — The Chronicle
a Training School — Expounders of "Sound" Democratic Doctrine — Founding
of the Argonaut — The News Letter and Its Writers — Samuel Seabough a
Forceful Editorial Writer — Boosting a Senatorial Candidate and Its Results — ■
The Chronicle Gets a New Managing Editor.

' NE swallow does not make a summer, nor does the recital
of a single episode in the career of a great journal con-
vey to the reader an accurate impression of the steps by
which it reached the position and influence that en-
abled it to make an almost single-handed fight against
the combined interests of California. Neither is it
possible by reviewing the growth of a single paper to
tell a story complete in all of its details of the progress
of journalism in San Francisco. That could be done only by following the
course of each journal from the date of its first issue down to the present
time, an almost impossible feat, even if its performance were desirable. It
is feasible, however, to give the reader a tolerably comprehensive idea of
the expansion of the modern newspaper by using. the career of a typical
journal as an illustration of the processes by which distinction is achieved
and a place won among the great publications of the world. The Chronicle
may fairly be placed in this class, and the description of its exploits and
growth, even when the connection between them and the development of
the city in which it is published is not always perfectly clear, will convey
to the acute reader a distinct impression of the causes that contributed to
the alternations of prosperity and adversity of the community.

But there is much in the story of the growth of a newspaper such as
The Chronicle that is so closely linked up with the history of the city that

98 Journalism in California

its narration must bear some resemblance to historical writing. In the

nature of things, however, the picture must be a mere outline, for events

will be referred to which when they occurred occupied col-

History umng and pageg in the recital of their details, but which must

Outline be dismissed with a few lines, even when the more important

happenings have been culled from the vast number recorded
during the fifty years since the birth of the paper. There will
also be descriptions in such a narration of innovations in journalism made
from time to time during the past fifty years which will be recognized by
, those in the profession as part of the experience of every growing news-
paper, and some for which the claim will be made that The Chronicle was
the first to institute them. Whenever such a claim is made, it will be ac-
companied by corroborative dates, and the reason for assuming priority
will be given. .

In an earlier chapter, the appearance of the daily San Francisco papers
was described as very conventional. Those in the business saw peculiarities
in their publications, but to the average reader, excepting so far as size
differentiated them, the various sheets must have looked very
Looked much alike. They used type of the same sort, and the

Much distaste for display was shared by all. They were not as

Alike fearful of telling in head lines the contents of articles as the

Philadelphia Ledger, which during the Civil War occasionally
headed a bit of startling intelligence, "Important, If True," and let it go
at that; but they were very chary of repetition, and assumed that people
who bought papers did so to read what was printed in them, and that it
was entirely superfluous to tell the story twice. Perhaps the fact that it
was a less busy age than the present accounted for the absence of detail
in heads, but it is more than likely that the poverty of uncultivated imagina-
tion was responsible for such uninformative heads as "Miscellaneous,"
"General News," "Coast Intelligence," "Eastern Telegrams," and, occa-
sionally, the very interesting announcement "By Wire," which was evi-
dently supposed to be a sufficient voucher that what followed would be
worth reading and, therefore, "like good wine, required no bush."

The Chronicle, even in the days when it maintained the prefix "Drama-
tic," showed a disposition to break away from the very serious set head and
tried to convey an idea of the contents of an item in its caption. The
conundrum habit had a great vogue in the late sixties, and
Breaking during the seventies, and was responsible for numerous queer

From Old heads. whose meanings are difficult to guess because we have
Methods lost the key to the riddles. There was also a pronounced

tendency to add piquancy to the heading of an item by using
nicknames, or referring to eminent citizens as Tom This or Bill That, and
the modern investigator is confronted with numerous obscurities, due to
the use of slang which has long since lost its familiarity. But these were
mere verbal departures. The form of the head was regulated and as
rigorously adhered to as the laws of the Medes and the Persians. The
composition room may have had something to do with this adherence to
the stereotyped head, but, whatever the cause, it was not departed from
for many years, and when a departure was made it was not in the direction
of varying the type as is now the practice in most papers, but by increasing
the number of lines of heading, all of which were set in modest type,

m ftptttcbco CbiEimicU.

VOL X-NO 135

DOUBLE-SHEET EDITION-SAW FRANCISCO SUNDAY DECBMBEK 19 1869 PEK WEEK-12 l-g CENTS

TITLE PAGE OF FIRST EIGHT-PAGE PAPER PRINTED IN
SAN FRANCISCO

The Pioneer Sunday Magazine 99

On December 19, 1869, The Chronicle printed an eight-page edition
for which the claim was made that it was the largest paper ever issued in
San Francisco up to that date. It was a Sunday issue and represented a
s brave attempt to anticipate the modern Sunday magazine.

Francisco's ^^ c ^ original articles as it contained were from local con-
First Eight- tributors. The editor of those days was working in a re-
Page Paper stricted field. The number of trained writers was relatively
small and the propensity to break into print had not yet
developed. There were no syndicates, and the Eastern press was not very
far in advance of that of the West, so far as matter of a real or near
literary character was concerned. The New York Ledger, Street and
Smith's Weekly, Gleason's Literary Companion and "Dime Novels" were
still the favorite literary pabulum on the other side of the Eockies, and the
California editor who sought to make an interesting paper with a pair of
scissors, a paste pot and a pile of Eastern exchanges had a hard time of it,
and his paper exhibited the fact plainly. Some time in the late sixties the
Evening Bulletin began to issue a two-page supplement, almost wholly
devoted to the reproduction of matter derived from other papers. It usually
started a page with a short story, the remainder of the two pages being
made up of excerpts from magazines and reviews. The selections were
well made and the supplement was held in great esteem by the serious-
minded, who found plenty of good information, but the major part of it
was from European publications.

This feature of the Bulletin was maintained until the sale of the paper
by its owner, George K. Eitch, and a copy of it produced in 1870 presented
the same appearance, typographically and otherwise as it did twenty-five
years later. This conservatism exhibited itself as well in the
Offices* 1 " 6 ' daily Call, edited by his partner, Loring Pickering, and in
on Side the methods of the two editors in securing the results at which

Streets they aimed. The Call and the Bulletin had their business

offices on Montgomery street, and their mechanical and
editorial rooms were on Clay street, between Montgomery and Sansome,
a neighborhood much affected by the San Erancisco press until 1879, when
The Chronicle occupied its new building on the corner of Kearny and
Bush streets. There was nothing pretentious about the quarters of the
two publications of Messrs. Pickering and Fitch. Clay street, in that por-
tion in which the newspapers had established their mechanical and editorial
departments had long been favored by vegetable and poultry dealers, and
there was a particularly unsavory market in the block between Montgomery
and Sansome. Only the careful observer passing along the narrow thor-
oughfare would note the modest sign in a dingy hallway bearing the simple
legend "Editorial Eooms." This brief announcement sufficed to discover
to the seeker where three of the leading morning papers were made. The
Alta, which still flourished throughout the seventies, did not divorce its
publication office from its printing department and editorial rooms, but
so far as advertising itself was concerned, it did not make a much braver
showing in its California-street quarters than its rivals, and, like them,
it enjoyed the odors of a near-by general market.

This retiring disposition is explained by the fact that until Mr. de
Young made his bold move of constructing a building especially adapted
to the needs of a newspaper, publishers seemed to be possessed of the idea

100 Journalism in California

that any makeshift place would serve the purpose of getting out a daily-
paper, and, considering all the circumstances, they were justified in the

assumption, for the making of a newspaper during the years
Afniid aPerS P rior to the opening of the decade 1880-90 was a compara-
of the tively simple affair, and publishers catered for a not very ex-

Future acting public, or at least one which had not acquired the idea

that innovation stood for improvement. The printers who
started the Morning Call in 1856 were very modest in their aspirations.
One of the number, who subsequently dropped out and established himself
in Victoria, B. C, later remarked that they were "men who put on no
frills." Their object was to print a newspaper on lines familiar to them,
and it is probable that the thought that there might be a great change in
methods never occurred to them. It would have been surprising if a co-
operative body, made up of men with scarcely any capital, had entertained
a more ambitious aim than to make a living out of their venture.

That, indeed, was their purpose, a fact attested by the ease with which
they were induced to surrender their shares when they received what they
considered good offers for them. In 1867 Pickering began to acquire an

interest in the Morning Call, and in the course of a couple of
of U San° nS years the men who started the paper had disposed of their
Francisco entire holdings in the concern. Pickering had been associated

Journalism with Pitch as early as 1852 in the publication of a paper in

Sacramento, known as the Times-Transcript, which was later
removed to San Francisco, when the glories of the city nearest the placer
diggings began to pale before the rising commercial importance of the port
on the bay. They sold the Times shortly after its removal to San Francisco
and bought the Alta California, which, in turn, they disposed of to Fred-
erick W. McCrellish. The Alta during its career underwent many changes
and had numerous owners. It was once the property of David C. Broder-
ick, who, however, only maintained his interest in it long enough to carry
through some of his political undertakings. Its era of greatest prosperity
was that enjoyed when the business interests of the city withdrew their
patronage from the Herald in 1856 at the instance of the Vigilance Commit-
tee. After the sale of the Alta to McCrellish, the partnership of Pickering
and Fitch was severed and the former went to Europe, where he spent
several years.

When Pickering acquired control of the Morning Call the old-time
partnership with Fitch was resumed. J. W. Simonton, who was previously
associated with them, also engaged in the venture. Most of the time of

the latter, however, was spent in the East or devoted to the
ofttie 68 ^ ew York , Associated Press, one of the numerous news

Bulletin gathering concerns subsequently amalgamated into a national

and Call . association. The conduct of the Bulletin, which ceased to

issue a morning edition, devolved on Fitch, and the Call was
looked after specially by Pickering. The two editors, who managed to
maintain policies which may have appeared divergent to the uncritical as it
was disclosed in their respective papers, were really very harmonious and
understood each other perfectly. They worked in the same room, sitting at
desks almost side by side. They were not very fastidious concerning their
surroundings. Ella Sterling Cummings, in her "Story of the Files," has
given us a description of the sanctum. It was an inside room, lighted by a

The Pioneer Sunday Magazine 101

skylight, which, on the occasion of her visit, was in such a leaky condition
that a puddle of water stood on the floor. Their quarters, however, were
no better than those assigned to the remainder of the editorial force ; those
occupied by the compositors were far superior, for they boasted light and
ventilation from the noisome street.

The Chronicle's editorial and composition rooms were situated on the
same side of Clay street and resembled in a general way those of its two
competitors, for the rivalry between the papers at that time was not confined

to the morning editions. Like the Call's editorial rooms,
Street a those of The Chronicle were situated in the rear part of the

Publication second floor, light and air being reserved for the compositors.
Center The pressrooms of the paper were on the ground floor of the

premises in the rear of the Clay-street building, and opened
out on Sacramento street. During the seventies, The Chronicle was using
a four-cylinder press, the printing for a considerable period being from
the type on flat sheets of paper, which were folded with a special machine.
Before growing circulation had suggested to The Chronicle proprietors the
desirability of the perfecting press the Call had installed a French machine
which was the first and last of the sort brought to the Coast, and was one
of the few modern presses imported into the United States from Europe.
The possession by the Call of this fast French press failed to have the effect
which the installation of two Hoe perfecting presses by The Chronicle
produced a few years later. There was no disposition manifested by its
owners to increase the size of their issues, and the Call and Bulletin con-
tinued to be put forth as four-page papers. This lack of enterprise prac-
tically put The Chronicle's four-cylinder press in the running and per-
mitted its owners to turn out a larger edition than its rivals. But while
there was no trouble on this score there was much in the matter of time
which had to be remedied by the introduction of faster machines and the
stereotyping process. Before that was resorted to columns of type were at-
tached to the surface of a rapidly revolving cylinder, against which the
sheets of paper were carried on impression cylinders to the surface of the
revolving cylinder, the feeding being done by hand. The process, com-
pared with that of the perfecting press, which permits the use of an indef-
inite number of plates produced by stereotyping from one or more forms,
seems slow, but the multiplication of cylinders and the practices of printing
four-page papers permitted the issuance of editions which seemed numeri-
cally formidable in those days.

The type was all set by hand, and the price of composition, like that
of white paper, was high. In the closing years of the seventy decade San
Francisco printers were better compensated than in any other city of the

Union, excepting Washington, where an artificially high rate
Pafd^" was ma i n tained through the instrumentality of the Govern-

Hand ment Printing Office. The price per thousand ems was 60

Composition cents, and this fact casts doubt on the assertion made in one

of the encyclopedias that Henry George, "although of un-
usual intelligence and energy," found great difficulty in supporting himself
while in San Francisco, "and was often reduced to extreme want." The
statement is followed by the explanation that "this was in part due to his
uncompromising hostility to the all powerful railway interests and to other
monopolies." As George was reputed to have been a good printer, this is

102 Journalism in California

obviously a mistake, for it is inconceivable that any compositor should have
been reduced to want in San Francisco at the time. As a matter of fact,
George was never an object of persecution, as has been represented, nor was
his hostility to the railroad of a character calculated to provoke reprisals.
Had there been any such feeling, George would not have been permitted
to enjoy the sinecure of the gas inspectorship of San Francisco, to which he
was appointed by a Governor by no means unfriendly to the railroad. When
the fight over the adoption of the Constitution of 1879 was in progress,
George arrayed himself against the instrument and his career at that period
was not marked by any particular devotion to the objects which early re-
formers sought to achieve. He certainly was completely at variance with
the people of California on the question of excluding the Chinese, and he
appeared to believe that no other reform was desirable excepting the de-
struction of land monopoly. His proposed remedy to abate that evil did
not disturb the railroad because of the existing arrangement which freed
its lands from taxation until they were patented.

It is idle to speak of a competent reporter or compositor suffering want
in San Francisco during the seventies, and the tales that Henry George met
with such an experience in this city must be regarded as pure inventions.
His abilities were well enough known to enable him to reach
Newspaper the position of managing editor of an evening paper and in
Henro ^ a * ea P ac ity ne ma( ie his mark as a news gatherer and the

George promoter of reforms. He had been recognized as a capable

writer before he took the managing editorship of the Evening
Post, and, doubtless, could have obtained a remunerative position at any
time after leaving that paper had he not become absorbed in his project of
Writing a book which had for its purpose the destruction of land monopoly.
Instead of making it appear that the literary lines of George were made
hard in San Francisco, the fact should be recognized that it was a munici-
pal salary which enabled him to prosecute his great work in comparative
comfort. The George story is matched by another linked up with the his-
tory of San Francisco journalism of this period, which represented Eobert
Louis Stevenson as being employed in the city department of the San
Francisco Chronicle in the spring of 1880, and that he performed his
work "in such an unsatisfactory manner that the item he was assigned to
write had to be given to another reporter to put into English suitable to
the readers of the paper and the latitude of California," and that lateT "he
continued to write articles for the Sunday edition of The Chronicle, but
that there is no indication that he thought affectionately of them, for he
never rescued them from the files." If The Chronicle could have added the
name of Eobert Louis Stevenson to the long list of distinguished authors
who contributed to its columns in early days it would have done so
cheerfully, but the records of the paper were carefully examined several
years before the fire, and his name was not found on any pay roll during
the period of his sojourn in California. The only boast the paper can
make in connection with Stevenson's work, is that it was one of the first
journals in America to recognize the merits of his writing, as Mr. McClure,
who placed one of the author's first stories with The Chronicle,, can
testify.

The slur contained in the article of one H. W. Bell in the Pall Majl
Gazette which sought to convey the impression that the city editor of The

"——-—-"■>——•;>

HENRY GEORGE
Author of "Progress and Poverty."

The Pioneer Sunday Magazine 103

Chronicle in 1879 was unable to recognize good English, or having it
offered to him rejected it, is amusing in view of the testimony of another
English writer, James Bryce, who stated in his "American Commonwealth"
, that at this particular time "the activity of The Chronicle

Opinion counted for much, for it was ably written and went every-

of The where," and that, indeed, was the case. If The Chronicle

Chronicle had a distinguishing characteristic it was its propensity to

get away from the dry-as-dust methods of its contemporaries,
and with that object in view it was quick to engage good men when they
presented themselves. It is true that the comparatively limited space neces-
sitated brevity of treatment in dealing with ordinary occurrences, but it is
astonishing to note in running through the files how often room was made
for a bit of imaginative writing at the expense of crowded-out local. A
case of this kind was presented when some reporter was permitted to de-
scribe the exploits of a flying ship which made regular trips between San
Francisco and China, consuming only three or four days in the passage.
The writer located the station for arrivals and departures on the corner of
Montgomery and Clay streets, and, in his mind's eye, he saw a big business
doing. The article was unsigned, but it was probably the product of the
pen of Thomas J. Vivian, who had a fondness for the fanciful and could
make the seemingly impossible appear very probable.

The journalism of the seventies was breaking away from the traditions
of the first two decades of the city's growth. On December 19, 1869, The
Chronicle printed the first eight-page daily paper produced in San Fran-
cisco, and the announcement appeared in its columns that it
TbePioneer was the largest paper printed in the city up to that time.
Sunday That might be recognized as an important event, if it had

Magazine not been so greatly overshadowed by subsequent perform;

ances, but its size was not as significant as the intimations it
gave forth of entering a field hitherto occupied by a couple of weekly papers,
which were issued on Sundays, and whose demise, seems in some way linked
up with the new departure of The Chronicle. It would scarcely be true
to say that this issue was a distinct forerunner of the modern Sunday
magazine, nevertheless there is abundant evidence in its makeup that there
was a struggle to get original matter, and to present readable selections.
There are many features common to the modern Sunday magazine con-
spicuous by their absence. One seeks in vain for the voluminous accounts
of sporting events with which readers are now regaled. Sports were not
wholly ignored, but they were not reckoned as of enough consequence to
be reviewed in a Sunday paper. Occasionally, however, a column was de-
voted to the subject, which was modestly headed "Sporting Notes." Thomas
E. Flynn, until recently proprietor of the Wasp, was probably the first
sporting editor in San Francisco to conceive the idea that sports would
occupy a big share of attention in this country, and before the seventy dec-
ade was well advanced he was recognized as the sporting editor of The
Chronicle.

To be the sporting editor of a newspaper in the seventies did not imply
that the writer filling the position devoted himself to that particular sort of
work. A good reporter in that period was qualified to deal with any matter
that came up; he could report a sermon with the same facility that he de-
scribed a horse race, and was equally at ease at a "slugging" contest as at

104 Journalism in Ca lifornia

a college commencement. Since that time there has been a great deal of
specialization in journalism, but there were many reporters in the seventies
who would easily fit in to many of the positions created under the change

of method. The jokesmith in dealing with this phase of
Editor S journalism has managed to convey the impression that when
of the the sporting editor combined with his duties the work of

Seventies reporting a religious occurrence that he brought to his task

the cultivation of the stables, but, oftener than otherwise, the
reverse was the case, for in the days when there were no colleges of journal-
ism the local room was frequently recruited from the pulpit and the school-
room, the training of which was not at all calculated to impair the efficiency
of those who entered the field which presented an opportunity for a better
all around acquaintance with mankind than they were able to obtain in
the callings they abandoned. The local rooms of San Francisco journals in
the seventies also drew upon the legal profession, and not a few who found
the job of reaching eminence in the law an uphill one resorted to newspaper
• work as affording a surer income than practice in the courts. The ranks
of the editorial writers were filled up in the same fashion and embraced a
number who found writing a more congenial occupation than teaching the
young idea how to shoot or hunting for clients. Occasionally, a doctor
strayed into journalism, but medicos rarely achieved success.

It would be impossible to name all those who contributed to bringing
about the manifest change in San Francisco journalism which occurred dur-
ing the seventies. Long before the close of the decade the work of reporters

had ceased to be what it was when George E. Barnes de-
Time scribed it as "beneath contempt." This deservedly harsh
Reporters criticism came from a man well qualified to pass judgment,

for he was an excellent observer and had a distinctive style.

The paper on which he worked had other good writers on
its local staff, notably Hugh J. Burke and Barbour Lathrop, but the limita-
tions of the Call were an obstacle to effectiveness. Its director was as firmly
convinced as Whitelaw Eeid that the newspaper of the future would be a
sort of epitome of daily events written by Macaulays, a view which ignored
the fact that the historian of the English revolution, while not a diffuse
writer, required a great deal of space in which to express his views and
paint his word pictures. Perhaps the most significant fact in the history of
San Francisco journalism during the seventies was the value attached to a
training on The Chronicle, and the ease with which an attache of that paper
could obtain a position on a rival journal. Among the number who worked
on The Chronicle during the seventies who transferred their services to
other fields may be mentioned A. B. Henderson, who filled the city editor's
desk under Charles de Young for several years and subsequently became
managing editor of the Call and later of the Examiner. Albert Sutliffe,
one of the best all around men in San Francisco journalism in the closing
years of the seventies, did the dramatic criticism of The Chronicle and the
book reviews. On the outbreak of the Tong King rebellion in 1884, which
resulted in the establishment of a French protectorate over that part of
China, Sutliffe was sent to the seat of war and had the distinction of pene-
trating the lines of the rebels known as the "Black Flags" and securing an
interview with the chiefs, which, after its publication in The Chronicle, was
translated and printed in the leading journals of France. After the quelling

The Pioneer Sunday Magazine 105

of the rebels, Sutliffe made his way to Europe, his object being to visit the
principal countries with a view of studying their horticultural and iflori-
cultural methods for the purpose of writing a series of articles for
The Chronicle. Subsequently he acted as Paris correspondent of the
paper.

Among the contemporaries of Sutliffe were Daniel ,0'Connell, Arthur

McEwen, Joseph Goodman, Chester Hull, Will N. Hart, W. S. Dewey.

Thomas E. Flynn, James V. Coffey, Frank Gassaway, John Timmins,

Ernest C. Stock, who was police reporter for half a century;

of S°o U und Frank Ballin g er > who went from th e city room of The

Democratic Chronicle to the city desk of the Call ; G. B. Densmore, who
Doctrine wrote editorials for the Call and dramatic criticisms for the

Bulletin; William Bausman, Sam Davis, Frank Pixley,
Fred Somers and Samuel Seabough. It is so long since Judge Coffey wrote
for the press only old-timers will remember that he was the principal edi-
torial writer for the Examiner during the period preceding its purchase by
George Hearst, the father of William E. Hearst, who secured it to forward
his Senatorial aspirations. The Examiner was a faithful expounder of
Democratic doctrine, and, while Mr. Coffey was contributing to its columns,
it indulged in no heretical outbreaks. As was the fashion at the time,
Democrats were apt to select journalists as political representatives, and
the Judge was thus rewarded. He was sent to the Legislature in 1877 and
his ability was there recognized by his election to the chairmanship of the
San Francisco delegation of the Assembly, which at that time numbered
twenty and wielded a much greater influence than at present. During his
legislative career, the Judge was foremost in the reform movements of the
session, and subsequently he was placed on the bench by his fellow citizens,
who manifest an inclination to make his term perpetual.

Frank Pixley, the founder of the Argonaut, did editorial work for
The Chronicle before he began his career of antagonism to a couple of
elements in the community, the Jews and the Catholics. The fact that he

was able to maintain apparently friendly personal relations
Founders w ^ ^ e P e0 P^ e he was constantly assailing gave rise to an

f the impression that his animosities were not as deep-seated as

Argonaut would be inferred from a perusal of some of his leaders, in

which he was in the habit of introducing nicknames so
picturesque that they may have seemed more amusing than hateful to those
whom he abused. Associated with him in the publication of the Argonaut
was Fred Somers, who for a time was a reporter on The Chronicle and '
represented it in the Legislature of 1875-76. He was addicted to telling
the truth without regard to the feelings of the person upon whom he re-
flected and one fine day a member from Mariposa county, whom he ac-
cused of being in the service of the railroad, hit him over the head with a
cane and nearly killed him. He recovered, however, and had the satisfac-
tion of seeing his assailant driven out of politics. Somers severed his con-
nection with the Argonaut to start Current Opinion, which, under his
management, became a financial success. The News Letter, founded by
Frederick Marriott, the father of the present proprietor, was a widely read
journal during the seventies, and was known all over the Coast for its
caustic comment on current affairs. It was on this paper that Ambrose'
Bierce's work first attracted attention, and San Francisco rendered a verdict
upon its merits which has since been ratified by the literary world.

106 Journ alism in California ^^^^^

Samuel Seabough, for many years one of the principal writing editors
of The Chronicle, commenced his journalistic career on the Sacramento
Union and remained with it during the time of its bitterest antagonism of

the railroad. He arrived in California about the time the
Forceful earliest gold seekers made their appearance and engaged in

Editorial the search for the precious metal, but, failing of success, he

Writer became a school teacher. He was a reader of few books,

but they were of the best, and he read them thoroughly. He
almost knew his Gibbon by heart, and was prone to draw illustrations from
and find analogies in the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," and,
like many English writers, he laid great stress upon the value of the King
James version of the Bible. His strength as a writer, however, was much
more dependent on his familiarity with current legislation, State and
national, than upon his literary attainments. He was an assiduous reader
of the Congressional Eecord, and a close student of statistics, which he de-
lighted in analyzing and drawing inferences from. He produced remarka-
bly clean copy, an erasure or a correction rarely appearing in what he
wrote. He had a habit of leaning back and rocking in his chair before be-
ginning an article, and when he started he usually wrote to a finish without
a pause. What he wrote required no correction, if the subject and tone
were acceptable. His forte was stinging criticism of railroad abuses, but,
like Silas Wegg, he occasionally dropped into poetry. When the sap began
to rise an editorial redolent of the perfume of the woods and the fields was
forthcoming, and when the leaves began to fall there would be an article
breathing the melancholy of autumn. When he died the editor of The
Chronicle had a score or more of his editorials on hand which were subse-
quently published, a fact which may suggest that they were not of an
ephemeral character.

Among the spectacular entrances into the journalistic field during the
seventies was the Daily Mail. It was started early in 1876 by D. D.
Dalziel, a young Englishman, the husband of Dickey Lingard, a popular

soubrette. Just what prompted Dalziel to embark on this
and the venture is not quite clear, but it very soon developed that

Evening the new aspirant for public favor was to boost the candidacy

Mail of Mark McDonald for the United States Senatorship. Mark

was a Democrat, but did not appear to be a favorite in rail-
road circles and, therefore, failed of his ambition, the choice of the Legis-
lature of 1877-78, guided by the railroad, falling upon a man named
Farley, promptly nicknamed Champagne Farley, because of the copious
libations of "fizz" which followed his triumph. When McDonald suffered
defeat, he ceased supplying the sinews of war. While the money lasted,
Dalziel made a good paper, employing such men as Pixley of the Argo-
naut and David Nesfield to write editorials. During its brief career, the
Mail had three city editors, S. F. Sutherland, Arthur McEwen and John
Paul Cosgrove. Among the reporters were numbered Dan O'Connell, a
bohemian of bohemians, whose memory is still annually honored with a
dinner by the members of the Bohemian Club ; Will L. Yisscher, John H.
Delahanty, George B. Mackrett, Thomas E. Flynn, Charles J. McCarthy,
Henry Goddard, Charles B. Flannagan, Harry McCausland and John
St. Muir. On the demise of the Mail Dalziel disappeared from the scene,
and his force was absorbed by the surviving city papers.

The Pioneer Sunday Magazine 107

It was about this time that Charles de Young decided to relieve him-
self of part of the heavy burden he had taken on his shoulders. Up to
1878, Charles practically looked after the details of the editorial depart-
ment, while his brother, M. II., gave his attention to the
2? e , rapidly expanding business of the paper. One or two at-
NewManaglnK^ !m P^ s ^° ^ n< ^ a HU 'table managing editor had been made by
Editor importing Eastern journalists of experience, but they did

not fit into their new environment. In 1877 the writer of
this sketch, who had commenced his newspaper career on the San Diego
Union when it began the publication of a daily in 1870, and afterward
had filled the city desk of the Washington Chronicle, and served on the
Washington staff of the Chicflgo Times as correspondent on the Senate side
of the Capitol, returned to California. He found no difficulty in securing
a position on The Chronicle and during the summer of 1877 was chiefly
employed doing special work. During the winter of 1877-78 he reported,
the doings of the Legislature in its last session under the old Constitution.
After its adjournment, on his return to San Francisco, Charles de Young
offered him the managing editorship of the paper, coupling the offer with
the announcement that he was about to depart for Europe. The offer came
as a surprise, but was promptly accepted. At the time, John Timmins, who
had grown up with The Chronicle, wan nominally managing editor. He
was a valuable man, but Mr. de Young had never devolved the duties of
manager upon him. It is characteristic of Charles de Young that when he
bade good-by to his new managing editor he earnestly requested him to
endeavor to reconcile Mr. Timmins to the change. The effort to do so was
attended with success, and he remained on the staff of the paper until the
middle of the eighties.

CHAPTEE XIV

JOURNALISM BEGINS TO FIND ITSELF IN
SAN FRANCISCO.

San Francisco's First Newspaper Building — The Chronicle's Home on the Corner
of Kearny and Bush Streets — An Exhibition of Confidence in the Future — A
Thoroughly Up-to-Date Plant — Those Who Inspected It Believed It Would
Never Be Outgrown — First American Demonstration of Electric Lighting in
Chronicle Office — An Illustration of the Journalism That Does Things — When
Kearny and Bush Streets Was the City's Center — The Germ of the Index Card
System — The Chronicle 's Contemporary Library — A Big Account of a Big Fire —
The Big Inyo Earthquake Pictured by The Chronicle — The Diamond Mine
Swindle Exposure — The Battle in the Lava Beds With Modoc Indians — An In-
terview Which Attracted World-Wide Attention — When Interviewing Was Much
in Vogue — Passengers by Eail From the East Win Distinction — Publication
of Letter Lists — No Press Club in Early Days — Newspaper Men Who Were
Bohemians — The Glorification of San Francisco and Its Atmosphere — Liberal
Use of the Wire.

N THE 29th of September, 1879, The Chronicle, then in
the fifteenth year of its existence, moved into a build-
ing, especially constructed for its use on the northeast
corner of Kearny and Bush streets. ■ It was a journalistic
event of importance because it marked the beginning in
San Francisco of a new newspaper point of view.
Hitherto the publishers of daily papers in San Fran-
cisco had acted as if their business was a makeshift
affair, devoid of elements of permanency. Even in cases in which capital
was not lacking, proprietors of daily papers had pursued hand-to-mouth
methods which suggested instability. Their publication offices were dis-
sociated from the premises in which their papers were produced, and their
quarters were invariably rented. The propensity of those pursuing the
same avocation to get close together caused them to plant themselves in
the narrow and somewhat unsavory streets in the neighborhood of the City
Hall, which was then situated on the spot where the Hall of Justice now
stands, and there they showed a disposition to remain until the brothers
de Young made the bold move which carried them several blocks away from
what was then regarded as the business center of the city, and they thus
advertised their confidence in the future of San Francisco, and their
pride in their paper, by establishing themselves in a building which for a
period was as well known as the lofty structure erected in 1890 by M. H.
de Young on the corner of Market, Geary and Kearny is today.

It was not merely the new building that gave importance to the move

108

CHRONICLE BUILDING

Erected by the brothers, Charles and'M. H. de Young in 1879 on

corner of Kearny and Bush streets.

First Real Newspaper Building 109

i!- C ^ ^ U * ^^ e Chronicle f0 prominently in the public eye; its equipment,
which, the proprietors took good care to exhibit to the most prominent
citizens of San Francisco at a reception tendered to them, announced that
A journalism was no longer to be a haphazard affair in San

Thoroughly Francisco, but an institution which would thenceforth devote
Up-to-Date itself with increased energy to the promotion of the interests
Plan * of the city, and the commonwealth. It had already given am-

ple evidence of intelligent virility with the restricted means
at its command, but in its new quarters, and with a thoroughly up-to-date
plant, and all the means necessary to produce a great paper, it announced
its intention to surpass its previous exploits, a promise which it faithfully
kept. To those who viewed the first real newspaper building of San
Francisco on that September day in 1879 nothing seemed lacking, and
more than one expert who inspected the spick and span new machinery and
appliances from the two Hoe perfecting presses in the basement and the en-
gine which provided the power to revolve their cylinders, to the conven-
iences for mailing in the fifth story, was ready to admit that there was
little opportunity to improve on the plant of The Chronicle, and joined in
the prediction that it would be a long time before the marvelous facilities
exhibited to their wondering gaze would be worked to their limit. Among
the visitors were many journalists from interior cities, and they united in
the expression of the opinion that the two wonderful web presses, each
capable of printing 33,000 copies of The Chronicle in an hour, would al-
ways meet circulation requirements, no matter how great the expansion.

Those were days when men expressed themselves in big terms when
speaking of the future, but a review of their actions suggests that their
faith was cast in a mold which was inimical to expansion. They spoke
with unbounded confidence of a city that would be inhabited
and 6aS '^ millions, and planned for one of thousands. The narrow-

Inadequate ness which, had impelled Horace Hawes, when he framed
Plans the consolidation act in 1856, to throw out what is now San

Mateo county, and confined the city to its present restricted
area, had worn away to some extent, and men had begun to -think that
population might flow beyonk Polk street, which was then the most dis-
tant thoroughfare penetrated by the Clay-street cable road, but they had
no more conception of the needs of a million inhabitants than we have of
the numbers billion or trillion. Impressions concerning the future of
newspapering were equally vague. Every one who gave the matter a
thought felt assured that it would have a great expansion, but the most
penetrating were not able to guess the phenomenal changes which were to
take place before The Chronicle should round out the first half century of
its existence. Yet the germs of most of these would have been perceptible
to the discerning had the belief in the possibility of boundless accomplish-
ment which now obtains been existent at the time.

But it was not. It was easy to quote the trite observation that great
oaks grow from little acorns, but imagination was not sufficiently developed
to create mental forests of mighty trees from the imperfectly recognized
seeds which were about to germinate. A short time before the opening of
The Chronicle's new building, on the return of Charles de Young from the
Paris Exposition of 1878, he brought with him a Gramme electrical
machine, and three or four Jablochkoff candles, which were used to illumi-

110 Journalism in C alifornia

nate the local room of the paper, while it was still in its clingy quarters on
Clay street, and to make a display in front of the publication office, which
was then situated on Montgomery street near Commercial. Father Neri,
one of the professors in the Jesuit College, then occupying
Demonstration ^ e P resen t s ite of the Emporium department store on Mar-
of Electric ket street, had given an exhibition on the night of July 4,
Lighting 1876, of an arc light which he had fashioned, the electricity

for which was produced by a French machine; but The
Chronicle's efforts were directed toward demonstrating that a new illu-
minant had arrived, Mr. de Young having unbounded faith that it would
soon displace gas. It was the first attempt in the United States to utilize
electricity for lighting purposes. It was not a great success, the candles
sputtering, the current created being defectively supplied, but it was a
newspaper triumph of the first magnitude, and caused more talk in San
Francisco than any of the previous feats of The Chronicle, affording one of
the earliest illustrations of "the journalism that does things." It likewise
provided innumerable texts for editorial comment on "the light of the
future," in which the prediction was freely and repeatedly made that it
would displace all other illuminants.

When the new Chronicle building was erected, part of its prediction
concerning the use of electricity was already in a fair way toward realization.
A little more than a year had elapsed since the first sputtering Jablochkofi
lamp was exhibited in front of the Montgomery-street office
San riUlant of The chr o ni de, but in that brief interval the Brush machine
Francisco had been perfected to such a degree that it was determined to

Corner make the new quarters of the paper the most attractive part

of town after nightfall, and this was accomplished by erecting
ornamental iron posts surmounted by arc lamps, the wires for which were
led through the hollow cores of the posts from the basement of the building.
There were six of these lamps on Kearny and Bush streets and the blaze
of light was considered one of the sights of the city. The corner was then
in the midst of the amusement center, three of the principal theaters being
on Bush street, the California, the Bush and the Standard. The new
Baldwin on the corner of Market and Powell streets was still voted a little
far out, although promenaders — the practice of taking a walk after nightfall
was still in vogue — made it the western boundary of their "constitutional."
But no one saw in this extension of the use of electricity the fore-
runner of its general application to the processes of producing a daily paper,
nor did any observer on that opening day see in the three hundred tin boxes
in pigeon holes ranged along the blank wall of a narrow room
of the™ what was doubtless the germ of the index card system, and
Index Card of the vertical file now in such general use. A few papers
System of the East had inaugurated the practice of preserving in-

formation concerning individuals, the outcome of which is
known in newspaper offices as "the morgue," and some had thought it
worth their while to index the contents of their papers. Both of these con-
veniences had been adopted by The Chronicle while quartered in the Clay-
street editorial rooms, and a respectable array of scrap books had ac-
cumulated. Much of the scrapped matter being ephemeral in character,
the number of useless books increased. The resort to the tin boxes was
for the purpose of thinning out matter which appeared to be oj no further

First Real Newspaper Building 111

use. Naturally, it occurred to the librarian, and such a functionary was
promptly appointed when the new building was occupied, to put the clip-
pings where he could easily find them. This he accomplished by arranging
his boxes in the same fashion as the index of a ledger, and from this begin-
ning The Chronicle's filing boxes came to be numbered by the thousand.
The late Whitelaw Eeid, who was much interested in the details of news-
paper methods, on the occasion of his frequent visits to San Francisco was
in the habit of dropping into The Chronicle office, and invariably took a
look through the library, which he complimented as the best arranged of
any paper in the country, and it is on his authority that the statement is
made that The Chronicle was the first to apply the principle of the index
card system in a newspaper office.

Toward the close of the seventies there was a marked change in the
morale of the forces of newspapers on the Coast and in Eastern cities,
which sometimes was made the subject of comment. But, as is often the

case, when the facts are only half understood, the criticism
Journalism * s * 00 severe > being based on the erroneous assumption that
That Does intemperance was the rule, whereas it was merely the excep-
Things tion, even in the most indulgent offices. Had this not been

the case, The Chronicle, in the history written in 1879, in
which it described its achievements, could not have presented so long a list
of successes, especially in the field which some recent ill-informed writers
imagine was not discovered before that date. Long before the now famous
editor of the New York World was credited with inaugurating the journal-
ism that does things, The Chronicle had been working along those lines.
It had scarcely emerged from its dramatic form before it began investigat-
ing abuses and exposing them, the result being a long list of reforms ac-
complished. But it was fully as busy in the work of construction, as the
account in the chapter describing the part it played in securing a much-
needed Constitution for the State abundantly testified.

But the paper distinguished itself in the work which the conservative
thinker has always contended is the true function of a newspaper, namely,
the printing of the news. It has been related how during the excitement

of the earthquake of 1868 it took the pains to gather details
Account an< ^ i ssue i n extras accounts of the extent of the damage,

f a which had the effect of removing the fears ptodueed by

Big Fire uncertainty. Considering the youth of the journal, this was

a notable exploit, but not more significant than its treatment
of the Chicago fire of October 10, 1871. The disaster was the greatest
of its kind .experienced in any American city up to that date and a tele-
graphic account of it, which required four columns space for its presenta-
tion, was printed. But the length of the dispatch, and the fact that a head
twenty and a half inches deep and one column wide preceded the account
of the fire is less notable than the accompanying sketch of great conflagra-
tions in ancient and modern times which was written with such a knowl-
edge of the subject treated as to preclude the idea that the writer's source
of information was the encyclopedia. It was an interesting study and a
precursor of much more of that sort of work to be done in the future.

In 1872, on April 14th of, that year, Inyo county was visited by a
severe earthquake, which was accompanied by loss of life and many mar-
velous physical changes. All the papers contained accounts of the event,

112 Journalism in California

but The Chronicle dispatched a man to the scene of the disturbance, who
was able to sketch as well as describe the event and the changes it wrought.
On the following Sunday The Chronicle appeared with an extended de-
scription, accompanied by a full page of pictures, consisting
Illustration f f our i arge cuts d rawll on WO od. Unlike the finished draw-
g I a ing of the artist Tojetti, executed for the paper some years

Disaster earlier, these cuts were sketchy and somewhat amateurish.

But crude as they were, they satisfactorily illustrated the
event, and made clear the allusions in the description. In the same year,
on November 26, 1872, another illustration was furnished of the fact that
Charles de Young was convinced that pictures and maps were to be a
feature of daily journalism. An entire page was devoted to a map which
showed the region in which diamonds were said to have been found. The
alleged discovery was a cunningly devised scheme of a group of rogues and
succeeded in separating several wealthy San Franciscans from some of their
hard cash. The deception was accomplished by "salting" a considerable
area with African diamonds, purchased in London. Preceding the salting
a couple of apparently rough miners made their appearance in the ciiy
with a lot of stones about the value of which they professed to be uncertain,
but they suspected them to be diamonds. The story soon spread, and the
rich "suckers" referred to became interested. The character of the stones
was determined by sending them to New York, where the Tiffanys, after
examining them, said they were worth about $150,000. An "expert"
was sent to the alleged diamond fields, the location of which was kept
secret. He found more diamonds. A company was formed to operate the
mines, but before it got to work Clarence King of the United States Geo-
logical Survey exploded the mine. He had been over the whole country and
was certain that there was no diamond formation. Convinced of this fact,
he caused inquiries to be made in London and learned of the purchase of a
lot of African diamonds in the rough by an American, who turned out to
be one of the pair who engineered the swindle which cost the dupes over
$350,000.

In the following year The Chronicle had an opportunity to distinguish
itself by furnishing its readers with earlier and fuller accounts of the last
Indian uprising in California, an event which attracted national attention
and brought two or three Eastern correspondents to the Coast.
Accounts It was the so-called Modoc war, which was brought on by the

?* J ne murder of General Canby and Dr. Thomas by Captain Jack,

Indian War John Sconehin, Black Jim and Boston Charley. The Gen-
eral and the doctor went to the Klamath country to inquire
into the grievances of the Indians, who had been threatening trouble for
some time. There were conferences and in the course of one of them the
General and Dr. Thomas were treacherously murdered. After the com-
mission of the deed, the Indians fled to the lava beds of Modoc county.
Troops were sent to dislodge them from their fastness, but they managed to
evade rounding up for over a year. The murders were committed in April,
1872, but the murderers were not captured until the tribe was subdued.
The four Indians mentioned above were tried and executed on the 3rd of
October, 1874. The progress of the war had been followed for The
Chronicle by a special correspondent, and when the culminating event
occurred its representative succeeded in getting his report into San Fran-
cisco ahead of all competitors.

First Real Newspaper Building 113

Another triumph was scored by The Chronicle in May, 1874, by the
discovery in San Francisco of Henri Eochefort, who had managed to elude
the vigilance of reporters after his escape from New Caledonia. The

notorious Frenchman not only consented to be interviewed,
Interview ^ e was a ^ so persuaded to tell the story of how he contrived

With Henri to get away from the island in which he had spent some years
Rochefort of exile in a signed article in which he made some interesting

comments on political conditions in France. These were
made on the eve of his departure from the city and caused quite a ferment
in the French colony, which apparently failed to share the sentiments ex-
pressed, and if a resolution passed by a local club correctly represented the
opinion of its members, they believed that The Chronicle had committed a
breach of international courtesy in permitting the ex-communist to discuss
the affairs of France in an American journal. At this particular time
interviewing had great vogue in San Francisco, and few persons of con-
sequence escaped the enterprising reporter, who was almost invariably
received with a show of courtesy easily construed into a welcome by the
interviewer, who had less trouble in securing an expression of opinion than
supposed by the outsider who too readily believed the animadversions upon
the practice which sometimes found their way into the papers.

During the seventies it was . the custom of the newspapers of San
Francisco to have the names of passengers en route to the city telegraphed
from Ogden. The practice was continued until the lists trespassed on space

to such an extent that it was deemed expedient to omit their
Passengers publication. When that was done, there was a wave of
the'East protest which had to be met by an explanation that persons

by Rail coming to San Francisco by rail from the East were of no

more consequence than those who made their way into the
city from other points and by other transportation routes. The readers of
newspapers were exceedingly opposed to innovation and resented being de-
prived of any feature to which they had become accustomed. It would be
difficult to imagine any considerable number of patrons at the present
day uniting in a round robin to a publisher concerning such a matter as the
publication of a passenger list, but such communications were not uncom-
mon at the time. In the early part of its career The Chronicle had under-
taken the publication of the list of letters remaining unclaimed at the
General Postoffice. The remuneration was insignificant, but it was sup-
posed that the publication of the names created a demand for the paper.
When the pressure for space began to be felt, an investigation was made
which disclosed that it was not the subscribers or regular readers of the
paper whose letters were uncalled for, but those of strangers whose acquaint-
ance with the fact that the list was published was derived from a copy
posted conveniently near the delivery window. Nevertheless, when the list
was missed from its accustomed place on Monday morning, grave doubts
were expressed by patrons as to the wisdom of the discontinuance.

It will be inferred from the preceding statement that the community
was' still very provincial in action and thought despite the fact that the local
press was fond of dwelling on its metropolitan position. The inference
would be perfectly justifiable. Eailroad communication with the East,
which had been established for several years, did not accomplish all that
was expected of it by a people who had been taught to believe that once in

114 Journalism in California ^^^^

touch with the communities on the other side of the Eockies, habits would
be revolutionized and we would at once fall into the mode of life of those
„ on the Atlantic littoral. Never was an expectation subjected

With r ° POllS to S reater disappointment. The first transcontinental rail-
Provincial roa d was completed, and in the course of time it had several
Ideas rivals; but California remained as if isolated, and the pecul-

iarities inherited from the pioneers continued to endure in
a form not always recognized, because they were disguised by words which
obscured the fact. In some measure the press was responsible for this
obscuration. It did not occur to the early workers on newspapers to form
a club of their own, but they constituted a considerable and important ele-
ment in- the Bohemian Club, which began its existence in the seventies.
From its inception its membership, composed as it was of artists, literary
and professional men, adopted the belief that there was something dis-
tinctive about California worth maintaining, and they managed to convey
it to the stranger who easily became convinced that San Francisco had an
"atmosphere" of its own. An inspection of the newspaper files of the
seventies and eighties exhibits the deep-seatedness of the conviction, for thev
are filled with articles breathing the sentiment so assiduously cultivated
in Bohemia. When their authorship is traced, they are found to be from the
pens of such well-known men as John F. Bowman, editorial writer of The
Chronicle, and a colleague of Samuel Seabough ; Charles Warren Stoddard,
whose connection with The Chronicle extended over many years; Hugh
Burke' of the Call and Bulletin; Peter Eobertson, for many years dramatic
critic of The Chronicle; Fred M. Somers; Dan O'Connell and others.

All of these writers in one way and another contributed to the glorifica-
tion of San Francisco as a place apart, and they were aided and abetted by
the community generally, which loved to be spoken of as the metropolis of
the Pacific Coast, while insisting on the retention of habits of
Use ^ e an< ^ mo< l es °^ thought which contradicted the assumption

of the that the city was thoroughly cosmopolitan. As a matter of

Wire fact, it was nothing of the sort during the seventies and for

several decades after. That is as abundantly testified to as
the other statement that there was an undue quantity of community adula-
tion. But, while the people of San Francisco were thus disposed to speak
well of themselves, they never lost interest in outsiders. As the city papers
grew prosperous they became patrons on a large scale of the telegraph
company, bringing extended reports of all happenings of importance in the
East or in Europe. The publishers of The Chronicle thought that the
rejoinder of Henry Ward Beecher to the charges made against him by
Theodore Tilton was interesting enough to warrant having the whole of it
telegraphed, and, when General Custer was killed by Indians, it devoted
three columns of special to the tragedy. It has already been told that when
George M. Pinney made his charges involving Secretary of the Navy Bobe-
son and a Senator and Congressman that it deemed the matter of enough
importance to have several thousand words wired from Washington. The
same lively interest was manifested in European doings, the San Francisco
Chronicle reporting the occurrences of the Franco-Prussian war as fully
as its Eastern contemporaries. It can hardly be said that the interest was
reciprocal. When The Chronicle was being assailed by the Federal ring by
means of criminal libel trials, although the testimony pointed to official

First Real Newspaper Building

115

turpitude in high circles at the national capital, a scant fifty or sixty words
daily was deemed a sufficient number to keep the Eastern public apprised of
the progress of an investigation of national importance. That has always
been the course pursued by the Eastern press in dealing with California
affairs; publishers on the other side of the Bockies have permitted the cost
of long haul to interfere with their judgment of the importance of an
event. The San Francisco press very early learned to be cosmopolitan in
its treatment of news.

CHAPTER XV

PROBLEMS EAISED AND TROUBLES PRODUCED
BY NEW ORGANIC LAW.

Besult of Adoption of Constitution of 1879 — There Was No Hegira of Capital — The
Last Big Mining Stock Deal — A Quietus on Stock Gambling — The Constitution's
Adherents "Were the People of the Interior — Greed of Agitators for Office an
Obstacle to Eealization of Benefits — Charles de Young' the Ablest Newspaper Man
Produced by San Francisco — The Beception to General Grant — It Enabled The
Chronicle to Set the Pace in Beporting — A World-Beating Journalistic Exploit —
A People Proud of Their Paper — Another Great Beport of a Big Local Event —
The Author's Carnival — The First Seal Woman Journalist — A Case of Make-
shift Illustration — Benewal of Prosperity — The Crusade Against Chinese Immi-
gration—Passage of the Exclusion Act by Congress— A Great Wheat Produc-
ing State — Popularity of The Chronicle's Annuals— The Chronicle's Thorough-

HE adoption of the Constitution of 1879 produced none of
the dreadful consequences predicted by its opponents.
There was no hegira of capital. It is true that a few
men who had made some money in the mining stock
gamble deserted San Francisco, but their departure was
due, not to the operation of the new fundamental law,
but to the fact that the speculative craze had spent its
force, the depletion of the resources of the people, and
the continued exposure of the tricks and devices of the manipulators to
coax money from the pockets of the dupes having effected something like
a lasting reform. There was something like a revival of the old-time excite-
ment produced by a cleverly worked up interest in the Sierra Nevada mine,
which caused its stock to advance from a figure below $10 to upward of
$200 in 1879, but the community generally did not become much interested
in the deal, and when it finally collapsed and the stock of the company
dropped to less than the point from which it had started on its upward
flight few outside the coterie of inveterate gamblers were seriously injured.
There were no longer lists of suicides whose deaths were attributed to the
roguery of the men who engineered the jobs, and the evidences of returning
sanity multiplied as the months rolled on, and the activity on the stock
boards decreased to such an extent, that the newspapers only followed the
transactions in a perfunctory manner.

Perhaps the hard times and the legislation designed to prevent what
were called "wash sales" would have eventually made mining stock gambling
unprofitable, but that end was hastened by the persistent exposure by The
Chronicle of the falsity of reports issued with the object of keeping up the
hopes of holders of shares of non-dividend paying mines and inducing them

116

Big Feat of Reporting 117

to pay their assessments which were levied with clock-like regularity. The
most effective method adopted by The Chronicle in the pursuit of this
purpose was that of showing just how the money derived from
on 6 US assessments was expended. It was able to show statistically
Stock an d otherwise 'that month after month, and year after year,

Gambling large sums of money were paid to high-salaried officials, who

maintained luxuriously-appointed offices, and that only an
infinitesimal proportion of the money collected was expended in what was
called development work. Constant iteration of stories of the same general
character had the effect of completely destroying confidence in the cooked-up
reports, and finally the fleecing business became so unprofitable that it had
to be abandoned. The exchanges, of which the city had more than its
share during the height of the bonanza excitement, and for some years
after those mines ceased to pay, were closed up and brokers were obliged to
find their lambs in other pastures.

But the collapse of the Pine-street mining industry by no means put
an end to the real business of extracting minerals from the soil. When
The Chronicle was making its most energetic assaults on the speculative
mania attempts were made to' discredit its efforts by charging
Mining 6 ^ a ^ ** was pl ac i n g obstacles in the way of the development

Industry °f the resources of California, but these accusations were met

Uninjured in a characteristic manner. The Chronicle showed by argu-
ment and actual demonstration that the future prosperity of
the State depended upon the development of its varied resources, and that
it could not hope to accomplish that object by the process of betting. It
also showed that the real work of development in the mines was not being
forwarded by companies listed on the boards, the shares of which were made
a football of by brokers, but that it was being done by private individuals
who would continue to extract gold after the exchanges had closed their
doors. And, taking a look backward, there seems to have been good
ground for this sound criticism. At least, it is a matter of record that as
early as 1876 persistent efforts were made to interest San Francisco opera-
tors in the development of the oil industry in Ventura county, but they
were unsuccessful because of the indifference begotten by absorption in
stock jobbing. It was not even possible to induce an investigation of the
possibilities.

The death of Charles de Young in 1880 removed from San Francisco
journalism the ablest newspaper man the city had produced. Under the '
joint management of the two brothers the paper had become influential and
prosperous. During his lifetime Charles devoted himself
p an . , more particularly to the news and editorial conduct of the
Ablest News- paper. In the earlier part of its career. his brother, M. H.,
paper Man had lent a hand in every news enterprise of consequence, but
when the business of the paper grew in importance there was a
sharper division of labors, and M. H. was compelled to give the most of
his attention to the finances and the multiplying duties of manager. On
the death of his brother he assumed entire control, giving close attention to
the details of every department. The two brothers had worked in such unison
that there was no perceptible change in the policy of the paper. Its career
of vigorous enterprise was continued, and tendencies which had begun to
manifest themselves a few years earlier were accentuated, and The Chron-

118 Journalism in Cal ifornia

icle soon became known throughout the country as an exponent of "the
journalism that does things."

An illustration of this propensity was furnished by the successful fight
made for the adoption of the Constitution of 1879, when the two brothers
were still working together, and this was closely followed by an example of

enterprise of another kind which set a pace in reporting that
gj proved a surprise to the press of older communities, and

Feat of extorted the admission that it surpassed in its thoroughness

Reporting any feat of reporting ever attempted by an American or

European paper. The occasion which gave rise to this
exhibition was the return of ex-President Grant to the United States after
the completion of his world's tour. The attention paid to him by foreign
potentates and peoples had proved a source of intense gratification to
Americans, and from the moment the ship which bore him from the Orient
to San Francisco was sighted outside the heads until he reached his home
in the East his journey was a continuous ovation. No emperor or king had
ever before been accorded such a triumph. The enthusiasm of San Fran-
cisco was so exuberant it drew from the phlegmatic commander of great
armies the simple but heartfelt remark that it made him feel at home. The
reception occurred on the 21st of September, 1879, and on the following
morning The Chronicle devoted thirty-eight columns to picturesque descrip-
tions of every detail of the stirring event. The wonderful water pageant
which embraced every vessel big and little that dared venture outside the
heads was viewed from every vantage point ; on the decks of ships, on the
headlands which form the Golden Gate, and even on the vessel which bore
the voyager reporters were stationed who told about the first greetings and
pictured the scene of the white sails and the fluttering flags, the shrieking
whistles and the clanging bells of the hundreds of welcoming craft. The
procession through the streets of the city, and the shouts of the multitude ;
the lavish decorations of public buildings, stores and private residences
were treated with equal thoroughness, and Charles Warren Stoddard wrote
a poem of welcome worthy the occasion.

Never was such appreciation of journalistic enterprise shown before.
Edition after edition was printed to supply the demand for copies, which
were mailed to all parts of the earth, avowedly, in most instances, because

the senders were convincd that never before had there been so
Proud 1 * 16 thorough and interesting account of a contemporary event,

of Their 1* made San Franciscans proud of their city and it put The

Paper Chronicle on the crest of the wave of popularity. The other

papers were not unmindful of the importance of the occasion.
They printed accounts which would not have been criticised . had The
Chronicle's comprehensive treatment not completely overshadowed them.
The Chronicle was so well satisfied with the impression produced by its
Grant's reception edition, it ventured another stroke which more particu-
larly interested San Francisco. A little over a month later, to be precise,
on Octbber 24, 1879, an Authors' Carnival was inaugurated in the Mechan-
ics' Pavilion, which was then situated on the corner of Mission and Eighth
streets. The entertainment was projected to aid the charity organizations
of the city, and the flower of the youth of San Francisco and of its society
was concerned in making it a success. Perhaps there were fully two
thousand who personated the characters from the pages of well-known

CHRONICLE BUILDING

Decorated on the occasion of reception of General Grant

on his return from his world tour.

Big Feat of Reporting 119

authors, and they all participated in the procession which was viewed by
thousands of spectators. On the following morning The Chronicle appeared
with a five-page account of the opening of the carnival, describing the pro-
cession and the costumes of those who took part in it. As in the case of
the comprehensive report of the Grant reception, The Chronicle had the
field to itself.' Its rivals were not ungenerous in their allotment of space,
according it, in one instance, nearly two columns, and in the other not quite
a column and a half, but those who were interested in making the enter-
tainment a success felt assured that the more than sixty thousand dollars
"netted for charity was largely owing to The Chronicle's liberal treatment.
The report of the Authors' Carnival deserves a place in a sketch of
journalism for other reasons than its length and comprehensiveness. It
probably signalized the advent of women in the field of journalism. The

major part of the advance descriptive work of the carnival
p! 1 ® was done by Mrs. Florence Apponyi Loughead, and the

Woman claim is made for her that she was the first woman regularly

Journalist employed on a newspaper to do all around work. She was on

the staff of The Chronicle several years after 1879, and
accepted daily assignments, but did much special work on her own initiative.
She was a graceful writer and was the winner of a handsome money prize
in a best-novel contest started by the McClures. The occasion thus made
memorable in journalistic annals also deserves recalling because of a
partially successful effort to illustrate the account. At that time there
were exactly one and a half available engravers on wood in San Francisco.
One was efficient and sober, the other was an excellent artist, but unrelia-
ble. As a result of the latter shortcoming the ambitious design of decorating
the opening of each chapter devoted to the description of a booth was not
fully realized, despite the search made to eke out the deficiency with what
were known as stock cuts.

Mr. de Young having established a reputation for thoroughness, his
paper continued to seek occasions for its exhibition. It never afterward
neglected an opportunity to display its enterprise along these lines. During

the decade 1880-1890 many such presented themselves. De-
^ he spite the predictions made by the antagonists of the Consti-

ot tution that capital would abandon the State and retard its

Prosperity advancement, in the event of its adoption, the decade was

not many years old before there were signs of a return of
prosperity. Just how much the fact that the organic law contained provi-
sions which, if executed, would compel the equitable assessment and taxa-
tion of property, it would be difficult to say, but the boom of the early
eighties synchronizes with a marked disposition of the holders of large
tracts of land to subdivide and offer them for sale. It is not impossible that
this phenomenon might have occurred in any event, but there was a firm
conviction in California, which was voiced in Henry George's "Progress and
Poverty," that landowners would seek to add to their acres rather than
diminish' them. It was based on the assumption that the desire for the con-
sequence and honors attached to the possession of great estates would prove
as irresistible in California as in countries where the ownership of land is
linked up with political privilege, and it was to some extent influenced by
the belief that coolie labor could be obtained in abundance to profitably
work large areas.

120 Journalism i n California ^^^^^

This latter illusion was effectually disposed of by the energetic crusade
against Chinese immigration, which resulted in the passage of the exclusion
act by Congress in 1882. But this legislation had been preceded by an
expression of opinion secured by a secret ballot taken at the
Sntt election of September 3, 1879, when, out of a total of

Chinese 162,000 votes cast, only 638 declared themselves in favor

Immigration of the introduction of Chinese laborers. It must have been
obvious to the very few who entertained the belief that the
use of cheap Oriental labor would make the farming of large tracts of land
profitable, that the people of the State would not consent to its introduction,
but, nevertheless, a persistent agitation was kept up in favor of the admis-
sion of Chinese immigrants which did not cease until the great national
parties were compelled to consider the question in the campaign of 1882.
The leaders then saw that no party could withstand the sentiment which
would be created by a general discussion of the subject in the Eastern states,
and the act of exclusion followed- The San Francisco Chronicle led the
fight for exclusion. It had been advocating legislation of that character
long before the sand-lot uprising, and had succeeded in bringing about a
Congressional inquiry in 1868, which resulted in a report unfavorable to the
introduction of Chinese, but no positive action was taken by Congress
until 1882. " J_

Probably a greater factor than any other in bringing about a better
state of affairs in the early eighties was the growing recognition of the fact
that the future development of California would be along horticultural
lines. The year 1882 was a record year in the production
California Was an< ^ ex P or tation of breadstuffs. At that time Californians
a Great " were pointing with pride to their enormous wheat fields and
Wheat State still clung to the idea that they would always prove the
State's greatest source of wealth. This view had been adopted
instead of the one formerly held that mining would remain the chief indus-
try. It is not surprising that such should have been the case, for in 1882
breadstuffs to the value of $40,138,557 had been exported from the port of
San Francisco. There had been some success achieved in fruit growing,
and the railroads were beginning to realize the possibility of building up a
great trade in orchard products. The Chronicle was assisting in the work.
On the 1st of January, 1884, it published what it called a "Prosperity
Issue." It was composed of eight pages, several of which were devoted to
describing the advances made in each of the fifty-three counties of the State
during the preceding five years. Two pages were devoted to the material
development of the port and city of San Francisco. The presentation of
statistical matter at the beginning of the year was not an entirely new
feature, but with the 1884 edition was inaugurated the plan of compre-
hensively surveying the growth of the State, which has been continued down
to the present time.

The principal characteristic of these annual editions was the introduction
of a new mode of treatment each succeeding year, and a constant enlarge-
ment of the volume of matter presented. Thus on the 1st of January, 1888,
the space accorded to describing the development of the State was sixteen
pages, or double that of two years earlier. In the annual of 1888, twenty-two
full pages were given up to statistics and accounts of the prosperity of all
sections of the State, and in the following year the number of pages was

Big Feat of Reporting 121

increased fc> twenty-three. Many of the statistical features of earlier issues
were retained, but there was a successful effort in each succeeding year to
Tn introduce novelties and before the' close of the decade there

Chronicle's was a liberal use of illustrations. ' In 1890 the annual con-
Annuals sisted of forty pages, eight of which were devoted to describ-
ing the changes wrought in California in forty years. Great
numbers of these papers were mailed to all parts of the world,
it being the practice of persons interested in the development of the State
to prepare lists of people to whom they were to be sent. The esteem in
which these annual editions have always been held is evidenced by the fact
that their appearance is always followed by numerous letters to the pub-
lisher urging that the matter in them be given permanent form, and for a
long time they have been the acknowledged source from which many
statistical bureaus derive much information concerning California and its
development.

Annual publications cannot be regarded as an innovation of Mr. de

Young, for other papers had preceded it in the presentation of statistics at

the beginning of the year, but the development editions of The Chronicle

took on a form which distinguished them from mere statis-

^Eesou'rces tical reeords - Thev were > in fact > the first vel1 thought out
of plan of advertising the resources of California, the object

California being to present in an attractive manner information calcu-
lated to arouse interest in the State, and they accomplished
their purpose admirably. To their dissemination can be traced much of
the growth of the desirable immigration from the East, which has since
resulted in developing the great industries of the State. In the columns of
these annual surveys of the growth of the State will be found appreciations
of its climatic advantages which long antedate the discovery by the boosters
of Los Angeles that the climate of California is one of its greatest assets.
It is no vain boast on the part of The Chronicle when it asserts that it
induced the inhabitants of the once sleepy city of Los Angeles to make the
best use of that with which they were so iiberally endowed by nature.

There is another innovation in journalism introduced by The Chronicle
during the eighties deserving of more than passing mention. One of the
charges brought against the American press by British critics was a lack of
thoroughness, by which was meant the disposition of the
Chronicle's average writing editor to recognize that busy people wish to
Thoroughness g e t a t the nub of a proposition quickly, the result of which
was the production of articles lacking in detail and otherwise
defective. In its thirty-eight column report of the reception
to Grant, The Chronicle showed that it was possible for an American paper
to be thorough. On numerous occasions afterward this exploit was matched.
On August 19, 1883, the Knights Templar of the United States held their
triennial conclave in San Francisco and The Chronicle signalized the meet-
ing by publishing a history of the order, which occupied seven pages. Ap-
preciative Templars declared nothing of the sort had ever been done before
by a newspaper. On May 14th of the succeeding year, the occasion being
the laying of the cornerstone of the Odd Fellows' building on the corner
of Seventh and Market streets, the paper presented a history of Odd
Fellowship in America. On August 2, 1886, the Grand Army of the
Republic held its annual encampment in San Francisco. The event sug-

122

Journalism in California

The

Advocacy
of
Principles

gested the writing of a "History of the Civil War," which occupied 102
columns of The Chronicle, an amount of matter which would fill a good-
sized volume. The centenary of the death of Junipero Serra, August 28,
1884, was the text for a four-page sketch of the missions of California and
the work of the padres.

These and other serious efforts contributed greatly to the reputation
of The Chronicle and caused it to be recognized as one of the foremost
journals of America. From its inception, The Chronicle had been pro-
nouncedly Eepublican. In its infancy, when it still retained
the prefix "Dramatic," it was a strenuous supporter of the
Union cause, and, when peace was established, it remained
devoted to the party which had preserved the integrity of the
Union. But, while there was no mistaking its Eepublican
proclivities, it did not hesitate when occasion seemed to demand to criticise
and oppose the men who controlled the party. It gave a significant example
of this tendency when it unhesitatingly exposed the machinations of the
Federal ring in 1877, and it was unceasing in opposition to the domination
of the party by the railroad. Its constant antagonism to the practice of
corporation interference with politics procured for it the enmity of the
managers of the railroad and the friendship of the people. It was, however,
a stanch believer in the integrity of the Eepublican national organization
and constantly advocated the theory that abuses could be best dealt with by
effecting reforms within the party, and, because of its devotion to that
principle, it achieved a degree of influence approached by no paper outside
of the great Eastern cities.

CHAPTEE XVI

NOTABLE INSTANCES OF THE "JOTTENALISM THAT DOES

THINGS."

Slow Recognition of the Demand for Regulation of Monopolies — Democratic De-
fenders of the Railroads — Eastern Attitude Slow to Crystallize — The Frustra-
tion of Attempts to Reform — A Problem That California Might Have Success-
fully Worked Out — Failure to Elect Honest Commissions — A Victim of Judge-
Made Law — Absurd Results of the Board of Equalization Decision — The Evila
of Non-Partisanism — Political Career of George Hearst — He Makes a Hand-
some Present to His Son — Examiner Passes Into Possession of William R.
Hearst — The Chronicle's Advocacy of the Protective Policy — A History of
Education in the United States — Another Instance of the Journalism That Does
Things — The Chronicle Demonstrates the Desirability of Weather Warnings to
Agriculturists and Fruit Growers— Millions Saved to the State by News-
paper Enterprise — The Chronicle Forms a News Association — Numerous Patrons
Served — Chronicle Press Association Absorbed by Associated Press — M. H. de
Young a Director of Associated Press for Twenty-seven Years — Illustration
Growth — Big Type in Heads — Book Reviews — Dramatic Critics — A Training
School for Statesmen — Noted Contributors.

T MAY not be amiss to explain to the reader who might
gain the impression that the spotlight has been kept too
steadily on The Chronicle that it practically kept the
center of the stage during, the eighty decade, and that
its rivals made little effort to dispute the position it had
attained. The Alta had long since ceased to be regarded
as a leading journal and had become the target of the
jokesmith. Not that it lacked good writers, but the
vehicle for conveying what they wrote to the reading public had become
so impaired by the failure to keep up to date that it had almost ceased to
run. In the later years of its- existence it had become a Democratic organ,
and preached sound Democratic doctrine, some of which placed in parallel
columns with the utterances of present-day papers would seem very strange.
That was the period when Democratic editors wrote vigorously in opposi-
tion to the alleged Eepublican tendency toward centralization. The closing
years of the eighty decade were made memorable by the confusion created
in the minds of "Bourbon" editors by the radical attitude of Senator
Eeagan of Texas, the introduction of whose interstate commerce bill was
coldly viewed by many of them as an invasion of the rights of the states,
but the necessity, for supervision of transportation corporations had become
so apparent that there was little serious opposition to what is now recog-
nized as the Federal entering wedge of governmental regulation. The Alta,

123

124 Journalism in California

and the other Democratic papers of California, were slow to recognize this
feature of the new legislation, although some of them, considering their
ownership, should have been quick to perceive the outcome of a movement
which made a national question of what had been a purely local one up to
1887, when the first interstate commerce act was passed by Congress.

Before 1887, there had been plenty of discussion in the East of the
possibilities of railroad monopoly, but it never assumed the acute form it
took on in California as early as 1871, when, as already related, a conven-

tion of electors in San Francisco openly denounced railroad
of e ers abuses and demanded that they should be abated. These
Railroad resolutions almost passed unnoticed in California. When

Monopoly editors deigned to speak of them they were more apt than

otherwise to treat them disrespectfully because of their source.
The Democratic press, in particular; adhering to the idea of laissez f aire,
spoke of them as agrarian vaporings or treated them with silent indifference
if not contempt. Between that date and the adoption of the California
Constitution of 1879, the discussion in the Eastern press was academic or
flippant. The growing tendency of the Pennsylvania Bailroad to gain
favors by controlling Legislatures did not excite much indignation, and the
degree of alarm felt may be measured by the fact that it was regarded as a
stroke of facetiae to speak of New Jersey as "the State of Camden and
Amboy," thus delicately implying that the corporation which directed the
destinies of that railroad, which was one of the nucleii of what has since
become the great Pennsylvania system, did pretty much as it pleased in the
commonwealth separated from Philadelphia by the river Delaware. In
Massachusetts some apprehension concerning the growth of monopoly found
expression, and the legislators of the Bay State thought they had discovered a
solution of the problem when they provided for a Commissioner who was
endowed with no powers, but was permitted to have his learned reports
printed at the expense of the State, which were promptly forgotten as soon
as issued.

The agitation in California had a different outcome. After eight or
nine years of denunciation and demand for the enactment of regulative
legislation^ the Constitution of 1879 was adopted. It created a Commission

consisting of three members and endowed it with plenary
Frustration powers, but it proved no more efficacious in curbing the evils
of Attempts complained of than the body which it supplanted, which could
to Reform only report and make recommendations to the Legislature.

This result is directly chargeable to the hostility or indiffer-
ence of the press which had antagonized the Constitution of 1879, when it
was up for adoption. Varying motives accounted for this unfortunate
attitude, and the least creditable of them all was that of jealousy of The
Chronicle. Had not that spirit manifested itself the country would have
been saved much later turmoil, for California could have worked out the
problem in such a way that it would not have occurred to anyone in
Congress to suggest the revolutionary step of breaking down the safeguards
against Federal encroachment, which the wisdom of the fathers had pro-
vided. It was decreed otherwise, however, for as soon as the victory had
been gained by the people, the railroad at once set to work to prevent its
fruits being gathered. ' By clever manipulation it succeeded in having venal
Commissioners elected, and also Legislatures which were quite ready to tie

Trainings School for Statesmen 125

the hands of the solons, if they showed any disposition to break through
the restraints imposed by the corporation.

The provisions of the Constitution -which would have enabled an honest
Commission to carry out every reform contemplated, and which would have
anticipated later legislation in this State and made Federal interference
practically unnecessary, were permitted to fall into desuetude,
toChoose as were a ^ so those relating to the State Board of Equalization,

Honest which were designed to prevent the unequal assessment of

Commissions land. So indifferent were the people to what they had gained
that they allowed their courts to read a meaning into the
Constitution for which there was no warrant in the words or spirit of that
instrument. The express object of the creation of the State Board of
Equalization was to correct the abuse of assessing the land of a person or
corporation at a figure lower than that at which land of equal value and
similarly situated had been assessed to others. This was provided for in
unmistakable language, but the courts deliberately held that the organic
law did not mean what it said, and set up the absurd rule that the State
Board could not raise or lower individual assessments, but would have to
correct inequalities by raising or lowering the entire roll of a county or
counties. This produced the absurd anomaly of raising the value of gold
coin and mortgages, and it became necessary to remedy the inconsistency
by amendment. The amendment did not abate the evil, but it converted
the State Board of Equalization into a machine which could be and was
used to punish the taxpayers of one part of the State to relieve those of
another part. In the end, relief was found by practically converting the
State Board into a body whose most important duty now is to compute the
gross earnings of corporations in order to determine how much they must
pay into the treasury.

The attempt to arouse the people from the indifference into which they
had fallen occupied a great deal of space in the editorial columns of The
Chronicle, but naturally it proved unavailing. It is difficult to place the
blame for this miscarriage. Partisan politics is sometimes
£ h ?. . held responsible, but in view of the fact that 'those who

Non* ° benefited by the laxity of the courts, the venality of com-

Partisanism missions and the turpitude of Legislatures were strictly non-
partisan in their manipulations, the charge is manifestly
absurd. It was not partisanism, but popular indifference that did the mis-
chief. Had the same active interest been manifested when times became
better that was shown during the period when depression operated to pro-
duce sand-lot troubles and widespread discontent among farmers, the out-
come would have been vastly different. It is impossible to keep interest at
concert pitch when times are good, for then common sense and warnings
of all kinds are treated as were those of Cassandra of old. Perhaps that
explains why The Chronicle enjoyed a monopoly of the dubious privilege
of finding fault. Whether it does or not, the fact remains that it alone of
the daily papers of San Francisco unceasingly denounced the failure to
enforce the provisions of the new Constitution. Not that much would have
been gained had the attitude of the remainder of the press been different.
As already stated, the Alta had declined in prestige so greatly it was said
of- its editorial columns that they were a safe repository for secrets. The
Call and Bulletin had committed themselves so absolutely to the assump-

126 Journalism in California ^^_

tion that the Constitution was utterly bad it would have been ludicrous for
them to champion anything in it, no matter how thoroughly its wisdom
might have been approved. The Evening Post had already entered on its
career of alternation of ownership, which implied a power behind the
throne, and the Examiner was too entirely devoted to the higher politics
to interest itself greatly in such matters as the regulation of corporations.

The Examiner did not appear as a morning paper until October, 1880,
when it passed out of the ownership of Philip Eoach and his associates
and nominally passed into the possession of W. T. Baggett. It was soon
transferred by him to the Examiner Publishing Company, of
Examiner which George Hearst was the head. There was no secret

Property of concerning the object of its acquisition. Mr. Hearst had
W. K. Hearst political ambitions, and believed that they could be attained
most easily with the assistance of a personal organ. He was
a member of the California Assembly in 1865 and in 1882 he was an
unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor. In
1885 he obtained the complimentary vote of the Democratic minority in
the Legislature, and on March 23d of that year he was appointed to fill the
vacancy created by the death of Senator John F. Miller, but the Eepublican
Legislature did not permit, him to fill out the unexpired term, electing
A. P. Williams in his stead. But in January, 1887, he had his innings, the
Democratic majority sending him to Washington to represent California in
the upper house of Congress. On March 4, 1887, Senator Hearst signalized
the occasion of taking his seat in the United States Senate by turning over
the Examiner to his son, William Eandolph Hearst. During the period
preceding the accession of William E., the Examiner was run on substan-
tially the same lines as those followed in its previous career. Its managing
editor was Clarence Greathouse, better known as a genial gentleman and a
clever politician than as a newspaper man. Perhaps he recognized this fact,
for he subsequently abandoned the profession and became the confidential
adviser of the Emperor of Corea, graduating from the United States Con-
sul Generalship into that position. While Mr. Greathouse was in charge of
the Examiner it was always stanchly Democratic and was never guilty of
straying from the straight path.

The Chronicle on national issues after 1880 was always Eepublican.
It had before that time exhibited its devotion to the principles of protection,
but as the years wore on, and California began to build up its great horti-
cultural industry, it began to urge more strongly than ever
Advocate 1 of the desirability of tne State, arraying itself on the side of the
the Protective P ar ty that could be depended upon to secure for the citrus
Policy fruit growers and the producers of prunes the same advan-

tages which the Eastern commonwealths had derived from
the protection of manufactured articles. The Chronicle was not very
sanguine that the policy would have any appreciable effect upon the devel-
opment of manufactures on the Pacific Coast, for it recognized that a large
near-by market was essential to the profitable pursuit of the industry, but
it was convinced that the State would profit by creating a great home
market for its products, and, therefore, urged with vigor and all the argu-
ments at its command that prosperous ironworkers in Pennsylvania and
other Eastern states would result in the creation of big armies of consumers
of prunes, oranges and other fruits. It did not content itself with repeating

__^ Training School for Statesmen 127

the stock arguments of the protectionists, but displayed the same thorough-
ness in its investigation of this great problem as it had shown in other
fields. As early as the campaign which resulted in the election of Garfield,
the subject was treated in all its aspects, and in the succeeding years it
became recognized as one of the foremost exponents of the protective policy
and its articles on the subject were widely quoted. In the campaign of
1888, it devoted eight pages of a special protection edition to a history of
the operations of the protective tariff in the United States, which was spoken
of in Congress as the most thorough presentation of the subject ever made
in the columns of a newspaper.

The fact that The Chronicle devoted much space to the elucidation of
the tariff problem, and that its proprietor, M. H. de Young, began very
early to be recognized as a factor in national politics, being frequently

chosen as a National Committeeman and as a delegate to the
Independence na ti° na l conventions of the Republican party, did not have
of The the effect of making an organ of the paper. It steadily and

Chronicle consistently advocated the vital principles of Republicanism,

but unhesitatingly criticised what it regarded as abuses within
the party. It was zealous and untiring in a campaign, but never took orders
or looked for any reward other than the satisfaction derived from being on
what it conceived to be the right side. It believed in a paper clearly
enunciating its principles, and unhesitatingly characterized as a mischievous
tendency the disposition to get rid of party responsibility by the device of
non-partisanism, which it urged was usually a cloak for carrying out designs
which could not receive a formal indorsement from any body of men desir-
ous of upholding a principle. But these convictions were urged in the same
manner and with the same object that it' published its "History of Educa-
tion" on July 17, 1888, on the occasion of the meeting of the National
Educational Association in this city. It believed it was performing a public
service in devoting eight pages to that subject, and felt that its publication
would reflect credit on the community, whose support made possible so
voluminous' a treatment in a daily paper of so vital a subject.

In the preceding chapters many instances of "the journalism that does
things" have been presented, but none transcends in importance and perma-
nent value the part played by The Chronicle in broadening the operations

of what is now known as the Weather Bureau, but which in
J he l'sm "^^ was a cor P s bf the United States Army, known as the
That Does Signal Service. Meteorology was then an undeveloped sci-
Things ence. It would not be accurate to say that it was in its

infancy, for it had occupied the attention of many students
for a long time, but the practical results of their studies at this time
extended no further thaff the issuance of maritime warnings which kept
sailors from putting to sea when a storm was brewing, and predictions con-
sulted by the credulous who wished to know whether it was prudent to go
abroad without an umbrella, or prospective picnickers who were anxious
concerning the state of the weather. But there were men in the Signal
Service who had great faith that meteorology with proper encouragement
would some day be developed into an exact science, whose workings would
prove of incalculable benefit to mankind. Among these believers was Lieu-
tenant, now Colonel, W. A. Glassford of the United States Army, who was
then in charge of the branch of the Signal Service having its headquarters

!- 8 Journalism in California

in San Francisco. Lieutenant Glassford's duties brought him into contact
with The Chronicle, and he succeeded in imparting some of his enthusiasm
to the paper, which undertook the costly experiment of demonstrating that
the weather warnings could be made as useful to the agriculturist on land
as to the mariner who goes down to the sea in ships.

The Chronicle had long been engaged in the work of stimulating the
orchard and vineyard industries of California and had made a study of the
drawbacks attendant upon the culture of citrus fruits and grapes. In com-
mon with everyone who gave the matter attention, it recog-
Chronicle's n i ze( l that if the science of meteorology could be developed
Weather to the stage that would permit forecasts to be made a sufficient

Warnings time in advance to allow warnings to be sent to producers

much might be done to minimize the hazards of the horti-
cultural and viticultural industries. Lieutenant Glassford was confident
that storms and low temperatures could be foretold sufficiently long in
advance of their coming to admit of proper precautions against injury. But
the question was : How can the warnings be got to those interested ? It was
at this stage of the meteorological game that The Chronicle stepped into
the breach. The Federal Government had not been unduly liberal in
making appropriations for the weather branch of the Signal Service, and it
was obliged to hew close to the line in its operations. A sum was provided
for a fixed number of observers, for the rental of quarters and for the pur-
chase of instruments, but there was no provision made for sending out
warnings by telegraph or otherwise. There was no order, however, inter- ,
fering with the making of experiments, provided that they involved no draft
on the Treasury, and when the suggestion was made to Lieutenant Glassford
that a demonstration be made of the feasibility and value of land warnings,
he was quick to embrace the opportunity which The Chronicle offered him
to prove that the service could be made highly beneficial to the horticultural
interests of the State.

A scheme was mapped out which required the active co-operation of the
communities to be benefited. In addition to the stations where volunteer
and regular observers had already been provided with the necessary instru-
ments, a large additional number of stations were created,
How *^ e the volunteer observers of which were expected to make the

Warned hy readings and perform the simple duties connected with the
The Chronicle carrying out of the plan, the principal feature of which was
the posting of warnings which were to be sent from San
Francisco by telegraph. For the purpose of displaying these warnings The
Chronicle had constructed neat frames of tin properly glassed to protect
the bulletins from the weather. In all, there were nearly one hundred of
these bulletin boards provided, on which were daily displayed the weather
predictions of the chief signal officer in San Francisco. Local interest in
their dissemination was so great that steps were taken promptly to utilize
the information, and by various devices, such as the raising of flags, blowing
of whistles, etc., the countryside was quickly acquainted with impending
changes. The demonstration was a thorough success, and was made at great
cost to Mr. de Young. It was continued during three months, and before
its conclusion Congress was being bombarded by the horticultural and
other interests of California to maintain it permanently. The response was
not as swift as it might have been, perhaps because the predecessor of Gen-

WfeATHER Indications

•FURNISHED DAILY EYTHE

S/W FRflNCISCO CHRONICLE

(lit i in it H | i in v » i i i

SAN Fiasco CHRONICLE

it >tt >•> i it ttuit

FOR.C.AUFORNIA

I t I 111, ,, , ( , | || lilt Mill I,"
il \ I >\ i, % , || t I » » fill «l .

ii_ ..:_"■ __~._d-j

BULLETIN BOARD OF WEATHER SERVICE
Started by Chronicle in 18S5 to demonstrate the feasibility ol
giving timely warnings to the agriculturists of California,
subsequently adopted by the Government.

Training School for Statesmen 129

eral Greely did not take a lively interest in the matter. When that officer
came to the head of the service he framed a report which was considered by
Congress and acted on in a half-hearted way. General Greely dwelt with
emphasis on what had been accomplished by The Chronicle and urged an
appropriation which would permit the continuance of the service along the
same lines. He obtained some recognition, out of which has grown the
system of warnings which annually save large sums to California growers,
but, to quote the opinion of G. H. Wilson, the local forecaster, the service is
still a long way from conferring all the benefits which we might be deriving
if The Chronicle's scheme had been carried out in its entirety.

Turning from the contemplation of a bit of newspaper enterprise of
the kind yclept "the journalism that does things," it will be instructive to
recount the development of the telegraphic news service of the San Fran-
. . Cisco press. Incidentally, the recital may clear up some

Newf ing purposely created obscurities concerning the organization

From the familiarly known as the Associated Press. When Mr. de

East Young entered the journalistic field his finances did not

permit him to entertain the notion of carrying a regular
telegraphic service, but with the growth of his paper and attendant pros-
perity he began to study methods of keeping its readers in touch with the
rest of the world. It was open to The Chronicle, of course, to bring a
special report from the East, but that precluded anything like an extrava-
gant display of news by wire. There are traces in its columns of that
curious idea that there is something about the gathering of news which
makes combinations to that end a public matter in which any one desirous
of doing so should be permitted to enjoy the specially created facilities.
But that attitude did not endure long. The Call, the Bulletin and the
Sacramento Union had associated themselves together for the purpose of
bringing to the Coast the news gathered by the New York Associated Press,
one of the several associations formed for the purpose of bringing news to
the papers of the sections in which they operated. There was no possibility
of breaking into this combination, so The Chronicle secured a report from
an organization called the American Press Association, which was brought
over the wires of the Union and Central Pacific Eailroad. This company
was known as the Pacific Telegraph Company, and was energetically seek-
ing business, and the result was a fairly good service, but not comparable
with that furnished by the Associated Press of New York.

After a long struggle, The Chronicle secured a franchise from the New
York Associated Press. This involved the bringing of a report from the
East, the entire expense of which had to be borne by the paper until it

organized a news service of its own, under the title of the
Director of Ung Chronicle Press Association. Very early in its career The
Associated Chronicle had begun effectively to cover the news of the
Press Pacific Coast. It was thus placed in a position to serve a

report to its clients, covering the whole field of news when
it obtained its franchise from the New York Associated Press in 1875. It
soon had numerous customers, among them the San Erancisco Examiner,
the Evening Post, the San Jose Mercury, the Oakland Tribune, the Sacra-
mento Bee and the Portland, Oregon, News. About 1881, the Western
Associated Press, which up to that time had maintained, relations with the
New York Associated Press, resolved to act as an independent organization

130 Journalism in California

and sought to effect alliances which, would strengthen it sufficiently to make
it a national organization of great strength. Overtures were made to The
Chronicle to take over its association, the business of which was not very
profitable and was attended with some inconveniences and annoyance'.
M. H. de Young went to Chicago and was at once made a member of the
Western Associated Press. Before the Chronicle Press Association ceased
to exist, Mr. de Young stipulated that his clients should receive the reports
of the Eastern organization. Subsequently, he was elected a director and
continued to serve in that capacity for twenty-seven years, during the period
in which it was developing into the greatest news-gathering association in
the world.

The most notable change in journalistic methods during the eighties

of the nineteenth century was the growing disposition to use pictures. Kef-

erence has been made to early efforts in that direction, but they never

developed into a steady feature. The facetious were still jn-

of h th? r ° Wth clined as late as 1885 to char S e that the portrait of Lydia
Illustration Pinkham, which appeared in the advertising columns of most
Habit dailies of the period, was made to do duty as a representation

of all sorts of celebrities "without regard to sex, color or
previous condition of servitude." There is a tradition in the artroom of
The Chronicle that a timid effort to illustrate reading matter begun in
1880 was abandoned because of the ribald jokes and the insistent prediction
that all efforts to produce passably decent pictures in papers printed on
rapid perfecting presses must fail. Whatever the cause, it is a fact that
Sunday illustrations were dropped for several years. In June, 1885, there
was a sudden outburst of artistic energy and, after that date, pictures were
regularly printed in the Sunday magazine section and sometimes appeared
in the daily. On January 1, 1887, The Chronicle annual appeared with a
full-page map of California and some fifty illustrations of business houses
and manufacturing plants of San Francisco. By this time the use of illus-
trations in the daily had become common, and they were growing in size, a
fact which testifies that the editor was becoming hardened to criticism, or
that the art had really advanced sufficiently to destroy the point of the
Lydia Pinkham joke.

The ability to turn out cuts quickly enough to make them available for
use in a daily paper was due to the adoption of what came to be known as
the chalk process, an invention attributed to Mark Twain. Although the

author had taken out a patent, it later developed that the
Progress process had been successfully used in England many years

Newspaper earlier. It had no advantage over the wood cut, except in the
Illustration matter of rapidity of production. In the preparation of a

wood cut the artist made a pencil drawing upon box wood,
which was cut in relief by an engraver, and from this it was necessary to
secure an electrotype, which had to be properly mounted to make it avail-
able for use on a rapid press. In the chalk process, the artist drew his
picture with a bent steel needle on a steel plate covered with a thin layer
of precipitated chalk and white clay. The drawing once finished the plate
was ready for stereotyping without further preparation. It was a great
time-saving method, a block being easily made ready for the chase in less
than twenty minutes. But it had its disadvantages. The artists found the work
of scratching the chalk-covered plates very disagreeable, and its use placed

Training School for Statesmen 131

all sorts of limitations upon them. There was no opportunity to use pen or
brush and freedom of execution was entirely out of the question. The
process, however, was speedily superseded by the resort to zinc etching,
which permitted more liberties to the artist. At first only pen drawings on
Bristol board were used when this method was employed. These drawings
were photographed and printed on sensitized sheets of zinc and etched with
nitric acid; the part to receive the impression was a high relief, and
specially devised machines were used to cut away the superfluous metal.
This method, introduced in 1890, was in vogue until 1898, when photo
engraving took its place. By this method, photographs, wash drawings,
paintings and water colors are reproduced directly. The copying by camera
was done by interposing a finely-ruled glass screen. After transferring the
image thus obtained to zinc and etching it a block was produced ready for
the printer. In the earlier stages of the photo engraving process screens
ruled too finely were employed, and the subsequent stereotyping process
resulted in the filling up of the lines. This difficulty was overcome in a
measure by inserting the zinc plates directly into the stereotype plate. This
took more time than could be spared in regular daily editions, so the plan
of printing direct from the etched zinc was confined to the pictures for
Sunday editions and a coarser screen was used for quick work.

Although the use of pictures grew rapidly toward the close of the
eighties, the tendency to employ large display type in -the construction of
heads was not very marked. There were some departures from the uniform

style prevalent, but they were not pronounced enough to
Advertiser attract general attention. While the uniform method of
an) i heading articles was maintained, it was possible for the

Big Type editor who "made up" the paper to arrange his matter so

that the reader could easily find the sort of news in which
he was specially interested. The later resort to what is called "freaking"
has made this impossible. The insistence of the advertiser upon having his
announcements printed alongside of reading matter has helped to con-
tribute to this result, and the most ingenious "maker up" no longer
attempts to mass matter of the same sort, and feels happy if his skill is
adequate to the task of presenting a story in unbroken sequence. It is
urged in favor of the new method that a busy generation refuses to take
the trouble to read a description of any length and that, therefore, it is
desirable, if not absolutely essential, to give as much information as possible
in heads, the type of which should be large enough to arrest the attention of
the indifferent as well as the real seeker after news.

During the eighties there was a marked accession of capable writers and
newspaper men in San Francisco, many of whom were graduated from
The Chronicle on to other papers. There were no colleges of journalism in

those days, but The Chronicle had achieved a reputation as
qj? 16 an excellent training school, and a long list of men who were

■j^ once on its staff and later achieved success in running papers

Writers of their own could be quoted. The destruction of the records

of The Chronicle and other newspaper offices renders it
difficult to present anything iike an accurate "Who Was Who" in journalism
at this .particular time, but the names of several of the best-known come
readily to the mind of old-timers. Frank M. Pixley was still firing at his
chosen targets on the Argonaut; D. F. Verdenal was writing snappy para-

132 Journal ism in California ^^^

graphs for the Stock Exchange; J. F. Bowman, for many years an editorial
writer for The Chronicle, continued with the paper until his death in 1884;
E. J. Andersen, for many years private secretary for Charles de Young,
found time to write on naval subjects, and to organize the library of The
Chronicle on a basis which made it one of the best-known sources of con-
temporary information in the country. Mr. Andersen is still in harness,
and enjoys the distinction of having been connected with the editorial end
of a newspaper longer than any other man in San Francisco. George
Hamlin Fitch came to The Chronicle from the New York Tribune in 1880,
and his work still delights the readers of the paper. He has been its book
reviewer for nearly thirty years, and he is acknowledged to be one of the
best and fairest of American critics. His duties though onerous have not
prevented his entering the literary field in the capacity of author, and it
takes a good-sized shelf to hold the books which bear his name on their
title pages.

Before Mr. Fitch took charge of the book reviews of the paper that
department was under the charge of Albert Sutliffe,who combined the
duties of dramatic and literary critic. Mr. Sutlifie was a versatile writer

and frequently contributed editorials and special articles. He
Critics^Book snare< ^ the ambition of the newspaper man of the period and
Reviewers of when the French made war on China he went to Tonquin
Ihe Chronicle for The Chronicle as its special correspondent. Mr. SutlirTe

was succeeded by Piercy Wilson, an English writer, with a
taste for dramatic criticism, which he combined with a love of sport. He
was assisted by Thomas J. Vivian, now with the Hearst papers in. New
York. Vivian was gifted with a vivid imagination, which enabled him to
conceive the impossible and describe it as an actuality in a convincing
manner. He wrote many special articles for the Sunday Chronicle, and
struck a novel note as often as any writer for the American press. He was
an especially forceful dramatic critic, and had an astonishing familiarity
with the literature of the stage. In the early eighties, Peter Eobertson
became the dramatic critic of The Chronicle, a position filled by him for
nearly a quarter of a century. Mr. Eobertson had the faculty of telling
the truth without irritating, and was greatly esteemed by members of the
dramatic profession whose fur he sometimes stroked the wrong way. Mr.
Eobertson, like many other writers on the staff of The Chronicle, must be
ranked as an author. His collected sketches, appearing under the title of
"The Seedy Gentleman," had a considerable vogue. He was a great favorite
among the members of the Bohemian Club, who honored him by making
him their president.

It may require more evidence than two or three instances afford to
establish the claim that The Chronicle newsroom was a training school for
statesmen, but that department of the paper has to its credit two United

States Senators and one Secretary of the Interior. Henry
£ C. Hansbrough presided at the. telegraphic desk of The

Schoolfor Chronicle for two or three years. He was a rapid copy
Statesmen reader and could construct a head which attracted attention.

He took a keen interest in politics and when the Dakotas
were coming into prominence he left California to strike out a new career
for himself in that country. He achieved success in his chosen field and
was elected to the United States Senate, serving his State two terms.

_ Training School for Statesmen 133

Shortly after The Chronicle entered its new home on the corner of Bush
and Kearny streets, a young man named Frank J. Cannon introduced him-
self to the editor, stating that he would like a desk position which would
give him the requisite training to fit him to run a paper which he con-
templated starting in Ogden. There was a vacancy at the time and he was
installed as reader of Coast exchanges and Coast telegraph editor. He was
industrious and quick to learn, but did not exercise undue haste in finish-
ing his education. He carried out his purpose of starting a paper, and
later was elected United States Senator from the State of Utah. He is
now the editorial writer for the Denver Eocky Mountain News. The third
on the list was Franklin K. Lane, the present Secretary of the Interior.
Mr. Lane acted as The Chronicle's telegraph correspondent in New York.
He was a young man at the time, but possessed a fund of discretion, and the
news editor paid him the compliment of permitting him to do his work
without telling him how to do it. "Ned" Townsend, as he was familiarly
called at the time, might be referred to as a fourth on the list, for he is
now a member of Congress from New Jersey. Mr. Townsend began his
San Francisco career on The Chronicle, but later joined the Hearst papers.
His "Chimmie Fadden" papers won for him national newspaper fame.

An attache of The Chronicle whose work attracted attention in the
eighties was Harry Dam. He had a brilliant style and an aptitude for
dramatic work. After some years' service on the paper, Mr. Dam was

made the executive secretary of Governor Stoneman. When
Kn~vn his labors in Sacramento were concluded he emigrated to

Chronicle London, where he succeeded in .having two or three of his

Contributors plays staged and achieved a distinct success. Charles Warren

Stoddard, Joaquin Miller, Prentice Mulford, George Alfred
Townsend and Alexander Del Mar were regular contributors of The
Chronicle during the eighties. Stoddard was sent to the Hawaiian islands
and to the Near East and his letters were a regular Sunday feature of
The Chronicle for nearly eleven years. Joaquin Miller's contributions
were as frequent, but did not extend over so long a period. Prentice
Mulford wrote articles which were characterized by one critic as common
sense philosophy. He was far moTe familiar with life in the mining camps
of the early days than Bret Harte, and came nearer giving a true picture
of the gold hunters than that author. Alexander Del Mar was a mining
engineer whose occupation carried him all over the globe, and, in addition,
was an author of distinction and became a recognized authority on the
subject of money. Some of his earliest work was done for The Chronicle,
and one notable article, written in 1881, on the growth of corporations,
foreshadowed in a remarkable manner what has since come to pass.

It was sometime in the eighties that W. W. Naughton, afterward the
sporting editor of the Examiner, attached himself to The Chronicle staff.

He recalled with considerable amusement a short time before
S^d ^ s death, i n a conversation with the writer, the fact that

Writers when he first began to make a specialty of reporting sports

for The Chronicle the question was seriously raised

whether there was enough news of that particular kind to
furnish a couple of columns regularly on Sundays, in addition to that pre-
sented in the daily. Thomas E. Flynn, who was the first to undertake the
task of providing a regular column of that sort, can testify that the job

134

Journalism in California

was not an easy one. The reference to Flynn's connection with The
Chronicle recalls the fact that he, with Arthur McEwen and Joseph Good-
man, during the eighties started a weekly paper, the professed object of
which was to hold up a journalistic mirror in which defective San Fran-
ciscans might see themselves as others saw them. The venture earned
what the French call "an esteemed success," hut it was not profitable, and
met an early fate. The trio were exceptionally fine newspaper men and
excellent writers, but their journal, even with the help of Sam Davis, who
was one of the organizers of the Sazerac lying club, proved an unprofitable
venture.

CHAPTER XVII

MIDWINTER EXPOSITION OF 1894 AND ITS EXTRAORDINARY

SUCCESS.

A New Building for The Chronicle at Market, Geary and Kearny — An Architectural
Departure Which Caused Much Headshaking — M. H. de Young's Bold Innova-
tion — The Chronicle 's Big Strides in the Eleven Years Between 1879 and 1890 —
A Sixty-Page Edition — Some Bemarkable Comparisons — Hard Times After a
Period of Prosperity — A Successful Attempt to Turn Aside Adversity — M. H.
de Young's Proposition to Hold a Midwinter Pair — A Conspicuous Instance of
the Journalism That Does Things — The Story of a Big Enterprise— The Manner
of Its Suggestion in Chicago at the Columbian Pair — An Idea Eeceived With
Enthusiasm — The Ball Set Rolling in Chicago — Local Attempts to Head off the
Project — Pears That It Could Not Be Successfully Carried Through— The First
Modest Plans — Organization Effected and M. H. de Young Selected Director-
General— Commissioners Oppose Location of Pair in Golden Gate Park — Formal
Ground Breaking August 24, 1893 — Work for the~ Unemployed — Pour Short
Months in Which to Get Ready — One Hundred and Pifty Buildings Erected —
Ready to Open on Time — A . Succession of Festivals and Other Events — An
Exposition Which Was Made to Finance Itself — What It Did for Golden
Gate Park and the City of San Francisco.

N THE 10th of June, 1890, the proprietor of The
Chronicle held a reception in the new building on the
corner of Market, Geary and Kearny streets, especially
constructed to house the new plant of the paper. The
event was one of more than ordinary importance because
it marked a departure in architecture which was char-
acterized by many as venturesome, but the wisdom of
which was approved by the event. The era of tall build-
ings had begun at the East several years earlier and the term "skyscraper"
had already become familiar to San Franciscans, but no one in the city
imagined that anyone would be bold enough to introduce the new style
of construction to Californians. When M. II. de Young, in 1888, announced
the consummation of his plans for building a ten-story steel structure on
the site which was made the center and heart of the city by the carrying
out of his determination there was a general shaking of heads. San Fran-
cisco had undergone an experience twenty years earlier which was still
fresh in the minds of many, and predictions were made that in the event
of another visitation the innovator would have cause to regret his temerity..
But the apprehensions and criticisms of those who had not investigated the
subject had no effect on Mr. de Young, who had gone into the matter
thoroughly with the leading architects of Chicago, Burnham & Root, the

135

136 Journalism in California

pioneers in the construction of lofty office buildings in that city, and was
convinced that a building erected on the most approved modern lines would
stand any shock to which it might be subjected.

The erection by M. II. de Young of The Chronicle's ten-story building
in its central location may, therefore, be characterized as an exhibition of
"the journalism which does things," as it encouraged the timid to abandon
g . a fear the retention of which would have caused San Francisco

Being a *° s * an< l out as an exception to American cities. In an era of

Squatty lofty structures it would have remained a city of low build-

City ings, which would have seemed squatty by comparison with

those of the other great marts of the country, and would have
perpetually advertised to the rest of the world an apprehension which had
no real existence;, for it was not true at the time that San Franciscans
were afraid of earthquakes or gave their possibilities mueh consideration.
The prognosticators of evil were simply indulging in speculations suggested
by an innovation, a fact attested by the comparative promptness with which
the "daring" example of Mr. de Young of The Chronicle was followed.
Nevertheless, it is reasonably certain that the almost dormant feeling would
have proved a sufficient obstacle to a departure from the old order of con-
struction had not someone been brave enough to break away from a limita-
tion which was fetteringthe progress of the city.

The erection of The Chronicle building and its occupation on June 10,
1890, was noteworthy, also, for another reason. It marked in a most sig-
nificant manner the strides made by the journal in the short space of

eleven years. In 1879, when the paper moved into the home
Madein * S ttullt for it on the corner of Kearny and Bush streets, the
Eleven newspaper men invited to inspect the equipment of the new

Years building concurred in the opinion that it would be adequate

to, the needs of a growing journal for a century to come. The
most imaginative on that September day in 1879 were unable to foresee a
tithe of the great changes eleven years would bring about; they could talk
fluently about the expansion of the city, and make estimates of future
population, but their prophecies were attended by that vagueness of detail
which tells the story of the shadow of an idea too faint to be dignified as a
concept. In 1890, when the throngs invited to inspect The Chronicle's
new home invaded every part of the building, from the pressroom in the
basement to the outlook from the tower, there was a more respectful atti-
tude toward possible change. There was a feeling that the new location
would become the heart of ihe city, but, in the minds of some at least,
there lurked the idea that more room might be needed on that particular
corner at some future day, and that the spick and span new equipment from
top to bottom might have the same fate as that left behind at Kearny and
Bush streets, when The Chronicle moved into its new quarters.

Although the reception occurred on the 10th of June, the event was
not celebrated in the columns of the paper until June 22d, when a sixty-
page edition was issued. This was by all odds the largest paper ever
printed on the Pacific Coast. Its principal features were an illustrated
description of the new building, and a detailed history of the progress of
the paper during the twenty-five years of its existence. This afforded a
fine opportunity to make pome instructive comparisons, and they were made
in a way which conveyed to the reader the impression that the jump in size

FIRST STEEL, "SKYSCRAPER" IN SAN FRANCISCO

Erected by M. H. de Young- in 1890, on the corner of Market, Geary and Kearny

streets, and occupied by the Chronicle until April, 1906.

Story of a Big Enterprise 137

from the little sheet of four pages of four columns each, to a sixty-page
paper of 420 columns was a big one, and well worth dwelling upon. There was
„. , no disputing. the fact that the 9345 inches of reading matter

Largest * n * ne sixty-page issue made a formidable showing when corn-

Paper pared with the 216 inches of the premier issue, of which

to Date nearly three-fourths was advertising, but the writer, had he

been able to put aside the veil of the future, would have been
less sure than he seemed to be that high water mark had been reached, for
since that time special editions of twice sixty pages have been printed, and
the regular Sunday issue equals that upon which so much stress was de-
servedly laid in 1890. Another feature of the sixty-page edition was a
section devoted to describing the growth of Pacific Coast towns, and the
resources which promoted their advancement. On the literary side there
was a distinct advance, and the first installment of chapters of a serial by
Bret Harte, written especially for The Chronicle, and entitled' "Through the
Santa Clara Wheat," gave promise that the Sunday magazine was to con-
tinue distinctive as well as interesting.

The prosperity which falsified the predictions of the antagonists of the
new Constitution of 1879 continued during the eighties and showed no
signs of abating until 1893, the year of the Columbian Exposition. Nearly
a quarter of a century of the closer relations with the East,
Times produced by the opening of the transcontinental railroads,

Follow had created conditions on the Coast which made its trade and

Prosperity finances respond more quickly than formerly to the aberra-
tions of Eastern markets. It was no longer possible as it had
been twenty years earlier to. escape a panic or depression having its origin
on the other side of the Rocky mountains. When the collapse which fol-
lowed the election of Grover Cleveland in 1892 occurred San Francisco
began to show signs of suffering in common with the rest of the Union.
That it escaped without serious injury and went through a financial storm
which resulted in broken banks, receiverships and bankruptcies throughout
the rest of the Union is wholly attributable to the fact that M. II. de
Young, realizing the impending danger and being a firm believer in the
theory that it is wise in times of great stress to divert the mind from
brooding, suggested and promoted a project which accomplished that object
and tided the community safely over the shoals of impending disaster. The
j.project and the mode of carrying out were frankly recognized at the time as
the most conspicuous instance in the history of American newspapering of
"the journalism that does things."

From the moment of the inception of the idea of holding an interna-
tional exposition at Chicago, The Chronicle had taken a lively interest in
the success of the enterprise and contributed largely to the enthusiasm
which resulted in California making one of the best and most
M. H. de attractive exhibits. In recognition of the personal part taken

Work 8 at bv Mr - de Youn g in promoting the idea of making Cali-

Chicago fornia's showing in its peculiar industries unrivaled, he was

appointed National Commissioner at Large, by President
Harrison, to represent the United States Government at the Chicago
Columbian Exposition, and was subsequently elected vice-president of the
National Commission. Having accepted the important positions, he gave
the duties devolving upon him earnest attention, and before and after the

138 Journalism in California

opening of the exposition he was in constant attendance in Chicago. His
work as National Commissioner brought him into close relation with many
foreign exhibitors, and that fact played its part in the formation of the
idea which bore such excellent fruit. He found that many of them were
greatly interested in California and their inquiries suggested that their
curiosity might be made to take a form that would prove beneficial to the
State. Having satisfied himself on this latter point, he broached what he
had in mind to several prominent Californians who were in Chicago at
the time, and was gratified to find that the suggestion made by him, that
it would be possible to hold a fair in San Francisco at the conclusion of
the Columbian Exposition, was received with enthusiasm.

The idea, as first outlined by Mr. de Young on May 31st, was much
more modest than the subsequent realization. He thought that a suitable
location could be secured in Golden Gate Park on which to erect a building
the size of the Mechanics' Pavilion, in which exhibits could
J^ a be housed, and that their exhibition could be made attractive

That Grew by inducing some of the best concessions to visit San Fran-
Rapidly cisco. Twenty acres was tentatively mentioned by him as

about the quantity of space that would be required. The
exchange of views by the Californians in Chicago was immediately followed
by the transmission of dispatches to the Governor of California and the
Mayor of the city, and prompt replies were received from them indicating
their willingness to assist in forwarding the project. The latter called a
meeting of prominent San Franciscans. They all agreed that such a fair
as Mr. de Young proposed would be beneficial in many ways, but the
most of them thought that the depression in business which had already
made itself felt in San Francisco would prove an insuperable obstacle to
raising the necessary funds to carry out the enterprise.

A little inquiry by the minority of the conference developed the fact
that Mr. de Young's suggestion, which was given publicity by the press,
appealed to the people. When he was informed concerning the apprehen-
sion that the enterprise could not be financed in a time of
the'* 1115 depression, Mr. de Young, on June 5th, telegraphed: "Per-

Ball mit me to put down my name as a subscriber to^the amount

Rolling of $5000." On June 11th, Mr. de Young, at a meeting called

by the California Columbian Club in Chicago, at which there
were over a hundred persons present, went more fully into details. There
were several commissioners from foreign countries present, who expressed
favorable views and gave assurances that their respective nations would be
represented creditably, if not in an official way, at least satisfactorily so
far as exhibits were concerned. Speeches were made. by prominent Cali-
fornians in which the belief was expressed that the fair could be made a
great success and that it would result in a magnificent advertisement of
the climate and resources of the Golden State. A subscription list was
passed around at this meeting and $41,500 was subscribed. A full account
of the meeting in the California Building was telegraphed to San Fran-
cisco, which had the effect of increasing the popular desire for the suggested
fair, but did not entirely allay the fears of those who had expressed doubts
concerning the ability to raise the fund that would.be required to finance
the undertaking, and at a meeting held on June 13th in the Mayor's office
a resolution was offered which would have sidetracked the proposition had

Story of a Big Enterprise 139

it carried. But the advocates of the fair protested against this summary
disposition, and asked the appointment of a committee of fifty to investigate
the matter further.

The fifty citizens were named by the Mayor and effected an organiza-
tion. A committee of eleven of their number was created to formulate a
plan of progress, which was submitted at a meeting held in the City Hall

on June 29th. At this gathering the apprehensive were out
Designation * n ^ u ^ ^ orce an( ^ several of them expressed the opinion that
Midwinter it would be impossible to carry out Mr. de Young's idea of
Fair getting up an exhibition whose name would advertise to the

world California's climatic advantages in the brief period
allotted. When the idea was first broached by Mr. de Young in Chicago
he spoke of the potency of the phrase "Midwinter Exposition," and that
title was accepted, as was also the suggestion that it should be opened on
the 1st of the succeeding January. The majority of the committee did
not share the timidity of those who urged that the time was too short to
get ready and that the money to do so could not be raised in a hurry.
Speeches were made in favor of going ahead, and there were numerous
allusions to the suggestion made in a telegram from Mr. de Young that
the effect of holding a fair in a time of depression would serve to convince
the rest of the country that the affairs of San Francisco and California
were on a solid foundation. The discussion ended in the adoption of a
plan of permanent organization, which had for its main feature the provi-
sion that four buildings should be erected, the cost of which in the
aggregate was not to exceed $500,000.

On the ensuing day, M. H. de Young was elected President and
Director-General by the citizens' committee, and an advisory board, con-
sisting of P. N. Lilienthal, Irwin C. Stump, R. B. Mitchell and A.

Andrews of San Francisco, Eugene Gregory of Sacramento,
Young Elected Jacob H - Neff of Colfax > Fulton G. Berry of Fresno and
Director- Joseph S. Slauson of Los Angeles, was also formed. As soon

General as Mr. de Young was apprised of his election he returned to

San Francisco from Chicago, and immediately on his arrival
set to work formulating the details. His experience gained as a National
Commissioner to the Columbian Exposition was drawn upon and he soon
had affairs moving in such a fashion that the skeptical abandoned their
doubts. The work of securing the necessary funds was energetically pushed,
and it speedily developed the soundness of the view that the right thing
to do when a financial stress is threatened is to create a condition which
will divert thought from impending trouble. It is noteworthy that when
the subscription list was passed around all sorts of persons were ready to
contribute, the workingman handing in his offering as freely as the mer-
chant who had faith that the enterprise would benefit business, or the
railroad, whose managers could foresee increased transportation receipts.
The total amount subscribed, including the value of contributions other
than money, was .$344,319.59. The sum may seem small compared with
the amounts expended on other expositions before and since, but the results
achieved will bear comparison with the best.

When the idea of the Midwinter Exposition was first mooted by Mr. de
Young, he spoke of twenty acres as a tract sufficiently large for the pur-
pose in view, and he also mentioned Golden Gate Park as the proper place

140 Journalism in California

in which to locate the exhibition. It did not occur to him, or to anyone
else for that matter, that there would be any objection to temporarily
devoting a portion of the people's pleasure ground to a use which would
benefit the community. By far the greater part of the more
Location 11 *° than a thousand acres composing the Park was a waste of
in ' sand hills and scrub brush, and he proposed redeeming as

Park much of this unfrequented wilderness as would be required.

But he had revised his opinion concerning the area which he
at first had thought would suffice for all requirements. The multiplying
evidences of popularity, and requests for space from neighboring states and
counties, and from concessionaires, made it clear to him that ten times as
much land as was at first suggested would be needed, and he astonished the
Park Commissioners by preferring a request to set aside two hundred acres.
Intimations had been thrown out before formal application was made that
it would be denied on the ground that the Park could not properly be put
to the use proposed, but Mr. de Young, by an energetic presentation of
what he expected to accomplish, persuaded the Commissioners that good
public policy demanded that "Concert Valley," then a wild waste, should be
temporarily surrendered, the promise, afterward made good, being given
that it would be restored in such shape that the original plans for its
permanent improvement would be greatly facilitated.

The Park Commissioners' consent to the use of Concert Valley being
obtained, Director-General de Young lost no time in preparing the site for
the occupation of the buildings decided upon. On the 24th of August, in
the presence of about sixty thousand people, ground was
Ground formally broken. The ceremony was preceded by a military

Broken an ^ c i v i c procession, one of the divisions of which was a big

band of workingmen, a part of the army of unemployed who
were to be benefited by the enterprise about to be inaugurated.
Mr. de Young made a speech before turning the first shovelful of earth,
which was largely devoted to describing the benefits which he predicted
would follow the successful carrying out of the enterprise, in the course of
which he dwelt upon the relief that would be afforded to a large number of
unemployed artisans and toilers of all kinds, not forgetting to remind his
hearers that the best possible remedy for a business depression was to do
something calculated to turn the mind from its contemplation. This he
declared would surely happen when the community woke to the full realiza-
tion of what it was purposed to accomplish. Speeches of similar import
were made by W. H. L. Barnes and Irving M. Scott, and the first earth was
turned with the silver shovel especially made for the occasion.

From that moment, Concert Valley was a scene of activity. With an
eye to dramatic effect, the Director-General had in readiness a band of
workers with teams, and the crowd of sixty thousand witnessed the begin-
ning of the task of converting an unsightly waste of two hun-
^" our sl J ort dred acres into a suitable site for the big buildings, the plans
WWcl^t^Get f° r which would be in readiness before the contractor, work
Ready he ever so swiftly, could prepare the ground. There was no

waiting for anything after the ground breaking ceremony, for
it had been decided that the fair should be opened on the 1st of January,
1894. That left but four short months in which to complete some 150
buildings, great and small, put the grounds in orderand to install the ex-

Story of a Big Enterprise 141

hibits. It will be recalled that when the project was first suggested a single
building of the size of the Mechanics' Pavilion, and provision for the attrac-
tions Of concessionaires, were spoken of, but long before the ceremony of
ground breaking the Director-General had foreseen that every foot of the
two hundred acres asked for would be needed to meet the demands of
intending participants.

The main buildings decided upon, which were to surround the Grand
Court of Honor, were under construction before the contractor who was
putting the grounds into shape had completely finished his task. They were
. five in number, and the largest, dedicated to Manufactures

hidings an< ^ Li Dera l Arts, was 462 feet long and 225 feet wide,

and the with an annex 370 feet by 60 feet. The style of archi-

Grand Court tecture was an adaptation from the California mission. The
next largest was the Horticultural and Agricultural Building,
400 by 200 feet, surmounted by a dome 100 feet in diameter and ninety
feet high. The architect in the main followed Spanish and Eomanesque in
his treatment, which had also a suggestion of the old missions. The
Mechanical Arts had an East Indian motive. It was 330 feet long by 160
deep. The Fine Arts was suggestive of Egypt, and with its decorations of
sphinxs and hieroglyphs it presented a unique and not unpleasing appear-
ance. Its dimensions were 120x60 feet, but, before the fair opened, an
annex had to be provided to accommodate the exhibits. The Administra-
tion building, with its gilded dome 135 feet high, was one of the most
striking structures on the Grand Court. The architect went to Byzantium
for his model, but in the ornamentation used Gothic and Moresque motives
impartially, producing a satisfactory effect. It is worth noting that in
scheming the general effect the color idea was adopted. The historian of
the Midwinter Fair, commenting on this feature, said : "The buildings
were so beautifully colored that the Grand Court, around which they stood,
was said by visiting journalists to entitle the exposition to the name of
'The Opal City.' "

In addition to the five main buildings on the Grand Court the Com-
mission constructed a Festival Hall, 180x160 feet, in which concerts were
given and which provided a place for the meeting of conventions, several
of which were held while the fair was in progress. The
° n ® *J?i" dred aggregate cost of these six principal structures was $353,731.
Buildings No account appears to have been kept of the amount expended

Erected in the construction of most of the other buildings erected by

states, counties, foreign, countries and concessionaires, some
of which nearly rivaled in size the principal structures. Several of the
counties maintained separate exhibits, notably Alameda, while, in other
cases, sections united for a common display. The Northern and Central
counties resorted to this latter course, and Southern California had a hand-
some building, in which its special products were displayed. The State
of Nevada made an effective display, and Oregon showed what could be
done with the lumber from its great forests. The Chinese had one of the
most striking exhibits, housed in a structure of a style not seen outside of
China before, and the Japanese gave visitors an idea of their landscape
gardening by fashioning the "Tea Garden," which still exists in the Park
as a memorial of the Midwinter Fair, it being presented to the Commis-
sioners after the closing of the exposition.

142 Journalism i n Cal ifornia ^^^^

The Plaisance of the Midwinter Fair was one of its greatest attrac-
tions. The popularity of the name given to the section devoted to conces-
sions in Chicago caught the fancy of San Franciscans and by common con-

sent the thoroughfare along and near which the concessions
Plaisance and were arran g e( i was called "The Midway." Among the most
the Many alluring of these side shows were : The Forty-Nine Camp,

Festivals a Dahomey Village, the Streets of Cairo, the Crater of

Kilauea of Hawaii, Arizona Indian Village, Vienna Prater,
Heidelberg Castle and German Village, Japanese Theater, Firth Wheel,
Oriental Theater, Scenic Eailway, Esquimau Village, North American
Indians and Boone's Arena and Menagerie. The buildings and the
inclosures for all these concessions, the state and county buildings, the prin-
cipal structures on the Grand Court, grandstands and innumerable, booths
were all in readiness on the day announced for the opening, but untoward
weather delayed the arrival of some of the principal exhibits and prevented
their installation before the 1st of January, but the fair was informally
opened on that date, the Director-General having resolved to redeem the
promise made when the project was first launched.

The ceremonial opening, which was marked by a grand parade, did not
occur until January 29th. The day was beautiful and a vast throng was
in attendance, 72,248 passing through the turnstiles. All the foreign

exhibits were in place and the concession attractions were
Ceremonial running in full blast. The states and counties were all in
Opening readiness, and their displays were a source of gratification

to the Pacific Coasters who had the pleasure of seeing them.

The exhibits in the foreign sections were very attractively dis-
played in booths, many of which were constructed at great expense and
handsomely decorated. From that day until the closing of the gates on
the Fourth of July, there was a continuous succession of fetes and events.
There were parades by day and fireworks and electric displays by night.
The first real acquaintance with the possibilities of electricity in the way
of illumination was made by San Franciscans when the lofty tower in the
center of the Grand Court was picked out with colored incandescent lights,
and the fountain at the north end was playing, showing, with the aid of
colored prisms operated from beneath, sheaves of wheat, golden and silver
cascades of water and other beautiful objects. There was no lack of music,
the best military bands of the East and one specially organized for the fair
playing by day, and a splendid string orchestra discoursing symphonic and
other high class music in Festival Hall at night. There were almond blos-
som days and rose and other floral festivals and tournaments at arms.
There was something doing all the time, either gay or serious, among
events in the latter category being congresses discussing Economies and
Politics, Eeligion, Literature, Education, Chemistry and Woman's Affairs.
Nearly 200,000 persons passed through the turnstiles during the first
two weeks after the formal opening. The total number of admissions
between January 27th and July 4th was 1,315,022. In addition, there
was a pre-exposition record of 78,192 and of 40,867 between July 5th and
31st, making a grand total of 1,434,081. Among the days of largest attend-
ance were the following: Washington's Birthday, 35,000; Examiner's
Children's day, 55,000 ; St. Patrick's day, 75,000 ; Chronicle Children's day,
90,097, and the closing day, July 4th, 79,082. It was confidently expected

_^ Stor y of a Big Enterprise 143

that the attendance on the closing day would top the 100,000 mark, but the
distraction produced by a railroad strike in progress, which had resulted in
_,. interrupting communication with the city, destroyed this hope.

Attendance When it is kept in mind that the population of the region
and the which finds San Francisco easily accessible was not more than

Big Days one-third as great in 1893 as it is at present, the above

showing must be regarded as marvelous and thoroughly
indicative of the pleasure loving propensities of the citizens of the Pacific
Coast metropolis. In order properly to understand what was accomplished,
it is necessary to recall the fact that the Midwinter Exposition did not
receive one cent from the municipality, state or nation. It was a purely
voluntary affair, and an exhibition of public-spiritedness and enterprise
the like of which had never been witnessed in this or any other country.
When compared with some of the expositions which were the recipients
of public aid on a liberal scale, San Francisco's Exposition does not suffer
by the comparison. The Centennial at Philadelphia only boasted five

main buildings and less than 200 structures of all sorts. The
WasMade to New 0r,eans Fair of 1884-85 received a national loan of a
Finance million, which was never repaid, and in addition sold a half

Itself million of stock, and obtained $100,000 each from the city of

New Orleans and the State of Louisiana. The Jamestown
Exposition was also liberally endowed by the Nation, but failed to justify
itself. San Francisco's undertaking stands almost alone as an instance
of an enterprise which practically financed itself after the original volun-
tary subscription was provided, and on that account the figures of its
final accounting are interesting. The receipts aggregated $1,260,112, being
made up of the following items : Subscriptions, $370,775 ; sales of space,
$77,855; gate receipts, $531,722; grandstand, $9997; concessions, $125,086;
privileges, $89,471, and salvage, $10,445. The principal items of expendi-
ture were: Salaries, $240,539; amusements, $113,740, and construction
and purchases for museum, $731,377. When the affairs of the enterprise
were all wound up, improvements and donations aggregating in value
$194,051.49 were turned over to the Park Commissioners. On the oc-
casion of the formal presentation of the Museum to the Park the chairman
acknowledged the gift in these words: "For years to come the building
will remind our people that in the years 1893-94, in the midst of almost
unprecedented financial depression, an industrial exposition was here pro-
jected and carried to a successful termination. * * * It is no secret that
the Park Commissioners did not receive the exposition project in its incep-
tion with any degree of hospitality, and that, when they consented to allot
space in the Park they did it with misgivings and really in obedience to an
overwhelming public opinion. * * * The differences between the exposi-
tion directory and the Commissioners are of the past. The exposition has
been a success." And that was the verdict of the whole community, and,
because it proved so, the writer makes bold to claim for it the distinction
of being the most conspicuous example of the journalism that does things
which the. country has witnessed. It was the conception of a newspaper
man who depended chiefly upon the energetic efforts of his paper to promote
the enterprise. Through the instrumentality of The Chronicle enthusiasm
was aroused and interest kept alive, and what at first was characterized by
the timid as a doubtful undertaking was converted into a glorious success.

CHAPTER XVIII

JOURNALISTIC CHANGES AND POLICIES PEIOE
TO NINETEEN HUNDEED.

No Monopoly in the Field of Journalism — Great Journals the Product of Toil and
Patient Upbuilding — The Disappearance of the Alta California — A Newspaper
Killed by Cheapness — Objection to the Introduction of Pennies — Diminishing
Interest in Stock Speculation Causes Death of Two Papers — The Bulletin and
Call Change Hands — John D. Spreckels Acquires the Call — Strenuous Adherence
to the Policy of Pay-as- You-Go— The New City Hall of 1870 a Euin Before
It Was Finished — Property Sold by the City Bepurchased to Secure a Building
Site — The Dollar Limit of Taxation and the Water Supply — The Eegulation of
Water Bates — Dollar Tax Limit Used as a Political Bait by Boss Buckley —
Newspaper Hostility to Smooth Pavements — Editors Who Were Beserved in the
Matter of Expressing Opinion — Samuel S. Moffat's Pree Trade Articles in the
Examiner — The Chronicle's Advocacy of the Development of the Besources of
the State— Helping Neighboring States and Territories — Good Advice Given to
Southern Californians — The Bush to the Klondike — Big. Force Sent to Beport
the Discoveries — A Twelve-Page Edition of the Northern El Dorado — Optimistic
Predictions Concerning Alaska — A Book Published in a Single Issue — Chronicle
Monographs Beproduced as Public Documents by Congress.

HE most important factor in the development and exten-
sion of journalism in the United States was the growth
of the prosperity of the country. The increasing
wealth of its inhabitants made possible the exploitation
of the numerous inventions, both European and Ameri-
can, which had for their object the improvement of the
processes of newspaper production, all of which tended
toward the multiplication of journals and periodicals of
all kinds and the enlargement of the circulations of those already estab-
lished. This latter phenomenon concurred with the extinction of once
popular favorites. The disappearance of the latter, however, is in no wise
attributable to the crowding-out process, for simultaneously with the
valedictories of the unfortunate publishers there were constantly appearing
salutatory announcements from, fresh aspirants for approval who were
undeterred by the bad luck or the ill results of the mismanagement of the
unsuccessful. There is nothing in the history of newspapering in San
Francisco more striking than this latter fact, and it disposes of the fallacy
entertained in some quarters that the great journals of this and other
American cities enjoy a monopoly in newsgathering or any other journal-
istic field. The fact that it would be hopeless for the possessor of great
wealth to enter into successful competition with established journals by the
lavish expenditure of money does not prove that those already occupying

144

The Opposition to Pennies 145

the afield enjoy a monopoly; it merely emphasizes what many have learned
to their cost, namely, that a great newspaper can be created only by the
slow process of upbuilding.

On the other hand, a newspapeT assumedly well established, and in
the enjoyment of all the facilities which experience and public favor can
confer, may t despite apparently inexhaustible resources, meet the fate of the
struggling aspirant who attributes his failure to succeed to
California exclusive privileges possessed by his competitors. That was
Ceases the case of the Alta California, which passed out of existence

Publication in 1891. The Alta was a pioneer paper, the lineal suc-
cessor of the Star and Californian of 1849. It began pub-
lication as a tri-weekly in 1849 and about a month after its issuance in that
form it blossomed out into San Francisco's first daily. It soon had rivals
which surpassed it in circulation and business, but, as a result of the Vigi-
lante uprising, it forged to the front, the business men of the city by
concerted action transferring their patronage from the Herald to the Alta.
In May, 1858, its owners, Pickering and Fitch, sold it to Frederick Mc-
Crellish & Co. Under their management, it was fairly prosperous, suffi-
ciently so to absorb the Times and to maintain its leading position, al-
though it made no particular effort to do so, pursuing the even tenor of its
way, sticking to eld methods and disregarding would-be rivals. After the
death of McCrellish and Woodward, it fell into the hands of James G.
Fair, who acquired it for the purpose of promoting his large personal in-
terests and supporting his political aspirations. Queerly enough, although
the Alta was able to draw on a practically exhaustless treasury, it drooped
and finally died.

The extinguishment of the Alta was the most notable item in the
journalistic mortuary record of the nineties, unless that of the Evening Ee-
port, because of the circumstances of its death, is entitled to that distinc-
tion. The Eeport was started as early as 1863, but for a con-
oTthe 3 ' 661 siderable period hardly took rank as a newspaper, its atten-
Daily tion being wholly confined to mining news and quotations of

Eeport the stock market. When the Big Bonanza excitement took

possession of the city it began to print general news, and,
under the management of its proprietor, William M. Bunker, who bought
an interest in 1875, it began seriously to dispute the field with the Post
and Bulletin. After the subsidence of interest in mining stocks, the Ee-
port began to lose attractiveness, but was still a good enough paper to
tempt the Scripps League to take it over, paying Bunker a handsome price
for the property. The new management made the blunder of imagining
that. San Francisco was ripe for the introduction of a penny paper. Up to
that time no paper in San Francisco was sold for less than five cents. In-
deed, the public had hardly emerged from the "bit" habit. The nickel
was still regarded with distrust, an uneconomic people arguing that the
use of small coins would prove destructive to a high standard of living.
This attitude of the community, combined with the open hostility of the
newsboys, proved fatal to the Scripps' venture and very soon the Eeport
was numbered among the "has beens" of San Francisco journalism. An-
other evening paper, similar in its origins, known as the Stock Exchange,
also departed its life in the early nineties. It was well edited, and during
the period when the sale of mining stocks and the collection of assessments

146 , Journalism in Cal ifornia

on non-paying dividend shares flourished it enjoyed a fair patronage. D.
F. Verdenal, who subsequently became the New York correspondent of
The Chronicle, was the editor in the heyday of its prosperity.

The Call passed from the ownership of Pickering and Fitch, who had
built it up, and into the possession of John D. Spreckels in 1897. Up to
the time of the transfer this jpurnal had maintained the extreme conserva-
tism which had marked its course from the date of its founda-
P^ u tion. Rivalry proved powerless to influence the style of the

Changes presentation of news adopted a score of years earlier. Flam-

Hands boyaney in headings or typography were abhorred by the

editors of both the Call and Bulletin and they were equally
averse to departures in reporting or innovations of any sort. They did
not lack good writers and competent reporters, but they worked under a
restraint which made it impossible for them to show what was in them.
Mr. Fitch, who devoted his attention to the Bulletin, was a forceful edito-
rial writer, and he had able assistants in Matthew G. Upton and William
Bartlett, the latter being especially proficient in the discussion of eco-
nomic subjects. Mr. Fitch had early assumed an attitude of intense hos-
tility to public expenditure and became the champion of the dollar limit
in taxation. The exposure of the corruption of the city government pre-
ceding the Vigilante outbreak had prepared the public mind to accept as
the last word in municipal management opposition to everything remotely
resembling unnecessary expenditure. This was the position taken by the
People's' party, which came into existence about the time of the" adoption
of the Consolidation Act in 1856, and which retained power for nearly
fourteen years, chiefly because of the dread of debt fostered by the teach-
ings of the Bulletin.

There is a perfect agreement among old-timers that the Bulletin per-
formed a valuable public service for a period, but that the benefits con-
ferred were later offset by the failure of the extreme advocates of municipal
economy to recognize the necessity of a city keeping abreast
£f n H^nd° Cate of the world in the matterof -improvements. The Bulletin
to Mouth na( i pinned its faith to Hawes' system of checks and balances,

Finance which was so skillfully framed that it permitted scarcely

anything else than the collection and expenditure of money
on the hand-to-mouth plan. The instrument was absolutely inflexible, but
there is reason for doubting that it accomplished any real economies after
it had been in force for sometime. It was the stumbling block in the way
of procuring a charter adapted to the needs of the city, and, while it was in
operation, it compelled lobbying at Sacramento to secure authorization to
do anything out of the usual. Its hide-bound provisions were responsible
for the fact that San Francisco had no people's pleasure ground, maintained
by the public, until 1870, and that finally, when in that year it was re-
solved to build a new City Hall in place of the makeshift affair on Kearny
street fronting Portsmouth square, it was some twenty-eight or thirty
years in course of construction, and when finished was a hybrid structure
totally lacking in symmetry owing to the changes in the original plans. It
cost over six million dollars, an absurdly extravagant expenditure, con-
sidering the result.

This exhibition of incompetence was unquestionably caused by adher-
ence to the fatuous "pay-as-you-go" plan, which actually put the city in

The Opposition to Pennies 147

the same financial position as the housewife who buys a piece of furniture
and pays for it in installments. The city was not alone obliged to pay
„. excessive prices for this piecemeal construction, but had to

New City submit to the humiliation of being gibed by strangers and the
Hall edifice, costly though it had proved to be, was jokingly

Ruin alluded to as "the New City Hall Buin." There was a colos-

sal blunder in the inception of the project clearly traceable
to the mental attitude produced by incessantly dwelling upon the necessity
of adhering rigidly to a maximum taxation system. To secure support for
the scheme of building a new City Hall the bait was offered that a large
portion of the money that would be required for its construction could be
obtained by selling a part of what had been the Yerba Buena Cemetery.
And thus it happened that the six million dollar City Hall was built on a
side street, the frontage on Market being sold by the municipality to obtain
funds. The unwisdom of this proceeding has been shown since by the pur-
chase for several million dollars of a site which will give the City Hall now
in course of construction an outlook on a specially created center, but which
does not permit its imposing proportions to be fairly viewed from the
city's most important thoroughfare.

In like manner, the undue caution begotten by the dollar limit in taxa-
tion idea must be held responsible for the existing water supply situation;
that and the fear that the owners of the existing system would profit too
. greatly if its creators should derive any profit from their en-

Dollar Limit terprise. There can be no doubt respecting the honesty of
and the the opposition of the Bulletin and Call to the acquisition of

Water Supply the Spring Valley property in the early seventies for a sum
which was not greatly in excess of its value. The fear that '
the issuance of bonds would break through the dollar limit of taxation,
however, was much more potent in producing antagonism than any appre-
hension which may have existed at the time that the system was not worth
the sum demanded. It was charged that Ealston had devised a scheme to
buy for $7,000,000 a property which he proposed selling for $15,000,000.
Whatever may have been his intention, the Spring Valley system, such as
it was, was subsequently offered to the city for $13,500,000, a proposition
which was countered by an offer from the city of $11,000,000, which was
refused. That was in 1877. A couple of years later, the Constitution,
which was derisively called a sand-lot instrument, provided in express terms
for the regulation of water rates by Boards of Supervisors, and its adop-
tion was strenuously advocated by The Chronicle, which had at an earlier
date favored the purchase of the Spring Valley system, and with equal
strenuousness was opposed by the Bulletin and Call, which had attributed to
the advocates of public ownership of water supplies a desire to forward the
desires of the Spring Valley corporation to unload its property on the city.

The keynote of municipal politics throughout the entire period between
1856 and the adoption of a charter which took the place of the antiquated
consolidation act, was the taxation limit. Extreme devotion to this one
idea is justly chargeable with the long and infamous rule of the blind
Democratic boss, Chris Buckley, who used the slogan of the dollar limit
to retain his hold on the organization and dictate policies to the highest
and least members of the party. Buckley came to the surface in the early
eighties and was driven out of town by a pamphlet launched against him

148 Journalism in California

by former State Senator Jeremiah Lynch, which mercilessly exposed his
methods. The blind boss was gifted with cunning and was quite willing to
permit the municipal tickets put forward under his auspices
Blind Boss ° ^ e nea ded with good men. He did not even shrink from
Chris the acceptance of such a man as E. B. Pond, who, as a Super-

Buckley visor, had earned the honorable distinction of being called

"the watch dog of the treasury," as Mayor, and, wittingly or
unwittingly, newspapers, beguiled by the non-partisan idea, because the
head of the ticket was sound on the question of taxation, assisted the boss
in his nefarious rule, which, if half the stories related and believed and
never resented by him were true, was more brazenly corrupt than the
infamous Schmitz-Euef regime. It did not seem to matter that municipal
expenditures rose from $4,452,940 in 1876 to over $7,000,000 in 1890,
without anything of consequence in the way of public improvement, pro-
vided the dollar tax limit was not exceeded.

Throughout the nineties columns of the Call, Bulletin and Chronicle
were filled with discussions concerning the desirability of promoting the
welfare of the city by increasing its attractiveness. Considerable virulence
. . was introduced into arguments which the reader of today

Hostility would find interesting and even amusing. The Bulletin was

Smooth uncompromisingly opposed to any departure from the method

Pavements of street making in vogue in the fifties. It was willing to
admit that cobble stones were not quite the thing for paving
the thoroughfares of an ambitious metropolis, but its editor was quite sure
that nothing could surpass in durability what he persisted in misnaming
Belgian blocks. What he designated as such were merely pieces of basaltic
rock roughly shaped, which were laid loosely in a bed of sand. To suggest
a resort to pavements of wooden blocks invited opprobrious comment. De-
spite the fact that London, Paris and other cities had successfully resorted
to this style of thoroughfare, the Bulletin unhesitatingly denounced it as
an absolute failure. As for asphaltum composition and bituminous rock,
they were contemptuously referred to as poultices. The Chronicle, which
saw merit in smooth pavements, insisted that there was something else to be
considered in laying a roadway than durability, and became so impatient
with the extreme conservatism of its antagonist it charged him with being
a "silurian," a term which stuck.

These wordy wars concerning municipal improvement and politics were
mainly confined to the columns of the Bulletin and Chronicle. Mr. Pick-
ering was never very vehement in the expression of his views, but the care-
ful reader could guess to which side he was inclined, despite
^ . the caution exercised in framing opinions and statements in

Editorial suc ' 1 a fashion that they would not give offense to the most

Policy sensitive subscriber. The Examiner was even less pronounced

after William E. Hearst assumed charge, and there was an
intimation thrown out very soon after his assumption of authority that
the editorial columns of a newspaper were becoming a negligible factor in
journalism. Whether that opinion was genuinely entertained or not, it is
true that there was a complete revolution of method. The elaborate dis-
cussions which once characterized the Examiner gave way to disquisitions
whose flippant disregard of orthodox Democratic doctrine alarmed the
faithful, and the belief soon became current that Mr. ' Hearst could not be

CHRIS BUCKLEY
The Blind Boss of the Democratic party.

The Opposition to Pennies 149

depended upon to support party policies. It was apparent to the most
superficial observer that the changed Examiner was more intent on at-
tracting attention to itself by doing thiiigs out of the usual than it was con-
cerned about the formation or interpretation of public opinion. This idea
was not tenaciously adhered to, for, after the first flurry, the Examiner
settled down to solid work and one of its writing editors, Samuel S. Moffat,
produced a series of articles on free trade which were afterward put into
book form and were regarded by the Democrats of that period as the last
word on the subject. Mr. Moffat was a student of economics and was
familiar with all the arguments of the Manchester school. His views would
hardly harmonize with those of the present-day Examiner, which would
be coldly regarded by any one grounded in the theories of the Cobdenites.

The change in the conduct of the Call after its purchase by John I).
Spreckels extended to every department of the paper. Under successive
managers, it developed differences which distinguished it from the Call of
earlier days. The first to take charge, was Charles M. Short-
Develomnent r ^S e ' wh° se experience in journalism was largely gained in
of State's San Jose. Mr. Shortridge made the surprising announce-
Resources ment that he was going to make the Call a real California
paper, the implication being that its rivals were not sufficiently
interested in the development of the commonwealth. His advent in metro-
politan journalism was hailed with satisfaction by a large section of the
interior press, but it did not endure long, for it soon developed that the
new editor's opinions were illusory, and that there really was no possibility
of greatly improving on the methods of The Chronicle, which for many
years had made a specialty of exploiting the resources and industries of the
Golden State and had left no possible chance to promote its prosperity un-
tried. Some of the earlier efforts of The Chronicle in this direction have
been referred to, but they were immeasurably surpassed by later exploits in
the same field. Its annual reviews of the progress of the State continued
to grow in comprehensiveness year after year, and whenever the occasion
presented itself to promote a desirable industry it was promptly seized.

On the 23d of August, 1889, a special edition was issued, eight pages
of which were devoted to irrigation in California. The subject was then
absorbing a great deal of public attention, and, under the title, "How to
Make the Desert Bloom," the progress in reclamation and
Chronicle's ^e f u t ure f irrigation were fully dealt with. It returned
Editions *° the subject a couple of years later, and, on June 7, 1891,

Development printed thirteen pages on the subject of irrigation, the
Wright law being particularly considered. On May 24th of
the following year, mining was dealt with in the same thorough fashion,
ten pages being devoted to the history of the industry on the Pacific Coast.
Eighteen ninety-three was prolific in special numbers. On January 1st of
that year twelve pages were given to the story of the development of the
State under Spanish and American rule; on April 23d, a Columbian
World's Fair edition was issued, consisting of sixty-four pages. It was a
complete survey of the growth and resources of California, and a very large
edition was distributed at Chicago, it soon being found by the State's repre-
sentatives that the easiest way of thoroughly acquainting the inquirer con-
cerning what the State had to offer was to present him with a copy of that
issue of The Chronicle. On the 31st of December, to signalize the opening

150 Journalism in California

of the Midwinter Fair, a special of sixty-four pages was issued, in which
the State's best foot was shoved well forward. This edition was profusely
illustrated and introduced something new in the way of newspaper illus-
tration in the shape of marginal illustrations, every page of the edition
devoted to the exploitation of California's resources being thus treated.

In the early part of its career and until the region north of California
became sufficiently populous to support metropolitan papers of its own, The
Chronicle devoted much of its space in its annuals and special numbers to
. describing the progress and resources of Oregon and the Ter-

Neignboring ritory which afterward became the State of Washington. It
States and a ls° performed a like service for Nevada, Idaho and Mon-
Territories tana, taking pleasure in championing their interests and being
foremost in advocating their admission to statehood. It had
no doubts concerning the value to a people of the right to regulate their own
affairs, being convinced that however well intentioned Congress and the
executive departments in Washington might be they could not do as well
for communities situated thousands of miles from the seat of government as
they could themselves. On this theory it urged the admission of Arizona
many years before the bqon of statehood was conferred. Its tendencies in
this direction earned for it the distinction of being regarded as a Pacific
Coast journal. Its local contemporaries shared this interest, but they were
less convinced of the value of consistent and persistent presentation of the
resources and progress of the region west of the Rockies than The Chroni-
cle; at least, they did not lay as much stress on the desirability of pro-
moting its settlement as The Chronicle, which constantly acted on the
conviction that the development of what was familiarly termed "the Coast"
would redound to the advantage of its metropolis.

It was upon this theory that The Chronicle boasted of the climate of
California and its attractiveness long before the people of Los Angeles
awoke to the fact that climate-was one of the most valuable assets of South-
ern California. In an editorial written shortly after the
Southern completion of the railroad which linked Los Angeles with

jj est San Francisco, The Chronicle predicted that in the near

Adviser future people from the East would find their way to that city

in as large numbers as those of Europe did to the Riviera. At
a later period, when Los Angeles boasted only two very mediocre hotels,
the Pico House and the Westminster, it pointed out that hostelries which
would rival the best found in Eastern resorts would prove paying invest-
ments. It saw in its growth, and that of the entire region south of the
Tehachapi a promise of the future greatness of San Francisco, which could
only occur through the filling up of the State and the development of its
great resources. In one of its annual issues, that of January 1, 1885, com-
menting on the growth of traffic by rail and steamer between San Francisco
and Los Angeles, it said : "We may look forward to the day when at least
two large cities will grow up in Southern California, and when that time
arrives the commerce between them and this port will attain proportions we
scarcely dream of now." The prediction has been fully realized and has
justified the policy which prompted the journalistic course which so greatly
contributed to that result.

The so-called "non-contiguous territory" of Hawaii and Alaska has
been the recipient of much attention from San Francisco journals. Ever

The Opposition to Pennies 151

S + n ^ j 16 annexation of tne Hawaiian group of islands The Chronicle has
studied the interests of its inhabitants and has sought to promote them.
Special Jt was not sin g u l ar in that regard, every San Francisco paper

Hawaiian recognizing the intimate commercial relations of the islanders

Editions of with San Franciscans, but the attitude of The Chronicle on
The Chronicle the subject of protection caused it to take a more active part

in presenting Hawaiian claims than any of its contemporaries,
and this put it in closer touch with the people of the remote Territory than
it might otherwise have been. The result of this intimacy was the is-
suance of special Hawaiian numbers at times when their appearance was
particularly opportune. On January 31, 1898, a twenty-page edition, con-
taining "The Story of Annexation," written by Walter Gifford Smith, was
published. Mr. Smith, who had been on the staff of The Chronicle for
many years, having acted as its special correspondent during the war
between Japan and China, was sent to the islands, and his contribution was
one of the best articles on the subject written by the small army of scribes
who gave the subject attention. On September 23d following, another
special Hawaiian edition was published which was more particularly de-
voted to describing the resources of the islands. Seven pages of this issue,
which was entitled "Hawaii, the Cross Eoads of the Pacific," dwelt upon
the future commercial and military importance of the then recent acquisi-
tion.

In 1897 the news of the gold discoveries in the Klondike reached San
Francisco. The reports of the richness of the finds were so alluring that
there was a big rush to the new diggings. There was no such effect pro-

duced as was witnessed in pioneer days, when the Frazer
^^ river and the Klamath beach sand stories drew so many away

to the from the city that business was seriously affected. The con-

Klondike ditions had changed to such an extent that departures, even

when on a large scale, were not referred to as an exodus or
regarded with dissatisfaction. There was a prompt recognition of the
probability that all the gold was not in British territory, and that it might
be the country's good fortune in buying Alaska to have made a good bar-
gain. This latter consideration was a large factor in promoting the very
lively interest displayed by the people of California in the discovery and
induced the newspapers of San Francisco to make extraordinary efforts to
get the facts and tell the story of the hardships encountered by those who
participated in the rush to the gold fields. On July 29, 1897, The Chronicle
sent eight men, who were to penetrate the frigid and unknown country,
and the accounts they sent out from time to time proved absorbingly inter-
esting and fully corroborative of the stories which caused their dispatch.
On December 30th, The Chronicle published a special edition, "San Fran-
cisco, the Gateway to Alaska." Twelve pages were filled with matter relat-
ing to the Territory, its commercial relations with San Francisco and its
known resources. It was remarkable for the optimistic predictions of the
writers, whose information enabled them to picture probabilities which
would have been in a fair way of realization before this if the fatuous
course of the authorities at Washington had not interposed obstacles which
are only now in a fair way of being removed.

During the nineties, The Chronicle made another innovation in jour-
nalism. On the 30th of June, it published John P.. Young's "Bimetallism

152 Journ alism in California

or Monometallism/' of which the Bimetallist of London, England, re-
marked: "It consists of twenty-five chapters, and occupies sixty-three

columns, an amount of space probably unprecedented in news-
on Finance P a per literature." It was stated by Arthur McEwen in his
Printed in a comments on its appearance that it was the first attempt of
Single Issue a daily paper in America, or anywhere else, to furnish its

readers with an exhaustive treatise on a subject uppermost
in the people's mind. Although copyrighted, it had the peculiar distinc-
tion of being pirated by Congress, a member of the House reading the
major part of it into the Record. Another treatise on the "Development of
the Manufacturing Industries of Japan," by the same author, was printed
as a United States Senate document. It appeared on February 2, 1896,
and consisted of four pages, and anticipated much that has happened in
an industrial way in Japan since that date. The economic bias of The
Chronicle was displayed during the nineties in numerous other extended
treatises. On September 13, 1896, it devoted seven pages to a description
of the "Industrial and Commercial Growth of the United States," the article
being designed to show the advances made by the country under the pro-
tective system.

No paper in the country has a more consistent record as an exponent
of the benefits of the protective system than the San Francisco Chronicle.
Almost from its birth it advocated the policy, and in later years it became

a recognized authority on the subject, its articles being quoted
of the* 07 ' n an< ^ ou * °^ Congress, and by the leading protective organ-

Protective izations of the United States. Mr. de Young elevated it above
Policy all other policies of the paper. As a protective journal, The

Chronicle's chief distinction consisted in its thoroughness, and
it did more to expose the vulnerability of the arguments of the Manchester
school of economists than the most of its protective contemporaries. It was
a pronounced advocate of the policy of building up a home market^ and
unceasingly assailed the fallacy of overrating the importance of foreign
trade. As early as 1882, it predicted that steadfast adherence to the policy
of promoting a domestic manufacturing industry would result in bringing
consumer and producer so closely together that the farmer would not need
to worry about a foreign market, and that the result would be the elimina-
tion of the great waste involved, in transporting agricultural products to
distant countries. The prediction has long since been realized. The vast
home market already absorbs the products of the farm, and it will soon be
able to consume all the cotton produced by planters if the United States
returns to sanity and adheres to the idea which made it prosperous in the
past — that of promoting all industries on our soil by extending adequate
protection to producers whether they be manufacturers, farmers or cotton
planters.

CHAPTER XIX

CHANGING METHODS AND FEATURES OE
MODERN NEWSPAPERS.

Effect of the Cheapening of Printing Paper — Cause of the Popularity of the Sunday
Magazine — Contributors of the Highest Rank — The Sunday Magazine Has
Eliminated "Grub Street" — Development of the Syndicate — Effect of Illustra-
tion on the Production of Magazine Matter — Improvement, in the Production of
Pictures — Introduction of Typesetting Machines — General Adoption of the
Linotype by Newspaper Offices — Growing Propensity to Dress Papers — Introduc-
tion and Use of the Telephone— Care Taken to Verify Kumors and State Pacts
Correctly — The Part Played by the Telephone in Getting at the Truth — General
Use of Typewriting Machines in Newspaper Offices — Copyreaders and Composi-
tors Grateful for Their Introduction — Shorthand Reports Not Commonly Made in
American Newspaper Offices — Effect of Longhand Reporting on the Develop-
ment of Literary Style — The First Sunday Editor of The Chronicle — Writers
Who Came Prom the Case — Attaches of The Chronicle Who Have Made Their
Mark — Well-known San Francisco Newspaper Men Now in Other Fields — Frank
Norris' Early Connections — The Chronicle's City Editors.

HE invention of the perfecting press has claimed most of
the credit of promoting the growth of the newspaper
reading habit in the United States. It undoubtedly
contributed more than any factor to the possibility of
production on a scale which easily permitted the plac-
ing of any number of papers desired in the hands of
readers, but the cheapening of white paper by the resort
to wood pulp as the principal stock for its manufacture
and the improvement of the machinery used in making it played its full
share. Had the processes of paper manufacturing not been revolutionized
the perfecting press would have shared the experience of a sixty-horse power
automobile compelled by ordinance to not exceed a six-mile speed limit. It
could have performed any service demanded of it, but, if white paper had
remained high priced, its output would have been curtailed by the inability
of purchasers to profitably print many-paged editions. As it is, despite its
relative cheapness, the cost of the white paper in the big Sunday editions,
and the huge special issues, often exceeds the amount at which the paper
is sold. It is a fact not often considered by the reader, who takes his
paper as a matter of course, that the modern newspaper, relatively to
cost of production, is the cheapest of all manufactured products; a result
entirely due to a degree of voluntary co-operation not attained in any
other business.

The perfecting press and cheap paper, however, must share with several
concurrent improvements the distinction the newspaper has achieved in the

153

154 Journalism in California

United States,— that of becoming the people's library. This is a country in
which libraries, large and small, abound, and there are probably more col-
_ lections of books in private ownership, not 'dignified by the

Sunday ^ e of library, but which, numerically considered, might be

Magazine's so regarded, than the whole of Europe contains. Neverthe-
Popularity less, and notwithstanding the fact that the output of "best

sellers" is enormous, and that the sale of standard works
is on a scale which makes the demand for such publications by other
peoples seem small, it is true that the chief mental pabulum of the Ameri-
can people is the contents of their newspapers. And it may be urged in
response to the adverse criticism this sometimes calls forth that the best
products of modern literature sooner or later, in some form or other, find
their way into the Sunday magazine, which is at once an anthology, a
repository of knowledge, a compendium of history and often history itself.
It is the fashion to speak lightly of the Sunday magazine because it is not
wholly made up of contributions which a fastidious literary taste could ap-
prove, and it is said that a cultivated person can find in its columns only a
small proportion of matter really worth while, but if that is a defect it is
one it shares in common with the greatest libraries whose shelves harbor a
hundred books that are never read to one that is.

The popular judgment concerning the value of the Sunday magazine
has long since received the indorsement of the most gifted in the ranks of
authorship. There is no writer of consequence today unappreciative of the

opportunity it affords to get his work before the people, or
Authors w ^° disdains the rewards it offers. It has lifted the man of

Glad to letters out of the slough of despond and given him a chance

Contribute in the struggle for existence. It has eliminated Grub street,

and has enabled genius to market its literary wares at a figure
somewhat commensurate with their value. The author of merit no longer
burns the midnight oil in a garret; oftener than otherwise he revels in the
blaze of electricity and lives in marble halls, because he is able to reach a
world of readers through the Sunday magazine. That he can do so is due
in large part to the development of the "syndicate," which had its origin in
the early nineties. It is possible that the plan of sharing the cost of a story
or other product of the pen among several simultaneous users of the same
may have been practiced at an earlier period, but it was not until about that
time that S. S. McCIure began to develop the system of thus marketing
literary wares which has since attained to such large proportions. On
March 1, 1891, The Chronicle began the publication of a series of letters
written by Eobert Louis Stevenson, entitled "In Southern Seas." It ap-
pears as special correspondence of the paper, and was shared with four or
five Eastern journals. When McCIure first inaugurated the service, the
patrons of his syndicate published the article or story in advance of its
appearance in book form, protecting the author by copyright. Later, he
developed the practice of selling the privilege of printing after the book
had been placed on the market.

In the earlier nineties, the opportunity to secure matter from a syndi-
cate was welcomed by the Sunday editor of The Chronicle. Aspirants for
literary fame were less common then than they became later, and it was
often difficult to secure enough contributions to make a satisfactory pres-
entation. But this condition of affairs did not endure long. Very soon

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Linotype and Color Press 155

after the zinc etching process had reached such a stage of development that
the Lydia Pinkham joke ceased to be funny there was a fine crop of authors,
Editors an< ^ ^ was no ^ on S er necessary to prepare special articles to

Welcome " fi ^ ^P" w ^> although illustrated papers continued to be

the written by the office force. The offerings from outsiders were

Syndicate largely made up of fiction and descriptions of Pacific Coast

life. Letters of foreign travel were received in greater num-
ber, but they were no longer a leading feature, as they had been during the
eighties, when the ability to parade five on the first page, each from a differ-
ent continent, was considered somewhat of an achievement. About this
time, great industry was displayed in the preparation of special descriptive
articles which were helped out by illustration, and pictures were used to add
to the attractiveness of foreign letters. This practice. was not long in vogue
before the Sunday >editor began to exact photographs from contributors,
or at least it came to be understood that a letter or an article accompanied
by drawings or pictures had a better chance of acceptance than if it de-
pended solely on its literary qualities to win favor.

The use of color in newspaper illustration had been resorted to in
1886, but the work was done on a slow press. It was not until 1901 that
color was regularly employed on the first and last pages of the Sunday

magazine. This was made practicable by inventions which.
Colors made it possible to produce several tints simultaneously on a

in perfecting press operated at a high rate of speed. At first,

Illustrations only plates made from line drawings were used, but it was not

long before half tones were essayed. These, when printed
directly from the stereotype plates, were often unsatisfactory, and various
devices were resorted to in order to overcome the tendency of the illustra-
tion to fill up and become a mere blotch. For a while, it was the practice
to insert the zinc etching in the stereotype plate and print directly from it,
but the time consumed made this method objectionable. A way out of the
difficulty was found by the use of a coarse screen in photographing the
picture to be etched for insertion in a set of color plates. By the employ-
ment of a patented process by which the crudeness of the colors was greatly
modified by the intervention of stippling, cross hatching, etc., and improve-
ments in etching methods and the touching up of photographs, the illumi-
nated pages of the Sunday magazine are now made attractive, even if not
sufficiently artistic to be hung on the line in a gallery. It is only fair to
add that the limitations imposed by a rapid press and ordinary uncalendered
newspaper prevent justice being done 1 to the workers on daily journals, many
of whom are capable artists and are recognized as such by the profession.
About the time of the introduction of the color press, a machine known
as the linotype was beginning to attract attention. Typesetting machines
had been invented as early as 1869 and were in use in the composition room

of the London Times. At the same' time, French inventors
Introduction were eX p er i men ting and extraordinary claims were made for
Typesetting a machine an abbe was said to be perfecting, the use of which
Machines would enable an operator to play on a keyboard with both

hands, and it was claimed that, like a performer on the piano,
who strikes several keys simultaneously, thus producing desired sounds, he
could by similar manipulation release with great rapidity the matrices from
which type would be cast and set up in the form of words. The talk about

156 Journalism in California

this and other typesetting machines made publishers cautions, inclining
them to a waiting policy which would permit them to choose the best.
Meanwhile, a man living in Baltimore, named Otto Mergenthaler, invented
a machine which worked on an entirely different principle. Instead of cast-
ing single types, Mergenthaler's linotype, as the name implies, casts a
whole line. It is operated from a keyboard resembling that of a typewrit-
ing machine. When the operator touches a letter on the board a matrix
descends from a magazine to a position close to a pot of molten metal; when
a line of these matrices, by successively touching the proper letters, is in
place they form a mold into which the molten metal is injected by a pump,
and a line of type is cast. If an error is made by the operator it neces-
sitates the resetting of the entire line, but the process does not occupy as
much time as the correction of a line set by hand. An ingenious contrivance
restores the matrices to their proper places in the magazine, to be used over
and over until worn out.

Before the nineties were well advanced, publishers had made up their
minds that the Mergenthaler machine had no rival, and, in the course of a
few years, many thousands of them were in operation in the composing
rooms of the United States and Europe. The use of the
Growth of linotype would have effected decided economies for publishers
Dressing 11 ° na ^ tne niode of making up a paper in vogue before its intro-
Papers duction not been changed. It was not long after it came into

general use that the disposition to dress matter so as to give
the page a more attractive appearance began to manifest itself. Heads
grew larger and larger, borders were freely employed, and instead of a uni-
form body type of nonpareil or agate being used, large quantities of space
were sacrificed in displaying reading matter by setting it in type larger than
was formerly devoted to captions, and by leading it liberally. The use of
Illustrations also made demands on the compositors, and soon the number
of the latter began to increase. The facility with which large quantities of
matter could be rapidly prepared for the forms, the cheapening of paper
and active rivalry soon had their effect, and the saving made by the lino-
type was no longer perceptible in the footings of the composing room pay
rolls.

In tracing the changes made by modern inventions and improved ma-
chinery in the methods of producing a newspaper, the telephone must not
be overlooked. It was not forgotten when The Chronicle entered its new
home on the corner of Kearny and Bush streets in 1879, in
Inteoduction which one of the first switch boards in the city was installed.
of the At nrs ^j owing to the small number of patrons of the new

Telephone system, the great value of the new convenience was scarcely
realized. Indeed, for a time, the instrument was oftener used
to acquaint visitors with its marvelous power of transmitting the human
voice than to serve a useful purpose. It is doubtful if the then city editor
had the remotest conception of the part it would one day play in the ad-
ministration of his department of the paper. He may have thought that
it would prove handy occasionally to send a message, but he hardly dreamed
that it would almost completely displace the messenger boy, who could
easily be summoned by means of the district call system, and that some day
he would have his staff constantly within the hearing of his directing voice.
When the usefulness of the "phone" became recognized by an increasing

^^^^^ Linotype and Color Press 157

number of people, and when finally practically every public office, business
house and nearly every private residence in the city patronized the system
its value became incalculable.

There still lingers in the popular mind an idea which must be a survival
from the period when news gathering was less systematized than at present,
that daily papers experience some difficulty in filling their columns, and that
c e T k ^ e P erson bringing "a piece to put in tomorrow" is a bene-
to Verify factor. Occasionally, the volunteer reporter does recognize a

All piece of news when he meets it face to face, but oftener than

Statements otherwise he is apt to mistake something in which he is par-
ticularly interested for real intelligence. But it is from the
steady stream of visitors to his office and the "tips" he receives over the
phone that the city editor gets the clews which enable him to work up what
in the parlance of the local room is known as "a story." Not only does he
get tips through the telephone, but that valuable instrument enables him
quickly to ascertain whether the pointers he obtains are worth following up.
Eumors spread rapidly in a great city, and if all those floating into a news-
paper office from the outside had to be verified by the expenditure of leg
energy, reportorial work would be much more arduous than it is at present,
for, notwithstanding a too common assumption, no piece of news appears
in a daily paper without an attempt at verification. If errors occur, they
are due to the fallibility of human nature and the general propensity of the
irresponsible to see things on the bias, or to misrepresent what they have
seen. The reporter tries to get things straight, but anyone familiar with
the fact that honest witnesses testifying under oath in the same case often
tell divergent tales, can appreciate the difficulty the reporter experiences in
his efforts to get at the truth.

The telephone plays an important part in this work of verification and
is used freely to secure as near an approach to accuracy as possible. The
reporter on a detail is told something which has a bearing on the subject of
his inquiry, the truth of which can only be ascertained by a
Part'piaved y * s ^ ^° a P erson > perhaps miles distant from the place where
fcy the ne is pursuing his investigation. He promptly telephones his

Telephone chief and he at once secures the necessary co-operation. It
not infrequently happens tbat a number of inquiries are set
in motion at once to procure the facts compressed into a brief item, and,
on the other hand, it very often happens that the result of many calls is
effectually to dispose of a rumor which no one can tell who started, or what
object there was in giving it currency. But the most important use of the
telephone is that which enables the city editor to keep in touch with his
staff, who apprise him of the progress they are making in their work, thus
enabling him to apportion the space he has at his command. The ability
to do this is of the utmost importance, as the daily problem of the modern
newspaper is to crowd a quart into a pint cup. The local and suburban
force, acting under the direction of the city editor of a San Francisco
morning daily, if permitted to do so, would supply copy enough to fill three
papers. If stern orders to keep a story to the limit assigned were not
backed up by blue pencils wielded by the city editor's assistants it would
be impossible to print the matter provided, for the zealous reporter .usually
is firmly convinced that the importance of his contribution is underrated,
and that what he has written will not stand cutting.

158 Journalism in California

The typewriting machine was perfected about the year 1876, but it
did not find its way into general newspaper use until the nineties. There
were reporters and contributors who submitted typewritten manuscripts, but

they were few in number. Telegraphic operators were pro-
U«Mrf viding typewritten copy a long time before^ reporters learned

Typewriting the use of the machine. That result was brought about by
Machines publishers installing typewriters, with the understanding that

those provided with them should learn their use. It did not
take long after this step was taken to convert the average reporter into a
good typewriter. There were some recalcitrants who refused to learn the
art, but they were exceptions to the rule and usually had some special
qualification which caused their bad chirography to be condoned. The
general use of the typewriter has greatly decreased the arduousness of the
work of copyreaders and has enabled them to devote attention to the sub-
ject matter, which was formerly wasted in attempts to decipher bad hand-
writing. The printers and proofreaders also have reason for being grateful,
for it not infrequently happened when handwritten copy was the rule, that
the editor would shirk a riddle and pass it up to them to solve. That was
usually the case with Joaquin Miller's articles and letters. A series of the
latter, written to The Chronicle from Europe in the nineties, usually went
to the composition room in a half-guessed state, and two of them, after
defying the effort of all the experts in the office, were consigned to the waste
basket.

The services of stenographers were not frequently requisitioned by
the editorial departments of San Francisco. This is contrary to the
popular impression that reporters are familiar with shorthand. As a matter

of fact, very few learn any system, although many become pro-
it norts ficient users of signs of their own invention. On those rare
Not in occasions when a great daily concludes to report a speech or
Demand proceedings of any kind in full, the services of professionals

are secured. With the aid of "teams," they accomplish in a
very brief space of time feats of reporting which could only be achieved by
stenographers in constant practice. As the generality of meetings are re-
ported in a summary fashion, reporters would find too voluminous notes
an embarrassment rather than a convenience, and, for that reason, few of
them take the trouble to acquire an art which would prove of little use to
them. Speakers are sometimes severely critical of the condensation to
which they are subjected in the daily press, but often what they charac-
terize as misrepresentation is really the failure to print all the good things
they say, and which they think should be glorified in printer's ink.

It is largely owing to the disregard of shorthand reporting that the
American newspaper press has developed so many facile writers, who have
a style of their own and who have made their mark in literature. The

encouragement of the descriptive tendency by the editors of
Reporters' the dail y P ress of tne United States has called into existence
Become Facile a small army of contributors to magazines, reviews and other
Writers periodical publications. During the nineties there were many

such attached to the San Francisco press whose names when
printed are promptly recognized. The list is so long that it would be im-
possible to tell in detail their accomplishments, and, besides, the verdict of
the public has already been passed on their achievements. Some of the

JOAQUIN MILLER

.Linotype and Color Press 159

number are still on deck, as, for instance, Edward Hamilton, whose bril-
liant work has been a feature of the Examiner for nearly thirty years. The
work of this school compares more than favorably with that of James
O'Meara, an editor of pioneer days, who continued his career down to the
close of the nineteenth century, who did not aim at brilliancy but enjoyed
the reputation of carefulness and accuracy. Eollin M. Daggett, member
of Congress from Nevada and afterward Minister to Hawaii, and John
Bonner, for many years in charge of the commercial columns of. a leading
New York paper, were in another class. They were thoroughly informed
and graceful writers. They did editorial work on The Chronicle during
several years and were succeeded by Marcus P. Wiggin, Walter Gifford
Smith and Taliesin Evans.

The first Sunday editor of The Chronicle was the managing editor of
the paper, who combined with his other duties the selection of the special
matter. It was an arduous task, owing to the scarcity of contributions,
which had to be helped out by specially prepared articles.
Sunday Editor Thomas J. Vivian, an exceedingly versatile writer, provided
of The many of these and assisted in dressing up some which

Chronicle drifted in from the outside. The first person to be dignified

by the title of Sunday editor of a San Francisco paper was
George F. Weeks, who began his career as a typesetter in The Chronicle
office, and was known as its swiftest compositor. He was an indefatigable
worker and when transferred from the case to the proofroom he amused
himself in his spare moments by writing special articles, which suggested
placing him in charge of the Sunday magazine. Frank Bailey Millard, a
name well known in literature, also had his literary beginnings in The
Chronicle composing room, from which he was graduated into the corps of
special writers. Ernest S. Simpson, for many years city editor of The
Chronicle and afterward managing editor of the Call, was one of the early
Sunday editors of The Chronicle, as were also Will Irwin and Bufus Steele
and Miss Mabel Craft. Under their direction the magazine section of the
Sunday Chronicle attained a wide distinction for originality of matter and
mode of presentation. Ampng other names well known outside the city
are those of Ira E. Bennett, for a while a star reporter on The Chronicle
and subsequently its Washington representative and now editor of the
Washington Post, and J. O'Hara Cosgrave, who started the Weekly Wave
and later became editor of a New York magazine. Chester Bailey Fernald,
now a prosperous playwright in London, during the nineties was trying his
hand at writing sketches for the Sunday Chronicle. J. C. Klein, Wallace
Irwin and the brothers Andrew and Frederick Lawrence, who have since
betaken themselves to Eastern fields, were workers on the staffs of both
Examiner and Chronicle. Andrew Lawrence is now the publisher of
Hearst's Chicago American. Bobert Mackaye, editor of Success, com-
menced his career in The Chronicle local room, and Arthur Street, who
made a name for himself as a magazine editor, also had had his training
under a city editor of that paper.

Harry McDowell and Harry Bigelow, who started the Ingleside Maga-
zine, were star reporters on the Examiner, and they contributed a great
deal of the vivacity which that journal took on after William Bandolph
Hearst assumed its direction. Josiah M. Ward, who was city editor
of the Examiner during most of the period when A. B. Hender-

160 Journalism in California

son was managing editor, after severing his connection with that journal,
went to Denver, where he took charge of the Times of that city. He found
time to write an interesting historical novel, which enjoyed considerable

popularity. Charles Frederick Holder, whose natural his-
SanFnin^sco ioT ^ w became very well known to readers throughout
Newspaper the country, was attached to the staff of Mr. Hearst's paper
Writers about this time. Ashton Stevens, who did the dramatic

column for the Examiner, shared with Ambrose Bierce the
reputation of being bitingly satirical, and their writings were immensely
enjoyed by that large class which has a predilection for vitriolic criticism.
Mr. Bierce directed his shafts at the whole of mankind, while Stevens
reserved his mainly for members of the theatrical profession. Hugh Hume
and J. O'Hara Cosgrave, who started the Wave, graduated from the local
room of The Chronicle into the publication business. They were the first
to recognize the value of Frank Norris' work, and his earliest short stories
appeared in their weekly paper. Mr. Norris for a time was strongly inclined
to take up journalism as a career, but soon abandoned the idea and devoted
himself to fiction, with a degree of success which earned for him a world-
wide reputation. He was fond of the atmosphere of a newspaper office and
spent a great deal of his time in the library of The Chronicle gathering data
for his trilogy. Another California author of distinction, Mrs. Gertrude
Atherton, in the beginning of her literary career was strongly attracted to
journalism, but, after surveying the field, concluded that she would require
a bigger stage on which to develop her talents.

These are but a few of the more conspicuous workers of the nineties
who helped earn for San Francisco journalism the reputation of being
thoroughly abreast of that of the leading cities of the Union; a judgment

whose correctness was attested by the success which attended
T f l th W ° rk *^ e m ig ra ti° n of many who had their training in local offices.
City Not all of those who won distinction on the staffs of San

Editor Francisco newspapers were native sons, but the most of them-

became sufficiently acclimated to regard themselves as genuine
Californians ; and, when the wanderlust moved some of them to reverse the
current of emigration by turning their footsteps toward the rising sun, they
usually proclaimed that they were from the Golden State. But there were
also plenty of recruits from the older centers of population who made their
impress on the journalism of San Francisco, and the list is not wholly or
even chiefly confined to those who have attained to publicity. There were
plenty of journalists during the nineties who did far more effective work
for the papers on which they served than some of those who had the good
fortune to get their names before the public. The city editors, for instance,
who knew everybody and were known to all, were precluded by the arduous-
ness of their administrative duties from shining before men, but the fact
that it was their duty to see that the stars did shine testified to their
capacity. The Chronicle had in S. F. Sutherland, A. B. Henderson, Horace
E. Hudson, Thomas Garrett and Ernest S. Simpson, who successively acted
as chiefs of the city department between 1870 and 1906, as capable a set of
newspaper men as the country has produced. They were all men of excep-
tional ability, thorough organizers and excellent executives, and had the
rare talent of recognizing merit and getting the very best out of the men
working under their direction.

CHAPTEE XX

AFFAIES ON THE EVE OF SAN FRANCISCO'S GREAT

DISASTER.

Efforts of San Francisco to Obtain a New Charter — Strenuous Opposition of Part
of the Press to Abandoning the Consolidation Act of 1856— Contests Over
Details — A Charter Finally Adopted in 18^8 — The Changed Attitude of Bulletin
and Call After 1895 — San Francisco Embarks on a Career of Improvement —
Approval of Park Panhandle Boulevard Project — The Chronicle's Exposure of
Graft, and Its Opposition to Grafters — Creation of the Euef-Sehmitz Machine —
Eeformers Who Refused to Be Stirred Into Action — Euef and Schmitz Claim
That Their Administration Brought Prosperity to San Francisco — The Bitter
Antagonism of The Chronicle to the Grafters — The Burning of the Tower of
The Chronicle Building — Suit Brought by Members of Schmitz Gang Against
The Chronicle — It Took an Earthquake to Eouse the Eeformers to Action— The
Visit of Roosevelt to San Francisco — His Approval of The Chronicle's Political
Course — Protection Versus Bimetallism — Proprietor of The Chronicle Elects to
Stand by the Former- — Schemes for Beautifying the City — Summer Outing
Editions of The Chronicle — Charity Work Done by Newspapers — Women's
Clubs and the Press — Cartooning, and Chronicle Cartoonists.

EFORE the opening of the twentieth century, San Fran-
cisco had obtained a much-needed charter. After the
adoption of the Constitution of 1879, four unsuccessful
attempts were made to secure a new organic law for the
city. The advocates of the abandonment of the consol-
idation act, which had done duty since 1856, were
emphatic in the expression of the opinion that the city
would benefit by getting rid of the restrictions of the
act, which were imposed while the fear created by the extravagance of the
gang suppressed by the Vigilantes was still dominant, but the Bulletin and
Call tenaciously adhered to the belief that the community could not be
trusted and that by far the safest plan of conducting a city government
was that of the prudent man who refuses to incur indebtedness for any
purpose whatever. The attitude of the opposing camps can best be de-
scribed by saying that the demand for a charter came from those who
favored improvement, while those who resisted adoption were firmly of the
opinion that if the city cut loose from the consolidation act San Francisco
would go to the dogs. But the fight over the several charters voted upon
was not made on lines thus distinctly drawn. As is usual when an instru-
ment is presented for the consideration of electors as a whole, the contest
was over details. The first charter, rejected in 1880, was beaten at the
polls because intramural burial was interdicted, but the fact that the Mayor
was given some authority by the instrument played a large part, the awe-

161

162 Journalism in California

some question being asked, what would the community do if it should be
indiscreet enough to elect another man like Kalloch.

Looking backward, and reviewing the statistics of the five charter elec-
tions, the impression is derived that the community was not very much
in earnest about the matter, and that those who urged the desirability of
public improvements did not represent public sentiment. But
Neglect the vigorous wars waged in the newspapers at each recurring

Civic attempt and the accounts of speeches delivered at meetings

Duty indicate that the editors believed that their readers were inter-

ested in the discussions. Nevertheless, when election day
came around qualified electors stayed away from the polls and the votes
cast were ridiculously small. The second effort, made in 1883, was defeated
by only thirty-two votes in a total of 18,764 cast. In 1887, when the third
essay was made, the vote was not much larger, and again, in 1896, there
was a small vote, and finally, when the repeated effort to get a charter suc-
ceeded in 1898, there were only 26,969 who voted, although at the general
election, two years earlier, 64,820 had cast their ballots. Thus, after
nineteen years and numerous contests, San Francisco secured the doubtful
privilege of running into debt, whicb, however, she was slow to exercise,
for when the disaster of 1906 came the city was still practically free from
indebtedness — a fortunate circumstance. Had the editor of the Bulletin
still been presiding over the destinies of that paper he would unquestion-
ably have reminded his readers that they owed to his vigorous opposition
to bond issues the existence of a condition which made the outlook for the
future less gloomy than it might otherwise have been; or, perhaps, had not
the fearsome pay-as-you-go policy prevailed, the city might long before 1906
have acquired a water system, a duty which has been criminally neglected
with disastrous effects.

It would be difficult to follow the policies of the press of San Francisco
after the opening of the twentieth century. The purchase of the Call by
John D. Spreckels, which occurred in 1897, was followed by a more vigorous
discussion .of current matters and a modernization of methods,
Chan* . and there was a like change in the conduct of the Bulletin.
Journalistic R- A. Crothers, who acquired an interest in the paper, was
Policies the brother-in-law of Loring G. Pickering, and managed at

for the widow and minor son of the latter, who were jointly
concerned with him in its purchase. Fremont Older was made managing
editor, and most of the radical departures of the Bulletin from its former
course are attributed to him. The extreme conservatism which was a pro-
nounced feature during the earlier management was abandoned, and, in
"make-up" and in other particulars, the methods of the most sensational
evening papers of the Eastern metropolis were adopted. Large type,
abundant illustration and other journalistic practices abhorred of old were
freely resorted to by Older, and the determination to attract attention was
constantly in evidence. But the most conspicuous departure was that in-
volved in the complete change of attitude toward municipal improvement,
and with it virtually expired the long-continued opposition to the creation
of public indebtedness, which had for years divided the press and the
people of the city into two camps.

The adoption of the charter of 1898 was soon followed by an agitation
for improvements, the carrying- out of which would involve the expenditure

Ruef and Schmitz 163

of great sums of money. One of these provided for the creation of a.
parked boulevard which would give a direct driveway from Van Ness
avenue, at the point where it enters Market street, to the Panhandle of
Golden Gate Park. The fear which had caused the defeat
Goes °^ a ^ ^ eas * ^ w0 carters, that untrustworthy public servants

in for would be elected and squander the money raised by borrow-

Improvements ing, had vanished sufficiently when this project was put for-
ward to permit its acceptance by a decided majority. There
was no longer an apprehension that another Kalloch might arise to disturb
the city's repose. A few years had sufficed to obliterate the memory of the
sand-lot Mayor, and, queerly enough, those most apprehensive in 1879 had
become so optimistic that they were unable to perceive that their fears were
on the point of realization. Again The Chronicle had to assume the role of
Cassandra, and, like the warnings of the prophetess of old, its admonitions
went unheeded. In the contest of 1901, which resulted in the first election
of Schmitz, it opposed him vigorously, but unfortunate divisions made it
impossible to defeat him. Fortunately it was found that informalities
attended the authorization of the Panhandle bonds, and they were declared
invalid by the courts ; but the Euef-Schmitz combination, like the adminis-
trations created by the cunning of" Chris Buckley, discovered abundant
pickings, enough, indeed, to enable the creation of a machine which made
the re-election of the candidate of the Workingmen's party easily possible.

It is one of the anomalies of municipal politics in San Francisco that
many of the men who have figured as reformers since the earthquake of 1906
did not seem greatly disturbed by the success of Euef. They were not
distrustful enough of the administration which he was
Who'could offensively bossing to refrain from attempting to procure
Not Be Stirred favors, and not one of them made any conspicuous move to
Into Action prevent the re-election of Schmitz in 1905, despite the fact
that The Chronicle aggressively, and its contemporaries in a
more or less perfunctory manner, were almost daily exposing irregularities
and gross turpitude. The first half of the 1900-1910 decade was a period
of great prosperity in San Francisco. Following the declaration of war
against Spain in 1898, there was a great uplift, which some attributed to
the growing recognition of the future importance of the Oriental trade, but
which, as the records will show, was due to the general prosperity of the
country consequent upon the temporary quietus of the free trade agitation.
This condition of affairs was seized upon by Euef and Schmitz, who tri-
umphantly proclaimed that the Labor Union party had put San Francisco
on its feet, and many were foolish enough to believe it, and more were
acquiescent or impolitic enough to assist in the promotion of dissensions
which resulted in the triumph of Schmitz, who was a third time elected,
and in the return of a Board of Supervisors picturesquely described by
Euef as a band capable of "eating the paint off a house."

In this campaign the followers of Schmitz recognized The Chronicle
as their only opponent. It had unceasingly pointed out the infamies of
the Schmitz administration and had exposed the character of the men Euef
had caused to be nominated for Supervisoral positions. Its exposures and
efforts were entirely unavailing; they certainly made no impression on the
men with political ambitions and with personal axes to grind ; at least, they
gave no positive sign of disapprobation, and some of them appeared rather

164 Journalism in Cal ifornia _^____—

pleased than, otherwise at the outcome of the election. The victors were not
in doubt respecting the attitude of the different papers of the city. The
news of the triumph of Euef and Schmitz was known quite early and it
was celebrated by an impromptu parade in which many thou-
Bo^uery 1 ^ sancls participated. While the long procession was passing
Promotes the building on the corner of Kearny, Geary and Market

Prosperity streets it kept up a constant yell in which cheers for Schmitz
and Euef and curses and hooting at The Chronicle shared
equally. Skyrockets and bombs were used by the paraders, and it is sup-
posed that the tower of the building was set on fire by them, although there
is no certainty as to its origin. Not long after the mob had passed smoke
was detected coming from the lower story of the lofty structure which
crowned the building, and which contained a clock that made it the princi-
pal landmark of the city. It was a blind fire and water was liberally used
to drown it out, and, after about half an hour of fighting, it was thought
that result was accomplished. The forces of the paper at work on the
ninth and -tenth floors were busily engaged getting the next morning's
edition ready for the press when the tower suddenly burst into flames and
drove them to the street.

The spectacle attracted half the city to the neighborhood, and the rumor
spread among the crowd that the building had been fired by the adherents
of Schmitz and Euef to avenge themselves. There was absolutely no
foundation for the charge; its only significance consists in
The Burning ^ e j? a( ^. y^ y. corre ctly represented the current impression
Chronicle that Euef and Schmitz were bitterly hostile to The Chronicle.

Tower They had a right to infer from that that such was the case,

for day after day and night after night they were denouncing
the paper, a custom to which The Chronicle had become accustomed, its
practice of exposing rascality usually inviting the billingsgate and abuse of
the rascals subjected to its exposing searchlight. Although the result of
the fire was to disable the plant for a couple of days, there was no interrup-
tion of publication. The courtesy of the Examiner rendered it possible to
do this. Dent Eobert, then at the editorial helm of The Chronicle's con-
temporary, promptly placed all the facilities of his journal at the command
of the burned-out newspaper. He went further and gave The Chronicle
precedence and insisted that it should have the privilege of being first on
the street. Although the fire made a big blaze and completely destroyed the
tower, the remainder of the building suffered little injury. The steel frame
and cement roof proved sufficiently resistant to prevent the fire spreading
downward, and in two or three days the plant was again in condition
for use.

It was during the campaign which resulted in the third election of
Schmitz to the Mayoralty that Fairfax Wheelan attempted to bring about
a reform in primary methods. His efforts would have been attended with
success had the community harkened to the advice given by The Chronicle.
Mr. Wheelan's efforts were directed to the exposure of registry and ballot-
box stuffing, and, in the course of the vigorous campaign inaugurated by
him, many irregularities were exposed by The Chronicle, which so enraged
Euef that suits for libel were brought against The Chronicle. They were
never pressed, for the very excellent reason that the paper was provided with
the evidence which would have proved that the conditions were infinitely

DESTRUCTION OF THE TOWER OF THE CHRONICLE BUILDING
ON THE NIGHT OF NOVEMBER 5, 1905

Ruef and Schmitz 165

worse than it had represented, and that the affairs of the city were being as
corruptly administered as they had been during Vigilante days or when the
Democratic boss ruled. Again, as a matter of history, and one not uncon-
. nected with the conduct of the press, it is well to concentrate

Exposes * attention on the fact that men who subsequently made a great

Election display of activity were silently acquiescent, and showed no

Abuses signs of interest, if they felt any, in what was being done by

Euef and his paint eaters. It took a bigger shaking up than
a newspaper could give them to set in motion the forces that carefully
locked the door after the steed was stolen.

It was during the second administration of Schmitz that Colonel Roose-
velt, then President of the United States, visited San Francisco. At that
time he had not discovered that the Eepublican party was a back number,
nor had he developed any of that apprehension concerning the encroach-
ments of so-called "trusts," which later took possession of him so
entirely that he found it necessary to attempt the creation of a new party.

On September 30, 1902, The Chronicle published a mono-
Sobsevelf s S ra ph on "The Growth of the Modern Trust System." It
Visit to San occupied more than four pages of the paper and was
Francisco promptly reproduced by the American Protective Tariff

League, and was quoted from largely by the Eepublican
press. A copy of it was sent to the Colonel,- who caused his secretary to
write : "The President was greatly pleased and interested in reading the
article, and feels that you have done a real service in publishing it." It
is only to point out the mutability of human opinion that I quote from
the Record Union of Sacramento of October 2, 1902, the following com-
ment on the article which pleased President Roosevelt. The writer said:
"One rises from reading the four-page brief published in The Chronicle
of September 30th with a very clear light as to the political intentions of
the trust combinations in the United States. * * * There is a growing
belief among the men who hand down the law of opinion to the rank and
file of the Republican party that President Roosevelt is educating this
Nation in the belief that the tariff schedules are responsible for the exist-
ence of the trusts." The letter from the President's secretary, dated
October 6th, stated that his superior was pleased with the article. As it
was mainly devoted to showing that the tariff could not be held responsible
for combination in restraint of trade, and that the only feasible mode of
dealing with abuses, if they existed, would be by internal regulation, it
must be assumed that President Roosevelt at that time had not made up
his mind that protection was responsible for the creation of trusts.

It is of record that a small but influential number of Republicans were
beginning to manifest the tendency which invariably has asserted itself in

this country in times of prosperity to assail the tariff, but
A President's p res ident Roosevelt could not have felt that way in 1902,
o/chronicle nor did he show any sign in 1903 and 1904 that he was not
Articles in accord with the stanchest advocates of protectionism in

the United States. The Chronicle had that reputation.
M. H. de Young had taken a prominent part in the national councils of
the party ; had been a National Committeeman, and had served as delegate
in several Republican conventions. In the convention of 1904, when
called upon to make a choice between devotion to the protective policy and

166 Journalism in California

bimetallism, which his paper had championed with William McKinley and
almost every prominent member of the national Eepublican party, he
unhesitatingly elected to stand by protection, which his paper had at all
times advocated. In the campaign which followed, The Chronicle printed
a twelve-page presentation of the protective policy, and, as was the case
when the monograph on modern trusts appeared, the President expressed
his satisfaction. He had not yet seen "a great white light," and no one
in the ranks of the Eepublican party had come to believe that it was a
crime to stand by a principle.

Although The Chronicle, in common with the other papers of the city,
devoted much space to politics during 1904, it did not do so to the exclu-
sion of other subjects touching it more closely. It is worth recalling that
it was in January of this year that the Association for the
Beautifvine Improvement and Adornment of San Francisco was formed,
the The object of its members, as the name of the organization

City implied, was to study out a general scheme of beautification,

but the immediate object aimed at was the creation of a civic
center. There apparently was no fear in the minds of those most energetic
in promoting the movement that it might miscarry because of the practical
control of the Board of Works by Schmitz and Euef. There may have
been distrust, but it was not freely expressed. The spirit of optimism
was general, and the city was booming, although, curiously enough, critics
had not long before reproached its press with failure to imitate the example
of Los Angeles, and charged that there was a disposition to hide the light
of the city under a bushel. It was urged that San Franciscans were too
easily satisfied, but no one could remain under that impression long after
becoming acquainted with the ambitious projects of its leading citizens to
make San Francisco the most attractive city in America. There were
various ideas respecting the mode by which this was to be accomplished
and some of them not altogether creditable. Of course, that of the gentle-
men who organized the "city beautiful" movement was to put up attractive
buildings, construct boulevards and, by other methods, achieve the distinc-
tion attained by the French capital of making it worth a visit. There was
another class which took up the cry of "the Paris of America," whose ideals
were somewhat different, and, for a while, the expression fell i.ito disrepute.
There was, however, no difference of opinion concerning the desirability of
beautifying the city. The press was a unit on that point, but when the
outline of the plans framed by David A. Burnham, the well-known architect
of Chicago, and his corps of assistants was given, critics at once arose who
assailed them as too ambitious. Even the warning to the public that there
was no thought of carrying out the expansive scheme in its entirety for
many years to come failed to disarm criticism, and it is more than probable
that the magnitude of the projected improvements would have proved an
obstacle to the perfection of any plan for beginning them even if the dis-
aster of 1906 had not come to drive all thought of them out of the public
mind.

Eunning through the files of San Francisco papers in the five years
preceding 1906, one notes the introduction of a few new features and the
accentuation of some that had been introduced at an earlier date. If the
advertising columns of the dailies correctly index the situation, there was
a marked increase of the disposition of San Franciscans to indulge in

Ruef and Schmitz 167

summer outings. There was a time in the city when the vacation habit
was not well formed, and it was not unusual for editors at the proper sea-
son of the year to point out that man, like a machine, would
Outing' wear out if he failed to take a proper rest at intervals. When

Editions of this good advice was dispensed the temptation to 'abandon
The Chronicle the comforts of home was not great. Country resorts were
few in number, but before the end of the nineteenth century
they began to multiply. It was not until 1898 that enough of them sought
to press their claims for patronage in the advertising columns of The
Chronicle to accord them a special grouping. In that year they first made
their appearance in a conspicuous fashion, and before the disaster of 1906
the list was so long and the space occupied in setting fortli their attractions
was so great that the impression might easily be derived that everyone in
San Francisco deserted it during the summer. Special outing editions were
printed containing pages of alluring descriptions of the joys of life on the
seashore, in the country and in the noble forests within easy reaeli of the
city on the bay. These advertisements told a story of their own which was
emphasized by the time tables of the railroads and steamboats which indi-
cated the existence of hundreds of places and camps that had sprung up
like mushrooms responsive to the outing demand.

Another conspicuous growth after the opening of the century was the
enlarged attention given to charitable undertakings. The disposition to
give freely has existed in San Francisco since "the days of '49." It is said of
some places in California that they are so healthy they had
Forward* frf ^° ^° some k^ing to start their cemeteries. The story smacks
Promoting °f climatic exaggeration, and it is also asserted that the
Charities project of starting an orphan asylum in San Francisco was

conceived at so early a date that a few orphans had to be
imported to give it a successful start. This may also be apocryphal, but.
there is no doubt whatever that the institution once started it never lacked
support, and the same may be said of the numerous other eleemosynary
establishments called into existence by the activities of the charitable. The
newspapers of the city were invariably foremost in the /promotion of move-
ments of this kind, and their activity in this regard stands out in marked
contrast to the comparative indifference of older communities. Whatever
the cause, it is a fact that charitable projects of all kinds receive more
attention in the columns of San Francisco papers than elsewhere, and
Mr. Hearst's paper, the Examiner, has to its credit the creation of a chil-
dren's hospital, which has harbored many unfortunates since its erection.
It has proved a monument to the enterprise of the founder. Of less perma-
nent value, but fully as effective in relieving distress during one of the
souphouse eras produced by vacillating tariff legislation, was the relief
bureau established by The Chronicle, which, throughout an entire winter of
unexampled distress in San Francisco, provided food and clothing for all
necessitous applicants. In long settled places these are duties usually
assumed by the authorities, but in San Francisco, and throughout Cali-
fornia generally, charity is largely a matter of voluntary co-operation in
which the press plays the important part of energetically backing up the
appeals of the charitable and helping them to carry out their schemes of
benevolence by liberal publicity.

Women's clubs were established as early as 1888 in San Francisco, but

168 Journalism in California ^^

their activities at first excited little attention outside of their own member-
ship. It was not until the close of the last decade of the nineteenth century
> that the press began to recognize them as an important factor

ClubsT" S ' n ^ e development of the city. That was due largely to the

and the f ac t that in the early stages of the club formation movement

Press publicity was discouraged rather than sought. There was a

division of opinion respecting its desirability which finally
disappeared and it became the custom, which has since been maintained, of
treating club doings as news important to a large section of the community.
There is no doubt that this change of attitude contributed greatly to the
advancement of the cause of woman suffrage in the city, for the subject,
until the object aimed at was achieved, occupied a large part of the atten-
tion of the membership, a fact made familiar to the male part of the
community who had forced upon them by frequent publicity arguments
which they might otherwise have successfully evaded, but which once
acquainted with they were unable to resist when the question was presented
to them for decision. This does not imply that the women's clubs of San
Francisco were consciously formed with any such object. The fact is other-
wise. They were in the main organized for social and cultural purposes,
but when members developed differences they discussed them and publicity
did the rest.

Frequent reference has been made to the growth of the practice of
illustration by daily papers, and it has been shown that The Chronicle made
intermittent attempts to make a feature of pictures, which were frustrated

by the scarcity of artists and other limitations. During the
and* 00 " 1118 bonanza period and throughout the late seventies, The
Chronicle Chronicle was in the habit of publishing on Sundays a

Cartoonists cartoon depicting some phase of the mining stock craze. It

was the only daily that made essays in that direction, the
picture-making field having been surrendered to the weeklies. During the
fifties there were pictorial papers produced, but they were modeled on the
lines of the Police Gazette and nevei- enjoyed a considerable popularity.
The Wasp, founded in 1870, claims the distinction of having been the first
paper in America to print cartoons in colors. It also presented its readers
weekly with flashes of wit helped out by the artist's pencil, and caricatures
in black and white. After the introduction of the chalk process, The
Chronicle manifested a strong disposition to use the cartoon as a political
weapon, and, in the campaign of 1888, day after day, the deficiencies of
the free trader and the drawbacks of free trade were held up to the public
gaze. In this series of cartoons the name of the artist does not appear.
Perhaps he was not proud of the work produced under the limitations of
the chalk process, but he made some hits good enough to be worked over
and over, as, for instance, his "You Dirty Boy," which was suggested by a
famous soap advertisement. In 1901 the first colored comic section was
printed by The Chronicle. Before its appearance a couple of pages were
devoted on Sundays to pictures more or less humorous, which were not
designed to appeal to children. They had to depend on their own merit
and were not helped out by color. About the time of the appearance of
the comic section Davenport, the caricaturist, joined the art staff of The
Chronicle. He was fond of drawing large pictures of courtroom scenes and
was encouraged by Thomas Garrett, then city editor, to produce sketches

Ruef and Schmitz

169

which took the better part of a page. George E. Lyon, who had the
reputation of drawing a portrait more rapidly and better than any other
artist in the country, was also a member of the art staff of The Chronicle
and was indulged in the matter of size as freely as Davenport, and between
them they absorbed a large share of space of the paper. The innovation,
however, was 'accepted by the public and to some extent was imitated in
other cities. Both Davenport and Lyon confined themselves to line draw-
ings, which were reproduced by the zinc etching process.

CHAPTER XXI

SAN FRANCISCO'S GREAT DISASTER AND ITS RAPID

RECOVERY.

Newspaper Warnings That Went Unheeded — Prosperity Produces a Careless Atti-
tude Toward Municipal Government — The Chronicle the Only Paper Hated by
the Grafters — Eeformers Inactive on the Eve of the Great Conflagration — A
Case of Purification by Fire — Part Played by the Press in the Great Disaster
— Responding to the Call of a Self-imposed Obligation — Preparations to Get
Out an Extra — A Messenger Sent to Oakland Asking Hospitality — The Joint
Paper Published on the Morning of April 19, 1906 — It was a Marvel of Calm
Statement — A Journal That Lived One Day Only — Charles de Young Receives
His Baptism of Journalistic Fire — He Reorganizes the Circulation Department
— Paper Temporarily Printed in Oakland — The Loss of The Chronicle's Ref-
erence Library — Charles de Young Made Business Manager of the Chronicle —
Men Who Retained Their Positions During Long Periods — A Great News-
paper Feat Successfully Carried Through by Charles de Young — Tetrazzini
Sings in the Open Air on Christmas Eve at the Request of The Chronicle — ■
The Untimely Death of' Charles de Young.

HE third election of Schmitz, which occurred in Novem-
ber, 1905, was not followed by any of the disastrous
consequences expected by those who were sure that the
unblushing declaration of Ruef that he> had on his
hands a Board of Supervisors who were so hungry for
spoils that they would eat the paint off a house, would
retard the advancement of the city. It was an ill-
advised argument frequently employed, but which did
not appeal very strongly, that lax regulations would be sure to recoil on
the community by deterring respectable people from wishing to make their
homes in a city which aspired to become the Paris of America. Ill advised
because when the city forged ahead under the impulse which made the
whole country prosperous, Ruef and his adherents boldly proclaimed that
it was to their method of conducting affairs that San Francisco owed its
prosperity. And thus it happened that vice was buttressed instead of
being dislodged, and the worst practices of an administration which was
in the business of governing for all there was in it were resumed without
being challenged by the community. They did not pass unnoticed, how-
ever, for the press, or that part of it at least which was not too timid to
antagonize the representatives of the Labor Union party for fear of losing
patronage, kept on pointing out evasions of ordinances, and exposing ras-
cality, but without accomplishing much good, for, as is the manner of
prosperous people, who do not desire to be bothered, the stories were dis-
missed by them as newspaper lies.

170

_^^^^^ Purification by Fire 171

The newspapers were sharing in the general prosperity. Keal estate
was booming and building operations were extending rapidly. The pro-
prietor of The Chronicle was making an addition to his building on the
TheChr n" 1 • corne:r °^ Market, Geary and Kearny streets, which was well
Seventeen- Advanced toward completion when the fire in the tower
Story occurred. It was seventeen stories high, and Mr. de Young

Building had contemplated bringing the original structure to the same

height, a design which was frustrated by the passage of an
ordinance by Euef's facile Board of Supervisors fixing a maximum of
twelve stories. The object of the limitation, it was openly boasted, was to
prevent the carrying out of the design in its entirety. It was merely
another mode of advertising the fact to the world that The Chronicle was
the only paper obnoxious to the paint eaters. Other owners of property
were not interfered with ; they made improvements, and, if . subsequent
developments are to be relied upon, they paid handsomely for the privilege.
Euef and Schmitz were reaping a harvest from the indifference of the
public. If anyone contemplated an enterprise requiring public interven-
tion, he went to Euef, and, if satisfactory arrangements were made with
him, he caused his "paint eaters" to pass the necessary ordinances, or, if it
was a simple case of assurance against the menace of interference, that was
also fixed. Everything and everybody who wanted anything done paid toll
and the competition to secure the favor of the attorney of the Mayor, v/hose
word was law for the paint eaters, was most keen.

This was the condition of affairs on the eve of the eventful April 18,
1906. If any of those who later took so conspicuous a share in the work
of cleansing the Augean stables of the municipality contemplated interfer-
ence with the practices notoriously and offensively conspicu-
A Case oug ^ e j ^ e ^j. their intentions to themselves. As a matter of

Purification £&<&, the disposition to interfere did not exist. The over-
by Fire whelming victory of Schmitz in the preceding November

was apparently accepted as an intimation that the community
was well satisfied with Messrs. Euef and Schmitz, and those who wished to
embark in enterprises decided that the easiest course was to work along the
line of least resistance. It required a convulsion of nature to bring about
a change and it came on the morning of April 18, 1906, and was emphasized
by the disastrous conflagration which wiped out two-thirds of the city. It
was a case of purification by fire. When the smoke cleared away, the com-
munity, or those of that part of it which remained to bear the brunt of
resurrection, clearly saw things which they had formerly refused to look at,
or, at least, had refrained from taking cognizance of, if they saw them.

In the trying hours of the conflagration which followed the disaster the
newspapers of San Francisco played a conspicuous part, one which has not
been fittingly recognized, because the American people have become habitu-
ated to expecting the press to do its duty under all circum-
b ai th' P p yed Btanees , n0 matter how trying. The organizing ability dis-
ta the 6 Great played by the men who took the helm when the city govern-
Disaster ment broke down was admirable. Their courage was sublime,

but their efforts would have been hampered and retarded had
not the morning papers obeyed the unwritten law of the higher journalism
to continue publication without interruption. It was the first duty of the
press to give the news of the tremendous disaster, and the next obligation

172 Journal ism in California

imposed on it was that of imparting courage and hope to the scattered
members of the community, who, without this inspiration, would have given
up in despair. Had there been no press to record the heroic utterances of
the members of the Committee of Fifty and to applaud and assist in the
dissemination of their plans their efforts must have been in vain, or at best
no quicker in their fruition than those which attended the attempts at
rehabilitation which followed the Messinian disaster.

What the press does is so easily accepted as a matter of course that
the public scarcely interests itself in its doings, but it deserves to know
something of the efficiency of an organization whose usefulness even an
earthquake was unable to interrupt, and which, when every
Performs a industry was paralyzed, had to put forth more than its cus-
Self-Imposed tomary energy to maintain the standard set for itself. Few
Obligation outside of the profession realize the importance attached by
its members to performing the self-imposed obligation of fur-
nishing the news, and there are many who may regard as an empty boast
the assertion that the force of a newspaper is more ready to respond to the
call of duty than the soldier, whose response is often exacted by discipline.
Those who observed the unwearied efforts made by newspaper men during
several hours on that eventful 18th of April to prevent a break in the con-
tinuity of the publication of the journals to which they belonged will agree
that the devotion exhibited by them was marvelous. Neglecting everything
else, they confined their endeavors to the accomplishment of one purpose,
which was not abandoned until all the means of effecting it were utterly
destroyed.

The disaster occurred at 5 :18 o'clock. The editions of all the morning
papers had been printed and were in the hands of the carriers for distribu-
tion. What was done with the issues of that morning has never been clearly
ascertained. Copies of any of the San Francisco papers of
Keadv S to April 18, 1906, are far more rare than those of the succeed-

Print an ^ n S day, giving an account of the disaster. The carriers, in

Extra their panic, must have thrown them away, for it has been

found nearly impossible to procure specimens. The delivery
had not begun in the outlying districts, which escaped the fire, or more
would have been preserved. When the first members of the editorial staff
of The Chronicle reached the office it was not yet 6 o'clock. The force in
the pressroom apparently had no idea of the extent of the trouble and was
busily engaged cleaning up the machines after the morning run. A hasty
survey of the condition of the building was made by the managing editor,
and the inspection satisfied him that there would be no obstacle in the way
of getting out an extra. The foreman of the pressroom was notified that
the attempt would be made as soon as material for an edition could be
prepared. In the meantime, the city editor, Ernest S. Simpson, who lived
in a remote part of the city, had arrived and was soon joined by a number
of reporters and telegraph editors. The force was promptly set to work
gathering information respecting the extent of the damage, and the man-
aging editor composed himself sufficiently to write an editorial which
breathed the spirit of optimism in every line. Soon the news gatherers
began streaming in with their reports and started preparing their copy.
L. C. Simpson, now conducting the Sacramento Union, undertook the
task of "making up." It was an arduous one, for it involved the necessity

Purification by Fire 173

of pleading with the printers to stick to their job when fresh tremors dis-
turbed them, and the heat of the conflagration which was raging across
Market street became nearly unbearable.

The effort to get out an extra was not abandoned until the engineer
discovered that the supply of water had been cut off and that it would be
impossible to turn over the presses. The gas used in heating the linotype

metal had also given out and the machinery of the office was
Disappointed a ^ a standstill. The Examiner and the Call were not in a
Hope position even to think of making an effort to publish an extra.

The buildings in which their machinery was installed were

among the earliest to be attacked by the flames. While The
Chronicle staff was still struggling with the extra that was never printed
word was sent by M. H. de Young to the Examiner and Call that The
Chronicle would be glad to share its facilities witli them. There was no
fear at the time that the flames would leap across Market street. The
reporters had brought accounts of the failure of the engines to obtain
, water, but it was not realized until a little later that the supply was prac-
tically cut off and that there was small hope of preventing the entire de-
struction of the business section of the city. When this conclusion was
reached the managing editors of the three morning papers dispatched a
messenger to W. S. Dargie, proprietor of the Oakland Tribune, informing
him that they would in all probability have to ask his assistance in getting
out a paper. It never occurred to them for a moment that there could
be any suspension of publication so long as the mechanical facilities for
getting out an edition could be obtained, and Mr. Dargie's office was well
provided in that regard.

The preferring of the request to Mr> Dargie was merely a formality.
He placed his office at the disposal of the fire-evicted journals, and, on the
morning of the 19th of April, the "Examiner-Call-Chronicle" appeared

with four pages devoted wholly to describing ,the disaster.

J/?1ij « *■ Considering the condition of the public mind and the pre-
Multiphcation , ° . , ,. K, ,,. ,. , r .

f posterous rumors in circulation, the publication must be

Rumors regarded as an extraordinary model of sobriety of statement.

It must be remembered that during the first day of the con-
flagration nothing seemed incredible to the wrought-up populace. It was
generally believed that something in the nature of a universal cataclysm
had occurred. One story told of the submergence of New York and another
gave some details of the entire destruction of Chicago. Humors of awful
happenings and horrible atrocities were current, but none of them was
given currency in the joint paper. It was a presentation without exaggera-
tion of one of the greatest calamities of modern times; even in the matter
of estimating losses, a moderation was displayed which is not always at-
tained under less exciting circumstances. When this emergency sheet was
distributed on the morning of the 19th it was received with an eagerness
which testified the appreciation in which the newspaper is held even by
those who, when not seeking the comfort and assurance it gives, think
lightly of the part it plays in the scheme of modern life. This journal of
a day was distinguished by other peculiarities than that of being the joint
production of three rival papers. It contained no advertisements whatever,
and was distributed gratuitously to the unexpectant people of San Fran-
cisco, who did not dream of the possibility of such a publication appearing,

174 Journalism in Calif ornia

and, finally, it had the distinction of achieving an extraordinary circulation
in facsimile through the presses of the Tribune printing successive editions,
which were eagerly bought up by souvenir hunters.

The lamented Charles de Young, son of M. H. de Young, the proprietor
of The Chronicle, received his journalistic baptism of fire on the morning
of the 19th. In accordance with the plans of his father, who proposed

having him acquaint himself with the workings of every de-
Young's Bap- P artment °f the paper, Charles had been doing duty in the
tism of Jour- publication office, where he was installed as a clerk immedi-
nalistic Fire ately after being graduated from Harvard. On the morning

of the 17th, he was "Charlie" to the young men who were
his associates in the office; on the 19th he suddenly took command, and
thenceforth he was the leading spirit in the business office, whose head he
was destined to become. It was to his energetic efforts that the prompt
restoration of order in the publication department was due. It was he who,
on the morning of the 19th, was the first to appear in the part of the town
not reached by the flames, in an automobile containing bundles of the joint
paper, which were thrown out by him to the boys, who reaped a harvest of
small coins from eager buyers; and it was he who effectively organized the
distributing system maintained during the period while the mechanical
work of The Chronicle was performed on the other side of the bay. On the
day of the issuance of the "Examiner-Call-Chronicle" an arrangement was
made with the Oakland Herald, an evening paper with an excellent plant,
and on the morning of April 20th The Chronicle appeared with its familiar
heading. The proximity of the Herald to the track of the Key Eoute made
it practicable to deliver the paper in the city at' a very early hour, and
during the entire period that the printing was done on the other side of
the bay, Charles de Young gave his personal attention to the important
work of securing early and effective distribution by the carriers.

The Examiner promptly concluded an arrangement with" the Oakland
Tribune, but it was some days before the Call made its appearance. The
evening papers practically suspended publication until they w_ere provided

with machinery from near-by points and the East. The three
Papers morning papers established publication offices on Fillmore

Printed in street, The Chronicle pioneering the movement by securing
Oakland the lease of a store on the Saturday succeeding the fire. The

selection was due to the desire to be close to the hall in which
the Committee of Fifty held its meetings, and to the perception of the fact
that Fillmore street was destined for a time to be the most important thor-
oughfare in the city. The editorial rooms of the paper were located in a
building opposite the publication office, and here the editorial and local
copy was prepared and sent to Oakland. George H. Fitch, the night editor
of The Chronicle, took his force with him to Oakland and had at his com-
mand two or three artists with whose assistance he soon managed to get
out as many pictures as the restricted plant of the Herald would permit.
It was some days before San Franciscans took enough interest in the out-
side world to demand much telegraphic news, but the appetite was soon
restored. During the first few weeks after the disaster the morning papers
printed an extraordinary number of advertisements, whose object was the
bringing together of scattered friends, relatives and people whose business
relations were interrupted by the conflagration.

The CallH3ironiclc=Examiner

SAN FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, APRIL 19, IMtf.

EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE:
SAN FRANCISCO IN RUINS

death and DEmucnoH hayi been thi mti of i*t> feancirco ihaeik iv

TEMBLOR AT IAS O'CLOCK YESTERDAY HORN1N0 THE 1HOCE LAST1H0 » lECONDR,

AND SCOUMIED FY FVAMEl THAT |MB DIAMETRICALLY IK ALL DIUECTTQNt. THE CITT

1 A NASI OF SNOOLDBRINO RUINS AT HE O'CLOCK LAST EVEHINO THE FLAUEI lEEK-

mOLT FUVIJM with nciuu nun TUHlniD to diitnt iuch iectioni u their fort had efarxd duniho tub uiun portion or thi day ruiuhno THUS

PATH 11. A THIANOUAR CIRCUIT FIOH TKB ETA9T IH THI KAHLTHORNnHlL THEY JOCEHYBSAJ Itl Oil (UU HIT TBI BUHNEU MCTJOM. WHtCHrHBY HAD ENTIRELY 01-

VASTATED. AMD IBmS IN A DUU DDttCTtOHfl TO TM> RESUIENCE PORTIONS. A* HID

IT FEU. THEY NAD MADE THEIR WAT OVER INTO TKE NORTH REACH lECTlOH AND

1PHIN0IM SHEW TO TMI lOUTH THEY REACHED OVT ALOHO THI IHJPPIMa SECTION DOWN THE BAT IWU OVER THI Ktt LI AID ACROH. TOWARD TKTRD AND TOWKIEND

■TUiri WAREHOUSES. WHOLESALE HOVIO AMD HANUFACTURINO CONCERN! FILL IH

THEIR RATH. THIS COMPLETED THE DESTRUCTION OF THE EvriEK DIITRICT KNOWN

a* ths -booth of umrnutT' »ow fab fm «u reaching to the south ao

(OR* THB CHANKEL CANNOT BE TOLD A* TKTB FAET OF THE CITT U 1KUT OFF PROM

iam francisco Mm

Arm iMMMm.TffovMN m or thi howexku yfee-e uakino their wat with

THEIR BLANKETS AND ECAHT PROVIBOHt TO OOLSEN OATT PAKE AND THE BEACH TO

TIHD SHELTER TK01I I ■ THE HOME! OH THE KILL! JUIT HOETH Of THI HATH VALLI

» WRKCEKD IECTIOH FILED THETR RELOHOIKOt IS THE iTEEEtS AKD EXPRESS WAO-

ONI AMD AVTONOBILCS WHS HAULING THE THI Hal AWAV TO THE (FAMILY lETTLED

UG10HE EVERYBODY IN BAH FRAHCIKO II PREPARED TO LEAVE THE CITY, FOR THE

BELIEF 11 PIRN THAT SAN FRAPICIKO WILL IE TOTALLY DESTROYED

THETI FORHEH UTLA ALL OF THI HTWHIl PUNT! HAVE EEEH RENDERED USELESS. T

HE -CALL" AND THE 'BAMMEr BUILDIHOB. EKCLt DINO THE "CALLS' EDITORIAL

ROOM! ON ITKVENtOK nun EBMC EHTMELY DERTROVBD.

IT 11 UT1HA1. ■> THAT TTIE LOH IN S»N FRANCISCO WILL BIACH TiiOH /lltrV.tS)

O inDJMJWe THESE F10URTJ ARE, IH THE EOUtlH AM» HOTUINO CAN BE TOLD UNTIL

PARTIAL ACOSUHn.SB M TAKEN.

on trar »r>| thzbs wai death and wfferiho yebtebdat ii jwdbidv wm

INJURS!* EJTM RlfRHSfc CRUSHED OR ETHUOE BY FALLING PIECES FROH THE BI'ILS- |

THE NUMBER (IT DEAD U HOT KNOWN BUT IT U ESTIMATED THAT AT LCA1T M HET THEIR FEA1II IH THE HORROR.

AT HIKE OCLOO UNDER A SPECIAL HUA'.CE 'ROM PRELIDEflT ROCtCVILT THI CI T

Y WAS PLACED UNDER HARTIAI LAW HUKDREOl OF -ROOFi'FATROLLED THE ITREET1 1

AND DROVE T.IE MOWDE IACX. WHILE HUNDRED* HOU WIRE SET AT WORE A5SUTING T

HE FIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS. THE ITRICTE1T ORDER! WERE 111LTED. AND IN \

TRUE U1UTARV SPIRIT THE MLOIER* OBEYED OUEMQ THE AFTERNOON THREE THIEVE1

HET THEIR DEATH RTKirLKBUU-ETl WHILE AT WORK IN THE RUINE THI CURIOUi j

WERE DRIVEN BAH r't THE BREASTS 0T THE H*I:1M THAT THE CAVALRYMEN RODE AND A

LL THb CROWD! WERE POECED FROK THE LEVEL OUT^tCT TO THE HILLT IECTIOH RE- !

TOND TO THE NORTH

THI WATER SUPPLY WAS ENTIIELT CUT OTP AND HAT BE IT WA» ITT At WELL. P

R TH^ UHE* OF FIRE DKPARTHEHT WOULD HAVE B1Z1 ABSOLUTELY UIELESI AT ANY ;
THE WORKING IT WAR IEEH THAT THE ONLY POUUU.E CHANCE TO IAVI THI CITY LAY j
ULD RE HEARD IN ANY SECTION AT INTERVAL! or ONLY A FEW HIHUTEE AND BUILD- ]

•N EFFORT TO CHECE T..C PL.HH RT THE UEE OP DYNAN1TB. DUR1N0 Till. DAY A RLA1T CC

INO* NOT DOTIOTr^ DY PINE WERE BLOWN TO ATOHE RUT THKOUOr. THE CAP* HAOK T

E FLAHEI juflPED AND AX THOU OH THI FAILURES OF TKE HEROIC EFFORTS OF THE FO j

UCE rTREHEH AND IOLDIERE WERE AT TIRTM S1CKEI-IH0. THE WORE WAS CONTINUED W|-

m A DESFCkATIOH THAT WELL LTVK AS ONE OF THE FEATURE! OF THE TKJUUKLI D1IAS ;

TER. MEN WORKED UEE FIEND! TO COHEAT THE LAOOHINO. ROAAiWQ. OHRUIKIND FIRE

MO HOPE LEFT
FOR SAFETY OF
ANY BUILDINGS

. bM > iRl <HH»*I ■■ •— ■ tm M— -

BLOW BUILDINGS WHOLE CITY CHURCHQFSAIHT

j T0 CHECK
FUMES

ABLAZE

IGNATIUS IS
DESTflDYEO

MAYOR CONFERS
WITH MILITARY
AND CITIZENS

TITLE PAGE OP THE JOINT PAPER ISSUED BY SAN FRANCISCO'S

THREE MORNING DAILIES ON THE DAT AFTER

THE DISASTER OF 1906

Purification by Fire 175

The plants of all the newspapers were totally destroyed by the fire
and had to be replaced but before that could be accomplished places had
to be prepared for them. The Chronicle was in better case than the other
. morning papers as it was enabled to install presses in the base-

o/the ° n men t °f the seventeen-story annex, which was approaching
Chronicle completion when the disaster occurred. The western part

Building of the building on the corner of Market, Geary and Kearny

had suffered from the precipitation of the battery of lino-
types on the top floor to the basement. This was caused by the burning of
the false roof which was constructed after the tower fire in November, 1905,
and maintained while two stories were being added. The fire from the roof
was communicated to a large quantity of drawings stored in a gallery, which
also contained about- five or six tons of zinc etchings. The floor of this
gallery was of wood, and; when it caught fire, the zinc was dumped on the
top of the linotypes and the shock and the added weight caused the entire
mass to break through the terra cotta and cement floors of story after story
until it reached the basement, burying the three perfecting presses under
the debris and carrying with it in its descent the valuable library of the
paper which represented more than a quarter of a century's accumulation
of reference matter. It was the one irreparable loss. The machinery, which
represented an investment of several hundred thousand dollars, could be
replaced, but the records and scrapbooks were irreplacable. Although the
western end of the building had to be restored, that part facing Market
street was easily put in condition for use. A press, procured from the Los
Angeles Times, was set up in the basement, a battery of linotypes was
installed on the second floor of the annex and a large room On the mez-
zanine floor of the old building, accessible from Market street, was devoted
to the use of the editorial staff, and The Chronicle was able to announce to
the public that it was back in its old home.

There were some who were disposed to regard the early removal of The
Chronicle to the ash heap as premature, and not a few, strange as it may
now seem, had reached the hasty conclusion that the business center had

permanently shifted itself to Van Ness avenue, which speedily
^ . . took on the air of a watering place thoroughfare in which

Which Had much bunting and plate glass take the place of substantial
Consequences structures. But M. H. de Young was convinced that the

causes which made Kearny, Geary and Market streets the
heart of the city before the fire still existed, and that his example would
soon be followed by others. The movement downtown, however, was not
precipitate and it is recalled by an employe of the business department of
the paper that the appearance of a woman on Market street two or three
days after the force took possession of one of the small stores on the Market
street side of the building created quite a commotion, the clerks wondering
what she was doing down in the ash heap. This was in the closing days
of July, 1906, and it was several months before the workers of The
Chronicle got rid of the feeling of isolation which familiarity with the
neighborbood of Lotta's fountain after nightfall created. The spot, now
the busiest in the city, was practically deserted when the forces engaged in
wrecking buildings had finished their labors for the day, and the street car
lines, although they maintained a service, might have abandoned it without
greatly impairing their profits.

176 Jou rnalism in California

While what was nominally the main office of The Chronicle was estab-
lished in the present building before the opening days of the June following
the earthquake, the branch, opened on the 21st of April at 1804 Fillmore

street, was for a long time the busiest. Advertisers found the
t0 e lrs latter the most convenient, and it was not until the banks,

Start Up insurance companies and the principal commercial establish-

Downtown ments, one by one, found their way back to the localities in

which they had done business before the conflagration that
the publication office of The Chronicle assumed its old-time bustling appear-
ance. Apart from that, however, the readers and other patrons of the
paper, in less than six months after the disastrous April 18th, could see
little in it to remind them of the experience through which it had passed.
It was a strenuous time for the proprietor, who was compelled to devote
himself untiringly to the work of rehabilitating the mechanical end of his
journal and simultaneously drive the reconstruction of the seventeen-story
annex and that of preparing to restore the Market street structure. Accord-
ing to the records, M. H. de Young's order to rebuild was the first given
after the fire. Before the end of July daily editions of fourteen pages were
sent out and forty-eight pages were printed on Sundays. In November the
daily issues were of sixteen pages, and the Sunday edition was increased
to sixty-two pages. On December 22, 1907, an annual containing eighty
pages was issued, the largest paper ever printed in San Francisco up to
that date. The Examiner and Call displayed less alacrity in getting back
into their old quarters. The former of the two continued to be printed in
a temporary construction near the water front until the new Hearst build-
ing on the corner of Third and Market streets was completed, a wooden
shack on the corner of those thoroughfares serving as a downtown business
office until the erection of its present home. The Examiner and Call, like
The Chronicle, had established offices on Fillmore street, and they remained
for a long time their principal places of business.

Charles de Young was promoted to the position of business manager
in the busy days of rehabilitation. His father had not contemplated so
rapid an advancement, but during the trying period of 1906 he revised

an earlier view and concluded to lessen his own labors by
Managers making his son assume some responsibilities. A vacancy oc-

of The curred in the management of the business department, and

Chronicle Charles was placed in charge. He was the fourth to fill that

responsible position. From the time of the launching of The
Chronicle until the death of his brother in 1880, M. H. de Young had given
his personal attention to the management of the details of the business and
had not appointed a manager. The first to fill the position after that date
was Joseph B. Eliot, who had many years' experience in the office. He
remained in charge of the publication department for many years and was
succeeded by W. P. Leech and the latter by C. H. Hornick. Charles de
Young filled the position of business manager up to within a few weeks of
his untimely death, which occurred on September 17, 1913. The growing
business of the paper suggested the necessity of a general supervision, and
Charles was designated as publisher, a title which had scarcely become
familiar to the public before he passed away. When Charles de Young
became publisher, W. H. B. Fowler, the present business manager, was
appointed. Mr. Fowler began his career in the Chronicle office as a boy

PRESENT HOME OP THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Constructed by M. H. de Young after the disaster of 1906. The first building

erected in the downtown district after the gVeat fire.

Purification by Fire 177

and filled several roles before assuming his responsible position. His con-
nection with the paper was interrupted only long enough to take a Stanford
collegiate course. After graduation from that institution he served a while
as telegraph news editor, but his aptitude for business attracted Mr. de
Young's attention, and he was put in charge of the automobile advertise-
ments, which rapidly assumed large proportions under his management.
He remained manager of this department until he assumed the business
managership. It is worth mentioning as a characteristic of the proprietor
of The Chronicle that he has the faculty of retaining employes during long
periods. In the fifty years of its career, The Chronicle has had only three
cashiers : B. A. Wardell, James G. Chesley and -W. D. Burlingame, who
now fills that responsible position.

Mention has been made in a preceding chapter of the increased atten-
tion paid to sports. A column or so of varied paragraphs published once a
week and furnished by a reporter familiar with all sorts of diversions met
all requirements until near the close of the nineteenth cen-
Growth tury. After that time the amount of space devoted to the

of Interest subject began to be reckoned by pages, requiring several re-
in Sports porters to produce it, all of whom had to be specialists in their
particular line. This necessitated the organization of a de-
partment presided over by a sporting editor who directed and supervised.
Benny Benjamin was the first sporting editor of The Chronicle in charge
of a force of men. He had an international reputation as a turf reporter,
and his accounts of prize fights were considered unsurpassed by the critics,
and their number was legion. Harry B. Smith, at present in charge of the
department, also enjoys the reputation of being an authority, his specialties
being baseball and the ring. There are some who profess to regard with
amazement the extraordinary attention paid to sports by American news-
papers, but their surprise would suffer diminution if they had any concep-
tion of the demand for such intelligence. It is possible that lectures or ser-
mons would have a greater educational value than an account of a prize
fight, if the patrons of daily papers could be induced to read them, but, un-
fortunately, they cannot be persuaded to do so, and insist on neglecting
the papers which refuse to print what they desire. Hence the great pre-
ponderance of sporting over matter of a more solid character; and, by the
way, there would be much less of the latter printed than there is at present
if the people who interest themselves in sports threw upon the serious the
entire burden of supporting newspapers.

The preceding remarks are by way of explanation of a newspaper feat
of The Chronicle successfully carried through by Charles de Young, whose
activities when he was business manager, as was befitting in one who ex-
pected, to succeed his father as head of The Chronicle, were
^ not confined to any department of the paper. In 1910, when

Newspaper the approaching Johnson-Jeffries fight, which was to take
Feat place at Beno, attracted almost as much attention as a Euro-

pean war, Mr. de Young organized and personally took charge
of a corps of sixteen reporters, correspondents and photographers sent to
Eeno to report the "great" event for The Chronicle. The force consisted of
Ben Benjamin, Harry Smith, Waldemar Young, C. A. Home, Charles Bem-
ington, B. D. Johnson, Helen Dare, Jack Densham, Leroy Eipley, George
Stanson, Harold Fitch and I\ A. Purner of the Chronicle staff and Jack

178 Journalism in California

London, Eex Beach and Thomas E. Flynn, who acted as special correspond-
ents. A special was engaged to bring the photographs taken at the ring-
side, which were developed while the train was thundering on its way to the
city. The fight terminated at 3 P. M. in the defeat of Jeffries, and at 10
P. M. the photographer, accompanied by Charles Kemington, who was de-
tailed to describe the flight of the special, arrived in the office. Meanwhile,
the Western Union Telegraph Company was transmitting over its wires
over 40,000 words of description, which appeared in The Chronicle on the
succeeding morning, accompanied by sixteen half-tones of the rounds, in-
cluding the final knockout. Mr. de Young had so thoroughly systematized
the work at the Eeno, end that the vast number of words, representing
scores of different filings, reached the office in perfect order, Mr. Fitch, the
night editor, reporting to the managing editor that in his long experience
he had never received a story by telegraph more easily handled. To round
out the account of this newspaper exploit, it should be added that the paper
was out on sharp time on the morning of the 5th of July, and that at 11
o'clock on the night of the 4th a special edition was dispatched to Eeno,
which was the first to reach the crowds who had witnessed the fight.

Charles de Young had to his credit another newspaper exploit which
attracted as much attention to San Francisco as it did to the paper. The
suggestion being made that the prima donna Tetrazzini might be induced
to sing in public, he succeeded in persuading her to do so on
Conc a ert in in S Christmas eve of 1910. The concert occurred in front of the
Front of The niain entrance of the Chronicle building, the diva using the
Chronicle proprietor's office as her retiring room for the occasion.

Never was there a greater or more enthusiastic throng as-
sembled to hear a singer. The number of listeners was estimated to exceed
a hundred thousand. Market street for two blocks was densely packed, and
Third, Geary and Kearny streets contained thousands who, although they
could not see the singer's face, were content to hear her voice. The evening-
was delightfully pleasant, and the male part of the audience complimented
the prima donna, who insisted on adopting San Francisco as her home, by
removing their head coverings. Flashlight pictures of the immense crowd
were taken and sent to the leading pictorial publications of the United
States and Europe, many of which reproduced the same. An amusing com-
mentary on municipal pettiness is contained in the inscription on Lotta's
fountain, which falsely states that the diva sang at that spot, but the fact
remains that she sang in front of the Chronicle office at the request of The
Chronicle. The tablet on the fountain was expressly prepared to suppress
the truth, but it has only served to elevate the occurrence to the dignity of
an. historical event and to call the attention of future generations to the
varied forms assumed by newspaper rivalry in the first decade of the
twentieth century.

The young man whose imagination and activity were responsible for
this and other Chronicle performances, took the same lively interest in
public affairs as his father, and was foremost in the promotion of celebra-
tions and pageants. In the Portola Fiesta in 1909 and in similar demon-
strations he was full of suggestions and his assistance and advice were
always sought. He was a director of the Panama-Pacific International
Exposition, as was also his father, who was one of the subscribers of $25,000
at the big meeting in the Merchants' Exchange when the project was

Purification by Fire

179

Untimely
Death of

Charles
de Young

launched. Charles was a tireless worker in and out of the office, and en-
joyed an extraordinary popularity among his fellow workers on the paper.
When his untimely death, which occurred on September 17, 1913, was
announced, the community was profoundly shocked. He was
carried off by typhoid fever, contracted, it is supposed, by
drinking water which had been standing in a neglected pipe.
The press of the entire country united in paying a tribute
to his marked journalistic ability, and in extending sympathy
to his father, whose dream of a lifetime had been that his only son would
take up the work when he laid it down. The death of Charles de Young
followed very closely on the consummation of a transaction in which he hiad
taken the liveliest interest, and which he expected would achieve great
results for the paper. His satisfaction over this accomplishment of his
father was the subject of his last conversation with the writer, who had
followed his career with the liveliest interest from the day of his birth to
the hour of his untimely passing away.

CHAPTER XXII

THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIELD OF
JOUENALISM.

Purchase of the San Francisco Call by M. H. <le Young — Eetirement From the
Field of a Survivor From Pioneer Days — Introduction of Wireless Telegraphy
— Increased Complexity of Newspapering — An Album of Portraits of the
Working Force of The Chronicle — Remarkable Expansion of the Midwinter
Exposition Memorial Museum — A Product of the Journal That Does Things —
The Chronicle's Christmas Ship — Over a Quarter of a Million Articles Sent
to the Little Ones of Warring Europe — Charles de Young's Efforts to Brighten
the Lives of Unfortunates — Keseuing the Careless From the Clutches of Loan
Sharks — The Chronicle's Japanese and Pan-American Editions — Imminence of
Another Chronicle Skyscraper.

HEN the latest census of newspaper publications and
periodicals of all kinds in California was taken in 1912
the total of the enumeration was 818. This embraced
161 dailies, 4 triweeklies, 31 semiweeklies, SOU weeklies,
2 fortnightlies, 9 semimonthlies, 101 monthlies, 5 bi-
monthlies and 1 quarterly. Of this number, 166 were
published in San Francisco, there being nineteen dailies,
fifty weeklies, one semiweekly, fifty monthlies, four
semimonthlies, one bimonthly and one fortnightly. Of the dailies, nine
were published in the English language, four in Chinese, three in Japanese,
one in German and two in Italian. Only three of the entire list of dailies,
the Bulletin, the German Demokrat and the Journal of Commerce, are
survivals from the fifties. Of the weeklies, the News Letter and the Chris-
tian Advocate date their birth back to pioneer days. Only one paper, that
which today celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, enjoys the distinction of
having remained uninterruptedly in one ownership from the date of its
foundation! All the other journals established a half- century or more
ago have undergone many changes of proprietorship, and some of them
have been subjected to such transformations, that little more than the name
originally bestowed upon them links .their history with the past. The Ex-
aminer, for instance, started its career as an evening paper about the same
time that The Chronicle made its first appearance, and was changed into a
morning paper several years later.'

The Call, whose advent in the journalistic field preceded that of The
Chronicle by several years, maintained its existence for more than half a
century. It was founded, as related in an earlier chapter, by a small coterie
of printers, who operated it for a sljort period only. The paper was subse-
quently purchased by Claus Spreckels and passed into his possession on

180

The Call Suspends 181

the 1st of January, 1895. During the first two years after its acquisition
by him it was under the management of Charles M. Shortridge. On the
13th of August, 1897, the Call passed into the possession of
Young 6 John D. Spreckels, in whose ownership it remained until

Purchases the September 1, 1913, when it was purchased by M. H. de
Call Young, and its publication permanently suspended. The ex-

tinction of the Call created a national journalistic sensation,
and was hailed with expressions of satisfaction by advertisers, who re-
garded the conversion of San Francisco into a two-morning-daily city as
tending greatly to simplify their relations with the newspapers and the
public generally. At the time of the acquisition of the Call by Mr. de
Young it possessed a splendid equipment, the major part of which was
absorbed into The Chronicle's plant.

The purchase of the Call was the subject of extended comment by the
editors of Pacific Coast papers familiar with the early rivalries of the
extinguished journal and The Chronicle. Many of them recalled the
energetic efforts of the de Young boys to break into the San
Up 1 a™ 8 Francisco newspaper field, and one claimed to have predicted

Great ■ th e outcome in 1879. The prophecy, however, made no

Newspaper deep impression, and when the purchase was made the sur-
prise was general. During the period while the Call was in
the possession of John D. Spreckels it was conducted as a thoroughly up-to-
date newspaper and was a vigorous competitor for public favor. Had the
fact been otherwise, the passing of a journal that had rounded out an ex-
istence of nearly sixty years would have attracted less attention. The
mortality list of San Francisco newspapers was a long one, but in most
instances the community was not disturbed when a publication dropped
out of line. The circumstances attending the disappearance of the Call,
however, were of such a character that few newspapers throughout the
length and breadth of the land refrained. from comment, most of it taking
the form of approval of what was considered an important tendency in
modern journalism, namely, to build up and make a few great newspapers
rather than multiply their number at the expense of efficiency. .

Much space has been devoted by the press of San Francisco and by
observing visitors, to the marvelous energy displayed by the community in
the work of rehabilitation since the disaster of 1906. The rebuilding of a
city is something that forces itself on the attention of the least
Introduction observant. When skyscrapers and less lofty structures are
Wireless rising in every direction they are recognized by all as im-

Telegraphy provements, but the changes made by newspapers, which are
usually in the direction of greater efficiency in the presenta-
tion of news and increased attractiveness, are less likely to be noticed, be-
cause the reading public has become accustomed to accepting journalistic
innovations as a matter of course. Some of these latter, however, are
worthy recording in a sketch of journalism. Perhaps the most important
of these is the extended use of wireless telegraphy, which became of such
practical importance in the work of news gathering about 1910 that it is
now regarded as an indispensable part of the machinery for collecting in-
telligence. It has begun to share with the ocean cables and land wires the
duty of swiftly conveying to the editor accounts of occurrences on land
and sea, and sometimes it has the mournful monopoly of the recital of

182 Journalism in California

disasters on the deep which would never be heard of if Marconi's wonder-
ful discovery had not been made.

The results of the employment of wireless communication may pass
unnoticed by the average reader, who is not so much interested in the source
of the news, or how it was obtained, as he is in the news itself, but the

investigator who takes the trouble to compare an issue of a
Marvelous morning paper of some five or six years ago with one of the
Made present day will discover that there are features whose daily

Commonplace presentation makes them seem commonplace which really

indicate an advancement more marvelous than any recorded
during the nineteenth century. In the most prosaic fashion the leading
journals of the country daily print items whose publication would have
been deemed impossible by a past generation. The owner of a vessel at
sea learns from this unostentatious column as he peruses his morning
paper that the craft in which he has invested a fortune is safe in some
exactly indicated part of a vast ocean ; a busy father, whose wife and daugh-
ter are traveling, gathers from the brief wireless message that the ship
on which they are sailing homeward will reach port on time ; the merchant
awaiting the arrival of a cargo is informed that he is not likely to be dis-
appointed. Sometimes the news brought is tragic, and then it finds a place
among the more startling intelligence ; but whether the information brought
by wireless is that of a disaster, or merely a record of the location of a
vessel at sea, the method of bringing it will always seem more wonderful
than that employed when transmitted through a cable or a land wire.

Another innovation more particularly confined to the two San Fran-
cisco morning papers is that of issuing successive editions to meet the wants
of different localities in the vast area served by them. Before the disaster of

1906 it rarely happened that more than one edition was issued
Makine ^ v a morning paper; at present as many as five are sent out

of Many every morning. The earliest of these appears on the streets at

Editions 11 p. m., and meets the requirements of San Francisco's

large night population. It is followed at intervals by other
editions, which are dispatched by special train or other conveyances to vari-
ous localities, all of whose particular needs are recognized and provided for
by the publication of items of local interest. The innovation of successive
editions was compelled by the rapid growth of population since 1906 in
the area contributory to San Francisco. Before that date the night editor,
unless some accident causing an interruption to communication occurred,
awaited the signal "good night" from the Associated Press and telegraphic
correspondents. The welcome good night never comes now. The various
editions are sent to press at a prescribed minute, and if there is a failure in
that regard the circulation department, through the business manager, is
sure to ask for an explanation.

As a result of the issuance of many editions, the work of the night
editor is made much more arduous than in former times, when the paper
nearly made itself up. It is no longer possible, as it once was, closely to
estimate the quantity of matter to be set by the printers, and it frequently
happens that the editors upon whom devolve the duty of selecting what
shall appear in the paper are obliged to discard much that has been pre-
pared for publication. On occasion enough is thrown aside to fill a good-
sized sheet. As pointed out in an earlier chapter, the scarcity of news, or

The Call Suspends 183

rather the facilities for assembling it, necessitated efforts to fill up. The
problem in the modern newspaper office is entirely different. It is to find a
Th w k pl ace for the "stuff" which comes to it from hundreds of
of t]ie sources and that which is diligently gathered by the large staffs

Night of reporters and special writers employed on all the leading

Editor city papers. Instead of being concerned about obtaining

matter to print, the heads of the various departments are
called upon to observe the closest watch over the copy prepared by or sub-
mitted to them in order to keep within the space allotted them, otherwise
the paper would be flooded with relatively inconsequential matter. This
requires the exercise of discrimination on the part of every editor en-
trusted with the preparation of copy for the printer, but even that fails of
its purpose, for when the matter is all up in type there are usually many
columns more than can be accommodated in the various editions and the
editor is called upon to make a swift decision as to what shall go and what
shall be left out.

The making of successive editions greatly increases the work in all the
mechanical departments of the great city dailies. In the infancy and grow-
ing period of American city journalism, the making of a daily paper was a

simple affair. No special training was required for those
Machinery engaged in its preparation. Given a few competent printers
of a an< i a press which would print a few thousand copies of a

Great Daily four-page sheet in four or five hours and any man capable of

writing a swinging editorial and putting together such scraps
of information as came to hand could easily turn the trick. The production
of a modern daily is something entirely different. There is nothing more
complex than the highly organized machinery of a great daily journal.
Every part must work in perfect harmony to produce results. The pos-
sibility of accident is never considered. Every day takes care of itself.
Prevision of the highest order cannot prepare for the morrow. In every
other occupation those in charge can foresee what they will be called upon
to perform during the ensuing twenty-four hours, but the editor cannot
tell what the day may bring forth. It may promise no more than a hum-
drum experience requiring the exercise of nothing else than ordinary dili-
gence, and may end in the application of high-pressure energy helped out
by ingenuity and the eager co-operation of everyone in the establishment.
But whether the day is dull or crowded with excitement, everything must
go like clockwork, otherwise the paper would not be out on time for. the
toiler to read on the way to his daily occupation, or the people of leisure to
peruse at their breakfast tables.

Pew people outside the profession have any comprehension of the
enormous toil and the great number of persons required to produce the
paper which they read with such comfort and satisfaction in the morning.

The comparatively insignificant price at which it is sold has a
Forceof a tendency to cause those who enjoy the benefits of the mar-
Big ' velous cheapness of newspaper intelligence to underrate the
Daily efforts that must be put forth. to enable publishers to make a

daily presentation of the news of the world. Many will be
surprised when told that thousands of active minds and willing hands co-
operate to produce that which the reader of the daily paper accepts as a
matter of course. Not long since the attaches of The Chronicle signalized

184 Journalism in California

an occasion by presenting M. H. de Young with a handsomely gotten up
album containing the photograph of every employe of the paper whose duties
were performed within the precincts of the Chronicle building. The por-
traits numbered exactly 258, made up as follows: Editorial staff, ninety-
four ; business office and circulation and advertising departments, fifty-four ;
compositors and linotype operators, sixty-three; photo engraving, depart-
ment, six; stereotypers and pressmen, twenty-nine; engineers, electricians,
etc., twelve. In addition to this force, the paper maintains telegraphic
correspondents in every place of importance on the Pacific Coast and rep-
resentatives in all the news gathering centers of the East and the
world.

How this large number is employed it would take a sizable volume to
tell. There are some in the editorial department whose productions occupy
much space, and others who work just as energetically whose efforts hardly

show up at all. There is an impressiom outside of newspaper
Effort to offices that modern journalism exhibits recklessness of state-

Get ment, but if the average man or woman would display a tithe

the Facts of the energy exerted by newspapers to get at the exact facts

this would be "a more truthful world than it is. A large
part of the work of the local staff of a great city journal is the ascertainment
of the truth or falsity of stories circulated by individuals. If the men whose
business it is to write had nothing to do but to fill space the force of such a
paper as The Chronicle could easily provide matter for thrice as many
pages as are daily printed. But, odd as it may seem to the outsider, re-
porters are not selected because they can express themselves with facility.
That is a qualification eminently desirable, but it is not rated near so highly
as the ability to get at the bottom of things. The two qualities are combined
in the most successful reporter, but the city editor who understands what
the public desires considers the man who after carefully investigating a
rumor reports that it has no foundation more favorably than he does the
one who thinks he can perform the feat which was once thought impossible
of making bricks without straw.

In the preceding chapters attempts were made to determine the status
of reporting, and some evidence was presented which pointed to a con-
tinued improvement in every branch of the art. The esteem' in which the

work of certain reporters of earlier days is held by oldtimers is
g? 16 . no trustworthy basis for comparison. Not infrequently the

f claim is put forward that the haste of turning out a modern

Reporting paper militates against the production of good reportorial

work, but the files do not bear out the assumption, and the
fact that the local rooms of the big city dailies have proved the halfway
house or the preparatory school for many who have found their way into
the higher walks of literature abundantly supports the assertion that the
modern newspaper, taken as a whole, is very well written. Eecognition of
the good work of the present does not constitute a disparagement of the
past; it merely tends to discourage a sort of criticism destitute of value
because it ignores the conditions responsible for slips, and shuts its eyes to
the merit of performances which would be impossible to most of the fault
finders who pick the flaws and pass over the good things.

If there was a greater disposition to hunt for the latter the critics would
find abundant opportunity to frame their criticism in appreciative terms.

THANKSGIVING DAT AT THE RELIEF HOME AND THE

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

The custom of entertaining the children was inaugurated by Charles de Young

and has been kept up since his death by his father, M. H. de Young.

The Call Suspends 185

There is still plenty of "the journalism that does things," and the kind
that perpetuates things that were well done. The story of the Midwinter
Exposition has already been told, but the success of that
Memorial achievement of M. H. de Young by no means ended with the

Museum accomplishment of the immediate object aimed at by its pro-

ponent. After the closing of the Exposition, Mr. de Young,
who always had a fad for collecting curiosities and antiquities,
succeeded in getting the consent of the Park Commissioners to leave the
Art Building in the Park and permit him to create a museum. This museum
was named the Golden Gate Park Memorial Museum to recall the Mid-
winter Exposition. During the past twenty years, M. H. de Young has
devoted all his spare time during his travels throughout Europe and the
Orient in purchasing curiosities, armor and other valuable exhibits, in the
beginning using the fund left after the closing of the Exposition and sub-
sequently using his own money. At least eight-tenths of the articles at
present in the museum, of which there are over 250,000, have been
acquired through the efforts of Mr. de Young. Mr. de Young has main-
tained a lively interest in the Museum since 1894, and has ceaselessly worked
to promote its growth. It has since become the most popular public institu-
tion in San Francisco and has outgrown its original home. An enumera-
tion of the treasures in the various departments discloses that it has long
since passed the nucleus stage, and is now a full-fledged museum, inviting
contributions and recognition.

At this writing the pioneer room has a collection of 50,000 articles
connected with and illustrating the early history of the State. In the mis-
sion room there are over a hundred articles, all relics of the California mis-
sions. In the department devoted to ceramics there are 8000
Growth pieces, including royal Meissen Dresden, Majolica, etc. The

Valuable chief feature of this room is a cloisonne- vase valued at

Collection $8000, presented by M. H. de Young. In the room devoted

to numismatics there are 2000 coins, many of them ancient
and rare. There are 2000 pieces of jewelry, including jades, watches,
miniatures, etc., some of them very valuable because of their rarity. In
the Napoleonic room there are more than one hundred articles, among
them a throne chair and the field glasses of the Emperor. There is a Dutch
room containing fifty or more articles of typical Dutch furnishings of vari-
ous periods. One of the most interesting departments is that illustrating
the Colonial period of the United States, and there is an Egyptian room,
containing over 500 reminders of that ancient civilization. The North
American room contains 4000 articles; there are fully 600 ecclesiastical
exhibits, such as Bibles, vestments, etc. ; a tapestry collection embracing
more than a thousand pieces of Erench, Spanish, Italian and German work-
manship, and, in the Oriental department, there are 3000 objects. There
is a natural history department, containing fully 40,000 articles pertaining
to every branch of this science. The value of these collections is attested
by the great interest exhibited by visitors and by the fact that the library
pertaining to California history, which already numbers 7000 volumes, and
the exhibits are closely studied by an' increasing number of students. The
increasing popularity of the Museum is a tribute to the sagacity of its prac-
tical founder, M. H. de Young, and is as much a memorial of "the jour-
nalism that does things" as the success of the Midwinter Exposition, which
it commemorates.

186 Journalism in Califo rnia _

The journalism that does things was given -a practical illustration by
Charles de Young, the son of M. H., after his assumption of the duties of
business manager. It consisted in a sympathetic recognition of the fact that
^ u ty of society does not end with providing, homes for
fteUves unfortunates. Several weeks prior to Thanksgiving day in

of the November, 1911, Mr. de Young conceived the idea of

Unfortunate brightening the cheerless lives of the sick and crippled little
ones confined in the Children's Hospital, and that of the aged
inmates of the Belief Home. With his accustomed earnestness and energy,
he organized an entertainment which appealed greatly to those for whom it
was contrived. A troop of soldiers, the Nationals, the oldest military organ-
ization in the State, in their bright zouave uniforms, and performers from
the various vaudeville establishments, of the city, were taken early in the
morning, in sightseeing automobiles, to the hospital and the home. The
soldiers were put through their evolutions and the performers did their best
stunts and there was plenty of music to enliven the affair. The unwonted
treat was so greatly appreciated by those for whom it was designed that it
was repeated in the ensuing year, and since the death of Charles de Young
the custom has been perpetuated by The Chronicle to honor his
memory.

The most recent of the activities of The Chronicle was that which
resulted in the collection of fully a quarter of a million of toys, articles of
wearing apparel, etc., in San Francisco and the surrounding country, for
the little ones in the warring countries of Europe. The con-
Chrstmas ception of the happy idea of sending a shipload of Christmas

Ship of The gifts to' the region in which the conflict was raging met with
Chronicle an instant sympathetic and zealous response. The announce-

ment was made by The Chronicle on the morning of Septem-
ber 26, 1914, that a ship laden with things that would give joy to the sor-
rowing youngsters whose fathers were at the front or who had already suf-
fered the soldier's cruel fate, would be dispatched to Europe. The promp-
titude with which the readers of The Chronicle responded to the call sur-
prised even those familiar with the readiness of San Franciscans to put
their hands in their pockets when an appeal is. made for children. Before
the ink was dry on the paper in which the announcement was made gifts
began to pour into the office. Little children brought toys and the grown
ups contributed money with which to buy articles of wearing apparel, and
many brought things in their own hands. i

The contributions poured in so freely that a depot for their reception
and storage had to be provided, and M. H. de Young placed at the disposal
of the committee which he caused to be organized, a large store in the
Chronicle building. Here a corps of volunteers consisting of
f^'tn well-known society ladies, assisted by employes of The Chron-

Ctiildren of icle, received and arranged the gifts for shipment by the
Belligerents United States collier Jason, which was tendered by the Secre-
tary of the Navy, to transport the contributions to Europe.
During the month devoted to the collection of gifts it is estimated that
over a quarter of a million articles were brought or sent to the depot,
and, when the Christmas Ship campaign came to a close on October 25th,
there were 450 big packing cases, filled to the bursting point, ready for
shipment. The Southern Pacific Eailroad undertook the transportation of

The Call Suspends 187

the gifts to the East. The procession of the eleven big trucks from the
Chronicle office to the freight station on Bqrry street was viewed by thou-
sands of people. But the generosity of contributors did not cease with this
consignment. Gifts continued to come to the office, and a day later fifty-
four more cases were sent after the original lot. The Jason carried them
safely over the water to Europe, and their distribution in the countries to
which they were consigned drew forth expressions of gratitude and appre-
ciation from highest to lowest.

The press sometimes succeeds in remedying evils of long standing, and
which have occupied a large share of public attention, with a rapidity which
surprises those who have labored to mitigate them. In all cities there is a
class of improvidents and unfortunates whose carelessness or
Sharks ind necessities drive them into the toils of what are familiarly
Heir called "loan sharks." San Francisco had its share of the

Victims latter, and, if the records of the courts can be depended upon,

they are a particularly voracious breed. In the early part
of the year 1913 The Chronicle inaugurated a crusade against these
creatures, which had for its outcome the establishment in San Francisco of
a "Bemedial Loan Association." On February 20, 1912, the Welfare Com-
mittee of the Board of Supervisors was waited upon by a number of prom-
inent citizens, who proposed a plan for the abatement of the evil, which
was subsequently adopted. On the 24th of March articles of incorporation
and a constitution for the San Francisco Bemedial Loan Association were
drawn up and favorably acted upon by a committee which met in the
Chamber of Commerce. It provided for the creation of a board of fifteen
directors, and authorized the making of small loans on chattel mortgages.
On December 6th of the same year the new institution opened its doors, and
in the course of the first month's business the association loaned $43,601
to 1295. Thus there was accomplished in less than a year, through the
agency of The Chronicle, an object which earnest men and women had been
aiming to achieve for more than a decade. The Bemedial Loan Association
is now a fixture, and the community is satisfied that it is doing excellent
work and making it more and more difficult for rapacious money lenders
to extort money from needy persons who may be frightened into paying
extortionate rates for small accommodations. i

The "journalism that does things," while commanding popular applause,
and often entailing the expenditure of a great deal of thought and energy,
is after all only the spectacular side of newspapering. The greatest accom-
plishment of journalism is the ability displayed by those
G- he th directing the affairs of great journals to constantly enlarge

of The their spheres of usefulness, and to increase the interest of their

Chronicle patrons. The hallmark of successful journalism is innovation

and improvement. In the retrospect each year must present
an improvement over that of the preceding year. That has conspicuously
been the case with The Chronicle since its foundation fifty years ago by
the brothers, Charles and M. H. de Young. The survivor of the two is
able to look back half a century and see in the files of The Chronicle the
result of his care and arduous labors. The fact that there was no slip back
during the interval is eloquently testified by the evidences of constant
growth. The product of his paper was good fifty years ago; it was better
ten years later. Every decade has added to its attractiveness and value.

188 Journalism in California

Improvement has been made when improvement no longer seemed possible,
and that is likely to be the future record of the paper.

In no way can the vast strides of journalism in California, or, for that
matter, the whole United States, be more accurately measured than by a
comparison of the special papers issued by a great publication. Special
. publications may be regarded as the milestones in the develop-
ed ncan ment of journalism. They clearly mark its progress. During
Japanese recent years there have not been many noteworthy changes

Editions in the regular daily issues; the number of pages printed is

about the same as when the introduction of the perfecting
press caused a reduction in size and an increase in the number, but enter-
prise has been exhibited in the field which The Chronicle entered when the
brothers de Young were still working together. Their example has been
followed by many papers and exhaustive accounts of noteworthy occurrences
are no longer uncommon. Big annuals are printed by the leading journals
of the great American cities, and none now neglects to signalize great hap-
penings by exhaustive accounts which deal with the subject treated from
every possible angle calculated to interest or inform the reader. But it
remained for The Chronicle to introduce still another innovation, namely
the issuance of editions dealing with the commercial development of nations
having intimate relations with the United States. On October 22, 1911,
The Chronicle published an edition of 104 pages, fifty-two of which were
devoted to describing the industrial advancement of the Japanese people.
A representative of the paper was sent to that country and as a result of
his visit every conceivable phase of the commercial development of Japan
was fully dealt with. In like manner, on October 28, 1913, a Pan-American
edition was published, seventy pages of which dealt with the countries of
Central and South America. It was the most exhaustive presentation of
trade conditions in Latin American, and the possibility of developing more
intimate relations, ever printed in an American paper.

These great editions tell the story of newspaper development with almost
scientific precision. The daily presentation of the news is a matter of ef-
fective organization which permits the prompt recording of happenings.

If the latter are important they are interesting to the reader,
Editions ^ut ^ le mos ^ absorbing details of an occurrence of an unpre-

Milestones of meditated sort, unless possessed of extraordinary features,
Progress part with their interest very rapidly and prevent comparison,

excepting on a basis of length or mode of arrangement. But
the special edition never loses its interest. It has the qualities which have
caused' such writings as Froissart's Chronicles, or Motley's description of
a Dutch pageant to retain their freshness for successive generations of
readers. That is due to the fact that they are conscious efforts to realize
what is called the most important function of a newspaper; to faithfully
mirror the times in which it is printed. The elaborate account of the re-
ception to Grant in 1879, on his return from his world tour, and the ex-
tended description of the Portola festivities in October, 1909, have a his-
torical value, as do also the Eehabilitation issue of May 3, 1908, printed
to show the degree of recovery since 1 the disaster of two years earlier, and
the big edition of May 7th, eleven pages of which were devoted to the re-
ception of San Francisco to the United States squadron of battleships
on the occasion of its voyage around the world.

WILLIS POLK AND COMPANY'S DESIGN FOR A NEW
CHRONICLE BUILDING

The Call Suspends

189

Another

Chronicle

Skyscraper

There are still other indices of journalistic progress. In earlier chap-
ters mention has been made of the fact that the de Young brothers con-
structed the first building in San Francisco wholly devoted to newspaper
purposes in 1879, and that M. H. de Young made the bold
move of erecting the first skyscraper in this city in 1890, and
now it remains to round out the narrative by a reference to
the ambitious design of the gifted architect, Willis Polk, who
has drawn plans for a Chronicle building to be erected on
the site of the present structure on the corner of Market, Geary and Kearny
streets, which will exceed in loftiness the tallest building in the city. It is
proposed to erect in the place of the existing Chronicle edifice, whose height
on the Market-street side is eleven stories, a structure which will contain
thirty-seven habitable stories. This is to be accomplished without interfer-
ing with the service of the present building by a well thought-out sectional
mode of construction, which would permit the removal of occupants from
one part to another as rapidly as each section was completed. The plans of
Polk provide for a concrete, fire-proofed, class A building of structural
steel, with exterior walls of stone and brick and floors of reinforced con-
crete and steel. The corridor walls are to be of marble wainscot and the
floors of encaustic tiling and the interior woodwork of oak, the cost of the
structure to exceed eleven hundred thousand dollars. The construction of
this monumental edifice will not be the "last word in California journal-
ism," but it will fittingly indicate to the world that it is marching onward,
and that M. H. de Young is determined to keep in the van by being to
the fore in civic improvement and placing his great journal in the lead.

CHAPTER XXIII

THE CHRONICLE'S GOLDEN JUBILEE AND
EXPOSITION EDITION.

Publication That Stimulated Interest in the P. P. I. E. — Ninety-two Pages of
Reading Matter and Illustrations — Advertising Record Breaker — Auspicious
Opening of San Francisco's Great Show — Critics Declare That It Has Surpassed
All Previous Expositions — Record Breaking Attendance of the First Months —
An Ancient Question Up for Decision — The Attempt to Unload Spring Valley
on the City — A Contest in Which The Chronicle Stood Alone and Won Out.

HE preceding chapters appeared in a special edition of
the San Francisco Chronicle published on the 16th of
January, 1915. Certain references have probably in-
dicated to the reader that the publication of the
sketch of journalism had for its object the celebration
of an event which was regarded with great interest by
the newspaper fraternity of the United States; but it
remained to be related in this concluding chapter how
it was received, and to describe at some length the features of the San
Francisco Chronicle's Exposition and Golden Jubilee Edition.

That it merits attention in a sketch of California journalism will be
conceded when it is stated that the appearance of the jubilee edition was
greeted with eulogistic comments by contemporaries throughout the entire
Union. The tone of these told the story of a clear recognition by editors
that a great journalistic feat had been accomplished, and that The Chron-
icle had added another to its long list of striking achievements of the sort
characterized by the phrase : "The journalism that does things."

The tributes to the publication were exceeded in warmth only by the
congratulations extended to M. H. de Young, whose fiftieth year of con-
tinuous ownership and conduct of The Chronicle the Jubilee Edition cele-
brated. The foremost publishers and editors of the land
literally showered good wishes and compliments upon him,
and commented on the unique position he occupies in Ameri-
can journalism. In successive editions of The Chronicle
after January 16th pages of these congratulatory letters were
printed to testify the recipient's appreciation and to substantiate the as-
sumption of the writer of this sketch that the leading journalists of
America recognized in the San Francisco Chronicle an exponent of "the
journalism that does things."

The Jubilee Edition consisted of ninety-two pages. Its principal feature

190

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Golden Jubilee Edition 191

was the sketch of "Journalism in. California," here reproduced. It oc-
cupied twenty-two pages, or 176 columns, making it, perhaps, the longest
article ever printed in a single issue of a daily paper. In addition to this
there were presented twelve pages devoted to describing the scope of the
Panama-Pacific International Exposition, which was on the eve of being
opened to the public. It was by all odds the most comprehensive account
of the preparations for the great event published up to that time and was
accompanied by numerous half-tones, among them a double-page birdseye
view of the palaces and other completed buildings. It shared with the
history of journalism the lavish praise bestowed upon the edition.

The editors who reviewed the contents of the Jubilee Edition of The
Chronicle were not slow to remark that the issue in itself constituted a
milestone on San Francisco's road of progress. One writer called attention
to the significance of the fact that there were 335 columns
Formidable °^ advertisements. "It would have been marvelous," he said,
Show of "even if the onward march had been uninterrupted, that a

Advertisementscity whose years numbered scarcely sixty-five should be able
to furnish the support so great a quantity of advertising in
a single issue implies, but when it is borne in mind tbat less than nine
years ago The Chronicle was compelled to reorganize and grow over again,
words fail adequately to describe the astounding accomplishment."

This sized up the situation exactly, and it is not surprising that the
thousand or more editors who critically examined the Jubilee Edition
were able to form a juster estimate of the thoroughness of San Francisco's
rehabilitation than they could have done from the perusal of pages of
statistics, albeit there was plenty of such information in its columns.
"Boosters" 'do not lack the ability to frame alluring stories, but ninety-
two page editions containing 335 columns of advertising tell a tale that
the most critical examination by an advocate of blue sky legislation could
not discredit.

There can hardly be two opinions concerning the judgment passed on
that part of the Jubilee Edition devoted to showing the state of com-
pleteness of the exposition. There had been much misinformation dis-
seminated by Eastern newspapers calculated to convey the
D he bt IiStS ° f i m P ress i° n that circumstances created by the war would make
Cleared ^ necessary to defer the opening of the fair, perhaps compel

Away its indefinite postponement. Contradictions seemed power-

less to correct the error, perhaps because the few words in
which they were couched failed to attract public attention. But when The
Chronicle hurled its broadside of facts, which it took pains to get into the
hands of every influential' editor on the other side of the Bocky mountains,
doubts on the subject vanished like mist before a summer morning's sun.

The Jubilee Edition was published on the 16th of January, and long
before the opening day of the exposition, which occurred on the 20th of
February, there were few places throughout the length and breadth of the
land that had not been made aware of the stage of readiness attained.
Birdseye views, pictures of State buildings and those of foreign countries
furnished evidence from which there was no escape. There was no more
incredulity. It was exchanged for wondering expressions that San Fran-
cisco, in spite of all that had happened, was courageously moving ahead,

192 Journalism in California

and was to afford to the world the spectacle of showing the progress made
in the arts of peace while the greatest conflict of all times was raging in
Europe.

The opening took place on the day planned, and the promise of those
who projected the great enterprise and devoted years of strenuous labor to
perfecting the design of making the Panama-Pacific International Exposi-
tion surpass all preceding affairs of the kind was realized.
2£ e . . The palaces devoted to exhibits were completed and the

Opened ^n installation was so far advanced that the gaps made by
Time the failure of several foreign nations to get their displays

into place were scarcely noticed. The ceremonies attending
the opening were less formal in their character than those witnessed at
previous international expositions in this country. Instead of a military
parade it was suggested that an invasion of the grounds by citizens en
masse would be more impressive. No serious attempt was made to organize
the throngs that passed through -the many gates into the grounds, but the
multitude marching along Van Ness avenue comported itself with as much
orderliness as if drilled by captains, and presented a spectacle as amazing
as it was unique.

Nearly a quarter of a million people passed through the turnstiles on
that eventful 20th day of February, the exact number recorded being
245,143. This vast multitude must have shared the view later expressed
by the eminent art critic, Eoyal Cortissoz of New York, in
q the Tribune of that city, that "the most interesting work of

Million ar t a ^ ^he ^ T * s the ^ a ^ r itself." It is a fact worth putting

Attendance down in black and white that comparatively few on that open-
ing day penetrated to the interior of the exhibit palaces.
They were content to feast their eyes on what Mr. Cortissoz characterized
"the realization of the poet's vision," "a dream come true." They felt what
he so well expressed that it was "exquisite, the quintessence of all things
exquisite."

Admiration equally enthusiastic was felt and expressed by other dis-
tinguished visitors, perhaps in a more prosaic but none the less convincing
fashion. The Secretary of Interior, Eranklrn K. Lane, deputed by the
President to represent the Nation at the opening function, the chief ex-
ecutive feeling that he could not desert his post at Washington, owing
to the constant demands upon his attention created by the European war,
voiced his amazement in a brief but eloquent speech which was telegraphed
all over the world, and was accepted as a deserved tribute to the greatest
achievement of modern times.

There were many who had feared that the great conflict raging on the
other side of the Atlantic would compel the postponement of the exposition,
but when the President touched the button in his cabinet which sent the
radio flash that started up the machinery of the fair, they
With a revised their ear|ier opinion, and freely gave utterance to

Radio ^ ne belief that the perseverance in the project would cause

Flash it to be distinguished from all similar undertakings. It

would focus the attention of mankind upon the fact that,
while the nations of the old world were engaged in the bloody work of
trying to extinguish each other, Americans were occupied in an admirable
effort ,to show the progress achieved by mankind in the arts of peace.

__^____ Golden Jubilee Edition 193

During the first three days of the exposition 440,644 persons passed
through the turnstiles. It had been supposed that the remoteness of San
Francisco from the great centers of population would militate against a large
patronage. It was said, when San Francisco urged upon Congress the
propriety of according to the city which had been foremost in promoting
interest in the construction of the Panama canal the honor of celebrating,
the completion of the greatest enterprise of modern times, that the Pacific
Coast was too far away from the heart of the country to make the affair a
success.

Doubtless those who urged this objection were convinced of the sound-
ness of the assumption, but they underrated the spirit of the community
which had in the short space of nine years completely recovered from the
terrible disaster which had wiped out the efforts of more than
|| an . a half century of energetic city building. Long before the

Not off the opening of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition the
Map ~ rehabilitation had been the subject of wondering comment
throughout the world, but it needed the accomplishment
which has extorted universal tributes to crystallize the freely expressed
opinion that the twentieth century had witnessed no greater achievement
than that of the metropolis of the Pacific Coast, which had succeeded in
surpassing all previous attempts to illustrate the progress of mankind.

Whether the expectations created by the astonishing record of the
first two months of the exposition are realized or not does not much matter.
There is every reason for believing that the figures of attendance at the
Columbian and the Louisiana Purchase Expositions will not greatly exceed
those of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, if at all. At the
date of this writing, May 9th, 4,370,89.7 admissions had been recorded, and
the tide of travel toward San Francisco was just beginning to rise. There
is, therefore, some warrant for the assurance felt that the exposition of
1915 will not suffer by comparison on this score, and that it will have
proved more than what the French speak of as a success d'estime, which it
is already conceded to be by competent and unbiased critics. who un-
hesitatingly declare that in comprehensiveness and attractiveness it has
never been surpassed.

That the newspapers of San Francisco may justly claim that a large
part of this success was due to their untiring efforts to stimulate interest
in the great enterprise is recognized on every hand. The people, however,
have become so accustomed to witnessing the performance of
Work this duty they have almost ceased to recognize the service per-

° he formed and accept it as a matter of course, only pausing to

Newspapers express surprise when the boost note is occasionally inter-
rupted by a deserved bit of criticism. It is too early to tell
the story of the exposition. That will be done later by many writers, some
of whom may see the propriety of according to the press full credit for the
share taken by it in the promotion of the great undertaking.

To round ,out this sketch of journalism in California another verification
of the saying that history repeats itself may be cited. In an earlier chapter
the story of the winning of the fight for the adoption of the Constitution
of 1879 by The Chronicle was told at some length. Its most pronounced
journalistic feature was the prominence it gave to the fact that the. only
newspaper advocating its adoption was The Chronicle. This feat of

194 Journalism in Califo rnia

winning out against the combination of many interests was nearly paralleled
in the eontest over the proposal of the Spring Valley Water Company to
sell a part of its property to San Francisco for the sum of $34,500,000.

The question of the acquisition of a water supply by the municipality
had been under discussion for many years, and the public mind had become
greatly confused over the subject. Upon one point there was something
approaching unanimity of sentiment. At an election held to
Another secure. the necessary authority to issue bonds for the purpose

Supply of introducing water from the Hetch-Hetchy valley to the

Campaign city, the people voted nearly twenty to one in favor of the
project. At this election there was little evidence that
the voters had in mind acquiring any supply other than that which could
be derived from the Sierra. Had there been a suggestion that the
$45,000,000 asked for was to be supplemented by a demand for an addi-
tional $35,000,000, it would have been flouted.

There was no mistaking the attitude of the community at that time.
It found plain expression in denunciation of the course of the corporation
and in the emphatic demand for pure mountain water. Subsequently
Spring Valley by clever manipulation succeeded in placing obstacles in the
way of the speedy introduction of Sierra water, and actually managed to
create the impression that the only mode of settling the water question was
to buy the reservoirs and other property of the peninsula system. There
were some who believed that it would be desirable to acquire the Spring
Valley system, but the most of those who lent support to the proposition
submitted in 1910 to buy it at a cost of $35,000,000 frankly admitted that
they did so because they were convinced that the Spring Valley corporation
was a sort of "old man of the sea," and that if permitted to continue in ex-
istence the growth of the city would be retarded.

At the election when the $35,000,000 proposition was submitted, all the
property of the Spring Valley was included. The proposal came near
receiving the requisite two-thirds vote, and would probably have done so
had not the then Mayor, McCarthy, opposed the purchase on
^ e . the ground that the price was excessive. He undoubtedly

Wins a influenced enough voters to defeat the proposal. It does not

Big Victory appear that there was any effort made to secure a reduction
of the price demanded by Spring Valley. After some agita-
tion condemnation proceedings were begun by the city, but they were not
pushed, and the community toward the close of 1914 was treated to a gen-
uine surprise by the administration in power, which announced that it
looked with favor on an offer of Spring Valley to sell part of its property
for $34,500,000 and half of a large sum of impounded excess rates which
the courts had decided should be restored to consumers from whom they
had been illegally exacted.

The Chronicle vigorously opposed the proposal, pointing out that the
offer of Spring Valley was a virtual increase of from ten to fifteen million
dollars over the amount rejected at the preceding election. It demonstrated
statistically and otherwise that the withdrawn lands were worth several
million dollars and that the company proposed to hold out much land which
would be needed if its stored waters were to be saved from pollution. Every
paper in San Francisco but The Chronicle advocated the purchase, but it
failed of acceptance by nearly 8000 votes.

Fifiyll&rs*cf > Cali£miaQk)uma)isit(> IL. ]jp|

TITLE PAGE OP JUBILEE EDITION OP SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE,
PUBLISHED JANUARY 16, 1915

SCENE AT THE PANAMA-PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL
EXPOSITION ON THE OPENING DAT

Golden Jubilee Edition

195

It is probable that the question will be definitely settled before this
sketch of journalism in California ceases to interest San Franciscans, but
it may be confidently predicted that better arguments will have to be sup-
plied than were offered on May 20, 1915, before the people of San Fran-
cisco will be induced to abandon the idea of bringing water from the Sierra
to the city.

Memoirs

George Hamlin Fitch

His Memoirs of Thirty-five Years on The Chronicle

HIKTY-FIVE years of continuous service on one news-
paper is a rather remarkable record in this country,
where change is the rule, not the exception. Yet my
long service on The Chronicle is exceeded by that of
several men, still in harness, among whom may be
named John P. Young, the managing editor; Edward
J. Andersen, the librarian; Henry F. Blote, collector,
and W. F. Cameron, traveling advertising solicitor. All

these men were on The Chronicle when I joined it in the winter of 1879-80.
It is a distinction of The Chronicle, shared by very few newspapers in

this country, that it has kept men as heads of departments for long terms

of service.

FREE FROM OFFICE POLITICS

The Chronicle office has been, in the main, free from what is known
as politics — that is, if a man was competent and attended to his work, he
felt assured that his situation was safe. In too many American news-
paper offices the caprice of the proprietor makes employment very uncer-
tain. No one can tell what a day may bring forth. On one New York
newspaper the proprietor, who is largely an absentee, has been known to
jump an obscure reporter to the important post of managing editor and to
install a correspondent in a small suburban town as city editor. Of course,
in such an office, there is no loyalty to the paper, and no feeling of safety.

In other offices the proprietor has favorites who are permitted a free
hand, and no one who does not kowtow to these favorites is permitted to
remain on the staff. In such offices rivals for the favor of the chief always
have a, knife ready for each other. They spend much of the energy which
should be devoted to their work in protecting themselves from attack and
in planning means of removing dangerous rivals.

STARTING OF THE CHRONICLE

It was not my fortune to see the founding of The Chronicle by
Charles and M. H. de Young in 1865. My boyhood was spent in San
Francisco, but in the same year that The Chronicle was started my parents
removed to the East. For fourteen years my life was spent in New York
State and South Carolina, in preparatory schools, on a Southern plantation

199

200 Journalism in California

and in Cornell University. During all these years friends in this city
frequently sent me copies of The Chronicle, so that I was familiar with its
remarkable success. Finally in June, 1879, I came back to San Francisco,
intending to spend a few months with my parents and then return to the
New York Tribune, where I had been three years.

MY FIRST WORK ON THE CHRONICLE

The fact that a substitute at the telegraph news desk proved incom-
petent gave me a chance to work several weeks on The Chronicle. Then
when the regular editor returned I tried to do work in the local department,
but the city editor, evidently fearing that I might prove to be a rival, refused
to print any of my contributions. He was exceedingly polite and was
always desolated, as the French say, that there was no space for my articles,
but I soon saw that it was hopeless to attempt to do any work under him.

When fall came and I was preparing to return to New York, my
parents urged me to stay in San Francisco, and suggested that I try to get
a place on The Chronicle. As the telegraph editor, Horace E. Hudson,
was about to go to Sacramento to serve as Legislative correspondent, I was
offered his place, and in addition was given the work of book reviewer,
which then was not strenuous, as The Chronicle printed only about two
columns of reviews every Sunday.

WORK OF THE DE YOUNG BROTHERS

Thus it came about that I was brought into daily contact with the two
proprietors of The Chronicle and witnessed some of the stirring history
of those early years. Looking then at the youthful face of Charles de
Young, it seemed scarcely credible that he had been engaged for fourteen
years in the work of issuing a daily newspaper, with no help save that of
his brother, M. H. de Young, who managed the business department.

, The history of American journalism has no parallel for the founding
and the growth of the San Francisco Chronicle. Most of the large news-
papers of this country were founded by men who had conspicuous financial
or political backing; but here was a paper started by two boys, 17 and 19
years of age, practically self-educated, and carried on from week to week
with no assurance that it would live beyond any week.

AGAINST THE FIERCEST COMPETITION

No assistance was ever given The Chronicle by any big corporation or
political body. The two brothers fought their way up against the fiercest
competition. The old, well-established newspapers seemed to feel it as a
personal grievance that this young, aggressive journal should have the
hardihood to rush into the field and to beat them at their own game.
Started as the Dramatic Chronicle for free distribution in the various
theaters, the paper in three years won such success that it became a regular
daily newspaper, independent in politics and in all other things.

The success of The Chronicle was largely due to the fact that both
proprietors were practical printers, knew all about the newspaper game, and
had the instinctive news sense without which no great success in journalism
was ever won. They also possessed the equally valuable faculty of selecting

SCULPTURE AT THE EXPOSITION: AUTUMN,
BY FURIO PICCIRILLI

Founding of the Chronicle 201

the right men to carry on the various departments of the paper. Hence it
was that with a comparatively small but . brilliant editorial force, The
Chronicle won its way to the leadership of the San Francisco newspaper
world.

Its first big news beat was in giving all the details of the great earth-
' quake of 1868 hours before the other papers appeared on the street. In
the years that followed The Chronicle was always first in the field with the
news and first also to champion the cause of the common people. Its history
is mainly a record of fights against old established rights by which monopo-
lies and capitalists cheated the people who work with their hands.

BRILLIANT STAFF OF EARLY DAYS

Among the brilliant men who helped to make The Chronicle famous in
those early days were William II. Laffan, who afterward became a power
on the New York Sun and organized a great news bureau ; Tom Xewcombe ;
Howard F. Sutherland, one of the best city editors San Francisco ever saw,
who is now known as a poet and writer of unusual charm; Xed Townsend
whose "Chimmie Fadden" sketches gave him a national reputation; Sam
Davis, a genuine humorist, who made the Carson Appeal known all over the
country for its racy humor and its laughable "fakes;" Dan O'Connell, a
writer of melodious verse and a man of singular charm of manner; Charles
Warren Stoddard, the poet of the South Seas, and one of the finest writers
California has produced; Frank Pixley, who afterward founded the Argo-
naut and made people watch for its appearance to see what he had to say
of the week's events ; Fred Somers, a literary genius, whose early death was
a great loss to American periodical literature ; Sam Scabough, the ablest of
the old-time editorial writers, who abandoned the Sacramento. Union when
it was bought by the railroad and who continued to write sledge-hammer
editorials for The Chronicle literally to the day of his death ; Charles Wet-
more; D. F. Verdenal, a brilliant, witty writer, who for years wrote a
regular weekly letter from New York; Harry Dam, most versatile of
writers, who afterward made a great hit in London journalism, and Frank
Bailey Millard, who as a literary free lance has contributed for years to
leading American magazines.

GENIUS OF CHARLES DE YOUNG

All these men were writers and most of them had the newspaper faculty
highly developed ; but abler than any of them was Charles de Young, who
had picked up his newspaper training. In fact, he was a newspaper genius,
with no limit to his capacity for grasping news opportunities and turning
them to brilliant account. A tireless worker, he seemed to have the power
of infecting others with his own enthusiasm, so that when he set about the
working up of any big newspaper "story" he electrified the whole office.
Every man was on his mettle, and the result was a remarkable amount of
work done in record time at the highest pressure.

When I came on The Chronicle my curiosity was very strong in regard
to the personal traits of Charles de Young, whose fame as a newspaper
genius had reached New York. He usually came into the office late in the
evening, and generally he was "loaded" with some story, unknown to the

202 Journalism in California

other newspapers. He was the terror of the old night editor, because he
began at once to rip up all the arrangements for the morning paper. He
sent out half a dozen men to get further facts, and then when they came
rushing in with their stories he rapidly ran through their "copy" and indi-
cated features which should be further developed. The pages that had been
carefully "made up" he cleared for his sensation, and he remained to see
that the heads were well written and that everything was in shape. Only
when the presses began to clang would he go home with a copy of The
Chronicle damp from the press.

SPECIMEN OF HIS EFFECTIVE WORK

A few days after I joined The Chronicle Charles de Young gave a
conspicuous exhibition of his genius for newspaper work. The City Archi-
tect had been harshly criticised because of some errors in" his plans for
what was then known as the new City Hall at McAllister and Larkin streets.
Charles de Young sent to his correspondent in Chicago and had the archi-
tect's Chicago record dug up. It was found he had been dismissed because
steps that he had designed for a schoolhouse did not reach to the front door.
All these facts, with a diagram showing the faulty plans, were printed by
The Chronicle in a broadside which filled more than a page. The architect
read The Chronicle at his breakfast, came down to his office and handed in
his resignation.

That was a specimen of the effective work done by Charles de Young
when he once decided on a course of action.

TRAITS OF M. H. DE YOUNG

When swift and unexpected death removed Charles de Young in 1880,
the control of The Chronicle was taken up by his brother, M. H. de Young,
who ever since has continued to manage the newspaper. It is not often that
a man combines the qualities of .a great editor and an able business man-
ager, yet M. H. de Young is one of the few men who have made a con-
spicuous success in both branches of journalism. Whitelaw Eeid was the only
other American editor who was able to manage both branches of a news-
paper with rare ability. The elder Bennett, Greeley, Eaymond, Bryant,
Dana, Watterson, Murat Halstead and Samuel Bowles — all were great
editors, but not one could have managed the business department of the
journals that they made famous. It was this rare business ability, with a
conservatism which never interfered with the development of the news,
which gave The Chronicle such a great impetus in the early '80s. The
State in those years made rapid progress, and The Chronicle kept pace with
the growth and development of California.

My relations with M. H. de Young have always been pleasant and so
great became my attachment to the paper that one time when offered a very
large increase of salary to join the staff of another San Francisco paper, I
found when I attempted to go that it was impossible. And this loyalty is
shared by nearly every one who has worked years on the paper.

Founding of the Chronicle 203

WORK AS NIGHT EDITOR

Much of my work in the last thirty-five years has been that of the night
editor, the man who actually arranges the news in the paper and has the last
word in its development. He it is who meets sudden emergencies late at
night and often recasts the paper to display sensational news. The work
demands prompt decision, iron nerve and great capacity to resist nervous
strain. The successful, night editor always has one eye on the clock, and lie
must have the faculty of getting the best work out of the make-up men in
his charge. He must be able to "cut" a column story to a third of a column
and yet not drop out any material facts, and all this must be done at top
speed.

ONE OF THE CHRONICLE "BEATS"

In my career on The Chronicle the greatest news beat scored was on
the occasion of the death of General Grant at Mt. McGregor on the Hudson.
Grant had been kept alive for days by his doctors so that he could finish his
biography, the proceeds of which he desired to leave for the support of his
wife. He died at 8 o'clock in the morning, which was 5 o'clock in San
Francisco. On that night I had had a feeling that the news of his death
would come. So I had the three-page obituary stereotyped and ready and
after finishing work at the office I strolled down to the Western Union office
to have a talk with the night manager. He happened to be alone in the
large operating room which, usually noisy with the click of many telegraph
instruments, was now as still as death. Suddenly while we were talking
there was a sharp call on the New York wire. The manager said, "That's
it!"*and jumped to the key. In a moment he called out, "General Grant
is dead !" I seized the sheet and rushed at high speed to The Chronicle
office. Instantly the news was set up, the headlines changed, and in 15
minutes The Chronicle, announcing the death, was flying from the presses.
Although 25,000 papers had been "run off," these were "killed" and The
Chronicle reached all its country and local subscribers with the news of
Grant's death. The other papers got out extras three hours later.

/ The Chronicle was the only American newspaper which reached every
subscriber with this important news.

THE SUNDAY BOOK PAGE

Another branch of newspaper work in which I have taken the keenest
interest is book reviews. It is not often that one man unites executive work
and the writing of literary criticism. But with me books have been my
hobby, and writing which would have worn out another man has been my
chief relaxation from strenuous executive work. In carrying on the literary
page, which has become so marked a feature of the Sunday edition of The
Chronicle, M. H. de Young gave me an absolutely free hand from the out-
set, so that the page has been conducted with perfect freedom from all
advertising taint. Never in all these years has Mr. de Young ever asked
me to give a poor book a good notice because it was advertised liberally.
With consistent purpose I have managed this page in the interest of the
reader of good books, and although many readers may have differed with
me in my judgments of books, no one ever brought the charge of dishonesty

204 Journalism in California

or incompetence against any of the reviews. In these years hundreds ot
letters have. come to me from men and women saying they had been helped
by my suggestions in this book page. Scores of young authors, especially
California writers, have told me that my reviews were the first to call l at-
tention to their work and to predict for them the success and f ame. which
the years brought.

This literary page has come to have a distinct value in the eyes of local
and Eastern publishers, and much of this success is due to the fact that
M. H. de Young trusted my judgment and never interfered with my work.

CHARLEY DE YOUNG'S INFLUENCE

All those who worked on The Chronicle during the last nine years
could not fail to be influenced by young Charles de Young, who seemed to
have inherited much of the newspaper genius of his dead uncle, whose name
he bore. The great fire first tested the qualities of Charles de Yoiing.
Every night for over two months that The Chronicle was printed in Oak-
land he came down to the ferry in his auto after midnight and personally
saw to the work of starting the launch across the bay. Usually he accom-
panied it to the foot of the pier across the bay, where the Chronicles were
waiting. He saw that the bundles were all ready, and on this side he car-
ried them up-town in his auto and personally supervised the sending out of
the carriers. Many times in those weeks he sent me messages over the tele-
phone, warmly praising the good newspaper which we had got out with so
much labor and nervous strain.

Later, when The Chronicle building was rehabilitated, he became the
life of the place and continued to show his keen interest in every depart-
ment of the paper until stricken with the illness which cut short his active
and useful life.

Singularly democratic in all his tastes, Charles de Young had the
faculty of inspiring those around him with his own abounding energy and
enthusiasm and had he lived he would have impressed his personality on
California journalism. The saddest feature of his death was that it came
just when he was reaching the fullness of his powers.

These reminiscences I have written very frankly because it seems to me
that such work as this is only effective when it comes straight from the
heart. Much of my life has been given to the service of The Chronicle, and
although it may have lacked variety or any conspicuous success, yet in this
retrospect there is the satisfaction of work done honestly and well, and of
having had a share in the building up of a great American newspaper.

Early Day Men

Early-Day Men

A Record of Some of the Achievements of The Chronicle

By THOMAS E. FLYNN

ONDERIXG on the fact that The Chronicle has reached
its fiftieth anniversary overwhelms me with a flood of
recollections, and out of the glooming shadows of the
past appear many once familiar faces that are seen no
more in the crowded haunts of men. The thoughts of
the journalistic world, concentrated chiefly on things of
today and tomorrow, seldom turn to those of the long
ago. Only when some extraordinary occurrence stirs the
memory, does the mind of a busy newspaper man concern itself deeply with
the what-has-been. Longfellow's lines, "Let the dead past bury its dead,
act, act in the living present," would be an appropriate motto for the
editorial rooms of every live newspaper.

On the fiftieth anniversary of The Chronicle, however, the motto would
fail to check a retrospective turn of the thoughts of any journalist who was
connected with the paper in its earlier struggles for recognition and success.

CEASELESS HIGH PRESSURE OF NEWSPAPER WORK

Fifty years is a long time in the life of anything human, and nothing
devoid of flesh and blood is more intensely human in its interest and pur-
poses than a great morning newspaper. Every day it must be created anew,
and it dies with the sunset. The creators must forever toil like Sisyphus
doomed to roll his huge rock to the summit of a hill only to see it return
to the base and perpetuate his agony. For human endeavor at ceaseless
high pressure is a form of agony. Call it, if you please, a labor of love,
as, indeed, journalism ever continues to be to the born journalist, but the
euphemism does not alter the fact that the morning newspaper which greets
us with unfailing regularity, is born daily of an unremitting travail of mind
and body unknown in any other form of human enterprise.

The merchant, the farmer, the manufacturer — aye, even the warring
soldier — has his periods of relaxation; and when the harvest is done, or
the busy commercial season is ended, or peace restored, the agriculturist
and the trader and the man of battles make up in grateful relaxation the
waste of nervous energy.

But the newspaper man must never sleep at the switch, lest the train
of opportunity go thundering by and leave him in the lurch. In his eternal
vigilance for news he must emulate the many-headed Cerberus, watchdog

207

208 Journalism in California

of the gates of Pluto,, who took even his noonday naps with at least one
eye wide open and fixed on business.

In the newspaper profession a man may toil for ten years to establish
a good reputation, and lose it all in one night by some accidental slip, for
which the rigid rules of discipline hold him responsible. Nothing is ac-
counted so worthy of commendation on a live newspaper, and succeeds so
well, as infallible success in beating the hated rival, so that the proprietor
thereof may tear his hair when he compares both newspapers over his
morning coffee, and, if of unchristian tendencies, load the atmosphere
with language not set forth in his family Bible. Occasional success does
not succeed in journalism. It must be continuous.

A SUM IN MULTIPLICATION

When you multiply by 365 the sum of the mental and physical effort
embodied in one issue of a great daily newspaper, you obtain an idea of
what a single year's production requires in expenditure of intellectual
energy as well as physical labor and hard cash. Multiply that again by the
fifty years of The Chronicle's existence and the stupendousness of the
figures becomes staggering to anyone conversant with the complicated and
costly processes of modern newspaper publication.

Not one man in a thousand who founds a daily newspaper of even the
least importance lives to see the fruition of his hopes and plans at the end
of half a century. For that reason Mr. M. H. de Young, seated at his
desk, directing all the departments of his great journal, and seemingly as
alert, ambitious, resourceful and progressive as when I first saw him in
the earlier stages of The Chronicle's existence, is to me an amazing example
of inexhaustible mental and physical force — in a word, a remarkable
phenomenon of perpetual motion.

This may seem extravagant language, but, looking at the proprietor
of The Chronicle, I cannot disassociate him in my mind from the hundreds
of his contemporaries who long since reached their ultimate milestone.
Some of them dropped by the wayside before they approached their desti-
nation, and few journeyed to the end with anything suggestive of the
elasticity and unshaken courage of their vigorous manhood.

WHERE ARE THE SNOWS OF YESTERYEAR?

Where are all those old-time publishers whose names were as household
words ? Where be the host of clever writers of those bygone days, the merry
wits of Bohemia whose quips and cranks so often set the table in a roar?
Where be the grave and serious-minded editors, whose incisive pens dis-
dained the tittle-tattle of the hour and dealt with the deeds of men who were
making history ? Where are the snows of yesteryear ?

Of many more I might ask the same

That are but dust that the breezes blow,
But I desist, for none may claim

To stand against death, that lays all low.

So wrote Francois Villon, who, besides being a fine poet, was a great
scapegrace. What an epic could have flowed from the pen of that talented
rascal had he been part of the early life of San Francisco in which The
Chronicle was born and attained its virility ! What a field for the exercise

•-■■:.•'■■ . ;::;-;• - ■

SCULPTURE AT THE EXPOSITION: THE GENIUS OF CREATION,
BY DANIEL CHESTER FRENCH

Some of Its Achievements 209

of the genius of a Dickens, observant of the rapid evolution of a gold-seeker's
rendezvous into a great entrepot, full of picturesque adventures from the
fouT quarters of the globe! Seldom has there been such a heterogeneous
collection of contending forces.

There was to be seen in sharp contradistinction the culture and aristo-
cratic class, pride of the old Southern planter life, arrayed against an ag-
gressive and plebeian democracy recruited from the farms and manufactur-
ing centers of the Atlantic states and the peasantry of Europe. New Eng-
land puritanism and thrift struggled uncompromisingly with the forces of
riotous pleasure and the rampant spirit of reckless speculation and outright
gambling.

STRENUOUS JOURNALISM TO THE LIMIT

In the early days when The Chronicle began to be recognized as a
journalistic influence to be reckoned with, the memory of the vigilante days
was comparatively fresh in the public mind, and law and order were in
control of the community. Nevertheless, the public still demanded strenuous
journalism carried to the full limit, and if a little in excess it did not hurt
the publisher's circulation. The personal note was very strong in jour-
nalism, though it was not altogether a safe or wise proceeding to express
one's full detestation of a hated rival.

The code of honor had but lately been in full force and effect among
gentlemen in California, and if duelling pistols had been relegated to the
junk shops, or disposed of to the pawn offices, revolvers and derringers that
carried ounce bullets were plentiful. To ascribe to a journalist the domi-
nant characteristics of Ananias, or impugn his previous record for honesty
was not unlikely to call forth a spirited physical protest, more effective
than a double-leaded editorial reply in a newspaper. Occasional clashes
between impetuous knights of the quill were a source of great perplexity
to Police Judges, who then, as now, preferred to hold the scales of justice
so evenly that nobody of influence went to jail, and all hands helped the
eminent jurist at the next election.

Evidently the enterprising management of the Chronicle was eminently
satisfactory to the community, for the paper grew in circulation and adver-
tising prosperity. ' Youth loves to be iconoclastic, and the pet amusement
of the young Chronicle was to smash popular idols and show that their feet
were made of common clay. To expose cheats of any kind was an enter-
prise in which proprietors and staff joined whole-heartedly.

Among the characteristic exploits of the young Chronicle was. the
unmasking of a spiritualistic fraud, who had mystified and deceived the
greater part of the English-speaking world which was then intensely
interested in occultism.

One of The Chronicle's reporters was William Laffan, who afterward
became a metropolitan publisher. Laffan conceived the idea of suddenly
illuminating the hall where the materializing seances were given, and
M. H. de Young entered heartily into the plot. All the paraphernalia of
exposure having been prepared, the journalistic conspirators took their
places in various parts of Piatt's Hall. As usual, the spirits were energetic,
and ghostly manifestations set the hair of the credulous on end. Musical
instruments floated above them and the air seemed overladen with spooks.

210 Journalism in California

CHRONICLE'S EXPOSURE OF A CHARLATAN

At the psychological moment, the signal to light up was given, and
every Chronicle man in the hall touched off his magnesium light, illuminat-
ing the place with a merciless glare that put the medium out of business.
The charlatan was caught with the goods on him, for the lights exposed
the fellow as he stood on the edge of the stage personating his stock ghosts
by the simplest devices, . and relying on the superstitious credulity of his
audience to bamboozle them.

Next day The Chronicle, of course, made the most of the expose, and
thus deepened the growing conviction of the early-day subscribers that they
should buy the new paper, and keep buying it if they wished to get
the news.

I could write many pages of The Chronicle descriptive of reportorial
exploits that kept the circulation rising like the thermometer on a mid-
summer day.

Let nobody suppose that the standards of literature in journalism then
were such as any noodle could hope to exceed. Mark Twain had not long
ceased writing for The Chronicle, and aspiring humorists were expected by
such ruthless city editors as Dennis McCarthy, S. F. Sutherland and
Tommie Newcomb to endeavor at least to be Twains. What a task!
McCarthy had been editor of the Virginia City Enterprise, where Twain
made his reputation, and had slaughtered reams of the great humorist's
manuscripts with his merciless blue pencil. McCarthy afterward became
managing editor of The Chronicle prior to John P. Young's appearance
on the staff, and having made a considerable fortune in Comstock mining
shares, bought the Virginia City Chronicle, which was then a valuable
property.

FAMOUS OLD-TIME MANAGING EDITOR

Another famous old-time managing editor of The Chronicle whose
familiar face I recall, was John Timmins. Shaven like an Episcopal
minister and suggestive in appearance and manner of the pulpit rather than
the editorial chair, John Timmins was for decades the Fidus Achates of
Charles and M. H. de Young, until he was induced to enter the service
of W. E. Hearst as managing editor of the Examiner.

How many have been the changes in the personnel of The Chronicle
since I first saw John Timmins bending over his editorial desk in the old
office on Clay street, like an austere clergyman conning his notes for the
next sermon !

Men have come and men have gone, changes almost cataclysmic have
occurred in San Francisco, but throughout all the mutations of time and
fortune The Chronicle has steadily advanced from the position of a
journalistic experiment to a recognized place in the front rank of the great
newspapers of America.

In those days the standard of literature had been set by Bret Harte
and his contemporaries. They composed a galaxy which so far has not
been outshone. Many of the recognized literary men of the early days,
including Harte, were contributors to The Chronicle.

Some of Its Achievements 211

FAMOUS CONTRIBUTORS TO THE CHRONICLE

San Francisco then supported a purely literary weekly, "The Golden
Era," which was edited by Eollin M. Daggett, who afterward was con-
nected with the American diplomatic service. Some of his work can
be found in the old files of The Chronicle, as can that of Joaquin Miller,
Charles Warren Stoddard, and other literary people whose reputations
became far more than local. It would take a page of The Chronicle to
tell of the literary set alone — of Ina Coolbrith, Minnie Myrtle Miller,
Anna M. Fitch, Stephen Massett, Orpheus C. Kerr, Prentice Mulford,
James McDonough Ford, Gilbert B. Densmore, Harry McDowell. The
Chronicle, ever alert for valuable contributors, was in close touch with all
the celebrities of the day.

At that period San Francisco prided itself on supporting the finest
stock company in America — the old California Theater aggregation, headed
by John McCul lough, the famous tragedian. In the history of the
American stage the story of the old California Theater stock company
has become a classic. The great actors of the world appeared in the
California Theater and every gallery god in San Francisco knew what
Booth's Hamlet looked like.

THERE WERE GIANT ARTISTS IN THOSE DAYS

There were painters, too, in those days, whom time proved to- be
giants — Tom Hill, William^ Keith, Julian Bix, Jules Tavernier and others
whose pictures live.

In such an environment, with an art atmosphere distinctly developed,
no new journal could hope to succeed on the plane of frontier or provincial
journalism." Cleverness was an essential in the quality of the matter pre-
sented to the reading public, and The Chronicle bid for the best writers
obtainable in New York as well as in San Francisco. Many bright men
from the New York Sun and the Herald have rendered valuable service on
The Chronicle staff, and helped to establish a metropolitan standard. One
of the best known of the Sun men who worked for The Chronicle for sev-
eral years was R. D. Bogart who, in several lines, had no superior on any
paper in the country.

As early as 1880 a man who went to New York with a record of
having done good work on the San Francisco Chronicle could get an en-
gagement on the leading metropolitan newspapers. Even at that time the
California contingent had made a name for San Francisco journalists,
dramatists and actors. The Chronicle's intimate connection with New
York journalism through its policy of employing the best men obtainable
had a great deal to do with making the California invasion so successful.

THE BEGINNING OF THE BOHEMIAN CLUB

In recent years the owner of the New. York Sun was W. M. Laffan,
the same Laffan who in the early days of The Chronicle assisted as a
reporter in the exposure of the spiritistic fraud in old Piatt's Hall. He
went to Baltimore early in the 'seventies and became proprietor of the
Baltimore Daily Sun. When the younger Dana disposed of the Sun
Laffan was able to purchase that fine property.

212 Journalism in California

On the Sun's staff in recent years, as foreign correspondent, was
S. F. Sutherland, who was second city editor of The Chronicle. Tornmie
Newcomb, who conceived the idea of the Bohemian Club of San Francisco,
and, in conjunction with Dan O'Connell, founded the organization, was
the first city editor the struggling young Chronicle could boast. The real
birthplace of the Bohemian Club was the first Chronicle office in the loft
on Clay street, which some ingenious carpenter had managed to partition
into the semblance of up-to-date editorial rooms. The club obtained a •
habitation and a name when Tommie Newcomb, Dan O'Connell and other
kindred spirits of The Chronicle's small staff, rented quarters upstairs, at
the corner of Sacramento and Webb streets, where the vista included a
full view of a well-known undertaker's shop, with the coffins in the win-
dows. When the leading lights of printers' row on Clay street could not
be found anywhere else, it was safe to bet that an X-ray leveled at the
corner of Sacramento and Webb streets would have revealed their where-
abouts. James F. Bowman, a literary celebrity of ihe early days, a poet
of considerable talent as well, was one of the few older men who visited
the club. Bowman did splendid work as an editorial writer on The
Chronicle, and preceded Samuel Seabough, who had made a reputation
upon the Sacramento Union as the greatest of California editors.

DIFFICULTY OF ESTABLISHING A DAILY PAPER

A noteworthy example of the difficulty of establishing a daily news-
paper in the early days was the failure of the Mail, which was started
to assist in the Senatorial ambitions of Mark McDonald, an affluent
celebrity of the mining stock market, and a contemporary of Jim Keene of
San Francisco, afterward such a spectacular figure on Wall street.

Mark McDonald evidently had money to burn, for he not only
started a big daily newspaper, but helped Dr. Wade to build the Grand
Opera-house on Mission street, where Patti and other famous queens of
.song furnished many opportunities to the wealth and fashion of San
Francisco to wear their best clothes.

The Chronicle had become a recognized fixture in San Francisco
journalism by that time, but nevertheless M. H. de Young and his serious-
minded and intensely resolute brother Charles, as shrewd publishers, must
have looked anxiously at the new Richmond in the journalistic field. The
staff of the Mail included men who had done good work on The Chronicle,
but the enterprise was foredoomed to failure, and one fine day the Sheriff
slapped so many attachments upon the paper that the financial props col-
lapsed. That was the last ambitious effort to start a large daily newspaper
in San Francisco.

THE CHRONICLE DISTANCED ALL RIVALS

The Chronicle tacitly announced to the people of San Francisco that
it had distanced all its rivals when it abandoned the primitive quarters
down on Clay street, where a flickering gaslight struggled to illumine the
dingy stairs up which Mark Twain, Bret Harte and many literary celeb-
rities of the pioneer cycle had many times climbed.

The new home of The Chronicle in its substantial four-story building

Some of Its Achievements 213

seemed the acme of journalistic ambition, but almost as soon as the building
was constructed the ever-busy mind of M. H. de Young was planning to
obtain the coveted corner on which The Chronicle's present skyscraper is
situated, at Market and Kearny streets.

In the Kearny and Bush street office I met many clever Chronicle
men who distinguished themselves in journalism — Ned Townsend, the
creator of "Chimmie Fadden," and now a New Jersey Congressman;
Harry Dam, afterward private secretary for Governor George Stoneman
and still later a magazine writer and London correspondent for New York
papers; Peter Eobertson, famous as a dramatic critic; Thomas Vivian,
who almost became a really great short-story writer ; Charles Warren Stod-
dard, the poet, who did brilliant special work; George Hazelton, Wash-
ington correspondent, who developed talent as a financier and became a
street railroad magnate; A. B. Henderson, formerly of the New York
Herald, and correspondent of The Chronicle on the expedition headed by
the late Sheriff Harry Morse, which ended the pernicious activities of
Tiburcio Vasquez, the last of a band of desperate Mexican bandits and
murderers; John Hamilton Gilmour, Prank Bailey Millard, Hugh Hume,
afterward proprietor of the Post and now publisher of the Spectator in
Portland, Oregon; J. Boss Jackson, afterward city editor of the Examiner
and famous as a raconteur; Horace Hudson, who was city editor of The
Chronicle for years and is now manager of the estate of George Hazel-
ton; "Bill" Naughton, who became a famous sporting editor; Arthur H.
Barendt, afterward president of the Board of Health and shining light in
the legal profession; B. M. Wood, now owner of several thriving class
publications; John Bonner, a vigorous editorial writer and father of Ger-
aldine Bonner, who contributed serial novels to prominent Eastern pub-
lications.

While I was connected with The Chronicle in its Kearny and Bush
street office a remarkable experiment in journalism was tried by Fred
Somers, who had been a reporter on The Chronicle in its Clay street days
before Somers, in conjunction with Frank Pixley, who was editorial writer
for The Chronicle, started the Argonaut. Not content with that feat,
Somers launched a daily called the Epigram, which depended entirely upon
feuilletons and disdained to publish the news of the day. The staff of
writers included Frank Pixley, Harry Dam, Ned Townsend, Dan O'Con-
nell, Jerome A. Hart and myself. The experiment was a distinct failure
and the financial loss caused Somers to dispose of his interest in the Argo-
naut and go to New York, where he performed the remarkable feat of
establishing Current Literature and Short Stories. He subsequently pub-
lished the California Magazine, which proved an unprofitable venture.

Altogether the list of Chronicle writers who have distinguished them-
selves in journalism and literature compares favorably with that of any
daily paper in America.

I have a clear recollection of the building of The Chronicle's new
home at Kearny, and Bush streets. I was editing the Daily Exchange,
a financial journal which was published around the corner, and owned by
the late Colonel John P. Jackson and* D. F. Verdenal. The latter had
been a prominent member of the first editorial staff of The Chronicle, and
in comparatively recent years was New York correspondent.

214 Journalism in California

WHEN RAPID PRESSES WERE NOVELTIES

Dan O'Connell and S. F. Sutherland assisted me on the Daily
Exchange, and, being all former Chronicle men, we were much interested
in watching the new edifice rise from the deep excavation that had been
dug for the presses. Eapid presses were still novelties in those days.

One morning when passing the new building with O'Connell, I saw
Charles and M. II. de Young engaged in earnest conversation, while
standing on the joists of the ground floor that had just been laid.

"I'll bet they're discussing the business office plans. Let's go over
and talk with them," said O'Connell, and we went.

The poet's conjecture was right. Not only did we leam how the
.business office was to be laid out, but we got a comprehensive idea of the
whole structure, floor by floor. Charles de Young, though quite cordial
and frank with people he knew and liked, was never as communicative or
lively in disposition as his brother, and the latter did most of the talking
that morning. He had the complete plans of the building fixed in his
mind, and the new features that he thought would give the new edifice
distinction — the expensive onyx counter, suggestive of money to spare;
the massive safe behind the counter, emblematic of solidity and satisfactory
daily profits; the proprietors' luxurious private office, the elaborate edi-
torial department upstairs, with rooms for special writers, managing editor,
city editor and news editor; the big local room, the composing room,
stereotyping room, and the library.

THINGS NOT BEFORE HEARD OF

Whoever had heard of a library and a librarian before in pioneer
journalism, and an onyx counter? If O'Connell had written on the spur
of the moment one of his celebrated "City Lyrics," descriptive of the prob-
able effects of The Chronicle's new magnificence on the rival publishers
who still adhered to pine and redwood counters and primitive environ-
ments, it would have been a gem worth preserving.

M. H. de Young was a young man himself in those days, and I think
he must have laughed in his sleeve, in young man fashion, at the thought
of his contemporaries' feelings on seeing the new departure in journalistic
extravagance in San Francisco.

In listening that morning to the description of the building, and ob-
serving the complete acquiescence of the two brothers in the business plans,
one could see how closely the men were drawn together by the ties of
business ambition and consanguinity. First of all they were brothers, and
secondly were business partners, working enthusiastically and in full accord.

THE TWO YOUNG PROPRIETORS OF THE CHRONICLE

Charles, the editor, was reserved and contemplative, a man of the
quiet sanctum, more disposed to earnest thought and consultation than to
untiring business activity.. M. H. de Young was the restless, energetic,
bustling man of affairs, full of novel projects and happiest in exploiting
new fields of enterprise and overcoming serious and sometimes seemingly
insurmountable difficulties. How he managed to overcome some of them
has always been a marvel to me, who have known the inside workings of

Some of Its Achievements 215

The Ghronicle so well, for at some critical turns in the earlier history of
the journal — not to mention the great fire of 11)06 — there was required
for the directing mind of the newspaper a combination of forethought and
executive talent rarely found in a newspaper or any other office.

Partnership in business is not always conducive to the greatest success,
but undoubtedly the partnership of, Charles and M. II. de Young in the
early days was most beneficial to the struggling newspaper. While Charles
was engrossed in editorial duties within doors, his younger brother was
here, there and everywhere, at public meetings, social gatherings, theaters,
concerts, constantly studying, planning and executing schemes to increase
the circulation and advertising patronage of his newspaper. The untiring
energy of the two brothers made the combination perfect, and to that fact
I have always ascribed the extraordinary rapidity with which The Chronicle,
so small in its infancy, obtained a footing among its strong and prosperous
contemporaries. Either of the De Young brothers, alone, could not have
laid the foundations of their enterprise so quickly and well.

FIRST REQUISITE IN A NEWSPAPER OFFICE

With the experience of many years of writing and publishing, I have
come to regard business talent as the first requisite not only for the estab-
lishment of a newspaper but for all stages of its existence. It is also the
most difficult to obtain.

Young writers regard the business office, except on payday, as a rather
prosaic superfluity, and think that the space given to advertisements might
be more profitably utilized by their brilliant productions. The experienced
publisher, however, has no illusions about the relative value of gems of
literature and business-getting talent as essentials to newspaper success.
Both are invaluable for a really first-class journal, but a badly written
publication under a clever business manager will live and perhaps prosper
where a brilliantly written journal, with an inefficient business manager,
would die.

The ideal condition is where the editorial and the business depart-
ments vie in excellence, and that is most likely to be found under one
strong executive head, notwithstanding the tenets of a triumphant democ-
racy in these days that all kinds of autocracies are pernicious.

The Chronicle has been an autocracy during all the years since M. H.
de Young was called upon to assume the responsibility of sole proprietor-
ship. The extent of The Chronicle's success, during the thirty years of its
highest prosperity, is the measure of his great executive ability. When
he lost the invaluable assistance of his wonderfully talented brother, it
became his task to rebuild The Chronicle on new lines as well as broad
ones, to meet the requirements of an ever-expanding field. The Chronicle
for a full generation has been solely M. H. de Young's Chronicle. I am
sure that when the history of California journalism shall have been written
by some competent and impartial critic, and at the proper perspective of
years for a comprehensive review untinctured by personal or partisan bias,
it will be recorded that The Chronicle has been a powerful influence for
the promotion of the best interests, the good repute and the prosperity of
the great city where it is published.

The

San Francisco Chronicle's

Jubilee

The San Francisco Chronicle's Jubilee

M. H. de Young Felicitated by Prominent Editors upon the Com-
pletion of Fifty Years' Continuous Conduct of His Paper

VETERAN PUBLISHER OF ST.
PAUL SENDS FELICI-
TATIONS

George Thompson of Noted Dispatch

and Pioneer Press Congratulates

M. H. de Young and Community.

1AM in some doubt whether congrat-
ulations should properly go to you
and The San Francisco Chronicle or
to the California community in whose
progress to prosperity, populousness
and wealth you and The Chronicle have
been such potential factors. So I give
myself the benefit of the doubt and
divide my felicitations among the man,
the institution and the city. For a great
newspaper is first of all institutional.

Give me to read the leading news-
paper of a community and in its char-
acter I will find engraved the character
of the cummunity. In my judgment,
your half-century of endeavor has con-
structed no more of a monument in The
Chronicle than in the many other insti-
tutions, the civic spirit and the habit
of newspaper thought of San Francisco.
I wish every community had a real-
izing sense of its obligations to the
right-minded newspaper, which holds
its character as the virtue of a woman
and faces its duty with the courage of
conviction. Fifty years of association
between editor and community — some-
thing not given often, even to the most
fortunate in life — should enable each to
And the other out. A half-century of
unintermitted contact outlives the last
shadow of doubt of responsibility. It
is both significant and romantic to turn
toward the setting sun to find the only
figure in American journalism which
can be crowned with this royal dis-
tinction.

"Out of the Bast comes light," says
the proverb. "Out of the West comes
service," I would add. From a long
life broidered by the lights and mel-
lowed by the shades of newspaper ac-
tivities, I am able to draw the powers
of appreciation which qualify me to
congratulate you, The Chronicle and
San Francisco upon the event cele-
brated by your Jubilee anniversary.
GEORGE THOMPSON.

'AN EVENT OF INTEREST," SAYS
ST. LOUIS REPUBLIC OWNER

Charles W. Knapp of Great Missouri

Newspaper, Himself in Harness

Forty-eight Years.

THE fiftieth anniversary of The San
Francisco Chronicle is an event of
much interest to me because my
personal acquaintance with the De
Young brothers, who founded the
paper, began within seven "years after
the first issue of the Dramatic Chron-
. icle. I have not only been able to
follow by direct observation the won-
derful development from that small
beginning to the great public journal
that now constitutes one of the most
potent forces in the newspaper field,
but in this forty-three-year period I
have been situated to know how com-
pletely Charles de Young, up to his un-
timely death, and M. H. de Young,
during the whole half-century of The
Chronicle's existence, were its inspira-
tion and moving force.

Fifty years is a long time to be con-
nected with a single newspaper. I am
conscious of that fact, as I began my
own newspaper work forty-eight years
ago and have never worked for any
newspaper except the one I began with.
My uncle, who died in 1883, had a record
of fifty-six years on the same news-
paper, and forty-nine of those years he
was an owner and manager, while my
father, who came into the business at
a later date, rounded out a full third
of a century. This personal experience
enables me to appreciate in an unusual
degree the remarkable record of M. H.
de Young.

Let me tender congratulations to
both The Chronicle and to Mr. de Young,
since they are due to both. For The
Chronicle they are offered because it
has become the great paper it is, not
merely by growing as the city in which
it is published has grown, but on ac-
count of the individuality and the force
that are peculiarly the De Young char-
acteristic, which have contributed so
much to make the city as well as the
newspaper. For M. H. de Young my
congratulations are offered because it

219

220

Journalism in California

has seldom happened that a founder of
a newspaper has been preserved in
health and vigor to attend as sole
owner its golden jubilee.

The Chronicle has had hard knocks
in the long years of its aggressive
existence and. it took much strenuous,
courageous work to make it the power
in the community it became long ago,
but that is the only way a newspaper
can progress to public influence and
financial success. Because the De
Young nature was especially fitted for
just such battling as The Chronicle had
throughout the early tempestuous years
of its career it has remained a De
Young property and stands today an
enduring De Young monument. Yours
very truly, CHAS. W. KNAPP,

President the St. Louis Republic.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE WRITES

CAREER REFLECTS

HISTORY

Editors of "The World's Greatest News-
paper" Send Interesting Letter
to M. H. de Young,

THE editors of The Chicago Tribune
extend their congratulations to
you and The Chronicle upon the
occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of
your editorship.

Few newspapers in this country of
perpetual movement can boast a half
century of successful management
under one directing mind. It has been
a wonderful and inspiring period which
The Chronicle has been privileged to
reflect and be a part of, and no com-
munity on the continent has been better
worth expressing, as a vital newspaper
is able to express the city from which
it springs, than San Francisco.

From the city of Bret Harte to the
great metropolis of the Panama-Pacific
International Exposition your com-
munity has contributed an intensely
vivid page to American history, a page
full of light and shadow and inspiring
to all the American sisterhood of cities
because of the indomitablespirit which
has carried San Francisco always for-
ward through the most terrible of
ordeals and through many lesser trials
to new achievement on the road of
progress. Very truly yours,

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE.

STRIKING AND EXCEPTIONAL,

SAYS HARRISON GRAY

OTIS

Publisher of Bis Los Angeles News-
paper Says Record of Chronicle
Is Notable Achievement.

I AM struck by the showing The San
Francisco Chronicle has made under
the De Young brothers. The truth
is I did not before quite appreciate
the striking, significant and exceptional
fact that The Chronicle and Mr. M. H.
de Young, its present sole owner, are

qualified to jointly celebrate the fiftieth
anniversary of this conspicuous jour-
nal's foundation.

Fifty years of journalism in Califor-
nia, a State not yet old, convey to the
mind a meaning far above and beyond
the ordinary, when it comes to the con-
sideration of journalism, journalists
and a commonwealth whose lives cover
that pregnant span in the life of the
Nation.

So far as I am aware, none of the
great men who have figured in the
history of journalism in this country,
other than Mr. de Young, have rounded
out fifty years in the active manage-
ment of a newspaper in the United
States. During that long and sometimes
turbulent period the man at the helm
had neither time nor opportunity to
recline "on downy beds of ease" for
any considerable number of hours in
each twenty-four.

I congratulate The Chronicle and Mr.
de Young on the coming of the fiftieth
anniversary of the journal itself and
upon the fact that Mr. de Young him-
self is still on deck. Yours truly,

HARRISON GRAY OTIS.

EDITOR OF SEATTLE TIMES SAYS
EVENT UNPRECEDENTED

Head of Family of Editors Compares

M. H. de Young's Achievements

With Those of Other Editors.

ON January 16, 1915, a most remark-
able occurrence will take place in
the journalistic field of the Pacific
Coast and one to be remembered by the
newspaper fraternity throughout the
land.

On that day Hon. M. H. de Young will
celebrate his fiftieth anniversary as a
journalist, and The San Francisco
Chronicle at the same time will cele-
brate its fiftieth anniversary.

The coincidence occurs by reason of
the fact that Mr. de Young was one of
the founders of The Chronicle, and yet
Mr. de Young had had no newspaper
experience when he and his brother
Charles established The Chronicle.

To be sure, it began in a very humble
way as a small publication, both in size
and circulation, and took ample time to
develop.

While several leading journalists of
the United States during its one hun-
dred and thirty-six years of history
have served on newspapers now more
than fifty years old, there is no other
living editor who has served on the
same paper for half a century, except
M. H. de Young of San Francisco.

James Gordon Bennett founded The
New York Herald in 1835, and, although
The Herald is in its sixty-third year,
James Gordon Bennett, Sr., died in 1872,
having relinquished the immediate
management of The Herald to his son
several years before. '

Mr. James Gordon Bennett, Jr., now
in his seventy-fourth year, has been in
exclusive charge of The New York
Herald but forty-two years,- or eight

The Chronicle's Jubilee

221

years less than Mr. de Young has been
in charge of The Chronicle.

Horace Greeley founded The New
York Tribune in 1841, and while The
Tribune today is over seventy-three
years of age, Horace Greeley severed
his connection therewith in 1872, serv-
ing but thirty-one years with the news-
paper he established.

Henry Watterson has been the editor
of The Louisville Courier-Journal for
more than forty-six years, and as The
Courier-Journal has been in charge of
it all that time. Still The Courier-
Journal is a consolidation of two former
papers that were published many years
before Henry Watterson became the
editor of the combine.

As a journalist, Henry Watterson,
now seventy-four years of age, has been
in the journalistic field considerably
more than fifty years, but lacks that
distinction of being with the same
newspaper for half a century.

Mr. Samuel Bowles founded The
Springfield (Mass.) Republican in 1844,
and was its editor until his death in
1878, but while The Springfield Repub-
lican is more than seventy years of
age, Samuel Bowles, Jr., has had con-
trol for many years, taking charge
thereof at his father's death.

The late Col. Harvey Scott, who died
at seventy-two, was the editor of The
Oregonian for a period of almost half
a century, although The Oregonian was
taken over by Mr. H. L. Pittock in 1860
and Mr. Pittock has been the manager
thereof since that date.

General Otis of The Los Angeles
Times was in the Civil War fifty years
ago today and had not thought of enter-
ing the journalistic field. In spite of
that fact, however, he has been in
charge of The Los Angeles Times for
nearly forty years and the identity of
The Times and General Otis and Gen-
eral Otis and The Times is so complete
that the name of the one means the
other.

But we might refer to the biographi-
cal histories of a dozen other men in the
United States who have passed the
main portion of their lives in the
journalistic field and yet never reached
the point that has been reached by Mr.
de Young.

Mr. de Young and The San Francisco
Chronicle stand out today absolutely
unclouded in the bright sunshine of
success and prosperity as the only
living editor who founded a newspaper
fifty years ago, which newspaper to-
day is stronger than it ever was before.

It is unnecessary to speak of the
splendid financial success which has
for many years characterized The San
Francisco Chronicle, for the world
knows all about it.

It is unnecessary to speak of the
splendid enterprises which have taken
up the great portion of Mr. de Young's
time of a state, national and even inter-
national character, for the world
knows all about his work therein.

It is only necessary at this time to
call attention to the uniqueness of the
situation and to remember that Mr. de

Young is in possession of his full
strength and powers, as competent
today to carry on The Chronicle as he
ever was, and that The Chronicle itself
is a greater newspaper today than it
ever was before, and one of the very
few great newspapers of the world.
ALDBN J. BLBTHEN.

HARTFORD COURANT WISHES

"MANY HAPPY NEW

YEARS"

Charles Hopkins Clark, Editor of Con-
necticut's Foremost Dally, Is
Cordial in Greetings.

THE Hartford Courant, which has
recently celebrated its one hun-
dred and fiftieth birthday anni-
versary sends cordial greetings and
hearty congratulations to The San
Francisco Chronicle.

It's a great thing for a newspaper to
be fifty years old. We've tried it three
times, and ought to know. But, while
the Courant's experience in this is
unique, that of The Chronicle is unique,
too, and perhaps more remarkable, in
that the same man who established The
Chronicle, Hon. M. H. de Young, is still
at its head, and, from a small begin-
ning, has built up and still controls a
newspaper known all over the country,
one of the potent factors in Pacific
Coast life.

The oldest newspaper makes its bow
and wishes many happy new years to
the oldest founder, editor and pub-
lisher. May he long stay on his job.
THE HARTFORD COURANT.
By Charles Hopkins Clark, Editor.

PROVIDENCE JOURNAL HEAD IS
CHRONICLE "GRADUATE"

John R. Rathom, Editor of Strong?

Rhode Island Publication, Tells

of His Satisfaction,

THE fiftieth anniversary of the
founding of The San Francisco
Chronicle and of Mr. M. H. de
Young's entry into journalism is an
event that will be recognized with
genuine pleasure not only in California,
but throughout the United States.

This anniversary will also be greeted
with much more than ordinary satis-
faction by the hundreds of newspaper
men in the East and West, who, like
myself, have graduated from The
Chronicle.

The life of The Chronicle has been
no parlor game. Nobody but Mr. de
Young himself, who for fifty years has
been 'The Chronicle, can fully realize
the strenuous character of its career
or recall with such completeness of
detail its thousand and one struggles
for or against the innumerable ques-
tions that have been fought out in
California in the past half-century. It
gives one genuine happiness, however,
to ldok back upon his own periodof a
few years of intimate connection with
The Chronicle and to realize that

222

Journalism in California

during the whole of that time his ef-
forts, under the direction of Mr. de
Young and Mr. Young, both of them
happily on deck today, were devoted
constantly to fighting graft, exposing
corruption in high places and low
places and helping every worthy object
in the city of San Francisco and the
State of California.

I have no doubt that the same spirit
that led the young men of those happy
days is the spirit that survives at this
time. And I am sure that though The
Chronicle in its long and vigorous
career has torn down many shams,
wrecked many a political ambition and
seriously disconcerted the plans of
many public men, there will be a uni-
versal feeling of satisfaction over this
anniversary, extending even to its past
or present enemies.

JOHN R. RATHOM.

EDITOR OF THE OMAHA BEE

WISHES CONTINUED

SUCCESS

yictor Rosewater Tells How His Father

Worked in Years Gone by "With.

M. H. de Young.

TO me it is a rare privilege to be
able to extend greetings and felici-
tations to The Chronicle and to
Mr. M. H. de Young on their joint
completion of fifty years in active
newspaper work. I couple with my
congratulations best wishes for long
continued usefulness, although it goes
without saying that The Chronicle, as
a successful and progressive news-
paper, must outlive its founder who
has given it a permanence no indi-
vidual can possess.

The Chronicle dates back a little
over seven years longer than the Bee.
The founder of the Bee, my father, the
late Edward Rosewater, who was inti-
mately associated with Mr. de Young
in many public movements, was per-
mitted to guide its destinies contin-
uously for thirty-five years, which we
felt was making a notable record in
journalism; and yet to have held the
reins for an even half century, as has
Mr. de Young with The Chronicle, is
much more exceptional. Everyone who
knows anything about journalism
knows that such an achievement would
be impossible without brains, brawn,
bravery and business ability.

VICTOR ROSEWATER.

WONDERFUL GROWTH IS SEEN
BY NEW YORK GLOBE

Jason Rogers, Publisher of Paper

Founded in 1793, Appreciates

Chronicle's Influence.

PERMIT me to heartily congratu-
late you and The San Francisco
Chronicle on reaching your fiftieth
anniversary together. There must be
a strong feeling of personal satisfac-
tion in having been so long identi-

fied with so influential a paper as The
San Francisco Chronicle, which has so
successfully promoted and supported
the best interests of San Francisco,
the gateway of the Orient from the
United States.

The wonderful growth and influence
of the San Francisco Chronicle are ac-
knowledged and appreciated by news-
paper men throughout the country. Its
commanding position as one of the
great newspapers of the United States,
developed from a very small beginning
by you and your brother since 1865,
should be abundant satisfaction for the
lifetime efforts of any individual.

As publisher of the New York Globe,
which is the oldest daily newspaper in
the United States, founded in 1793 by
Noah Webster, I extend to you my
heartiest congratulations and best
wishes for future success and pros-
perity. JASON ROGERS.

BUFFALO TIMES EDITOR IS

VOLUBLE IN HIS

PRAISES

Norman E. Hack, Owner of Famous

Publication, Says Chronicle Is

a Familiar Visitor.

PERMIT me to extend congratula-
tions as The Chronicle passes in
triumph its half-century mark.
Most people are happy in the thought
of one's own life and health at fifty,
so it must, indeed, be a pleasure to
view the creation of your own intel-
lect, courage and labor as it rounds
fifty years of continued progress in a
splendid burst of brilliant achievement.

The best years of your life have been
given over, through the columns of
The Chronicle, to the service of the
people of your city, your State and the
Nation. Yours has been a rare period
of service. But out of your life, and
that of your distinguished brother, you
have reared an institution which will
go on and on in the great work you
started as generation follows gener-
ation.

It is a pleasure to have this oppor-
tunity to look back upon the success
and the achievements of The San Fran-
cisco Chronicle. Here we are, you and
I, at the extreme ends of the continent,
yet The Chronicle is as familiar a
visitor in my office as my nearest
neighbor in Buffalo. For years your
great newspaper has been a source of
enlightenment, entertainment and in-
spiration. No one can read The Chron-
icle without being impressed with its'
fairness, its force, its intelligent direc-
tion, its typographical excellence, its
devotion to the public welfare, its
courage and its completeness.

To you, Editor de Young, permit me
to convey assurances of my congratu-
lations on the golden anniversary of
your newspaper service, to extend my
cordial wishes for the future, and to
join with the multitude of your friends

The Chronicle's Jubilee

223

in celebrating this fifty-year triumph
of The Chronicle.

I expect in the very near future to
visit with other members of the New
York State Commission, your great In-
ternational Exposition and will then
look your splendid city and State over
and I have no doubt we shall all leave
for our homes at the conclusion of that
visit with the greatest admiration for
the Golden Gate and its people.
Very cordially yours,

NORMAN E. MACK.

FRIENDS ARE LEGION, WRITES
BUFFALO NEWS PRO-
PRIETOR

DES MOINES CAPITAL PUBLISHER
SUGGESTS BOOK

Lafayette Young of Leading Iowa

Newspaper Hardly Realizes The

Chronicle Is Fifty Years Old.

IT HARDLY seems possible that the
San Francisco Chronicle is fifty
years of age! I have met M. H. de
Young several times, and he never
looked old to me. But such men do not
grow old.

How lonesome it must have been in
1865, when the De Young brothers
sprung The Chronicle on the new city
on the golden shore! Mr. de Young
ought to write a book giving a chron-
icle of his experience in assisting the
new West in doing things, for he has
always been a leader. He is one of the
great editors of America, where great
editors abound. It is a pleasure to
congratulate him. He has stood the
storm; has never succumbed to hurried
partnerships nor stock companies. He
has evidently been a single-purposed
man. Yet, when I read his history, I
find he has been an all-around man in
directing many things. Such a life is
worth living, and the establishment of
The Chronicle is achievement enough.

I extend my congratulations.

LAFAYETTE YOUNG.

SPOKANE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
SENDS ITS CONGRATU-
LATIONS

W. H. Cowles, Publisher of Big Wash-
ington Newspaper, Lauds M. H.
de Young's Efforts.

1WANT to congratulate Mr. de Young
very heartily on the celebration of
the fiftieth anniversary of the foun-
dation of The Chronicle.

The Chronicle has preserved for a
very long life a strong hold on the
most substantial people in San Fran-
cisco. It has been conducted with a
remarkable mixture of wise conserva-
tism and aggressive constructive work.
There are only a few publishers in
the United States whose names are as
well known from one end of the
country to ithe other as M. H. de
Young's. His great success has been
due not only to his large ability, but
also to an astounding energy and cour-
age. Sincerely yours,

W. H. COWLES.

Edward H. Butler of Northern New
York's Big Newspaper Says San Fran-
cisco and Chronicle Are Synonyms.

ALLOW me to congratulate you
upon your fiftieth anniversary as
head and founder of The San
Francisco Chronicle. I know of no
one who is more of a success in the
newspaper world than yourself; always
having before you the interest of your
own city, and it is well known through-
out the newspaper world that Mr. M.
H. de Young has done more for San
Francisco by his untiring efforts in its
behalf than almost any other man in
that city.

I wish I might be there to personally
congratulate you, but as that is im-
possible I am sending this letter, which
will be only one among many from
your friends, who are legion.

The San Francisco Chronicle is
synonymous with the word San Fran-
cisco, and one never thinks of that
city without connecting with it The
Chronicle, the same as Atlanta and the
Constitution, and Springfield, Mass.,
and the Republican, and I trust that
The Chronicle may continue in its suc-
cess, and that I shall be able to con-
gratulate you on its seventy-fifth an-
niversary. Sincerely your friend,

EDWARD H. BUTLER.

VETERAN AT HELM OF THE ORE-
GONIAN EXTENDS HAND

"Congratulations," Says H. L. Pittock

of Portland, Himself Old in

"The Game."

I HAVE known The San Francisco
Chronicle well during the entire
fifty years of its publication as a
daily newspaper. I recall clearly its
early days, when it began to make a
real impression upon the California
public, and I have watched its develop-
ment into a great metropolitan news-
paper, with real interest and real sym-
pathy.

I think that Mr. de Young is the only
American publisher, except myself,
who has been at the head of an im-
portant newspaper continuously for
more than a half-century. In that re-
spect, therefore, there is a striking
parallel in the history of The Chronicle
and of my own newspaper. It is proper
for me to say that after eight years of
service as printer and publisher on the
Weekly Oregonian I founded the Daily
Oregonian on February 4th, 1861, and
have been its publisher continuously
from the beginning.

I congratulate Mr. de Young upon his
great accomplishment in building up
so influential and well-organized a
newspaper as The Chronicle. The
Chronicle in a peculiar way typifies
San Francisco. Its news methods are
a reflection of the bright spirit of the
city, while its editorial methods, con-

224

Journalism in California

servative and thorough as they are, are
an index of the real stability of the
Coast metropolis. The Chronicle has
had its vicissitudes, undoubtedly, but it
has survived them splendidly. It is an
institution in San Francisco and Cali-
fornia.

For myself, I cannot conceive of San
Francisco without The Chronicle, and
I thoroughly believe that the time will
not come when there will be such a
San Francisco.

H. L. PITTOCK,
Publisher The Oregonian.

PUBLISHER OF NEW YORK WORLD
DEFINES SUCCESS

Don C. Seltz, Head of Great Eastern

Newspaper, Tells Secret of

Chronicle Progress.

THE Chronicle will live in history
as one of the great enterprises of
American journalism. The the-
atrical leaflet became a newspaper
because of the unquenchable instinct
of Charles and M. H. de Young, who
had in them the quality which makes
papers, the ability to endure persecu-
tion, to withstand unpopularity, to
print the news without fear or favor,
no matter what danger might ensue.
The Chronicle had to fight its way. It
broke the road for Pacific Coast jour-
nalism.

Let us hope its next fifty years will
be smooth and prosperous, and that it
will remain what it has now become,
an institution, as all newspapers ought
to be.

DON C. SEITZ.

CHRONICLE AN INSTITUTION,

WRITES SAMUEL A

PERKINS

Owner of the Perkins Press, Operating

Six North-western Newspapers,

Comments on Achievement.

I AM extending congratulations to
The San Francisco Chronicle on its
being fifty years old, but more ap-
propriately, I am happy to say that
The Chronicle is fifty years young, and
so is the publisher.

Fifty years under the same owner-
ship and management is a proud dis-
tinction rarely, if ever, achieved in
American journalism.

The San Francisco Chronicle has been

a "live issue" and M. H. de Young has
been a live wire throughout a half-
century of marvelous development of
California and the Pacific Coast, and
The Chronicle and its publisher have
had a large part in that development.
A newspaper like The Chronicle,
which has paid its way and has been
built from the ground up on its earn-
ings, is an institution in the best sense
of the word.

S. A. PERKINS.

KEELET OF THE HERALD IS

LOOKING TO DIAMOND

JUBILEE

Editor of Chicago's Latest Combination

Newspaper Says He Feels

Like a Tyro.

HALF a century of success is a
record of which you and The San
Francisco Chronicle should feel
proud and I extend my felicitations.
Somehow with that record before me
I feel like a tyro, for the paper is older
than I am and yet I overheard some
one in the office call me "the old man"
the other day.

I hope the career of The Chronicle
is only starting and that I shall have
the pleasure of further congratulating
you and The Chronicle on your diamond
jubilee.

J. KEELET.

ENERGY IS ENORMOUS, WRITES

CHICAGO JOURNAL

PUBLISHER

John C. Eastman of Great Illinois Daily

Says Achievement Unlikely to

Be Dnplicated.

PLEASE accept my heartiest con-
gratulations on your Chronicle
jubilee. The amount of energy
and endurance implied in managing a
great newspaper for half a century
is enormous. It is pretty clear that
you and The Chronicle do not get on
each other's nerves.

You have had many remarkable men
in The Chronicle office; probably have
some there now whom the future will
recognize as remarkable; but no
achievement of your staff, past, present
or to come, is less likely to be dupli-
cated than your own. Very truly yours,
JOHN C. EASTMAN.

Pacific Coast

and

Exposition

Biographies

Great Men and Great Men's Achievements

Form the Background for

California's Progress

VEEY man living in a civilized community is one of
two things — he is a good citizen or he is not a good
citizen. Not all the good citizens, in the true sense of
the term, are those who do not break the laws; nor, in-
versely, are all the bad citizens those whose names are
written on the rolls of our jails and penitentiaries,

A man, to be a really good citizen, must put back into
the commonwealth something for that which he takes
out of it. In return for the right -to live and prosper he must give his
active or moral support toward building up that commonwealth and making
it better.

The one who allows "the other fellow" to do more than his share of
work for the general good is shirking his bounden duties. The result:
He is not taking advantage of the opportunity to make himself a good
citizen. And the mere fact that he has succeeded in keeping out of jail does
not make him necessarily "good." His city, his State and his country de-
mand more.

Looking over the history of San Francisco and California there is one
thing that impresses the reader above everything else. This is the spirit
oi a comparatively small number of men who, ever, since "the days of old,
the days of gold, the days of forty-nine," have stood in the forefront in
public achievement.

California has needed such men as few other States in the Union have
needed them. Separated from the "effete East" by two mountain ranges
as California is, its development was late in beginning. When the tide
of civilization did turn westward it brought, naturally enough, some of
the rougher element with it. But it brought also those who had the making
of stanch, fearless citizens.

It is the old rule of the survival of the fittest that has been worked
out since those days of clipper ships and the Cape Horn passage. Today
California stands in the front rank of progressive and enlightened com-
munities, fairly teeming with culture and happiness and blessed with a
prosperity famed the world over.

It is a Great Western Empire in itself !

Not in one business or profession alone will one find those builders
of the commonwealth. They are to be met in every walk of life — more
in some, perhaps, than in others, yet in all of them. It is the scheme of
things worldly that one pursuit should fit into and supplement another.

227

228 Introduction to Biographies

No one man can accomplish everything necessary to promote civilization —
and no one man has done so.

In the pages that follow in this work are set forth in detail the careers

of some of the most representative men of the West, engaged in all lines

. of endeavor. To the aspiring young man each sketch holds out a distinct

lesson. In each it is endeavored to show by what processes the subject

has reached that glittering goal — Success.

Simmered down, the secret is found in the five words — Intelligence,
Ambition, Pluck, Application and Perseverance.

With those five qualifications a man is bound to succeed in nearly any-
thing to which he bends his efforts. Obstacles he brushes aside or sur-
mounts; apparent failure means nothing to him but a renewal of effort;
he leaves complaining and lamenting to the less hardy and makes action
count.

Among the very first Americans to land on the shores of San Francisco
Bay were the miners. They came by way of Cape Horn. The community
was then decidedly Spanish and the footsteps of the padres were still com-
paratively fresh. On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall made his
momentous discovery of gold in the tailrace of Sutter's mill, on the north
fork of the American river where Coloma now stands. After several months
the news filtered East in a roundabout way and the famous '49 rush began.

Most of the inqoming Argonauts did not tarry long in San Francisco.
This was merely an outfitting point, and they continued on up the Sac-
ramento river by boat, and then by horse or wagon or afoot to the fields
of wealth. This city being an outfitting point, it of course needed out-
fitters. These came with the miners, saw what fortunes might be garnered
without digging with pick and shovel, and forthwith took advantage of
the opportunity to establish themselves in a mercantile business.

Where gold is in abundance, there is the lodestone to attract settlers.
And San Francisco and California were no exception to the rule. Soon
shiploads of people began literally pouring in through the Golden Gate.
They represented all classes, all minds. Some remained in the city, which
was springing up on the sand dunes by the water's edge with a mushroom-
like growth; some went on. And soon the raw gold was coming back to
the mart of trade in ever-increasing shipments.

Soon there were, in addition to the traders, lawyers and doctors, bankers
and school teachers, to say nothing of agriculturists, lumbermen, cattlemen
and engineers. The city of San Francisco, clustered as it was at first
around the waterfront, began to broaden out. One sand dune after
another was surmounted and the tide of civilization swept on to the next.
With the opening of the route across the Isthmus of Panama vessels began
making regular trips into port, and the problem of transporting goods
diminished in importance. Then, as the decades rolled on, there followed
the stage lines and the pony express, and at length the first transcontinental
railroad. And each added stability to the empire that was springing up
west of the Sierra mountains.

The medical men helped along the scheme of things by guarding the
health of the settlers. Early physicians rode about from mining camp to
mining camp with their kits of drugs slung across their backs or thrust into
their saddle-bags, ready for anything from a capital operation to the birth
of another soul. Quiet, unassuming and brave, the doctors did their work

Introduction to Biographies 229

arid went their way, and mankind was the better for them. The doctor
of today is not just like the doctor of yesterday. He is more of a special-
ist, if not entirely so. And he knows more than physicians even dreamed
of in the days of '49.

In its mining activities California has had three sets of pioneers. First
came the crude form of placer mining, wherein the "cream" of the- gold
deposits was washed from the beds of the mountain streams and from the
gravel of the valleys, where search was made for natural "pockets" from
which a fortune could be taken in a few hours or a few days. Then a
period of rest from the feverish excitement and the gradual decay of those
historic old settlements, painted in enduring words with such a sure hand
by Bret Harte,' followed by the quartz miners and their less picturesque
and more businesslike work among the vast mineral deposits of the State.
Finally, not so many years ago, there came to the public notice the per-
fection of a new system of gold dredging, highly profitable. San Francisco
and California have many mining operators and engineers today whose repu-
tation is country-wide, and whose operations involve millions. The careers
of most of them read like a book of romance.

Agriculturally, California, with its 40,000,000 acres of arable lands,
can be surpassed by no other State in the Union. Its early-day grazing
pastures and a great many of its forests have given way to blossoming
fields, and its rangers and vaqueros have largely been replaced by the man
with the hoe. The old Spanish land grants of thousands of varas have been
cut up into smaller tracts, and men are getting rich on from five to ten
acres. Here might be mentioned Captain Sutter, one of the first to discover
and put to advantage the agricultural and horticultural possibilities of the
Sacramento Valley, and who was involuntarily responsible, by reason of
the existence of his mill, for the discovery of gold by Marshall.

The cattle business has by no means been throttled, nor is the State
behind hand in dairying and poultry and produce raising. Here enter in
the exporters of the State's commodities, men whose ships carry California
goods to remote corners of the world. Sailing vessels have in most cases
given way to steam, and no longer does the mariner lie hove-to waiting for
a favorable breeze. Today fleets of oil steamers also are constantly leaving
California's seaports, carrying the product, crude and refined, to foreign
markets. In the State's fields well after well is being sunk to increase
the output and millions untold are invested in this industry alone; com-
petition is keen and the result has been that vast sums are kept in circula-
tion, to add to the wealth of the community and of its industrial leaders.

Into the forest primeval came the woodsman with his ax. He had
worked his way westward clear across the continent, had crossed the Eockies
and the Sierra, and now he descended upon the pines and redwoods of
California. Soon log rafts began floating down the rivers or were towed
down the coast, and mills, springing up overnight, turned out finished lum-
ber at an ever-increasing rate. An industry was thus started which since
has grown into huge proportions and has extended itself all over the Pacific
Coast. And, as in the case of other lines of endeavor, the burden of this
development has fallen upon the shoulders of a few big men, who. have
devoted money and energy toward blazing the trail.

California would not have all its great power plants, its network of
railroads, its steel and concrete bridges, its tunnels and its aqueducts, were

230 Introductipn to Biographies

it not for its engineers and promoters — and financiers. A host of these
pathfinders have placed their marks upon the industries and their develop-
ment, men whose names are watchwords for scientific progress.

Without capital one may accomplish but little. All the big enterprises
that aid in a community's upbuilding needs must have financial backing.
It is therefore no small part that the bankers of California have played
in molding its history and furthering its commercial and industrial growth.
The early-day bankers started in just like all their fellow-immigrants, with
dingy offices and small capital. Gold dust flowed into their coffers, how-
ever, as the miners returned with their earnings, and gradually, as more
trade routes were opened up with the East, business began to boom.
William H. Crocker, Frank B. Anderson and I. W. Hellman are typical
of the strong, resourceful bankers and capitalists of today.

Manufacturers, contractors, brokers, architects, accountants — all these
have helped make many things possible, as have the oil and gas interests
and the men behind them; the insurance interests, which protect against
poverty after death for the family left behind and against loss from fire
or storm or shipwreck at sea, and whose business on the Pacific Coast alone
runs away up into the millions annually; and the educators, who have
waged unceasing warfare against ignorance.

California's public school system cannot be excelled. Back through
the byways in every direction the educators have gone to establish their
centers of learning. With three big universities, dozens of colleges, and
other institutions where one may specialize in any subject, the State has
worked its way up into the forefront in cutting down the percentage of
illiteracy. No one - with strength and determination need today remain
untutored and untrained.

As the years pass by the auto manufacturers and dealers come to be
a bigger and bigger factor in every business community. It was not so
many years ago that the public scoffed at those who promised to make a
"no pushee, no pullee" vehicle that could be adapted to general or individual
needs. We scoffed at aeroplanes and dirigibles, too, but they all have taken
1 their places in our daily life. The automobile business is now one of the
biggest in the world; .yet it is still in its infancy. The electric or gasoline-
propelled car has ceased to be a plaything, a toy; it is a public utility.

Look in what direction one will, one sees sturdy men on whose broad
backs, as it were, the world is resting. In every branch of human endeavor
they are to be found. Their success has been due to personal effort, backed
by the laudable ambition to leave mediocrity behind and become of the
forceful few. How diversified are the careers of, for instance, inventors,
builders of the telephone and telegraph, officers of the Army and Navy,
sales agents and managers, public executives and legislators! Then we
find the artists, the musicians and the writers appealing to our aesthetic
side, furnishing us with the finer things of life.

The Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915, San Francisco's
great world-show, which this volume helps to commemorate, was not the
work of an Aladdin and his Lamp, even though its gorgeousness might have
appeared so.

The history of the exposition, like the history of San Francisco and
California or of any other State or community, large or small, embodies
a succession of personal achievements. It is as if the exposition, in all its

_^^^ Introduction to Biographies 231

splendor of varied beauty, a beauty unsurpassed, were built up as a piece
of coral is built up — one particle upon another particle and the whole
cemented together, with each human insect adding his mite for the good
of all.

.Let men band together and they can accomplish anything.

Finally, the story swings around to the legal fraternity and the part
it has played in this drama of a State's advancement. And the part has
been an important one. In many ways it is the most interesting record of
all, for it reflects every other phase of endeavor, bringing out into bold
relief the high-lights of California's absorbing history.

No_ civilization can exist without laws to govern it. This fact was early
recognized, here and elsewhere. The ancients inscribed certain "rules for
conduct" on stones, setting them up along the principal highways that the
public might memorize them. These "rules" were the forerunners of the
law. Written later on parchment, they came down through the ages, and
aside from certain radical changes consistent with the needs of the times,
some of the world-old principles are still in force as the basis for the codes
and statutes of later years.

Man's almost every passion involves in some way the prescribed "rules
for conduct." His liberty, property rights and bequests, his aims and his
controversies, run along in keeping with the law or afoul of it at every
stage. He must do certain things, and he must not do certain other things,
lest he cause society in some way to suffer. This society, the coalition of
mankind, is built up along certain lines of the greatest known perfection.
To go outside these lines were to undermine everything; so he who would
go outside them is, in one way or another, restricted or punished.

No profession has developed and brought forth more, great and influen-
tial men than has the law. In every walk of life the attorney wields his
power — through the courts. He makes the statutes, he interprets them,
and he oftentimes directs the men who apply them. He is an entire library
of sociology, civics and economics personified. The tools of his trade, as
it is pointed out in Bishop's First Book of the Law, constitute the power
that pervades and controls the universe.

California's brilliant lawyers are legion. Their names are still as fa-
miliar as are those of Patrick Henry, Robert Ingersoll and Daniel Webster.
They range from the brilliant Justice Stephen J. Field and Elisha 0.
Crosby, the latter of whom helped introduce into California the English
common law to replace the civil law of Boman origin, down through the
line of Hall McAllister and Samuel M. Wilson, two of the greatest prac-
titioners of their day; Thomas B. Bishop, one of the original directors
of the Hastings College of Law; Beuben H. Lloyd, noted for his general
cleverness; General William H. L. Barnes, he of the astounding eloquence,
and Creed Haymond, "Father of the California Codes," down to the strong
lawyers of the present day, such as Charles S. Wheeler, Alex. F. Morrison,
Peter F. Dunne, Garrett McBnerney, Gavin McNab, Victor H. Metcalf,
Judge Harmon Bell, E. M. Fitzgerald, Curtis Lindley, E. S. Pillsbury,
E. J. McCutchen, Nathan H. Frank, John S. Partridge, M. C. Chapman
and William C. Crittenden, besides those whose careers are treated at
greater length hereafter.

To relate at all chronologically the legal history of California, or that
part of it made up of the so-called "high-lights," one is obliged to harken

232 Introduction to Biographies

back to the establishment of the missions here in the eighteenth century —
for a beginning. The padres set themselves up in the then little known
Northern California at about the time Independence Bell was pealing forth
its defiance to King George. Mission Dolores was consecrated June 29,
1776; a few months later, January 12, 1777, Santa Clara mission was
founded, and in the same year the town of San Jose, near by, came into
being. These dates are of interest, particularly that of the founding of
San Jose, for this was the first authorized settlement in the State, receiving
its authorization from Governor Felipe de Neve, and the first town in
California to be ruled by a civil government.

Prior to this, California was a part of New Spain, having the Viceroy
of Mexico for its governing power. In 1776 it was attached to the Coman-
dancia-General of the internal provinces, but a few years later reverted
again to the Viceroy. The laws were made by the King of Spain and his
council at Madrid, transmitted to the Viceroy and finally to the Governor.
All over California presidios had been established, and couriers carried the
orders from the Governor to the officers in command of these posts.

That, period in which California was under Spanish rule was one of
the most picturesque in its history. When Mexico, after a fierce struggle
with the mother country, won her independence in 1822, Alta California,
as it was then known, was for a time apparently forgotten. Without courts,
the district's legal controversies were adjudicated by an ecclesiastical body
ruled over by Padre Jose Sanchez, then president of the missions. In the
latter part of 1836 Mexico made a new set of laws whereby the alcaldes
were given jurisdiction in certain civil cases. Subsequently these officials
held direct rule under a Governor, the last of which, appointed for Cali-
fornia by Mexico, was Pio Pico, a highly respected executive.

Meanwhile, Americans had begun to drift into the territory and take
up their residence, and when the United States went to war with Mexico
a military governor for California was named. The first of these was
Colonel Richard B. Mason, whose term of office extended from May 31,
1847, through the following year when California was ceded to the United
States, until April 13, 1849.

It remained for General Bennett Eiley, who succeeded Colonel Mason
as Governor, to establish what was the nucleus of our present judicial
system. By proclamation on June 3, 1849, Governor Eiley called for the
election of a Superior Court of four judges and a fiscal or Attorney-General,
a Judge of the first instance for each district, Alcaldes and Justices of the
Peace. In August of the same year John W. Geary was chosen first Alcalde
of San Francisco. Peter H. Burnett, Pacificus Ord, Lewis Dent and Jose M.
Covarrubias were made Superior Judges, and Frederick Billings was ap-
pointed fiscal.

One of the minor Judges, with civil jurisdiction only, was the eccentric
William B. Almond, who held sway in San Francisco. Judge Almond had
no regular courtroom at first and he often was obliged to hold his sessions
outdoors, sometimes in the rain. It is told of him that he allowed only
thirty minutes for a trial, and once he had set his mind on a decision,
attorneys might as well hold their peace, for no amount of argument would
swerve him in the slightest.

Governor Eiley's judicial system was the outcome of a series of events
that took place in San Francisco about the beginning of 1849. This was

Introduction to Biographies 233

the formation by the citizens of what they chose to term the "Legislative
Assembly/' for the purpose of establishing a new form of civil government
for this district. The motives of the fifteen men who constituted the as-
sembly were conceded to be conspicuously upright, although their authority
was not recognized. Magistrates and other officials were named and plans
were made for the calling of a constitutional convention. But at this junc-
ture Governor Eiley came forward with his project for creating a judiciary
and, after some hesitation, the citizen body fell into line, then gradually
declined in power until it disbanded.

The really epochal change in the legal system of California came with
the gold rush of '49. The Argonauts found upon their arrival here a
peculiar combination of old customs and new. Americanized as the State
was just beginning to appear, there still remained in places the Spanish
atmosphere. Legislative enactment was needed, and before long it was
secured. But for the time being the courts were "drumhead" affairs of
the rough-and-ready sort. San Francisco was the Mecca for the immigrants,
and here- all the complexities of the early-day life were reflected. Hides
were in general circulation as a medium of exchange.

When civilization opens up new pathways there go lawyers, and the
stampede toward California was no exception to the rule. Lawyers came
aplenty — stern, hardy individuals who were destined to go down through
the years as molders of a new empire's government. Their lives were little
different from those of the miners, for they were inured to hardships, against
which they were forced to struggle unceasingly.

These were the days in which some of California's most noted lawyers
got their start. For instance, Stephen J. Field, who was largely responsible
for the establishment of old mining customs as the laws of the State, the
founding of community property and the development of the Code of Civil
Procedure later on. He stands out conspicuously for his position on the
Supreme Court bench of the United States as well as for his historic quarrel
with Justice David S. Terry, who later was assassinated.

The first session of the State Legislature, which convened December 21,
1849, started in to develop the legal system and make it adequate for the
public needs. Peter H. Burnett, who came here from Tennessee and shortly
afterward became Governor, pointed out the workings of the civil law in
the South and suggested that California adopt a similar code, made up of
a combination of the common law of England, the English laws of evidence
and commerce, the civil law of Louisiana and the Louisiana Code of Practice.

There was strenuous objection to such a suggestion. The majority of
the San Francisco bar, then numbering about a hundred members, favored
the common law. Finally the English law was modified and transformed
into the "American Common Law," and on April 12, 1850, it went into
effect as the "fundamental unwritten law of California."

But meanwhile the State had been provided with a constitution, ratified
in, November, 1849, and one that has since called forth much praise for
the sturdy citizens that drafted it. The judicial system was defined and
a supreme court, district, county and probate and justice courts were
established. Jurisdiction in each case also was defined, as was the length of
the terms of office.

The constitution was formed with the idea that California soon was
to become a member of the Union, and in this the framers were not dis-

234 Introduction to Biographies

appointed. On August 7, 1848, the treaty of peace between the United
States and Mexico, by which Upper or Alta California was formally ceded,
to this country, had been ratified by proclamation of Governor Mason.
Immediately after the State had provided itself with a constitution and
the Legislature had established itself, General Eiley, the Military Governor,
resigned from office. Then California began governing itself, although its
admission to the Union did not come until September 9, 1850.

The first radical change in the provisions of the original constitution
was made in September, 1862. For one thing, the Supreme Court was
given two additional members and, as reorganized, its judges were Silas W.
Sanderson, Lorenzo Sawyer, John Currey, Augustus L. Ehodes and Oscar
L. Shafter, all learned jurists commanding the highest respect. Their
terms of office were increased from six to ten years and they were given
added jurisdiction, as were also District and County Judges.

For the next seventeen years matters judicial ran along in this way in
California; but in 1879, when another constitutional convention met, radi-
cal changes were deemed necessary, to keep pace with the times and to
weed out certain objectionable features. The Supreme Court was enlarged
again, this time to seven members, whose terms of office were twelve years,
and five commissioners were appointed with power to adjudicate causes
referred to them by the supreme tribunal ; the Court also was divided into
two departments.

This convention brought into force the important provision that, in
order to expedite the meting out of justice, no judge of a Superior or
Supreme Court could draw his monthly salary unless he made affidavit that
no cause submitted to him more than ninety days before remained undecided.

The constitutional amendments known as those of 1879 went into opera-
tion in 1880. Under California's Constitution, as Variously revised, the
citizens of the State have secured substantial justice, without being hemmed
in by many of the "freak" provisions that hampered the advancement of
other States of the Union.

California is today governed by four well-formulated codes — the Political
Code, the Penal Code, the Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedure.
Creed Haymond, as chairman of .the Code Commission, with J. C. Burch
and Charles Lindley as his associates, wrote the Codes in three years' time.
After they had been submitted to an advisory board they were adopted and
went into effect January 1, 1873. They were the first complete Codes ever
adopted by any State and afterward were widely copied, notably in the
revision of the laws of Japan.

The legal development of California has passed through many stirring
periods; it has brought forth many famous cases at bar and many famous
lawyers. No State's judiciary, perhaps, can point to a more picturesque
career. Still vivid in the minds of the older San Franciscans are the days
of the criminal band of "Hounds" and the famous Vigilance Committees
of 1851 and 1856, vigorously fought by courts and bar as being a brake
on the approved forms of delivering justice. Those stirring times will ever
remain green in memory.

Back over the years stretches the history of California's great men —
men in every walk of life, men destined to make for progress and advance-
ment and who lived out their destinies. To them California owes the ful-
' fillment of its birthright.

C. F. ADAMS

ON first thought there seems to be
slight connection between the
profession of electrical engineer-
ing and the commercial grow-
ing of rice. But in the case of Charles F.
Adams there is a close connection, for
the first led him to engage in the sec-
ond. Today he is do-
ing electrical contract-
ing under the firm
name of the Power
Equipment Company,
and he also is secre-
tary and treasurer, and
one of the principal
owners of the Rice
Land and Products
Company, whose rice-
growing project in Co-
lusa County bids fair
to become the largest
on the Pacific Coast.

Mr. Adams, let it be
said at the outset, is
perhaps the eldest elec-
trical engineer on the
coast in point of actual,
continuous experience.
When he entered the
profession, electricity
was doing its first
work 'and its control
was largely a matter
of guesswork. Since
1883 he has been doing
his part in harnessing
it and compelling it to do man's service.

Born November 10, 1865, at North
Behoboth, Massachusetts, Mr. Adams is
the son of J. S. Adams and Fannie B.
(Smith) Adams. His father was a
noted inventor. He served through the
Civil War in Harper's Ferry arsenal
and designed the first hand-grenades
that had a definite time-limit for ex-
ploding — grenades that were used later
in the Franco-Prussian war and even
in the present great war in Europe —
and one of the first models of breech-
loading carbine for cavalry use

After the close of the war, the elder
Mr. Adams became one of the pioneer
inventors of the Elgin National Watch
Company, and for about 16 years de-
veloped all the special machines for
the manufacture of small screws and
steel parts of the Elgin watch. The
first commercial electric lights in the
Middle West, at Aurora, Illinois, were
placed on steel towers designed and
constructed by J. S. Adams, and the
present high-power electrical transmis-
sion tower is but a development of this
original type. Even the present tower
used for wireless- telegraphy is the
same type — carried about twice as high
— as that invented and constructed
by Adams for the lighting system
of Detroit, Michigan, in the year
1884.

Charles F Adams received his educa-
tion at Elgin, Illinois, and in 1883 com-
menced work with his father on the
development and building of electric-
lighting towers. Later he built the
systems of towers in Detroit, Indianapo-
lis and Alameda, California. The latter,

costing $40,000, was completed just a
month before he became of age.

In 1885 Mr. Adams went with the
Jenney Electric Company of Indianapo-
lis, where for two years he secured
valuable practical experience. Later he
was in charge of work for the Edison
General Electric Com-
pany of Chicago, in-'
stalling many light-
ing systems in the
Middle West. For seven
years, beginning with
1898, he was in charge
of the outside con-
struction and expert
repair work of the
Stanley Electric &
Manufacturing Com-
pany of Pittsfield, Mass.
The Pacific Gas &
Electric Company em-
ployed Mr. Adams in
1906 to take charge of
the construction o f
new stations and sub-
stations following the
San Francisco fire. He
designed and con-
structed stations in
San Francisco, Oakland
and Berkeley and re-
built stations and ap-
paratus at Electra,
Colgate, De Sabla and
Centerville. By his
work he assisted
largely in bringing about the present
high standard of station detail and per-
formance.

He is widely known on the Pacific
Coast as an expert in the investigation
and correction of engineering "trouble."
When a series of disastrous water-
wheel wrecks almost crippled the
hydro-electric service of one big com-
pany, the work of investigation and
repair was placed in his charge. Out
of a hopeless mass of scrap copper and
steel, new dynamos were constructed
and new water wheels were designed
and built that are still standard. By a
system of graphic analysis, never pub-
lished, -errors of the original design
were corrected and no failures have
occurred on these big units in the last
five years of operation.

Leaving the Pacific Gas & Electric
Company in 1911, Mr. Adams has since
engaged in electrical engineering and
contracting. One of his recent proj-
ects was the building, in 1915, of the
municipal sewage-pumping plant, No.
2, for the City of Sacramento. He has
one of the most complete electrical
libraries on the Pacific Coast.

The Rice -Land and Products Com-
pany, in which Mr. Adams is deeply
interested, has 3,000 acres of rice cov-
ered land, seven miles north of Colusa.
The pumping plants for this enter-
prise were installed by his firm, and
a careful study of this project resulted
in his acquiring a permanent interest
in rice culture. A rice mill and a
large extension of the rice fields will
result from his plans.

235

HUBBARD FOSTER ALEXANDER

THE success of Hubbard F. Alex-
ander — president of the Pacific
Alaska Navigation Company (The
Admiral Line) — like that of
many other transportation men, is the
culmination of a life in which hus-
tling methods, keen foresight and the
power to execute have
been the contributory
forces. But, unlike
most of those in the
same line, or in other
fields, he has arrived
at the zenith of pros-
perity in much shorter
time despite the fact
that he was seemingly
handicapped by a most
humble beginning.

He started his battle
with the world as a
longshoreman when
only fifteen years of
age; but this labor,
instead of acting as a
deterrent, gave him an
experience that was
to be useful in after
years and developed
him physically for
a strenuous business
life.

Mr. Alexander was
born in Colorado
Springs, Colorado, August 14, 1879, the
son, of Edward S. and Emma (Foster)
Alexander. His parents were of old New
England stock, his father's birthplace
being Stamford, Connecticut, while his
mother was born at Lowell, Massa-
chusetts. After marriage his parents
moved to Colorado, where his father's
business interests called them. Eleven
years later they moved to Tacoma,
Washington.

Mr. Alexander was educated in the
public and private schools in Colorado
Springs and Tacoma, Washington, but
on account of severe financial reverses
of his family, left before graduation
to work on the docks at Tacoma.
After two years at this work he en-
tered the employ of Dodwell, Carlill
& Company, who were operating the
Northern Pacific Steamship Company
to the Orient, and the Washington and
Alaska Steamship Company to Alaska.
His position with this firm was check-
clerk and wharf agent, which he credit-
ably filled until twenty years of age,
when he reorganized the Commercial
Dock Company, which conducted a
general wharfage and shipping business,
and of which he became president and
manager. He continued in this posi-
tion for seven years, at the same time

acting as agent for many coastwise
steamship lines.

The thorough knowledge gained in
these various connections led to his
election in 1906 as president of the
Alaska Pacific Steamship Company,
which operates a line between Puget
Sound and California
ports. He was then
twenty-seven years of
age and was probably
the youngest man in
a similar capacity in
the country. In 1907
he became general
manager of the Alaska
Coast Company, which
operates a line a dis-
tance of 2,000 miles
along the Alaska
coast, and was elected
its president in 1912.
In 1912 the Pacific
Alaska Navigation
Company was organ-
ized, this company
taking over both the
Alaska Pacific Steam-
ship Company and the
Alaska Coast Com-
pany and becoming
the operating com-
pany as well as the
holding company, with
Mr. Alexander as president. The opera-
tion of the Pacific Alaska Navigation
Company under this combination covers
3,000 miles of the Pacific coast, from
California to Alaska, being the longest
all-the-year-around American coast-
wise service.

The Pacific Alaska Navigation Com-
pany is known as "The Admiral Line,"
all of its vessels being named after
admirals of the American Navy.

In addition to these interests Mr.
Alexander retains the position of presi-
dent of the Commercial Dock Company
of Tacoma, which was his first busi-
ness venture and the stepping-stone
to his success.

Mr. Alexander is one of the most
prominent men in the Northwestern
country and is favorably known all
over the Pacific slope. He is a mem-
ber of the Union, Country and Golf
and Commercial Clubs of Tacoma, the
Rainier and Transportation Clubs of
Seattle, the Transportation and Pacific
Union Clubs of San Francisco, the
California Club of Los Angeles, and
of the Military Order of the Loyal
Legion of the United States.

He married, in 1902, Miss Ruth Cald-
well of Portland, Oregon, and they
have one daughter.

236

WILLIAM A. BISSELL

THE primary factor that makes for
man's success in life is his home
training. Let that be as it should
be and he cannot go far wrong
in carving out his independent career.
In the life story of many a man his ad-
vancement is explained by this one
thing — proper p r e p -
aration at home for
the world's battles.

This applies in every
particular to William
Ambrose Bissell, as-
sistant traffic manager
for the Santa Pe Rail-
way system at San
Francisco, and officer
or director of a num-
ber of California cor-
porations. His was a
scholarly environment.
Born in 1848 at Lyons,
Wayne County, New
York, he was the son
of Right Reverend
W. H. A. Bissell and
Martha Cotton (Moul-
ton) Bissell, the for-
mer Episcopal Bishop
of Vermont from 1868
until his death in 1893.
Good books were his
and ideals were early
imparted to him by his
parents.

Following his common school edu-
cation Mr. Bissell took a course at the
Geneva Academy, Geneva, New York.
The professions beckoned to him, but
the broad field of business held out
the stronger appeal and when 16 years
old he accepted a minor position with
the Michigan Central Railroad at
Detroit. After three years there he
came to California by way of Panama
in March, 1868. At that time Cali-
fornia's railway system was not on
a very high plane. The Central Pacific
was then operating over but ninety
miles in the State and it was with this
corporation, at Sacramento, that Mr.
Bissell associated himself.

In 1870, with the purchase of the San
Jose Railroad, he was placed in charge
of the traffic department at San Fran-
cisco. For thirteen years Mr. Bissell
remained with the Central Pacific. In
1883, however, there came a flattering
offer from the Texas Pacific Railway
and he became that road's Coast agent,
with offices in San Francisco. He ac-
cepted an even better place in Decem-
ber, 1884, as Coast agent for the Atlan-
tic & Pacific Railroad. This later on
became a part of the Atchison Railroad
system and Mr. Bissell was made its
general freight and passenger agent.
By this time he was a recognized leader
in railroad circles. In 1894 the Atchi-
son system was reorganized as the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. Mr. Bis-
sell thereupon was transferred to Chi-
cago, but following the purchase in 1900

of the San Francisco and San Joaquin
Valley railroads he was brought back
to San Francisco as assistant traffic
manager; and here he has since re-
mained, in one of the railway's most
important executive positions.

When the affairs of the San Fran-
cisco-Oakland Termi-
nal Railways came
to a crisis in 1913 the
United Properties trus-
tees chose Mr. Bissell
as president of the
railways, to put them
back on a firm founda-
tion. In this capacity
he served with credit
until September, 1914,
when he resigned.

During his years of
railway service Mr.
Bissell has been quiet-
ly making judicious
investments until to-
day he has large hold-
ings in corporations of
various kinds. He is
president of the Liver-
more Water & Power
Company, and a direc-
tor of the Holland
Sandstone Company,
Lake Tahoe Railway
& Transportation
Company, Northwest-
ern Pacific Railway Company, Rich-
mond Land Company, Oakland & East
Side Railway Company, Santa Fe Ter-
minal Company of California arid the
Union Savings Bank of Oakland.

Mr. Bissell is in active sympathy with
movements that tend to the betterment
of the city, the State and the Nation,
and does much work as a member of
the San Francisco Chamber of Com-
merce. Of California he believes its
future is more brilliant than that of
any other State in the Union.

Socially Mr. Bissell is one of the
founders of the Transportation Club of
San Francisco and is past vice-president
of the Pacific Union, as well as a mem-
ber of the California Club of Los An-
geles and of the Athenian Club and
Claremont and Sequoia Country Clubs
of Oakland. He was married January
7, 1870, to Miss Cora A. Messick and
is the father of two grown children,
William H. and Daniel R. Bissell. The
family home is in Alameda and a part
of each summer is spent at a cottage
overlooking beautiful Lake Tahoe. Mr.
Bissell also owns a ranch near Liver-
more, where he occasionally spends a
few days as a relaxation from his con-
fining duties in the city.

The shaping of Mr. Bissell's career
has vitally affected California. For as
a railroader he has helped build up
districts which, once practically unin-
habited by man, have been transformed
into prosperous countrysides, linked by
the railways with the world's markets.

237

ANSON S. BLAKE

THAT man's works live after him is
a truth that is plainly apparent.
Especially does it apply to those
works which have to do with the
alteration and improvement of the
earth's surface to meet the needs of
civilization. Digging here ,and there
to remove certain land- ,

marks, and employing
wood, stone or concrete
with steel and iron to
rear certain other
landmarks, man has
changed things to suit
himself, and he has
done it well.

The construction
man, perhaps more
than anyone else, has
builded for himself
permanent monuments.
Generations that come
after him may gaze
for decades or cen-
turies upon his handi-
work, and may make
use of the things that
have cost him brains
and money to make
possible — without giv-
ing more than a pass-
ing thought to what it
means to them.

Anson S. Blake,
president of the Blake
Brothers Company and officer in a num-
ber of other concerns of a similar na-
ture, is a man who has spent all his
adult' life in the upbuilding of the
communities in which he has moved
about. He has to his credit a number of
projects important to the San Fran-
cisco bay district, and is one of those
stanch business men en whose shoul-
ders much public responsibility rests.

A native of San Francisco, born Au-
gust 6, 1870, Mr. Blake ,1s the son of
Charles T. Blake, himself a prominent
contractor in his time, and Harriet
(Stiles) Blake. He went through the
public grammar schools of this city,
was graduated from the Boys' High
School in 1887, and subsequently in 1891
finished at the University of California
with the degree of A. B.

Almost immediately after leaving
school Mr. Blake entered upon his busi-
ness career. He became secretary of
the Bay Rock Company, in which his
father was interested, and after two
years there accepted a clerkship with
the Oakland Paving Company. In 1897
he became the latter concern's secre-
tary and in 1899 its president. In 1904
Mr. Blake organized with Frank W.
Bilger the Blake & Bilger Company,
which dealt in building materials and
conducted a quarry. Two years ago
Mr. Blake sold his interests in the Oak-
land Paving Company to Mr. Bilger,
who retired from the Blake & Bilger
Company, and the quarrying concern
was given its present designation of

Blake Brothers Company. Mr. Anson S.
Blake is still head of the business,
which is of a general contracting and
quarrying nature.

One of Mr. Blake's important con-
struction projects was carried out as
receiver of the Scofield Construction
Company, when he
completed the $1,500,-
000 Government dry
dock at Mare Island
Navy Yard in 1910.
Two contracting con-
cerns failed in the en-
deavor to carry
through the work,
which lasted over a
period of seven years.
An idea of the huge
task that confronted
the engineers can be
gleaned from the fact
that the bottom of the
dry dock consists of
concrete nine and a
half feet thick and
that it rests on 12,000
piles. Excavation on
the big receptacle was
started by a company
which, after heroic but
unsuccessful attempts
to stop the seepage
that continually dam-
aged the labor as fast
as it was performed, threw up the
contract in despair. The Scofield com-
pany then took hold of it, and finally
Mr. Blake completed it.

In building the dock .it was neces-
sary to use 15,000 piles, 90,000 yards
of concrete, 1,500 cubic yards of stone
and 3,000,000 feet of lumber. The length
of the dock is 791 feet. Its width at
the bottom is 76 feet and at the top 120
feet. It will hold a vessel drawing 34
feet. The United States Government
formally accepted it May 17, 1910,
and on the same day the U. S. S.
California entered the dock for repairs.
This project has since played a big
part in making the Mare Island
yard the important naval base it is
today.

Mr. Blake is also president of the
Venice Island Land Company, which has
a 3,400 acre reclamation project on the
San Joaquin river between Stockton and
Antioch. The land has proved valuable
for the growing of vegetables and grain.
Again, Mr. Blake is vice-president of the
Union Dredging Company, which en-
gages in important operations in San
Francisco bay and about the deltas
of the Sacramento and San Joaquin
rivers.

Mr. Blake was married in San Fran-
cisco May 17, 1894, to Anita Day Symmes,
daughter of Frank J. Symmes. He is
a member of the University Club of
San Francisco, the Athenian Club and
Claremont Country Club of Oakland and
the Faculty Club of Berkeley.

238

THEODORE Z. BLAKEMAN

«* A MAN advanced in years," wrote
Richard Steele, the famous es-
sayist, "that thinks fit to look
back upon his former life and
calls A hat only life which was passed
with satisfaction and enjoyment, will
find himself very young, if not in his
infancy."

Bearing in mind this
truth of "The Spec-
tat o r," Theodore Z.
Blakeman, pioneer San
Francisco attorney at
law, has indeed had a
well-rounded career.
Roses were not strewn
in his pathway. In-
deed, he has gone
through a great deal of
unpleasantness. But it
has all been life, real
life, and his spirit of
optimism has ever pre-
vailed.

Born September 29,
1842, in Green County,
Kentucky, Mr. Blake-
man is the son of Moses
Blakeman, at one time
a prominent slave-
owner, and of Narcissa
(Rhea) Blakeman. He
is a descendant o f
Adam Blakeman, who
landed in America in
the 17th century and established the
first English Episcopal Church, at
Stamford, Connecticut. Following his
early education in private schools in
Greensburg, near his birthplace, Mr.
Blakeman entered Georgetown College,
and was in his Junior year there when
the Civil War broke out. ,

One day in 1863, when Bragg had
forced back the Federals and had swept
Close to Cincinnati, Mr. Blakeman
mounted his horse, rode into the Con-
federate lines and enlisted as a private
in the regiment of Colonel Gano. Sub-
sequently he was with Morgan in the
famous raid through Ohio. The Con-
federates found themselves hemmed in
and surrender was decided upon. Be-
fore this took place, however, Mr. Blake-
man and a comrade slipped away in the
darkness, procured civilian clothes, and
walking boldly into Dayton bought
tickets for Detroit. Mr. Blakeman made
his way clear to Windsor, Canada, with-
out being once challenged.

At Windsor Mr. Blakeman stopped
with the family of John Rodman, a Ken-
tucky lawyer whom the war had forced
into temporary exile. The youth took
up the study of law under Rodman, and
when the latter returned home Mr.
Blakeman apprenticed himself to Mat-
thew R. Vankoughnet, a brother of the
Chancellor of the Province of Ontario.
A few months later, when General Lee
surrendered, Mr. Blakeman went to New
York and read Jaw in the office of John

W. Ashmead, U. S. Attorney General in
President Taylor's administration. He
was admitted to practice in New York
in 1866. In 1867 he went to St. Louis
and began practicing after admittance
to the State and Federal courts. In 1875
he was admitted to the U. S. Supreme
Court and 1880 he came
to San Francisco.

Since that time Mr.
Blakeman has enjoyed
a wide and success-
ful law practice. From
1890 until 1896 he ap-
peared in a notable
suit against the Bank
of California of San
Francisco and the
Rideout-Smith Bank of
Oroville, in which he
represented bondhold-
ers of the Spring Val-
1 e y Gold Company,
owners of the big
Cherokee mines. The
action was very com-
plicated and had for
its basis the recovery
of the mining property.
After taking the case
to the Supreme Court
Mr. Blakeman won for
his clients and the
mines were sold some
years later for $160,000.
Mr. Blakeman is perhaps best known
to the present generation of attorneys
by his really remarkable work on be-
half of the widow of the late Thomas
Bell. When he died in 1892 Bell left an
estate valued at $1,200,000. By 1898, for
one reason and another, it had dwindled
to almost nothing and had $250,000
outstanding debts. At this juncture
Mr. Blakeman was retained by the
widow.

To begin with, Mr. Blakeman had the
executors turned out and in 1902 had
Mrs. Bell appointed general adminis-
tratrix. By suits in equity he then re-
covered for the estate 14,000 acres of
land, on part of which oil had been dis-
covered. By selling part of this the es-
tate has realized $1,780,000, and it still
has left 8,000 acres for which it has been
offered $2,500,000.

Mr. Blakeman has built up this mag-
nificent estate from next to nothing. In
fact his efforts drew from Judge Hen-
shaw of the Supreme Court the state-
ment in open session that:

"I and the members of this court ap-
preciate and have some knowledge of
the great volume of evidence that has
been required and the vast labor cast
upon you, and can bear testimony to the
great value of your services to that
(Bell) estate."

Such a eulogy as that is so unusual
as to be almost unique. It leaves noth-
ing to be added.

239

LOUIS P. BOARDMAN

AFTER all, there Is nothing like
being prepared when one sets out

to accomplish some certain thing.

If a. man establish a grocery
business, he succeeds if he has trained
himself in this field and knows its pit-
falls beforehand; tie probably fails if
he does not know
them. It is much the
same in any line o f
work. The professions
— the doctor, the law-
yer — are particularly
required to prepare
themselves well if they
are to attain anything
other than a mediocre
success.

Louis P. Boardman
owes his achievements
as a lawyer largely to
the fact that when he .
had the opportunity to
study and learn the
rudiments of law he
took advantage of it.
The result was that
Mr. Boardman began
doing things immediately after he was
admitted to the bar. And he has been
doing things — big, important things —
ever since.

Born in 1874 at Reno, Nevada, Mr.
Boardman is the son of Judge W. M.
Boardman and Mariah (Harris) Board-
man. His father was prominent in
legal circles, both at the bar and on
the bench, and three of his four sons,
Louis P., Philip C. and Joseph Board-
man, have followed in his footsteps by
entering the profession also. The elder
Boardman was at one time district at-
torney for Washoe and Story counties,
Nevada, and later on was elected judge
for the same district.

When it came time for Louis P. Board-
man to seek an education he was placed
in the hands of private tutors in Reno.
Later on he went for a time to the State
University of Nevada at Reno, and
when about 16 years old came to Cali-
fornia with his parents. Soon after-
ward he entered the University of the

Pacific at Santa Clara, but when Stan-
ford University was opened at Palo
Alto he enrolled at the new institution
of learning as a member of its first
class. He was graduated from Stanford
with the degree of A. B.

Judge Boardman was at this time
practicing law in San
Francisco and the son
took up his legal stud-
ies in his father's of-
fices. Judge Boardman
was called away of-
tentimes to various
points in Northern Cal-
ifornia in the course
of his practice, and his
son on such occasions
carried on the routine
work here. This gave
him valuable experi-
ence along practical
lines, experience which
he soon was to turn to
account.

Louis P. Boardman
was admitted to the
bar in California and
almost immediately afterward repre-
sented Theodore Durrant, convicted of
murder, in Durrant's appeal to the
United States Supreme Court on a ques-
tion of constitutional law. The lower
court's ruling was affirmed by the
higher tribunal, but Mr. Boardman
was nevertheless complimented on the
able manner in which he had prepared
the plea.

Mr. Boardman's law practice is of a
general nature, though largely confined
to civil law. He has appeared a great
deal in probate matters and at present
represents the widow in the million-
dollar estate of the late George K. Por-
ter. This takes him to Los Angeles a.
great part of the time, although he
maintains his permanent offices in the
Crocker building, San Francisco.

In politics Mr. Boardman is a Re-
publican. He has not sought political
preferment, however, contenting him-
self merely with working on behalf of
his friends.
240

PHILIP C. BOARDMAN

THERE is such a thing as failing in
a business or professional career
because one does not realize that,
to attain anything worth while,
one must "stick close to the job." Pleas-
ures allure and the enticement is too
strong; or, perhaps, the mind and heart
are not in the work
and what seems pleas-
ure in itself to one man
appears as dull, grind-
ing labor to another.
Once a man lets his in-
terest wander he is al-
most foredoomed to
failure. He might as
well quit it all right
then.

All of which is but a
prelude to the state-
ment that one of the
main reasons Philip C.
Boardman has s u c -
ceeded in the practice
of law is that he real-
ized all this at the out-
set. When he entered
upon the study of his
profession he knew
that it would require
work — and plenty of it.
He was cognizant of the fact that years
of close application were before him,
and that if he were to make a name for
himself among his co-practitioners he
must "stick close to the job."

He has done so, and the results have
been most gratifying.

Mr. Boardman is a, native of Nevada.
He was born at Reno, January 14, 1883.
His father was Judge W. M. Boardman,
at one time district attorney for Washoe
and Story Counties, Nevada, and after-
ward district judge for the same judi-
cial division. He was eminently suc-
cessful in the law, both as a practi-
tioner and on the bench, and his sons
came naturally by their inclination for
a similar career. Mr. Boardman's mother
was Mariah (Harris) Boardman.

When it came time for Mr. Boardman
to seek an education he was sent to the
public schools of his home city. When
he was but 7 years old his parents
moved to California, living for a time
at Monterey and Pa^flc Grove.

In 1900 Philip C. Boardman was grad-
uated from the Monterey County High
School. He had long planned to follow
In his father's footsteps as a lawyer, as
well as In those of his elder brother,
Louis P. Boardman, who was at that

time associated in practice with Samuel
M. Shortridge. He began his law studies
in this office, where he remained for a
little more than two years. In the early
part of 1909, having taken the necessary
examinations and passed them, he was
admitted to practice in the State courts
of California by mo-
tion before the District
Court of Appeal, First
Appellate District. In
1911 he was admitted
also to the United
States District Court.

Immediately follow-
ing his admittance Mr.
Boardman began prac-
ticing alone, and he
has continued so until
now. His business is
of a general nature,
although the bulk of
his work is in civil
law. He has practiced
in every court in San
Francisco and has ap-
peared in a profes-
sional capacity also in
nearly every county of
California.

One of Mr. Board-
man's coups was his rejuvenation of
the Combined Oil Company, for which
he is general counsel. The concern's
property in the North Midway field
was, three years or so ago, in debt to
the extent of $100,000. Mr. Boardman
was retained to take charge of the situ-
ation, and he not only put the corpora-
tion entirely out of debt but he accumu-
lated for it assets which today are in
excess of a quarter of a million dollars.
This was another result of close appli-
cation, coupled with the ability to see
through and unravel a. complex prob-
lem, keeping in touch with all the
details as the matter worked itself out.
Although his political leanings are
toward the Republican party, Mr.
Boardman is a \ politician in no sense
other than that he is naturally inter-
ested in anything that affects the city
or the nation in which he lives and
works. He has never sought office, nor
has he been active politically except on
behalf of a friend whom he felt worthy
of the preferment sought.

His flourishing practice has also kept
Mr. Boardman too busy to take part in
matters of a social or fraternal nature
and he has done little along either line.
He Is unmarried.

241

GEORGE 0. BRADLEY

GEORGE OLIVER BRADLEY, chief
consulting engineer to- Colonel
Daniel C. Jackling, has designed
and constructed mining and met-
allurgical plants of a greater combined
tonnage capacity than has any other one
engineer in the world. And for Colonel
Jackling alone he has
built plants that will
exceed in capacity
those of any other Ave
metalliferous mining
interests in the world
put together.

Pew persons, per-
haps, aside from those
personally acquainted
with Mr. Bradley, or
those whose interests
lie in the mining or en-
gineering field, know
this, important fact.
And the reason they do
not know it is simply
that Mr. Bradley has
not told them. Work-
ing quietly and with-
out ostentation, stick-
ing close to his duties
and making them his
paramount interest, he
has shunned publicity
rather than sought it.

Arid these are the
very reasons why he
has been able to accomplish so much in
so comparatively few years.

Mr. Bradley is a native of Colorado.
He was born at Arvada January 17,
1867, the son of William C. Bradley, a
pioneer in the Western transportation
field, and Emily P. (Graves) Bradley.
After receiving his education in the
public schools of Golden, Colorado, Mr.
Bradley, while still a youth, served a
four years' apprenticeship in machinery
and mechanical engineering at Denver.

Immediately following this period of
training Mr. Bradley accepted a posi-
tion as draughtsman for the Moffat
mining properties at Leadville. Ever
since then he has been associated con-
stantly with the development and ad-
vancement of the mining industry in
the various districts of the country.

For eighteen years now Mr. Bradley
has been associated with Colonel Jack-
ling. Something like a , dozen years ago
began those famous experiments with
low-grade copper ores that marked a
new epoch in the growth of the coun-
try's copper production. Mr. Bradley
worked throughout that campaign
which , has placed Bingham, Utah, on
the map and made of the Utah Copper
Company one of the controlling factors
in the copper industry of the United
States.

At Bingham was discovered a verita-
ble mountain of low-grade porphyry.

The ore was comparatively easy to
mine, but a deterrent was found in the
inability of the miners to make the
working of the porphyry commercially
profitable. Some of the foremost min-
ing engineers of the nation declared
that the ores could not be made to pay.
At Copperton Mr.
Bradley designed and
built for the Utah Cop-
per Co. a 500-ton ex-
perimental reduction
plant. Here was taken
ore from Bingham,
nearby, and here, the
experiments were car-
ried on. Data collected
by means of these ex-
periments not only
made possible the
project for working
the Bingham ores, but
it was used in the con-
struction of a plant at
Garfield, Utah, with
12,000-ton daily capac-
ity. This plant is now
handling. 26,000 tons a
day.

The mine at Bing-
ham is today world-
famous. In character
it is unique. By reason
of the process which
makes it possible to
work with profit the low-grade ores, it
is also possible to mine with steam
shovels. Round and round the moun-
tain of ore the shovels have eaten their
way, lessening slowly but none the less
surely the vast mineral deposit.

Previous to all this, Mr. Bradley built
the plant of the Anaconda Copper Com-
pany in Montana. From there he went
to Bisbee, Arizona, and ere.cted the cop-
per converting plant of the Copper
Queen Consolidated Mining Company.
After the completion of this work there
followed the designing and building by
Mr. Bradley of the reduction works of
the Ray Consolidated Copper Company
in Arizona and of the Chino Copper
Company in New Mexico.

Following his construction of the
plant of the Butte & Superior Copper
Company, Ltd., at- Butte, Montana, Mr.
Bradley in 1912 went to Alaska and built
the works of the Alaska Gold Mines
Company. At the present time Mr.
Bradley is designing another gold re-
duction plant, one of 10,000 tons daily
capacity for the Alaska-Juneau Gold
Mining Company, a concern controlled
by San Francisco and New York in-
terests.

Through all these years Mr. Bradley
has worked early and late, without even
so much as a, vacation. Considering
this, his record is easily accounted
for.

242

HERBERT F. BRIGGS

IP diversified experience has anything
to do with a man's success — and al-
most anyone will aver that it does
have a lot to do with it — then Her-
bert F. Briggs should accomplish as
much in the practice of law as he accom-
plished in the ministry or in the world
of business. For he
has really seen life
from a great many an-
gles — seen it at its best
and at its worst, with
plenty of the mediocre
in between.

Ever since he was a
youth Mr. Briggs had
been attracted to the
law as a profession.
But his desire to be-
come a lawyer was
outweighed by another
desire, that to help men
who needed help. He
would have gone into
social service had such
a thing been as well
defined then as it is to-
day. But at that time
the church seemed ,to
him to be the only
medium through which
he could "work — so he
entered the church.

Mr. Briggs was born
March 16, 1866, at Sac-
ramento, California,
and his father, Martin Clock Briggs,
was a clergyman of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church. His mother was Ellen
(Green) Briggs, a native of New York
State. The elder Briggs came to San
Francisco on the vessel that brought
the news of California's admittance into
the Union.

The present Mr. Briggs was educated
in the Lincoln School of San Francisco,
having moved to this city with his par-
ents when he was- about 12 years old.
He was graduated from the Alameda
High School in 1884, and after attend-
ing for a time Evanston Academy -at
Evanston, 111., entered Northwestern
University of Evanston. He received
the degree of A. B. from this institu-
tion in 1889, and after three years in
the Boston University School of The-
ology was given the degree of S. T. B.
in 1892. The same year, by virtue of
independent study, he gained the degree
of A. M. from Northwestern.

By this time Mr. Briggs' plans for
entering the ministry had crystallized.
In 1890 he had entered the California
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, and in 1892 he formally en-
tered the ministry, although his final
ordination did not come until 1894. His
first pastorate was at Dos Gatos, Cali-
fornia. Three years he remained there,
but in 1895 was transferred to Santa
Cruz, where he served two years more.

At this juncture Mr. Briggs, desiring

to further his erudition the better to
equip himself for the work that was
to follow, spent a year and a half at
the University of Berlin, specializing in
New Testament Greek and theology.
Then he spent an unusually productive
period of six months reading theology
in the library of the
British Museum i n
London. He returned
home in 1899 to accept
the chair of New Test-
ament Greek in the
Iliff School of Theology
in Denver, but the next
year returned to the
California Conference.
Placed in charge of
the work of the City
Missionary Society of
San Francisco in 1900,
Mr. Briggs occupied the
position for one year,
or until 1901, when he
and his brother, A. H.
Briggs, were made
joint pastors of Cen-
tral M. E. Church,- San
Francisco. In 1903,
however, under .the
firm and honest convic-
tion that he could not
accomplish in the min-
istry what he desired
to accomplish he — and
his brother also — re-
signed in good standing and with-
drew.

For the succeeding five years Mr.
Briggs gained exceedingly valuable ex-
perience in the business world, along
various lines. During this period he
made a business trip around the world,
his journey taking him to Africa, Eng-
land, Australia, the Philippines, Japan,
China and Hawaii. By this time the
way was open for him to study law,
and he took advantage of it, pursuing
his work privately for three years.
He passed the examinations before the
District Court of Appeal and was ad-
mitted to the bar May 4, 1911.

Ever since then Mr. Briggs has been
practicing law independently. He con-
fines himself largely to civil law, with
very little criminal work, and most of
his practice is along probate and cor-
poration law lines.

Mr. Briggs is a Republican but not
active in politics, although he served as
a member of the Board of Library Trus-
tees of Berkeley and also as a member
of the Berkeley Board of Education.
He belongs to the Masonic order, San
Francisco Commandery No. 42, Knights
Templar, to the Elks and to the Beta
Theta Pi fraternity. He was married
August 6, 1892, in Evanston, 111., to Miss
Sara M. Foster. The couple have had
two sons, Arthur Foster Briggs, now
dead, and Herbert Mitchem Briggs,
aged 13.

243

WILLIAM H. BYINGTON, JR.

THE dealer in financial securities
occupies an important Place in the
business community. If he is ca-
pable, if he builds up his clientele
and gains the confidence of investors,
he may become one of the foremost
figures in industrial progress.

Land does not de-
velop itself; money is
needed to start colon-
ization going. Indus-
tries do not spring into
popular favor without
much preliminary la-
bor and exploitation
and the erection of
factories, and for all
this there is needed
capital. Everywhere
one turns one sees in-
dustries of a hundred
different natures
which, were it not for
proper financing, would
not, could not, exist.

William H. Bying-
ton, Jr., dealer in first
mortgage bonds and
consistent booster for
his native State, has
for the past decade de-
voted his time to the
financing of California
industrial projects.
When called upon to provide money for
a. meritorious business cause, he has
gone forth and secured it, no matter how
great a sum might be required. His
deals have run into the millions, and
not only from other sections of the
United States but from Europe has the
needed capital been brought.

Born August 29, 1S82, at Downieville,
Sierra County, Mr. Byington is the son
of William H. Byington and Nellie
Frances (McDonald) Byington. The
family removed to San Francisco in
1889 and Mr. Byington attended the
public schools of this city, being grad-
uated from Lowell High School in 1901.

In 1902 Mr. Byington entered the law
department of the United Railroads of
San Francisco as an adjuster of damage
claims. He remained with this corpo-
ration until 1907 when he became inter-
ested in the sale of bonds and entered
this new field, where he has since
mapped out his career.

At the outset Mr. Byington sold Cali-
fornia securities in New York, Boston
and Washington, D. C, as well as in
other Eastern financial centers. • This
necessitated his traveling a, good
deal.

In 1909 he was retained by a group
of developers to inspect a large tract of
delta land in San Joaquin County. He
did so, and on his advice a corporation
was organized and began the develop-
ment, following out Mr. Byington's

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ideas as to the financial procedure.
This project represented something like
$1,750,000.

The next big deal came in 1911, when
Mr. Byington, on behalf of certain Cali-
fornia investors, went to Washington,
D. C, and offered Truxtun Beale
$3,000,000 for his fa-
mous 275,000-acre Te-
jon ranch in Kern and
Los Angeles Counties.
Mr. Byington had raised
the money and was
ready to close the deal
at once; but Mr. Beale
refused the offer and
the plan was stifled.

The same year Mr.
Byington branched out
and became interested
in oil securities. In the
same Eastern field in
which he had started
out he sold first mort-
gage bonds of produc-
ing California oil com-
panies, at the same
time handling other
strong industrial secu-
rities as he had done
from the first. His oil
operations lasted until
1913. Since then he has
handled other high-
class bonds in various sections of the
country, while maintaining offices in
San Francisco.

The great European war, which has
been so universally disastrous to the
financing of American business schemes,
also had its effect upon the operations
of Mr. Byington. He was forced to halt
two big deals, although they will un-
doubtedly be carried through to a suc-
cessful conclusion when the situation
gets back to normal again.

Mr. Byington, in one of these deals,
brought French capital here for the
purpose of a large development project
in the San Joaquin Valley. There is
involved $2,500,000. French representa-
tives were here from Paris to bring the
matter to a close, but were forced by
the war to return home.

Mr. Byington has invested heavily in
California lands and securities on his
own account, being a firm believer in
the stability and future of the State.
Professionally, he has confined his ef-
forts in the past few years to placing
high-grade first mortgage bonds on the
Pacific Coast and through the Eastern
States.

In 1907 Mr. Byington was married in
San Francisco to Celia Breitstein and
has one daughter, Virginia, aged 5
years. He confines his social activities
largely to membership in the Olympic
Club.

244

RUSSELL W. CANTRELL

WHEN the fire of April, 1906,
swept over San Francisco, all
but razing the city to the
ground, it destroyed, along
with hundreds of others, the business of
Russell W. Cantrell, who at that time
conducted the Sterling Jewelry Com-
pany. It also marked
a turning point in Mr.
Cantrell's life and ca-
reer.

For some time be-
fore the conflagration
Mr. Cantrell had been
planning to take up
the study of law. The
fire decided him. From
then on he was deter-
mined he would carry
his stock in trade "un-
der his hat," where It
would be at. least com-
paratively safe. Ac-
cordingly he studied,
was admitted to the
bar, began practic-
ing — and more and
more each year since
has he had cause to
congratulate himself
on the change.

Mr. Cantrell is a. na-
tive of San Francisco. He was born
August 28, 1881, the son of Joseph B.
Cantrell, who was in the mercantile
business here, and Catherine T. (Shea)
Cantrell. He attended the public
schools and in 1898 was graduated from
the San Francisco Polytechnic High
School.

By this time Mr. Cantrell was look-
ing forward to one day becoming an
attorney at law. He was restrained
from entering the profession at once,
however, by the advice of his father,
who believed that no man can under-
stand the law thoroughly unless he be
at least 25 years old. This view was
the same as that of a. chief justice of
the Supreme Court, who had himself
abided by.it and whose own career he
offered as proof of his argument.

At the time he left school Mr. Can-
trell was still a youth. In casting
about for something to occupy his time
until the right moment for a law ca-
reer should be at hand he saw an op-
portunity as traveling salesman for a,
firm of diamond importers. He em-
braced the chance and for the next
seven or eight years traveled about on
the Pacific Coast, from Alaska as far
south as Mexico. This gave him a

broad experience in business, which has
since proved extremely useful to him.

In 1905 Mr. Cantrell launched the
Sterling Jewelry Company, dealing in
imported diamonds, fine watches and
jewelry, and continuing so until the
wiping out of stock and store by the
fire. Before the end of
the same year he en-
tered Stanford Univer-
sity, where he special-
ized in law. Two years
later, after accom-
plishing a three-year
course — by dint of
close application and
by attending the sum-
mer sessions at the
University of Califor-
nia — in two, he re-
turned to San Fran-
cisco, took the bar ex-
amination and was ad-
mitted to practice.

During his second
year at college Mr.
Cantrell paid his own
"way by working as an
expert accountant for
a number of mercantile
firms. He had taken
up accountancy imme-
diately after leaving high school and
had perfected himself in it.

Mr. Cantrell has had practically no
practice in the criminal courts. He
has confined himself to civil law, spe-
cializing in corporation and like work.
He also has appeared in numerous cases
in the probate courts. At present he
represents a son of "William A. Nivells, a
pioneer miner of Amador and Trinity
Counties who died in 1912 leaving an
estate supposed to be worth something
in the neighborhood of a million
dollars. A contest of Nivells' will
is shortly to be brought to trial.
Mr. Cantrell is general counsel for a
number of real estate and other cor-
porations.

What with the stress of his legal
practice, Mr. Cantrell has not found
time to be active in politics, although
he is a stanch supporter of the Demo-
cratic cause, and belongs to the Iroquois
Club. He also holds membership in the
San Francisco Bar Association, the San
Francisco Commercial Club and the Na-
tional Union.

Mr. Cantrell was married February 22,
1908, in San Francisco to Miss Louise
Bacigalupi. His home is at 2201 Lar-
kin street.

245

THOMAS A. CASHIN

ON December 28, 1912, when the first
street car was operated on the
Geary street line of the Municipal
Railways, the new traction enter-
prise boasted of but 10.90 miles of single
track roadway, 9 cars and 56 employes
of all kinds. During the four remain-
ing days of the first
month the receipts to-
taled $3,300.60.

On July 1, 1915, a lit-
tle more than two
years and a half later,
the Municipal Rail-
ways "was operating
over about 44 miles of
single track, and had
168 large type and 29
small type cars and
850 employes of all
classes. The first four
days of the month
brought into the cor-
poration's coffers $26,-
096.50.

"When one considers
that the Municipal
Railway system was
placed almost at once
on a paying basis un-
der the management of
Superintendent Thom-
as A. Cashin, there is
reflected on Mr. Cashin
not a little honor and
credit. In fact the suc-
cess of the municipal enterprise, which
has attracted world-wide attention, is
attributed in a large degree to Superin-
tendent Cashin's practical experience
and his unremitting efforts toward en-
largement and betterment of the city of
San Francisco's project.

Thomas A. Cashin is a native of San
Francisco. He was born here June 19,
1879, the son of D'Arcy M.. Cashin, min-
ing promoter and at one time engaged
in the ice and cold storage business, and
of Kate E. (Taylor) Cashin. Mr. Cashin
attended the grammar schools, the Boys'
High School and the Polytechnic High
School, afterward studying law in the
office of A. P. Van Duzer. This was in
1897.

A year and a half later a combination
of circumstances made it imperative
that Mr. Cashin give up his studies and
look for a lucrative position. He be-
came a clerk in the office of the sec-
retary of the Los Angeles Street Rail-
way Company, located in San Francisco,
and in the next three years stored up his
first experience in street railway work.
A better opportunity then presenting
itself, Mr. Cashin went with the old
Market Street Railway Company in the
capacity of stenographer and time-
keeper in the maintenance of way and
construction department. From this he
went into the accounting department,
later becoming material clerk in charge
of all materials, and finally became as-
sistant engineer of way and construc-
tion.

In 1909 another opportunity for ad-

vancement was placed before him. This
was the superintendency of the Fresno
Traction Company at Fresno, Califor-
nia, and Mr. Cashin accepted. Here his
capability and progressiveness mani-
fested itself and he soon had gained an
enviable reputation as a practical di-
rector of street rail-
way affairs. The re-
sult was that when the
Municipal Railways of
San Francisco became
a reality, railway ex-
perts recommended Mr.
Cashin as superintend-
ent and he was ap-
pointed such October 7,
1912.

And let it be said
here that the appoint-
ment was not involved
wi,th politics in any
way. Mr. Cashin is a
Republican but he is
not a politician. He
stood on his record, as
he stands today, was
chosen for the place
from among six aspi-
rants and at the time
of his appointment
knew none of the Su-
pervisors nor was he
acquainted even with
Mayor Rolph.

Starting in with
practically nothing, Superintendent
Cashin has built up the Municipal Rail-
ways in a remarkable manner. In the
first year of its operation the Geary
street road paid into the city treasury
the total profit above all expenditures
of $85,345.80.

The Geary street line, which orig-
inally ran from Geary and Market
streets to 33rd avenue and Geary and
to 10th avenue and Fulton, was ex-
tended to the Ferry and to the beach.
Then was added the Van Ness avenue
line to the exposition, then the Stockton
street line, the Columbus avenue, the '
Presidio and Ferries, the California
street and the Chestnut street, the latter
skirting the exposition.

San Francisco's Municipal Railways
probably hold the record in the United
States for rapid and substantial growth.
Today the road is in a healthy financial
condition, and in fact it has never known
a deficit. Its accounts are kept abso-
lutely according to the system pre-
scribed by the Interstate Commerce
Commission and approved by the State
Railway Commission, and it is run on a
strictly civil service basis. After indi-
cating what the road would pay in taxes
and other expenses if privately owned,
it is still shown that it is making money.
Already it has redeemed $101,000 worth
of its outstanding bonds.

Mr. Cashin, the superintendent, be-
longs to the Elks, the Fresno Sequoia
Club and the Indoor Yacht, Transporta-
tion and Olympic Clubs of San Fran-
cisco. He is unmarried.

246

JOHN BERTRAND CLAYBERG

FORTY strenuous years has Judge
John Bertrand Clayberg spent as a
member of the legal fraternity —
forty years that have brought to
him manifold honors and a varied ex-
perience. One-time chief of the Su-
preme Court Commission of Montana, he
is also considered an
expert on mining and
irrigation laws and for
years has lectured on
those subjects in some
of the leading univer-
sities of the country.

Judge Clayberg was
born October 8, 1853,
at Cuba, Illinois. His
father was George
Clayberg, a farmer,
and his mother Eliza-
beth (Baughman)
Clayberg. He was
educated in the public
schools of his birth-
place and in 1875 was
awarded the degree of
LiLi. B. by the Univer-
sity of Michigan. From
1874 until 1876 he was
in the office of Thomas
M. Cooley of Ann Ar-
bor, the eminent judge
and author and at
that time dean of the
law department of the
University of Michi-
gan, employed in writ-
ing notes and preparing memoranda for
Judge Cooley's works on Taxation and
Torts, which have been considered au-
thority on those subjects for many
years. He was admitted to the bar at
Ann Arbor March 20, 1875.

Upon leaving Judge Cooley's office,
Judge Clayberg opened law offices in
Lansing-, Michigan, in partnership with
S. L. Kilbourne. A year later he re-
moved to Alpena, Michigan, and formed
a partnership with Robert J. Kelley.
This continued five years, when it was
dissolved and Judge Clayberg went into
association with George H. Sleator.

In the fall of 1884 Judge Clayberg
came west to Helena, Montana, and
became a law partner of Thomas H.
Carter. When Carter went to Congress,
in 1889, Judge Clayberg formed a new
association with N. W. McConnell, Chief
Justice of the Montana Supreme Court.
The same year, 1889, Judge Clayberg
was honored by the appointment, com-
ing from Governor Preston B. Leslie,
to the office of Attorney General of
the Territory of Montana.

After admitting to the partnership
M. S. Gunn, Judge Clayberg's firm in
1894 opened a branch office in Butte.
Then followed various changes until
September, 1912, when Judge Clayberg
removed to San Francisco, where he
continues to practice in partnership
with Welles Whitmore.

Judge Clayberg has appeared in vari-
ous cases of great importance, particu-
larly in Montana. He was in the famous
Drum-Lummoh mining litigation, which
was litigated most vigorously by many
prominent mining lawyers of the United

States for twenty-seven years, and dif-
ferent phases of which went to the
United States Supreme Court six or
seven times. In this litigation the Su-
preme Court finally established many
important points in mining law. He
also was in the A. J. Davis will case
at Butte, wherein was
involved an estate val-
ued at about $10,000,-
000. Bob Ingersoll was
associated with him as
one of the attorneys.
This litigation extend-
ed over 22 years and in
its various phases was
before the Supreme
Court of Montana some
ten or twelve times.
Several millions of dol-
lars also was involved
in the long drawn-out
litigation between F.
Augustus Helnze and
the Amalgamated Cop-
per Company, covering
a period of ten years.
During this entire
litigation Judge Clay-
berg was counsel for
Heinze.

In 1903 Judge Clay-
berg was appointed
chief of the Supreme
Court Commission of
Montana, which was
organized for the pur-
pose of assisting the Supreme Court in
deciding a great accumulation of cases
and in clearing its calendar. During the
two-year existence of this commission
Judge Clayberg wrote some 87 of the
opinions of this court, which may be
found in volumes 28 to 32 of the Mon-
tana reports.

In 1891 Judge Clayberg was called
to lecture on mining law in the law
department of his alma mater, Univer-
sity of Michigan, and for 24 years con-
tinued as non-resident lecturer there.
About 1903 he added to his course lec-
tures on irrigation law. He also lec-
tured on mining law at Columbia
University, and from 1903 to 1905 at
the Montana School of Mines at < Butte".
He gave Stanford University a course
of lectures on extra-lateral rights in
1913, and in 1914 lectured on the Drum-
Lummon mining litigation before the
law department of the University of
California. By invitation, he read pa-
pers on the law of "Percolating Water"
before the San Francisco Bar Associa-
tion. He is the author of the article on
"Mines and Minerals" published in the
Cyclopaedia of Law and Procedure
(commonly known as "Cyc"), which is
considered as authority on the subjects.
He has contributed liberally to legal
publications for the past quarter of a
century.

Judge Clayberg organized a law de-
partment at the University of Montana
in 1911 and was made honorary dean,
filling the chair of mining law and
code pleadings until 1912. He is still
consulting dean and lecturer on mining
law for the institution.

247

ALFRED AUSTEN COHEN

THE province of an attorney at
law is Just as he himself defines
it. He may restrict himself to
the preparation and trial of le-
gal issues after the controversy has
reached the point where only a court
can settle it; he may act, rather, in
an advisory capacity,
with the idea of fore-
stalling lawsuits or of
compromising without
going into court at all
— or he may make of
himself a combination
of lawyer and business
promoter, thereby as-
suming a double role.

Alfred Austen Cohen
has extended his oper-
ations as an attorney
so as to include all of
these. When he was
but 21 years old he or-
ganized and financed
the Jamaica Storage
Warehouse Company
in New York City,
with $100,000 capital
stock, fully paid up.
Within the past year
he has promoted suc-
cessfully the $1,000,000
Independent Ice & Cold
Storage Company of San Francisco,
which bids fair to become one of the
largest corporations of its kind on the
Pacific Coast.

Born November 4, 1S86, in New York
City, Mr. Cohen is the son of Koppel
Cohen, a builder, and Anne (Rosenthal)
Cohen. He attended the public schools
and the Jamaica High School of New
York City, and from there went to the
law school of the University of Denver.
After about a year at this institution he
continued his studies at the Brooklyn
Law School of St. Lawrence University,
Brooklyn, N. Y., and finished the course
in 1907.

It was just after he finished school
that Mr. Cohen, seeing the opportunity
to launch a warehouse enterprise, or-
ganized the Jamaica Storage Ware-
house Company, of which he became
president and general manager. In the
succeeding four years he became prom-
inent in this field of business, being a
member of the executive committee of
the New York Furniture Warehouse-
men's Association. He still represents,
in a legal way, a number of warehouse
concerns, and occasionally writes legal
opinions on such matters for storage
warehouses all over the country.

In 1911 Mr. Cohen came to Nevada and
was admitted to the bar in October of
that year before the Supreme Court at
Carson City. A few days later he gained

admittance also before the Supreme
Court of California at Sacramento. He
practiced at Reno, however, until June
1, 1913, when he came to San Francisco
and opened offices here. While in Ne-
vada he was attorney for a number of
corporations, among them the Union Oil
Company and the Pa-
cine Telephone & Tele-
graph Company. He is
at present general
counsel for several
corporations in this
city, and also is the le-
gal representative of
the San Francisco
Property Owners' As-
sociation.

After a year of pre-
liminary work and ne-
gotiations, Mr. Cohen
caused to be incorpo-
rated June 4, 1915, the
Independent Ice & Cold
Storage Company, by
the aid of Eastern cap-
ital. The capitalization
of $1,000,000 is fully
paid up and the con-
cern will begin actual
operations as soon as
its factory is com-
pleted. At the outset
the company will confine itself largely
to a. development of the local mar-
ket, but later on it will extend its
business throughout the State. It ex-
pects to offer strong competition in
the manufacturing and sale of ice and
in the maintenance and operation of
cold storage warehouses. Mr. Cohen is
a director of the new corporation and
its general attorney.

Mr. Cohen is a member of the San
Francisco Bar Association, the San
Francisco Commercial Club, the New
York Society of California and of the
Independent Order of B'nai B'rith. He
was married in San Francisco April 21,
1915, to Edna B. Sonnenfeld, daughter
of Abraham and Ida Meyer Brown, and
resides at the Richelieu Hotel. His of-
fices are in the Insurance Exchange
building.

Although he may be classed among
the younger generation of San Fran-
cisco attorneys, Mr. Cohen has already
carved out for himself a career that
many older members of his profession
might well envy. He has found a happy
combination of abilities. He was long
enough in business to learn its tenets
as thoroughly as he has learned those
of the profession of the law. And with
such a "stock in trade," many more big
things — things that ultimately will
prove a great benefit to the communi-
ty — may well be expected of him.

248

FRANCIS M. COLVIN

ALL the world admires a self-made
man. The one who fights his way
alone against adversity in hew-
ing out a career has certain at-
tributes not found in the individual
who gets assistance over the rough
places. And they are attributes which
have much to do with
our civilization.

Had Francis Marion
Colvin, San Francisco
attorney, been over-
chary in his youth of
soiling his hands with
work or of burning the
midnight oil over some
volume of learning —
this story probably
would not be told. But
he was not, so long
as he gained the end
he sought.

Francis M. Colvin
was born March 21,
1870, on a farm in Os-
wego County, New
York, son of John C.
Colvin and Susan B.
(Wallace) Colvin. The
winter months found
him at school and the
summer months he
spent helping his
father till the farm.
Time that might have
been passed in play he
employed in clearing land and plowing,
and hauling tan-bark and railroad ties
with an ox team. Thus he learned, when
still a mere boy, what it meant to
work for what he received. At times
he "hired out" as farm hand to neigh-
bors. The job always was tough, the
pay always slight; but ■what pennies
he could spare went for books, which
he read with avidity.

How hard earned was Mr. Colvin's
money may be illustrated by a story.
One winter there was an unusually
heavy snowfall and the snow banked
up five or six feet deep on the school-
house and outbuildings. Fearing it
would cause damage the school trustees
employed young Colvin to shovel it off.
The work was difficult, the climbing
dangerous; but the boy accomplished
it satisfactorily, whereupon he received
— twenty-five cents. And to collect the
money he had to walk twelve miles
through the snow for an order from
the school clerk, return it to the trus-
tees for their signatures, take it back
to the clerk to be signed by him, then
present it to the school treasurer for
payment!

When thirteen years old Mr. Colvin
left home to make his own way. He
continued attending school and work-
ing at odd jobs, by which he managed
to support himself. At fifteen he began
a course at Leonardsville Academy,
Leonardsville, New York, working his
way through in three years. He spe-
cialized in pedagogy, and after passing

the examinations was, at the age of
eighteen, a licensed school teacher. His
first school was at Fast Winfleld, New
York, where he taught a year, then re-
moved to Nebraska and taught there
another year. The Far West attracted
him and he went to Western Washing-
ton, where he taught
eight years more.

Mr. Colvin was es-
sentially of that
sturdy type of school-
master who sets an
example of thrift as
well as of conduct be-
fore his pupils. Dur-
ing the vacation
period he worked the
harder. One year he
donned overalls and
secured a place as la-
borer on the grading
of the C. B. & Q. Rail-
road in Nebraska. An-
other he labored in a
brickyard; again he
lived the rough life of
the logging camp; and
still again he pushed a
wheelbarrow on the
grade of the Seattle,
Lake Shore & Eastern
Railroad. In Wash-
ington he successfully
handled real estate and
insurance as a side
line and one year, between school sea-
sons, pursued the same work in San
Francisco.

Where there is a determination to
succeed, there usually is a way. Mr.
Colvin found it by taking up two
Government claims of 320 acres, one
a homestead. The latter was in the
midst of a dense forest four miles
from the nearest neighbor and in order
to perfect his title Mr. Colvin was
obliged to build a cabin and live there.
He broke a trail through virtually
primeval woods and spent upward of
six years in this sylvan retreat. There
was where the plucky schoolmaster
really learned the value of good books
as companions. Carrying his books
into the woods on his back he delved
into them, gaining a thorough knowl-
edge of general literature. At the same
time he became an expert woodsman
and horseman.

Abandoning teaching in 1898, Mr. Col-
vin traveled for a year selling furni-
ture. His spare moments he had spent
studying law. In 1899 he became a
student in the office of John W. James
of Anaconda, Montana, working in the
copper mills to pay his way. Subse-
quently he attended Northern Indiana
University, graduated and entered the
law department of Yale, which awarded
him his LL.B. in June, 1905. After
several months of special study he was
admitted to the bar in California in
1906 and has since practiced law in San
Francisco with ever-increasing success.

S49

HENRY LYSANDER CORSON

IP a man is to accomplish anything
in his struggle with the world, he
must have the hacking of capital,
which may be either money or a
certain amount of "mother wit." Just
how much capital, and what sort, is
required to attain success depends
largely upon the man
himself. Some men
have been enabled to
get a start with as lit-
tle as a dollar; in the
case of some others,
ten thousand dollars
would not be half
enough.

When Henry Lysan-
der Corson, now a San
Francisco attorney at
law, started out to se-
cure a practical educa-
tion in the D i r i g o
Business College at
Augusta, Maine, his
father gave him $100.
Thereafter he made his
own way, teaching
school that he might
attend school, and
otherwise bestirring
himself for a liveli-
hood.

Mr. Corson was born
on a farm in Canaan,
Maine, July 26, 1870.
His parents were Ly-
sander Hartwell Cor-
son and Susan C. (Mor-
rison) Corson and was the youngest of
a family of seven, nearly all of whom
came to California in the early days
and still reside here.

Following his early education in the
public schools of Canaan, Mr. Corson
went to Augusta to attend business col-
lege. When he was graduated from
this institution, in 1889, he was plan-
ning on a business career, but six
months as a baker's employe caused
him to change his mind and to de-
cide that his education was incom-
plete.

Mr. Corson was naturally precocious
in his books. He had not been enabled
to attend school between the age of 13
and 17, but when he did get the op-
portunity he took full advantage of it.
He attended East Corinth Academy at
Bast Corinth, Maine, for a time, then
taught for about a year in country
schools, two terms at Skowegan and
one term at Clinton. Wishing to pre-
pare himself for college he entered Hig-
gins' Classical Institution at Charles-
ton, largely because a school teacher of
his youth was then principal there. He
was graduated from Higgins' in 1892
with the college preparatory degree,
being one of the Institution's first
alumni.

Finances — or, rather, the lack of
them — still stood between Mr. Corson
and the coveted college , course. To
overcome this he went back to teach-
ing. For a year he was principal of
the high school at New Vineyard,

Maine, thereafter accepting a better
position as principal of the Standish,
Maine, high school, and after another
year going to a still better post as prin-
cipal of the high school at York Har-
bor, Maine. Then, being in a position
to carry out his plans, he matriculated
at Colby College of
Waterville, Maine,
which graduated him
in 1898 with the degree
of A. B. While in col-
lege Mr. Corson be-
came a member of the
Chi Chapter of the
Zeta Psi fraternity,
and was particular-
ly active in student
affairs. His class was
the largest that had
ever entered Colby up
to that time, and it
carried away with it
more championships of
various kinds than any
preceding class. Al-
though not an athlete
himself, Mr. Corson
was elected general
manager of the college
athletics for a year.
He managed the foot-
ball team of '97, which,
for the first time in
Colby's history, over-
came every eleven in
sight, losing not a sin-
gle game.
Leaving Colby, Mr. Corson began his
study of the law in the offices of Ed-
mund F. Webb of Waterville, then one
of the best-known lawyers in Maine.
Soon afterward Mr. Webb died, and
Senator Charles F. Johnson took over
his offices. With him Mr. Corson con-
tinued his studies until he was ad-
mitted to the bar before the Supreme
Court of Maine at Bath on August 28,

1900, after which he practiced his pro-
fession in Waterville for about a year.

In 1901 Mr. Corson came west to Cal-
ifornia and was married February 21,

1901, to Miss Eva Carolyn Shorey of
Oakland, who was, and still is, well
known as a singer. He was admitted to
the practice of law in California May
4, 1901, and a month or so later opened
offices in San Francisco, where he has
continued in general law practice ever
since, with considerable corporation and
probate work. Today he is president
and general counsel of the Gold Star
Mining Co., general counsel for the
King Placer Mining Co., and has been
counsel for the Knights of the Mac-
cabees. He is past-president of the
State of Maine Society of California
and a member of the Iroquois Club, has
held various offices in the fraternal or-
ders of the Masons, Druids and Macca-
bees, and is a Knights Templar.

Mr. Corson is a nephew of the late
Dighton Corson, a renowned lawyer,
once Attorney General of Nevada and
later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
of South Dakota.

250

JOSEPH B. CORYELL

FOR more than a quarter of a cen-
tury Joseph Belleau Coryell has
been a part of the business life of
San Francisco and California.
Starting' in in a small way, he has ad-
vanced step by step until today his in-
terests are among- the most important
in the State. And he
has acquired them all
by keen foresight,
close application and
the ability to grasp an
opportunity when it
appeared to him.

When the late E. H.
Harriman, some years
ago, was just begin-
ning to extend his
holdings in the West,
and at a time when he
.needed a representa-
tive of proved ability
on this coast, he chose
Mr. Coryell as the man
for the place. Subse-
quently Mr. Coryell did
much valuable work
for the railroad mag-
nate. One of the direct
results was that' he
was offered the pres-
idency of a railroad,
but this he declined,
preferring to devote
himself to his private
projects. He is still in-
terested in Harriman
affairs.

A native of San Francisco, Mr. Coryell
was born June 4, 1871. His father was
Dr. John R. Coryell, at one time a wide-
ly-known physician, and his mother
was Zoe Christine (Belleau) Coryell.

Following his education Mr. Coryell,
after casting about for a bit, looking
over the field with an eye to the future,
decided that the real estate business of-
fered unusual advantages. Accordingly
he opened a real estate office in San
Francisco in 1888. Real estate has been
his forte ever since, although he had
branched out in a number of other di-
rections as an investor.

In the course of his activities Mr.
Coryell began pondering over the prob-
able growth of the city and the direc-
tions in which it was most likely to ex-
pand. Land that he believed to be well
situated he acquired, and it was not
long before his prognostications began
coming true. Today he owns more spur-
track property than any other man in
San Francisco.

It is largely by reason of his opera-
tions on Islais Creek, however, that
Mr. Coryell has become locally famous
for his keen business foresight. "Nerve"
is the only word that expresses the
opinion of San Francisco financiers and
realty dealers when first they saw Mr.
Coryell begin the acquirement of the
blocks of mud flats on the south side of
Islais Creek. No man, they reasoned,
could possibly risk his money on those
unsightly swamps unless he were pos-
sessed of colossal nerve.

This Mr. Coryell had, without doubt.
And the very ones who declared at the;
time that the future was too uncertain
to risk such an investment, have long
since expressed their complete respect
for the wisdom of the man; for the
new San Francisco harbor project on
Islais Creek has be-
come a reality, for
which condemnations
have been carried on
under what is known
as the India Basin Act
by the State of Cali-
fornia.

With his wonderful
foresight Mr. Coryell
saw, what everyone
else seemed blind to,
that nowhere else on
the San Francisco wa-
terfront were there
lands available in the
future for manufac-
turing purposes. He
saw, too, that the ter-
minal building opera-
tions of the three
great transcontinental
railroads entering Cal-
ifornia must, of neces-
sity, group themselves
about Islais Creek
especially since the
franchise for the
Southern Pacific and
the Santa Fe's joint
line on Kentucky
street bound the two railroads to build
a steel drawbridge over the Islais chan-
nel on demand.

He could not overlook this assembling
of railroad terminal facilities in the
heart of the only waterfront land left
in San Francisco available for factory
purposes; nor that the interests around
Islais Creek, railroad, lumber and the
like, already established, were going to
demand the clearing and deepening of
that waterway. Here was in sight a
combination of land and water shipping
facilities unequaled anywhere. To a
far-seeing man like Mr. Coryell the pos-
sibilities were obvious.

He had the nerve to back his judg-
ment and the initiative to put it into ef-
fect. He was alone in both. He is the
only man who has spent his money to
improve lands on San Francisco's wa-
terfront in anticipation of the coming
large influx of manufacturers. And as
a result of his purchases on Islais Creek
he is now the largest individual owner
of waterfront sites in San Francisco,
and the owner of the only waterfront
property now available for factories.
No one else owns any free waterfront
property in this city. All the rest is
held either by the State, the city or by
private corporations which are making
use of it.

To men of stanch hearts and un-
swerving loyalty and hope — men like
Joseph B. Coryell — San Francisco owes
her bigger and better existence as the
metropolis of the West.

251

JOHN HAMMOND CRABBE

NOWHERE, perhaps, can one
crowd so much varied experience
into so short a period as in the
newspaper "game." Becoming
familiar, as one does, with every walk
of life, seeing men with all their foibles
and hidden characteristics bared to the
gaze — no wonder such
a profession makes for
worldly wisdom. And
by virtue of this wis-
dom does it generally
make for success in
another sphere later
on.

John Hammond
Crabbe, attorney at
law, rounded out his
education by a turn in
the newspaper busi-
ness. For 14 months
he was city editor of
the Chico Daily Enter-
prise and for 8 months
more a reporter on the
Woodland Mail; he still
is a newspaper man in
a way, for since 1905
he has held credentials
of the Northern Press
Syndicate.

Born October 14,
1880, at Charlottetown,
Prince Edward Island,
Mr. Crabbe is the son
of William and Lavinia
Emily (Prowse)
Crabbe. In 1884 he
came with his parents to California
and later attended school at Nimshew,
Butte County. Subsequently the family
removed to a place on Butte Creek and
Mr. Crabbe was obliged to ride horse-
back about seven miles over two
mountain ranges to West Branch school
in Big Chico Canyon. Moving again in
1896 to Chico, Mr. Crabbe was graduated
from the grammar schools in 1900 and
entered the Chico State Normal, fin-
ishing in January, 1905. To pay his
own way, he worked in the saw mills
during vacation. He was very active
during his Normal course. He was
captain of the football, baseball and
basketball teams; member of the track
team; president of the associated stu-
dent body and of the Ilakawinn De-
bating Society; delegate to the Sacra-
mento Valley Interscholastic Athletic
League; editor of the Normal Record
and for a year Normal reporter on the
Chico Enterprise.

Also, during four years, Mr. Crabbe
was a member of Company A, Second
Regiment Infantry, National Guard of
California, and as such served a month
in Oakland and San Francisco follow-
ing the 1906 Are. He served seven
years with the Chico Volunteer Fire
Department and for a year was its
foreman, as "well as member of the
hose team that held the State record
for racing. He received a certificate
of exemption from engine company
No. 2.

In March, 1907, after two years as a
newspaper man, Mr. Crabbe came to
San Francisco and took a course in
stenography from the San Francisco

Business College. After several months
in mercantile establishments he was
employed, in February, 1908, as ste-
nographer and law clerk for John
O'Gara, then assistant district attorney.
He studied law at odd moments and in
the evenings and was admitted to the
bar May 13, 1910, in the
District Court of Ap-
peal in San Fran-
cisco. He was ad-
mitted to the U. . S.
District and Circuit
Courts May 14, 1910.
Until January, 1912, he
practiced and at the
same time acted as
clerk for leading law-
yers of the city. He
then opened offices for
himself at 947 Pacific
building.

Mr. Crabbe confines
himself largely to civil
practice, particularly
probate and contract
law. He has been re-
tained in several cases
of note; within five
years after beginning
practice he was re-
tained by one side or
the other in personal
injury damage suits
aggregating more than
$100,000. He was one
of the two attorneys
who represented La-
vinia Crabbe, as administratrix of the
estate of William R. Crabbe, in a dam-
age suit against the Mammoth Channel
Gold Mining Company, in which a Butte
County jury awarded a unanimous
verdict of $20,000, the largest personal
injury damages ever given in the
County. The case was the first prose-
cuted under the Workman's Compensa-
tion law.

Another hard-fought case in which
Mr. Crabbe was employed was that in-
volving the competency of Mrs. Louella
Noonan Stapleton. Mr. Crabbe and his
associates, after an eight-day jury trial
in San Francisco, succeeded in restoring
to competency their client, "who owned
property worth about $100,000. He is
also one of the attorneys in an impor-
tant will contest pending in Buchanan
County, Missouri, and in a similar ac-
tion pending before the Superior Court
of San Diego County, California.

Mr. Crabbe has traveled extensively,
professionally and for pleasure. He is
prominent in the Masons, belonging to
King Solomon's Lodge No. 260, F. & A.
M.; King Solomon's Chapter No. 95, R.
A. M.; California Commandery No. 1, K.
T. ; and Islam Temple of Shriners; he
holds membership also in the San Fran-
cisco Bar Association, California State
Automobile Association, American
Automobile Association, Mentor Asso-
ciation and the Betsy Ross Memorial
Association of Philadelphia. He is a
lover of the best in literature, art and
music and enjoys motoring as a relaxa-
tion. He was married in San Francisco
in 1908 to Mary Freeman Armstrong.

252

CHARLES H. CROCKER

THE correct way thoroughly to
learn a business or profession is
to start in at the bottom and
work one's way upward until the
highest pinnacle is attained. The man
who does this is reasonably certain that
when he at length reaches the goal he
will be able to main-
tain himself there; the
man who gets there by
the money or influence
route is, on the other
hand, as the insurance
agent would say, a de-
cidedly bad risk.

When H. S. Crocker,
founder of the flourish-
ing publishing and sta-
tionery house of H. S.
Crocker Company, in-
troduced into the busi-
ness his son, Charles
Henry Crocker, he en-
couraged the young
man to begin right at
the beginning and work
his way up. Charles
H. Crocker heeded the
advice and followed it.
Today he is at the head
of the business.

Mr. Crocker was born
August 29, 1865, at
Sacramento, in whose
public schools he re-
ceived his early train-
ing. When nine years old he came to
San Francisco with his parents and at-
tended the public schools of this city,
matriculating in 1883 at the University
of California. He was graduated in 1887
with the degree of A. B. His business
training began at once.

The house of Crocker was established
in 1856 at Sacramento. In 1872 the
San Francisco branch was opened and
gradually the branch outgrew the
parent establishment, although the lat-
ter is still maintained. In 1890 the
business was incorporated under the
name of H. S. Crocker Company. In
1912 the stationery and publishing con-
cern of Cunningham, Curtiss & Welch
of San Francisco and Los Angeles was
purchased. This gives the Crocker
company three houses, those at San
Francisco and Sacramento under its
own name and that at Los Angeles re-
taining the name of Cunningham, Cur-
tiss & Welsh Company.

At the outset the present Mr. Crocker
became an apprentice in his father's
lithographing department. There was
no favoritism shown him, no lessening
of his work because he was the pro-
prietor's son. Successively, he passed
through the printing, binding, en-
graving and stationery branches, then
gained experience as a clerk and at
length, proving his general capability,
was elected one of the company di-
rectors. Subsequently he became treas-
urer, then vice-president, and upon the
death in 1904 of his father, assumed the
presidency.

A great deal of the satisfying growth
of the combined concern has been due
to the unremitting work of Mr. Crocker.
Today the H. S. Crocker Company is
the largest of its kind west of Chicago.
Its stationery, manufacturing and
selling department is one of the largest
in the United States
and it owns the biggest
and most up-to-date
printing plant this side
of St. Louis. Its book
stock runs into the mil-
lions and it also does
a large business in of-
fice furniture and fix-
tures.

What with the ex-
ceptional service the
company has given in
the past, together with
an even better service
at present made pos-
sible by an extension
of its plant, "Crocker
Quality" has come to
have a great deal of
significance. Every
contract accepted by
the H. S. Crocker Com-
pany in printing, bind-
ing and lithographing
is manufactured com-
plete in its own fac-
tory 1 , by skilled me-
chanics; and every
bit of work passes through hands of ex-
acting inspectors to insure its faultless-
ness and worth. This firm is the pioneer
railroad ticket printer of the west.
Crocker lithographs and blank books,
like Crocker stationery, are recognized
as standard. Its plant, housed in two
immense Class A buildings, contains
more than 140,000 square feet of floor
space, well lighted, airy and scrupu-
lously clean.

Mr. Crocker is president of the H. S.
Crocker Realty Company in addition to
being president of the H. S. Crocker
Company of San Francisco and Sacra-
mento and of Cunningham, Curtiss &
Welch Company of Los Angeles; he is
vice-president of the American National
Bank and the Italian-American Bank of
San Francisco and of the Giant Powder
Company, Consolidated; and a director
of the Union Sugar Company, the
Alameda Sugar Company and the Agri-
cultural Credit Corporation.

He is affiliated with no fraternities,
but is a life member of the Olympic
Club, commodore of the Pacific Motor
Boat Club and holds active membership
in the Bohemian Club, San Francisco
Press Club, San Francisco Commercial
Club and Belvedere Golf and Country
Club. He is chairman of the convention
committee of the National Association
of Stationers, which met in San Fran-
cisco in October, 1915.

Mr. Crocker was married in 1905 at
Del Monte to Carlotta I#. Steiner. His
home is at Belvedere.

253

GEORGE E. CROTHERS

SO replete has been the career of
George Edward Crothers, Judge of
the Superior Court of San Fran-
cisco, with those matters considered
as really worth while, that to do justice
to a narration of them would require a
volume. And even then the half would
not be told.

Born May 27, 1870, at
Wapello, Iowa, he came
with his parents to San
Jose, California, when
he was 13 years old and
attended the public
schools of the latter
place. He entered Le-
land Stanford Junior
University upon its
original opening day
and received the de-
gree of A. B. in 1895 in
the departments of
history and political
science with its "pion-
eer" class and the A. M.
degree in 1896 in its
law department.

In 1896 he was ad-
mitted to practice law
in the State and Fed-
eral courts. He en-
joyed a flourishing
practice in partnership
with his brother, T. G.
Crothers, until his ap-
pointment without so-
licitation to the Superior bench August
12, 1913.

Judge Crothers, before this, was one
of the three attorneys of record for
the executors and trustees in the cele-
brated litigation over the trust and
properties of the estate of the late
Senator James G. Fair from 1899 to
1902 and had personal charge of the
forgery branch of the litigation.

Under commission from Mrs. Leland
Stanford, Judge Crothers and his broth-
er drafted the new section of the State
Constitution relative to Stanford Uni-
versity, besides several legislative acts
and amendments to the University char-
ter, and prepared re-cpnveyances of the
entire endowment of the institution
under the new terms and pursuant to
the constitutional amendment. These
and other steps were to remedy defects
in the form of the endowment grants
and in the terms of the trusts constitut-
ing the charter of the University, some
of which, according to a subsequent Su-
preme' Court decision, would have
been fatally defective to the title of
the University and its great endow-
ment.

To forestall litigation after Mrs.
Stanford's death, Judge, Crothers and
his brother in 1903 drafted and secured
the passage of an act similar to the
McBnerney Act, pursuant to which his
brother brought suit on behalf of the
University trustees against Mrs. Stan-
ford and all the world to establish the
validity of the University titles and
the terms, validity and legal effect of

the University trust conditions. The
judgment in this special proceeding is
now the final authority governing the
actions of the University trustees and
its management.

During the closing years of Mrs.
Stanford's life Judge Crothers admin-
istered, as sole trustee,
a trust involving about
$6,000,000, and con-
veyed it to the Uni-
versity at her death
without there having
been one word of pub-
lic comment to excite
litigation. This saved
to the University be-
tween $2,000,000 and
$3,000,000, owing to the
law preventing the
giving of more than a
third of an estate for
charitable or educa-
tional purposes by will.
It likewise made a le-
gal contest futile. And
although he had acted
as attorney for the
University Trustees in
the settlement of the
estate, he asked only
the same consideration
for his work and re-
sponsibility in both the
special trust and the
estate as was shown
each of the other two attorneys in the
matter of the estate alone, ignoring the
large fees allowed him by the legal
Code, which were the same as those al-
lowed executors.

One of the important amendments to
the University charter, validated by Mr.
Crothers' work, "was one limiting the
term of office of trustees thereafter ap-
pointed or elected to ten years. He
and WhitelawReid were appointed trus-
tees by Mrs. Stanford October 3, 1902,
and were the first to serve ten-year
terms under this provision. Judge
Crothers was the first graduate to be
selected as a trustee. He also inaugu-
rated a plan whereby the Alumni Ad-
visory Board will hereafter nominate a
succession of graduates of the Univer-
sity as trustees. Judge Crothers is the
only graduate of Stanford to be selected
twice as president of the alumni asso-
ciation.

Judge Crothers' educational activities
have covered an unusually wide field.
He has been vice-president of the As-
sociation of American Universities, is
chairman of the Board of Trustees of
the San Francisco State Normal School,
and trustee of the Stanford Kindergar-
ten Trust, which maintains five kinder-
gartens in San Francisco, and of the
Stanford Union. He is a member of
various societies and organizations of
national .scope.

His endorsement for re-election in
1914 to the Superior bench by the San
Francisco Bar Association was by the
highest vote given any candidate,

254

ALLEN A. CURTIS

BOYS and girls of today little re-
alize, when they trudge from
their homes a block or two to a
convenient schoolhouse, what it
meant to their fathers and grandfathers
half a century and more ago to acquire
an education. Not then, as now, was
the schoolhouse just
around the corner.
Oftentimes it was
many weary miles
away; and the farmer
lad who sought book
learning in the forties
and fifties of the last
century must needs
have within him a
steadfast determina-
tion to better his lot.
The character of Al-
len Allsopp Curtis
needs no better intro-
duction than the state-
ment that while he was
obtaining his early
education he walked to
school three miles,
then walked home
again and for one year
walked five miles each
way. This statement
explains the whole of
Mr. Curtis' subsequent
career.

Allen A. Curtis was
not only a mining
pioneer in Nevada but
a redwood lumber
pioneer in California. He was born
November 1, 1838, near Belleville, Essex
County, New Jersey. His father was
Melville Curtis, a native of Newton,
Lower Palls, Massachusetts, and one
of nine brothers, all qf them paper
manufacturers. Mr. Curtis' mother was
born of English parents at Quebec,
Canada, her father being Commissary
General and a prominent landowner.
She was a direct descendant of the
Morris brothers of Revolutionary war
fame, one of them, Gouverneur Morris,
casting his lot with the Colonies while
the other remained loyal to King
George.

In September, 1859, Mr. Curtis came
to California by way of the Isthmus.
Making his way to Sacramento he was
clerk in a hardware store there until
March, 1865, when he went to Austin,
Nevada, to take up silver mining.
Nevada in those days was far different
than the Nevada of today and it was
only the hardiest of pioneers that went
there.

Mr. Curtis first was secretary of a
mining company at Austin. It was not
long before his ability, perseverance
and integrity were recognized and in
1868 he was made superintendent and
manager of the concern. He continued
to forge ahead until in 1871 he owned
a controlling interest in the property —
six years after he started in the busi-
ness. For several years he was suc-
cessful in mining. Then came the
demonetization of silver, and this so
reduced the value of the mining prop-
erty that Mr. Curtis closed out his

Nevada interests in 1885. During the
seventeen years that Mr. Curtis man-
aged the property, however, it pro-
duced silver to the value of $16,000,000.
While he was the projector in the
erection of a quartz mill at Mineral
Hills, Elko County, Nevada, and its
manager for several
years, Mr. Curtis did
not devote all his time
to wresting silver
from the earth — but
branched out. He be-
came half owner in the
firm of Paxton & Cur-
tis, which owned banks
at Austin, Eureka, Bel-
mont and Reno, Ne-
vada. These banks
met all claims against
them during the panic
caused by the tem-
porary closing of the
Bank of California of
San Francisco. Mr.
Curtis also was part-
ner in the firm of
Gage, Curtis & Com-
pany, which operated
a large merchandise
store at Austin.

"When, in 1885, Mr.
Curtis disposed of his
Nevada holdings, he
returned to California
and opened a large
redwood lumber plant
in the then virgin
forests of Eel River, Humboldt County.
The plant in which he was interested
and which he managed was the nucleus
for the town of Scotia. To connect
Scotia with the outside world a rail-
road was constructed by the company
to Alton along the Eel River bluffs.
This redwood plant then was the larg-
est in California. Mr. Curtis closed
out his interests there in 1902 and since
has become interested in two redwood
plants in Mendocino County.

His Humboldt County railway ven-
ture was preceded by his construction
and operation of a narrow gauge rail-
road from the terminus of the Nevada
Central Railroad at Reese River Valley
to the mines of Lander Hill in the
Loyabe range through Austin, Nevada.
Mr. Curtis also was at one time county
treasurer for Lander County, Nevada,
and at another time its county com-
missioner and built the Episcopal
Church at Austin. He was instrumen-
tal in the founding of the Bank of
Eureka and the Savings Bank of Hum-
boldt County at Eureka, California, and
was a director in each several years, as
he was also of the Santa Rosa Bank
at Santa Rosa, California.

Wide recognition of his ability has
come to Mr. Curtis. At the dedication
of the Nevada State pavilion at the
Panama-Pacific Exposition he was re-
ferred to as "a Nevada pioneer of
Whom we are justly proud." At present
his interests lie in several California
corporations, among them the Glen
Blair Redwood Company and the Pa-
cific Coast Redwood Company.

255

DR. M. C. M. SOARES d'ALRERGARIA

THERE is enough of romance in
the life of Dr. M. C. M. Soares
d'Albergaria to furnish material
for a set of gripping volumes,
for though a son of wealthy parents,
people of leisure, he has from the he-
ginning made his own way; and there
is enough of versatil-
ity in Dr. d'Alberga-
ria's character to com-
mand the deepest in-
terest. Mine operator
and dealer, author,
editor, manufacturer,
doctor of medicine and
of philosophy, and art
connoisseur and col-
lector of rare works of
the masters — he has
been the central figure
in a decidedly unusual
career, and today is a
successful business
man in San Francisco.

Born in 1868 in Hor-
ta, Portugal, Dr. d'Al-
bergaria comes of a
house widely known in
Europe and one which
gives him entry to the
most exclusive circles.
His father was the Earl
T. Cardozo M. Soares
d'Albergaria of Portu-
gal, and his mother
Lady Louiza de la Cer-
da (Bettencourt) d'Al-
bergaria. Dr. d'Alber-
garia is a cousin of the Marquis Fur-
nelles and the v Baron de Roches of
Portugal, as well as of the Viscount
de Borges da Silva of the Azores, and
the late General Roque, major-general
of the Portuguese army, and also of the
Ariagos, late of the presidency of Port-
ugal, and of the Lady Cardozo of Horta.
Tet he is purely and simply an Ameri-
can — and strictly without the hyphen.

Following a period of instruction un-
der the direction of private tutors,
Dr. d'Albergaria ran away from home
when twelve years old and came to the
United States. He had read numerous
alluring books, in which the "Western
United States was described as fairly
teeming with Indians, and as a land
where gold lay around just waiting to be
picked up. The young, imaginative boy
determined to shoot a few Indians and
gather up a stock of gold for himself.

His first stop was New Bedford, Mas-
sachusetts. From there he went to New
York, then came on to California. For
three years he made his way here, do-
ing anything he could And to do, and
attending school at San Ramon in or-
der to learn the English language. Then
he went to Australia whence, after a
short time, he went back to Portugal —
still a boy, but with many of his illu-
sions shattered. There followed trips
through Germany and other parts of
Europe, to New York, to San Francisco,
to Japan and China and on around the
world again: Dr. d'Albergaria has cir-
cled the globe three times.

About fifteen years ago he returned
to San Francisco. He began dealing in
mines, buying, operating and selling
them again, in California, Nevada and
Idaho. Three or four years before the
1906 Are he started, as a side issue, a
perfumery business in San Francisco.
Before long he had
486 stations in the
United States supply-
ing agents eve r y -
where. The Are all but
wiped out this busi-
ness and for two years
Dr. d'Albergaria was
abroad. But in 1909 he
came back once more
and resumed his min-
ing operations, at the
same time entering the
manufacturing field.

Today he is presi-
dent of the Fayalense
Mining & Milling Co.,
London Mining & De-
velopment Co., Puama
Mining Co., Saw Pal-
metto Mining Co., and
others, and sole owner
of the d'Albergaria
Manufacturing Co. of
San Francisco, New
York, Chicago and St.
Louis, manufacturers
of fire department sup-
plies and several other
commodities, and also
the North Star and
Black Warrior mines on the Mother
Lode.

Dr. d'Albergaria's fame as an art con-
noisseur is the result of uany years of
collecting. He owns Catelo's "Mid-
night Scene on the Ocean," which art-
ists such as Tojetti, Emilian Schoole of
Vienna, and the late Benjamin Constant
have pronounced the most realistic
marine painting in the world. It was
presented to his grand-uncle by Queen
Maria Pia, late Queen of Portugal. It is
valued at $40,000. Other gems in his col-
lection, which probably is worth in the
aggregate $250,000, are masterpieces by
Benjamin Constant, A. Schreyer, Jose
Madroso, Jacques, Artz and Fortuni.
Art lovers from all over visit him to
gaze upon these treasures.

In 1898 Dr. d'Albergaria wrote and
published in English the romance of
"Sanche de Bazan," a work that en-
joyed a large sale and which was trans-
lated into Spanish, French and German.
He has also written prolifically for
magazines and newspapers and is at
present president and editor-in-chief of
Western Life and the Optimist, two
weekly publications of editorial com-
ment issued in San Francisco.

Although he is an accredited doctor
of medicine, Dr. dAlbergaria has prac-
ticed in the profession only for a short
period, and that in the late nineties.
What with his business and editorial
duties, and his relaxation in the field of
art, he today finds his time fully oc-
cupied.

256

JAMES R. DAVIS

THERE will ever be romance in the
story of a mining camp. The
very nature of the thing makes
for it., Men flock there with the
single determination to wrest from the
earth that which will make them im-
mune thereafter from the petty strug-
gles of existence. Some
make their stake and
go on their way rejoic-
ing. Some fail, and the
failures, no doubt, are
in most cases largely
in the majority.

Of all the big gold
"strikes" that have
had this country
agog at one time or
another, that at Gold-
field, Nevada, at the
beginning of the pres-
ent century, stands
among those of the
deepest popular inter-
est. For one thing, it
was close to home.
For another thing,
many of the details of
its history were un-
precedented.

James R. Davis,
president of the Round
Mountain Mining Com-
pany, is classified
among "the big men of
Goldfield." Fortune smiled upon him.
Tears of prospecting over a vast extent
of likely looking territory were crowned
at last by the most surprising success.
And by brains and backbone he has
made of his success something to be
proud of.

To begin at the beginning, James R.
Davis is a native of Indiana, born at
Columbus, December 16, 1870. His
father was Thomas C. Davis, a farmer,
and his mother Martha L. (Ferguson)
Davis. When he was young his parents
moved to the little town of Minneapolis,
Kansas, and in its public school Mr.
Davis secured an education. He was
but 15 years old, however, when he left
school and home and started out to do
for himself.

Making his way to Denver, Mr. Davis
studied pharmacy for two years. Min-
ing appealed to him more than the
drug business, however, and he started
out with a prospector's outfit to hunt
gold in the Sangre de Cristo range in
Colorado. When he had money he
prospected; when he didn't have money
he mined for others.

Until 1895 Mr. Davis mined in Colo-
rado, with varying success. He then
worked his way westward to Arizona
and California. The winter of 1895-6
he spent at Randsburg, Kern County,
California, and from there he mined
and prospected on up through the Pana-
mint range, since made famous by
numerous magazine stories, and into
the Death Valley country. This con-
sumed the years up to 1900, when Mr.

Davis went to Nom«, Alaska, for a. six-
months' sojourn.

The long hoped-for "strike" did not
come. Mr. Davis worked his way back
to Oregon, thence to California, and the
year 1902 found him in Tonopah, Ne-
vada. This heralded the turn of the
tide. After prospect-
ing in and about Tono-
pah and the bordering
desert until 1904, Mr.
Davis went to Gold-
field, which was just
beginning to come into
notice. He was one of
the pioneers in the new
field, the big rush not
coming until 1905.

With J. P. Loftus,
now of Hollywood,
Cal., Mr. Davis took
what was known as
the Loftus-Davis lease
on the Sandstorm mine.
In November, 1904,
they made their first
strike, one of the rich-
est surface finds ever
known in Goldfield.
Ore taken from the
first round of holes
blasted after the big
strike ran on an aver-
age $5,000 to the ton.
In four months Sand-
storm netted Loftus and Davis $140,000
profit.

All this sounds like the wildest fiction.
As a matter of fact, it is Goldfield history.
Then Mr. Davis and his partner took
a lease on the Combination Fraction
mine, the richest lease in the group.
In four months it produced $350,000.
In 1906, with C. H. Botsford, Loftus
and Davis took an option on the Com-
bination mines for $4,000,000. They sold
it two weeks later to the Goldfield Con-
solidated, realizing a profit of 100,000
shares of Consolidated worth then $9
a share — $900,000!

Immediately after this Mr. Davis
bought the controlling interest in the
Round Mountain Gold Mine, 60 miles
north of Tonopah, with Loftus. It was
then simply a little prospect hole, not
producing. The price was $87,500, with
five months in which to pay. In these
five months the mine paid for itself;
it has since produced about $2,750,000
and Mr. Davis remains president of the
company. By taking over the Nevada
Hills mine at Fairview, Nevada, about
the time he acquired the Round Moun-
tain, Mr. Davis made another handsome
profit. This mine, in which he sold
his interests in 1910, has produced
$2,500,000. The Round Mountain is still
a big producer, giving up about $400,000
a year. It is the richest property in
the To-qui-ma range.

Mr. Davis, in addition to his other
interests, is today a director of the
Pioneer Mines Company at Towle,
Placer County, Cal., and of the Traffic
Oil Company.

257

S. C. DENSON

k O unto others as you would like
to have them do unto you; do
a good act whenever the op-
portunity offers the chance,
and never do an injustice or avoidable
injury or unklndness to another; be
square in all your actions and always
speak the truth, and,
finally, practice charity
— not merely by giving
alms, but in judging
the acts and motives
of others. This is my
conception of true reli-
gion, and I think a man
who adheres strictly to
it will not go to a very
bad place in the future
state."

This, in a nutshell,
is the creed of S. C.
Denson, , formed after
more than half a cen-
tury in the practice of
law in the capacities
of judge, prosecutor
and simple attorney.
It stands today as the
retrospect of an inter-
esting and fulsome ca-
reer, bearing directly
on a subject upper-
most in Judge Den-
son's mind — the proper
punishment of those
who break our laws.

In odd hours Judge Denson has writ-
ten a book, published in 1914 under
the title "Our Criminal Criminal Law,"
in which he sets forth the problem of
the so-called "criminal" as he has
flound it. His belief — and it is no
hurried conclusion — is that we go about
the punishment of lawbreakers in a
way that degrades them rather than
works toward their cure or reforma-
tion. By shutting them up and forc-
ing them to live in the very idleness
that doubtless helped make for their
undoing in the first place, Judge Denson
contends, we take away from convicts
their chance of rejuvenation.

If a man is wholly and irrevocably
bad, says Judge Denson, he should be
done away with entirely. But if he is
not — and most of them are not — he
should be given a chance to feel that
he can work his way back to his for-
mer position. And this can be attained
by letting him work for a stipulated
salary, his sentence being that he must
earn so much money to regain his free-
dom. This would make it possible for
those dependent upon him to live in the
interim.

Judge Denson was born September,
1839, on a farm near Quincy, Illinois,
the son of John Denson and Emily
(Crawford) Denson. He went from the
log schoolhouse to the brick school-
house near his home, then in 1857 en-
tered Abingdon College in Knox Coun-
ty, Illinois. He left in 1860, just be-

fore graduation, and came behind an ox
team across the broad plains to Cali-
fornia.

Stopping at Oroville, then a flourish-
ing mining town, Judge Denson mined,
did odd Jobs, and finally entered the
law offices of Joseph Lewis and Thomas
Wells as a clerk. For
three years he studied
law, was admitted to
the bar in 1864 and im-
mediately opened an
office in Carson City,
Nevada. He was a
member of the first
Nevada legislature and
was elected District
Attorney. In December,
1868, he returned to
California.

Locating this time
in Sacramento, Judge
Denson became a law
partner of Judge H. O.
Beatty, father of the
late Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court of
California. In 1876 he
was elected District
Judge of the Sixth Dis-
trict; four years later,
when the new consti-
tution established a
Superior Court, he be-
came Judge of the lat-
ter body, continuing so
for three years, when he resigned.

Until 1888 Judge Denson was a part-
ner of William H. Beatty, in that year
elected Chief Justice. In 1889 Judge
Denson came to San Francisco. He
has since been a member of various
partnerships, including one with Judge
John J. De Haven, and at present, with
his son, H. B. Denson, and A. E. Cooley
is senior partner in the firm of Den-
son, Cooley & Denson.

Judge Denson has specialized in cor-
poration and land law and has ap-
peared in numerous court cases of note.
One of these was a suit in equity, to
recover the 50,000 acre Norris ranch at
Sacramento. There was involved about
$2,500,000 and Judge Denson won after
taking the. case to the United States
Supreme Court. Another notable case
was the partition of the 43,000 acre
Chabolla grant in Sacramento and San
Joaquin Counties, which was divided
between 150 claimants. Today the land
is worth about $8,600,000. Judge Den^
son is general counsel for the Pacific
Coast Steel Company, Pacific Surety
Company, Charles Nelson Lumber &
Shipping Co., and several others.

For eight years Judge Denson was
chairman of the board of trustees of the
San Francisco Normal School. He is a
past grand master of the Masons and
prominent in the order. He is the
father of three children, Mrs. D. A.
Lindley of Sacramento, Mrs. George M.
Mott, Jr., of Oakland and H. B. Denson.

258

JOHN T. DONALDSON

BEFORE entering into the mining
Held, John T. Donaldson, president
of the Phoenix Gold Mining Com-
pany, had already attained success
In two other pursuits — ranching and
real estate. He has practically given up
all his other interests, however, and to-
day devotes most of his
time to the develop-
ment of his mines, he
being also controlling-
stockholder in the Gold
Star, of the Alleghany
district, Sierra County,
which has already pro-
duced $1,000,000.

The Phoenix gold
mine, which is being
operated right along
with profit, is on the
famous California
Mother Lode in the
Nevada City district.
It is situated in the
center of what is con-
sidered the best mining
section in the world.
The Harmony channel,
which runs through it
for a distance of about
a mile, should produce
from $1,000,000 to
$5,000,000, and on one
corner of the property
is the famous Selby
flat, from which so
many millions of dollars were taken a
few decades ago in surface digging. The
Manzanita mine, with a record of pro-
duction of $10,000,000, has been worked
clear up to the Phcenix boundary line,
and a mile and a half away, also on
the Mother Lode, is the well-known
North Star mine, which has produced
more than $25,000,000 in its time.

John T. Donaldson, head of operations
at the Phoenix, is a native of Illinois.
He was born in 1865 near Chicago on
the farm of his father, George W. Don-
aldson. His mother was Fannie (Mc-
Donough) Donaldson, who, with her
husband, came to America from near
Belfast, Ireland. Two of Mr. Donald-
son's maternal ancestors held high rank
in the British Army.

Mr. Donaldson attended the public
schools near his home and when about
7 years old moved west with his par-
ents and settled at Livermore. Subse-
quently he attended Professor Smith's
College at Livermore for about three
years. It had been his intention to be-
come a lawyer and he delved deep into
Blackstone during his spare moments.
He gave up these plans, however, and
did not take the necessary examinations
for admittance to practice.

About 1880, after leaving scliool, Mr.
Donaldson moved with his parents to a
ranch in the southern part of Monterey
County, where he and his father began
raising stock. For a quarter of a cen-
tury he remained a rancher, continuing
alone after the death of his father.

Throughout this period Mr. Donaldson
was a leader in Monterey County devel-
opment, giving of both time and money
toward the general upbuilding of the
community and in inducing settlers to
locate Government land. About 1890 he
began raising the first wheat ever
grown commercially in
Monterey County and a
few years later intro-
duced the first com-
bined harvester ever
operated there. For a
time it was necessary
to haul the wheat crop
60 miles by team and
wagon to Soledad, then
the nearest railway
terminus.

Abandoning the
ranching business in
1905 Mr. Donaldson es-
tablished himself i n
Oakland in order to
give his children the
advantages of an edu-
cation. Meanwhile he
operated extensively In
city and country real

In 1907 Mr. Donald-
son evolved an idea
which since has found
great favor among the
bankers — a plan for
educational insurance.
The project was that his company, the
National Educational Society, should put
out small savings banks in which par-
ents could save money for the future
education of their children. At inter-
vals the smaller depositories were to be
taken to a designated savings bank and
the contents added to a fund which was
to be allowed to accumulate. The fund
could not be withdrawn until the child
was 16 years old, and then only for the
purpose of furthering its education, un-
less, of course, the child died before
that age, when the money became a
sort of life insurance. If not withdrawn
beforehand, the fund was to be allowed
to remain in the bank drawing interest
until the child became 21 years old,
when It was to be paid over if desired.
The project failed because of the fact
that it was overtaken by the 1907
money panic, when the general desire
was to retrench. The idea has not died,
however, for some of the banks are still
perpetuating it and find it of great
mutual benefit.

Mr. Donaldson was married in 1890 in
San Francisco to Cora E. Bresette and
is the father of five children: George T.
John E., Raymond L., Genevieve and
Albert Donaldson. George T. Donald-
son, the eldest, now aged 24, is manager
of the Ogden store of the F. W. Wool-
worth Co., and bears the distinction of
having been that concern's youngest
manager. John B. Donaldson is con-
nected with the Oakland Tribune, and
the other three are still attending school.

259

WALTER E. DORN

ASIDE from his professional work,
which has given him a high stat-
*• us among the lawyers of San
Francisco and California, "Walter
E. Dorn has, by his activities in another
direction, made himself known from
one end of the country to another to
literally hundreds of
thousands of persons.
This is in connection
with his upbuilding of
the Loyal Order of
Moose, which has
awarded him the high-
est honors in its power.

Born in Watsonville,
Santa Cruz County,
California, October 30,
1870, Mr. Dorn is the
son of N. A. J. Dorn
and Rebecca Ellen
("Walters) Dorn. He
attended the public
schools of his home
city, later the Watson-
ville High School, and
in 1895 was graduated
from Hastings College
of the Law. He was
admitted to the bar on
May 25th of the same
year.

Starting out to prac-
t i c e his profession
alone, Mr. Dorn has
done so ever since.
His practice has been of a general civil
nature though he has specialized, in a
way, in commercial law. Today he is
general counsel for a number of cor-
porations of more than ordinary size
and importance.

For five years, beginning with 1897,
he was assistant city attorney of San
Francisco under Franklin K. Lane, the
present Secretary of the Interior. He
is a stanch Republican, although he
confines himself to working for the
general good of the party or on behalf
of a friend, seeking no reward in the
shape of a public office for himself.

A little more than five years ago — ■
on August 9, 1910, to be exact — Mr.
Dorn organized San Francisco Lodge
No. 26, Loyal Order of Moose, a lodge
that was to enjoy a growth no less than
phenomenal. Less than a year after its
formation the lodge had a membership
of 4,400 and was the largest of any kind
in the world. Mr. Dorn was chosen its
first dictator, the title of the ruling
officer.

The San Francisco lodge had made
the Loyal Order of Moose "sit up and
take notice." The Supreme Convention
was impatient to see the dictator of the
largest lodge and said so. Mr. Dorn
accordingly took a big delegation in
July, 1911, to Detroit, Michigan, where
the Supreme Convention was in session,
with the result that he was elected su-
preme prelate, the third highest office
in the order.

At Kansas City, Missouri, the follow-
ing year Mr. Dorn went up another step
when the convention chose him as su-
preme vice-dictator. And in . 1913 at
Cincinnati, Ohio, he was elected su-
preme dictator, after having been a
member of the Moose only three years.
This, in itself, was a
record, but Mr. Dorn
later was to set a still
higher one.

Meanwhile Mr. Dorn
had served a year and
a half as dictator of
the San Francisco
lodge, being for a time
both dictator and su-
preme prelate until he
resigned from the
lesser office. "When his
term as supreme dic-
tator expired in Au-
gust, 1914, he was
made a member of the
supreme council, the
governing body of the
order, which is com-
posed of the supreme
officers and eight
other elected mem-
bers. This Is the first
time, by the way,
that a supreme dic-
tator of the Moose has
been retained in the
supreme council.
"While Mr. Dorn was supreme dictator
he organized the military branch of the
Moose along the lines of the United
States Army. In the one year he or-
ganized 611 companies in as many
lodges of the order, and formed them
into regiments of twelve companies
each. There are four Moose regiments
in California alone and the 1,600 lodges
of Moose, with their combined mem-
bership of 610,000, have in their drill
teams more men than the country's
standing army.

Mr. Dora's crowning coup came with
his preparations for Moose Day at
the Panama-Pacific International Expo-
sition on July 25, 1915. He succeeded
in getting out for the parade detach-
ments of the Army and the Navy on
a Sunday, thereby breaking a rule that
had been in force for the past sixty
years. Considering the rule one of
convenience rather than of necessity,
Mr. Dorn left no stone unturned to
have his requests granted. He went
to the Secretary of the Navy, to the
Secretary of "War and even to the Vice-
President — who is himself a Moose —
and Congressmen and Senators sent
wire after wire to "Washington on his
behalf. The result was one of the finest
parades of the exposition year.

Mr. Dorn belongs to a number of
fraternal orders besides the Moose. He
was married August 17, 1895, in San
Francisco to Ellen J. O'Reilly and is
the father of five children.

260

JOHN WEBSTER DORSEY

EVERT business or professional man
who is kept close to his duties is
in need of some form of physical
relaxation. He leaves his office or
establishment, forgets it for a time and
comes back refreshed not only in body
but in mind as well.

John Webster Dor-
sey, for many years a
practicing, attorney of
San Francisco, takes
his relaxation in fish-
ing and hunting. And,
as is his habit in other
lines, he excels in both.
When he goes after
game he usually seeks
big game — and gets it.
When he fishes, he
casts his line into the
deep sea and hauls out
something a little
smaller than a whale.

Most of Mr. Dorsey's
fishing is done off San-
ta ^atalina and Cle-
mente islands. He is a
member of the Tuna
Club and catches, be-
sides tuna, sword-fish,
yellow-tail, black sea
bass and jew-fish. In
1912, with William B.
Sharp, he effected the
biggest catch of
sword-fish ever made
in a similar manner. In five days the two
caught twelve giant sword-fish, rang-
ing in weight from 155 to 260 pounds
apiece. When one takes into consid-
eration the real danger that lies in
this sport, the feat may be appreci-
ated.

In trap-shooting and hunting Mr.
Dorsey has captured numerous medals
and trophies. He belongs to the Em-
pire Gun Club for duck shooting, and
in fact holds membership in nearly
every organization of this nature in
California. Hunting trips to Alaska
have brought him many trophies in the
way of moose, caribou, deer, antelope
and other big game.

Mr. Dorsey was born June 4, 1852, on
a farm in Harford County, Maryland.
His father, Algernon Sidney Dorsey, was
in the cattle and ranching business in
California in the early fifties, later re-
turning East. His mother was Mary
Alice (Webster) Dorsey. His maternal
grandfather was John A. Webster, a
cousin to Daniel Webster. John A. Web-
ster distinguished himself in the war
of 1812 by defending the City of Balti-
more from the British. He was a cap-
tain in the Navy, as was his son, John
A. Webster, Jr., subsequently.

Following his attendance at the pub-
lic schools of his birthplace, and of Bal-
timore, Mr. Dorsey entered Delaware
College at Newark and was graduated
in 1875. The same year he came West and
settled in Elko, Nevada, taking up the

study of law in the office of Rand &
Van Fleet, the latter now Federal Judge
at San Francisco. He was admitted to
the bar in 1877 and practiced law in
Elko until 1891, the latter part of the
time with George Baker and J. L. Wines.
In 1891 the firm opened offices in San
Francisco also and Mr.
Dorsey came here, con-
tinuing until 1893, then
until 1895 was in part-
nership with George
Maxwell and R. M. F.
Soto. From 1897 until
1906 he was with the
late R. R. Bigelow, for-
mer justice of the Su-
preme Court of Neva-
da, and since 1911 has
been a member of the
firm of Dorsey and
Henderson.

Mr. Dorsey's practice
has largely been in
mining and water liti-
gation, with considera-
ble corporation work
also. He has been gen-
eral counsel for a num-
W? wk ber of concerns, among

jJBBk them the Pacific Hard-

JSt ware & Steel Co., John-

JB KK; son-Locke Mercantile
.jf^ Co. and Atlas Paving

Brick Co. One of his
recent important liti-
gations was a suit he brought in 1904
against the Silver Peak Mining Co. to
enforce specific performance of a con-
tract for the purchase of mining prop-
erty estimated to be worth $10,000,000.
The case has been appealed several
times and is still pending in both State
and Federal courts. Perhaps Mr. Dor-
sey's most notable work in criminal
law was his long defense of "Diamond
Field Jack" Davis. Davis was convicted
and three times sentenced to hang for
the killing of two sheep herders in Cas-
sia County, Idaho, in 1892. As a matter
of fact, though he thought he might
have been responsible for the herders'
deaths, having had a gun-fight with un-
known assailants, he was 15 miles from
the real killing. Mr. Dorsey hinged his
case on the fact that a 44-caliher car-
tridge cannot be fired in a 45 revolver
without it being indicated by the swell-
ing of the shell. After seven years of
effort Mr. Dorsey got Davis free through
the Idaho State Board of Pardons.

Although he has not been active polit-
ically in California, Mr. Dorsey was
prominent in Democratic politics in Ne-
vada. He served two terms as district
attorney of Elko County, Nevada, 1883-
5 and 1887-9. And he was chairman in
1888 of the Nevada delegation to the
St. Louis convention which nominated
Grover Cleveland for the presidency.

Mr. Dorsey belongs to a number of
social organizations, among them the
Family and Hplluschickie clubs.

261

FREDERICK EGGERS

< i -r BELIEVE that to accord humane
I treatment to a man who has vio-
-1- lated the law and is being pun-
ished for it will bring him, more
quickly by far than cruelty, to see his
mistake and seek to rectify it by future
good conduct. Prisoners appreciate
t,houghtfulness
on their b e h a 1 f — it
eases their bitterness
against organized so-
ciety."

This, briefly, is the
creed of Frederick
Eggers, Sheriff of San
Francisco County, by
which he has accom-
plished veritable won-
ders in transforming'
the County Jail into a
place where offenders
are "given a chance."
Frederick Eggers
formed a set of prin-
ciples, then put those
principles into opera-
tion. He was elected
on a platform in which
he promised to give
the people a business-
1 i k e administration
with e fn c i e n t and
courteous treatment of
those who had deal-
ings with his office, to
direct his personal attention to the jail
at Ingleside, to make it sanitary and
to give its prisoners humane" treat-
ment, all possible outdoor exercise and
plenty of clean, wholesome food.

This platform the Sheriff has carried
out to the letter, and more. He has
gained the public's esteem, saved it
money while giving it better service —
and many a man has he rescued from
the very brink of destruction.

On April 10, 1860, Mr. Eggers was
born at Hanover, Germany. When a
small boy he went to New York City
and from there, in 1876, to San Fran-
cisco. After three years in the grocery
business he became a salesman in the
wholesale tea and coffee business, re-
maining with this until his election as
Sheriff.

It is a great truth that those who
know most of the work of Sheriff
Eggers are those who have been most
affected by it — his prisoners. Not long
after his assumption of office the Sheriff
discovered an old Dutch oven which
had been used in the former Industrial
School a quarter of a century before.
He put the oven into shape and the
baking of the jail's bread in it began.
Daily the oven turns out 350 to 400
three-pound loaves, saving the tax-
payers $300 monthly.

By the development of the jail's truck
gardens the Sheriff gives outdoor em-
ployment to thirty or forty men each
day. Its products net the city $160 and

more a month; besides, vegetables are
furnished free to the Relief Home, City
Prison, Emergency and Tuberculosis
hospitals and other charitable institu-
tions — and it gives the prisoners exer-
cise and fresh air, besides fresh, green
food. Sheriff Eggers also has been
working about forty
men in the improve-
ment of unaccepted
streets in the poorer
sections of the city.
This is of direct and
lasting benefit.

On a Sunday even-
ing at the jail more
than six hundred pris-
oners are guests of
the Sheriff at a picture
show and vaudeville
entertainment put on
by other prisoners in
a chapel fitted up at a
cost of $3,000, borne by
Sheriff Eggers.

"You will notice the
absence of revolvers
or rifles in the hands
of the guards," says
the Sheriff in describ-
ing his shows. "There
is a reason — I want to
put .everyone on his
honor. They know
that if there is any
disorder the entertainments will cease.
The result is they respect me. Should
one become fractious I feel certain a
dozen others would quell him immedi-
ately."

In stimulating the interest of his pris-
oners 1 , Sheriff 'Eggers has not stopped
with the moving pictures and vaude-
ville. Realizing that those men and
"women held on felony charges — whom
he is not allowed by law to give em-
ployment outside the jail walls — find
close confinement extremely irksome,
he has established a circulating library
for their benefit. It already contains
considerably more than a thousand
volumes of good, uplifting literature
and it is steadily growing by the con-
tributions of those of the public who
believe in assisting the less fortunate.
As for the prisoners themselves, they
are eager to make use of the library,
and it is not difficult to discover that
their reading is doing them good.

Under his system of penal control,
Sheriff Eggers finds so few real diffi-
culties in the administration of the
jail that he is able to devote the more
time to his office duties. He has re-
duced these to a system, wherein effi-
ciency and courtesy are the watch-
words. The Sheriff, his deputies and
his bailiffs in the civil and criminal
courts have been praised repeatedly by
jurists, lawyers and the general pub-
lic for their attention to duty and their
thoroughness.

B62

HENRY EICKHOFF

IN watching the upbuilding of a com-
munity it is easy for one to pick
out from among the men with
whom he comes in contact the
workers for the common good, and dis-
tinguish them from those who might
be classified as drones. The one sort of
man is ever active,
willing at all times to
do his share and more,
and considering him-
self a part of that
which he is striving
to forward. The other
sort is content to sit
back, as inactive as if
he had no interest at
all at stake, and leave
the solving of problems
to his neighbors and
associates.

Looking over the
career of Henry Eick-
hoff as he has moulded
it since his advent to
San Francisco, one ,Aoes
not hesitate in naming
him as one of the
workers. For more
than a quarter of a
century he has taken
prominent part in the
affairs of his adopted
city and State, and
ever as a, champion of enlightened
progress.

Mr. Eickhoff is a native of New York
City. He was born in the Eastern
metropolis January 17, 1856, the son of
Anthony Eickhoff and Elisa (Neuen-
schwander) Eickhoff. His father was of
German birth and a philologist and
Journalist of note, writing five lan-
guages. He came from a German uni-
versity to New Orleans and in the early
'days, before 1850, taught school in St.
Louis. He was sent to Congress and
during the administration of President
Cleveland was made an auditor of the
United States Treasury Department in
special charge of the Consular service.
The present Mr. Eickhoff's mother was
born in Switzerland.

Following his preliminary education
in the public and private schools of
New York City the younger Mr. Eick-
hoff took a business and classical
course at St. Francis Xavier Academy.
By this time he had fully made up his
mind to enter the legal profession and
to prepare himself for it attended the
Columbia Law College, which graduated
him with the degree of LL. B. in 1875.
In June of the same year Mr. Eick-
hoff came to San Francisco and entered
the law offices of Paul Neumann as a
clerk. Two years later, in 1877, he was
admitted to the bar before the Supreme
Court of California at Sacramento, and
later was admitted to practice also in
the United States Supreme Court. About
this time he became Mr. Neumann's

law partner and continued as such
until 1883, when Mr. Neumann was
appointed Attorney -General of Hawaii.
For some years after this Mr. Eickhoff
practiced alone, with consistent success.
The present firm of Lindley & Eickhoff
was formed with Judge Curtis H.
Lindley in 1886.

Through all these
years since he first
became an exponent of
Blackstone, Mr. Eick-
hoff has aligned him-
self with those who
desire to see the city,
the State and the
nation forge ahead. He
took part in a reform
movement of histori-
cal significance when,
with J. J. Dwyer, Judge
Jeremiah F. Sullivan,
Samuel H. Daniels and
A. A. Watkins, he was
a member of the re-
organization commit-
tee that ended the
political rule of Boss
Chris Buckley in San
Francisco in 1890. He
was associated with
TVtatt I. Sullivan in the
Heney-Fickert recount
and was one of the
committee that conducted the campaign
of Heney for District Attorney. He
has also been a trustee of San Rafael,
where he made his home for some
years.

When, in February of 1915, Dennis
M. Duffy resigned from the State Board
of Prison Directors, Governor Hiram
Johnson immediately named Mr. Eick-
hoff to fill the vacancy, recognizing in
him a man who would do his duty with
a clear conscience and without truck-
ling to any other controlling factor
than' right and justice. Politically Mr.
Eickhoff is a Democrat, but he has al-
ways been a stanch supporter of Gover-
nor Johnson and during the last cam-
paign took an active interest in John-
son's political fortunes.

Mr. Eickhoff has taken a keen interest
in club activities. He was formerly
president of the Columbia College
Alumni Association of California and of
the Cosmos Club, is a member of "The
Family," the San Francisco Commercial
Club, Merchants' Exchange, Common-
wealth Club, Union League Club, the
German Benevolent Association, Ameri-
can Bar Association, California Bar
Association, San Francisco Bar Asso-
ciation and a number of other organ-
izations. He is also prominent in the
Masonic order.

Mr. Eickhoff was married September
13, 1882, in San Francisco to Jessie M.
Lowe and is the father of four children,
Gregory H., Victor, Tekla and Henry
Eickhoff, Jr.

263

HENRY ENGELS

SOME four decades ago Henry En-
gels, then a young man, was asso-
ciated with his father and brothers,
the former the late Henry Engels,
in the foundry and metal business in
San Francisco. In those days the firm
paid from 35 to 40 cents a pound for
pig copper and the
chief source of supply
was the Lake Superior
copper region. The de-
mand for copper was
increasing, thanks to
the great improve-
ments then being made
in electrical a p p 1 i-
ances and machinery,
and attention began to
be directed more and
more to the value of
the red metal.

These conditions
form the impetus for
the years of effort that
followed on the part of
the Engels family —
years that have re-
sulted in the organi-
zation of the Engels
Copper Mining Com-
pany and the operation
by it of one of the most
valuable holdings of
its kind on the Pacific
Coast. Thus does sup-
ply follow demand and
development projects materialize when
once a field has been opened for
them.

To go back a bit, the younger Henry
Engels, now president of the Engels
Copper Mining Company, is a native of
San Francisco, born February 1, 1854.
He attended the private and public
schools of this city, and to round out
his education attended and was grad-
uated from Heald's Business College,
which at that time was in the old Piatt's
Hall where the Mills building now
stands and where the mining company's
offices are located. From business col-
lege Mr. Engels went into his father's
foundry.

The rapid approach of a crisfs in the
copper situation, studied long and ear-
nestly by the elder Engels and his
sons, finally determined them to pros-
pect and, if possible, to develop a cop-
per mine. They had had valuable ex-
periences in mining and metallurgy,
and were well equipped for that which
they set out to do.

After several years of prospecting
the Engels located, in the late '70s, in
Lights Canyon, Plumas County, where
the present mines are situated. Realiz-
ing that to develop a district they must
live in it and give their entire time to
it, and that if there is to be any prog-
ress it must follow as the result of
hard work, they proceeded to do both.
This hard work and close study of geo-
logic conditions later made it possible

for them to promote their enterprise
with success.

Before this time, in the sixties in fact
and even as early as the fifties, prospec-
tors had made their way into the Plu-
mas County district. Both alluvial and
lode mining for gold was done and
in 1865 rich copper
ore being discovered,
a small smelter was
built and run intermit-
tently for four years.
The amount of copper
that alloyed the gold
was not attractive to
the pioneer prospec-
tors, however, and they
soon joined the rush to
Virginia City, where
the gold and silver ex-
citement was intense.
For years hardly any
further attention was
given to the Lights
Canyon district until
the Engels family lo-
cated there.

To quote from the
Mining and Scientific
Press, of a recent is-
sue:

"At that time there
was no railroad nearer
than Reno, 150 miles
away, and mining in
such a remote locality
was difficult, though a fair tonnage of
rich ore was mined and shipped to Swan-
sea. The discoverer and his sons, Henry
and William Engels, who have been
largely responsible for the later devel-
opment of the mine, were courageous
and persistent, however, and the assess-
ment work necessary to hold the prop-
erty was so directed as to block out
constantly increasing amounts of ore."
The Engels were determined to prove
a good mine before seeking outside cap-
ital. At first there "was no boom in cop-
per, and few seemed to realize the great
future for the metal, so it was difficult
to interest investors. The railroad that
Kennedy surveyed and planned to build
through Plumas County failed, and it
was only after twenty years that the
Western Pacific began to build the line.
But during this time actual work by
the Engels proved the existence of rich
ore in great quantities, and in 1906
their company was organized. Then
followed more persistence in opening
up the mine with small capital; but the
stockholders were kept together by
their faith in the promoters, and in the
manager, Mr. E. E. Paxton, and by pro-
viding more funds placed the property
on a profitable basis. Today the mine
is paying well and is being enlarged so
as to double the present capacity.

The mill of the Engels mine is unique
in that it is the only one yet built
in which no other process than flotation
is used for the recovery of copper.

264

JAMES EDWARD FENTON

THE length and breadth of the
Pacific Coast have made up the
field of James Edward Fenton
in the practice of his profession
— the law. He has appeared before the
bar in Alaska, Oregon, Washington and
California, and finally has chosen San
Francisco as the scene
of his further endeav-
ors.

James Edward Fen-
ton was born in Clark
County, Missouri, on
the farm of his father,
James Davis Penton.
His mother was Mar-
garet (Pinkerton)
Fenton. In 1865, when
he was but an eight-
year-old boy, he ac-
companied his parents
on a grilling trip
across the plains be-
hind a plodding team
of oxen. Six months
after the family left
Missouri they reached
Oregon, where they
settled.

Following his early
education in the com-
mon schools of Ore-
gon, Mr. Fenton en-
tered Christian Col-
1 e g e of Monmouth,
from which he was graduated in 1877
with the degree of Master of Arts. The
following year he entered the educa-
tional field himself when he was elected
professor of mathematics at Christian
College. He was for two years in this
position, and then for two years more
taught in various academies in Oregon,
being principal of those at Bethel and
Eugene.

Under the tutorship of William M.
Ramsey, now Justice of the Supreme
Court of Oregon, Mr. Fenton entered
upon the study of law in Ramsey's of-
fices at Salem. In 1882 he was ad-
mitted to practice by the Supreme
Court of the State, and in 1884 began
the active pursuit of his profession at
Eugene.

Six years later, in 1890, Mr. Fenton
gave up his practice at Eugene and re-
moved to Spokane, Washington, where
he formed a law partnership with his
brother, Charles R. Fenton, under the
firm style of Fenton & Fenton. Pos-
sessed of a strong taste for politics, Mr.
Fenton was early led to take an active
part in public affairs, aligning himself
with the Democratic party. He was a
candidate in 1880 on the Democratic
ticket of Polk County, Oregon, for the
State Legislature, but his party being in
the minority he failed of election. In
1888 he announced his candidacy for
county judge of Lane County, Oregon,
and was defeated by only two votes.
At the fall election of 1892, however, he

was nominated and elected prosecuting
attorney of Spokane County, Washing-
ton, and held that office for two years.
He was a delegate in 1896 from the
State of Washington to the National
Democratic convention at Chicago
which nominated William Jennings
Bryan for the presi-
dency. In 1898 he was
tendered the nomina-
tion for Congress in
the State of Washing-
ton but declined to ac-
cept the honor.

Mr. Fenton continued
the practice of his pro-
fession in the State of
Washington until the
fall of 1898, when he
removed to Nome,
Alaska. This was the
year of the world-wide
rush to the Alaskan
gold fields, when, hun-
dreds and thousands of
fortune-seekers from
all quarters of the
globe penetrated into
the North. In Alaska
Mr. Fenton divided his
time for the ensuing
six years between min-
ing and the practice of
law. His legal work
was largely in mining
and criminal law and while he was in
the northern territory he took an ac-
tive part in the most important min-
ing litigation before the courts. One
of the suits was to establish title to
the placer property known as No. 1
on Daniels Creek in the Topkok mining
district, in which was involved some
$1,000,000. In another, the Glacier Bench
mining litigation, was involved $500,-
000.

In 1903, leaving Alaska behind him,
Mr. Fenton came southward as far as
California and gained admittance to
the bar in this State. In 1904 he lo-
cated in San Francisco, practicing here
until June, 1906, just after the big fire,
when he returned to Seattle. In 1908
he went to Portland and became assist-
ant counsel for the Southern Pacific
Company in association with his broth-
er, W. D. Fenton, chief counsel for
the corporation. In this capacity Mr.
Fenton took an active part in the liti-
gation between the United States and
the Oregon & California Railroad Com-
pany, wherein the Government sought
to forfeit the Oregon Land Grant. In
1911 he resigned from this position and
returned to San Francisco, where he
continues alone in the practice of his
profession.

Fraternally, Mr. Fenton is a member
of the Spokane' lodge of the Scottish
Rite and of El Katif Temple of the
Mystic Shrine, of Spokane. He also
belongs to the B. P. O. Elks.

265

HERBERT FLEISHHACKER

MANY things make up those attri-
butes that aid a man toward suc-
cess. Not the least of these is
inherent ambition, coupled with
strict honesty of purpose and perform-
ance. All these are recognized char-
acteristics of Herbert Pleishhacker,
president of the Anglo
& London Paris Na-
tional Bank, financier,
capitalist and officer
or director of a num-
ber of sound corpora-
tions.

The career of Her-
bert Fleishhacker has
been a succession of
hard-won achieve-
ments. He did not ac-
quire, at the outset,
the "higher education."
But the lack of it at
no time seemed a
handicap; he did things
just the same.

A native of San
Francisco, born here
November 2, 1872, Mr.
Fleishhacker was sent
to school for eight
years by his parents,
Aaron and Delia
(Stern) Fleishhacker,
and attended Heald's
Business College one
year more. When fif-
teen years old he became a bookkeeper
in his father's paper business, but after
about a. year and a half entered the
manufacturing end. Here was his start
and he made the most of it.

After four years as a paper manu-
facturer he went into the sales depart-
ment and became a traveling salesman
for the concern. As he traveled he
kept his eyes open for opportunities.
In Oregon he saw the need of paper
mills. This led to his establishment of
the first mills of the kind in the State,
at Oregon City. The project was a
success and later he organized a large
lumber company near Eugene, Oregon.
Again success attended him.

Returning to California, Mr. Fleish-
hacker organized and promoted the
Electric Power Company at Floriston.
Gradually he acquired or built other
properties in various parts of the State,
among them the Truckee River Elec-
tric Company, which was sold in 1909
for nearly $2,000,000, and the Sacra-
mento Valley Power Company, which
brought something like $1,000,000 in
1912. At one time he had more than a
dozen power plants and factories in
operation and still retains his interest
in a number of them.

From a promoter Mr. Fleishhacker
easily became a banker. In 1907 he
accepted the managership of the Lon-
don, Paris & American Bank of San
Francisco. When, on March 1, 1909,
this institution absorbed the Anglo-
California Bank, Ltd., and became the

Anglo & London Paris National Bank
of today, he went up a step higher
and became vice-president and man-
ager. He was chosen president of the
bank in March, 1911, upon the resigna-
tion from that position of S. Green-
baum. When Mr. Fleishhacker became
a part of the London,
Paris & American
Bank in 1907 the de^
posits were $4,500,000;
today the bank that he
heads has deposits in
excess of $30,000,000
and is the largest in-
stitution of its kind
west of the Rocky
Mountains. It is pro-
gressive, conservative,
and makes a specialty
of exchange business.
In addition to his
presidency of the
Anglo & London Paris
Bank, Mr. Fleish-
hacker is president
of the Northwestern
Electric Company, the
Floriston Land &
Power Company and
the Reno (Nevada)
Traction Company; is
vice-president of the
Anglo-California Trust
Company, the Central
California T r a c ti o n
Company, the City Electric Company
and the Great Western Power Com-
pany, and a director of the Crown-
Columbia Paper Pulp Company, the
Swiss-American Bank, the Floriston
Pulp & Paper Company and a number
of others.

Not the least interesting of Mr.
Fleishhacker's characteristics is his
love of home, and within the family
circle he is usually to be found in his
leisure moments. He was married
August 9, 1905, to Miss May Belle
Greenbaum and the couple have three
children, Marjorie, Herbert Jr. and Alan
Howard.

Not to mention Mr. Fleishhacker's
connection with the Panama-Pacific
International Exposition would be to
omit an important work he has done
on behalf of San Francisco and Cali-
fornia. He has given' of his co-opera-
tion to the great world show from its
very start; he has backed it with money
and with brains. It is significant that
the financial side of the Exposition is
handled through the Anglo & London
Paris National Bank, that the vast daily
receipts are hauled to the bank's doors
in a steel vault on wheels every even-
ing.

Herbert Fleishhacker is a type of
man whom it would be well to pattern
after. To men such as he San Fran-
cisco owes much — how much one can
readily conceive in a comparison of the
city as it exists today, with its sky-
scrapers and modern business concerns,
and as it existed nine years ago in its
ashes, with business almost annihilated
by the great conflagration.

266

DR. ANTONIO A. R. F. FONTECHA

WHEN the Republic of Honduras
accepted the formal Invitation
from the President of the
United States to participate of-
ficially in the Panama-Pacific Exposi-
tion — it was one of the first nations, by
the way, to announce its acceptance —
it placed in charge of
its exhibit a man
whose wide experience
and. ability in such
matters had long been
recognized.

This man is Dr.
Antonio A. Ramirez P.
Pontecha, who, as
Commissioner - General
for Honduras to the
Exposition, has adver-
tised his country in
more favorable a light
than, perhaps, it has
ever been exploited in
the United States. In
a magnificent building,
tastefully fitted up, he
arranged a series of
exhibits that were
doubtless as surprising
to the thousands of
visitors who viewed
them as they were
comprehensive.

Dr. Pontecha has
been given many
honors ,by the govern-
ment he represents.
Pour times has he
been commissioner-general for Hon-
duras to expositions, two of them at
Paris and one at Madrid, as well as
that at San Francisco. He also has been
Minister for Honduras at Paris and
Madrid, and represented his country in
the conference at Madrid in 1905-7 re-
garding the controversy over the
boundary between Honduras and Nic-
aragua. He is a physician and surgeon,
has been rector of the Central Uni-
versity of Honduras at Tegucigalpa,
and at present is president of the Hon-
duras Academy. He holds membership,
besides, in the Royal Academy of the
Spanish Language, the Royal Academy
of History and the Royal Society of
Geography, all of Spain.

In order to "diffuse and popularize
knowledge of Honduras, and to dissi-
pate the legends that ignorance and
passion have spread of the nation
abroad," Dr. Pontecha has written an
interesting volume commemorative of
the Panama-Pacific Exposition. It is
probably the most accurate and com-
plete work ever written on Honduras
and is of unusual interest.

Honduras was discovered by Chris-
topher Columbus in 1502, during the
fourth voyage of that famous naviga-
tor. It is in the exact center of Central
America, with Guatemala, Salvador and
Nicaragua for neighbors; and, in the
words of Dr. Pontecha, offers "for any
enterprising man, as well as for the
assiduous workman and laborer, the
most favorable opportunities and con-
ditions for the development of his
activities."

Its topography is made up of high

is exported,

mountains, elevated plateaus and deep
valleys of wondrous fertility and there
is found within its borders practically
all the animal and vegetable life com-
mon to either the torrid or temperate
zones. In many places it is covered
with heavy forest growths of rich and
valuable timber, in-
eluding mahogany,
rosewood, logwood,
brazilwood and others,
with pine at the higher
elevations.

Agriculturally, Hon-
duras, with the proper
development, will one
day yield enormously.
The culture of bananas
leads in importance,
but there is also grown
Indian corn, French
beans, rice, wheat,
coffee, cocoa, tobacco,
potatoes, cocoanuts,
sugar, rubber, indigo
and sarsaparilla. As
for the manner in
which cereals thrive,
Honduras could easily
be made the granary
for all Central Amer-
ica.

The raising of cattle
is one of Honduras'
principal industries,
made possible by the
great extent of natural
pasturage. Much stock
along with bananas and
other commodities, not only to the
United States and other countries on
this side of the Atlantic but also to
Europe.

One of the things that most distin-
guishes this really wonderful country
is its vast mineral wealth. Treasure
hunters were attracted to it by the
thousands during the time of the
Spanish domination; then for a long
time the mining development was neg-
lected, and it is only since about 1881
that the exploitation of mines has been
on the ascendancy. Gold, silver, plati-
num, copper, nickel, lead, zinc, iron,
quicksilver and antimony occur, as do
sulphur, tin, alum, saltpetre, mica and
others. Precious gems also are to be
found, as well as coal, and oil is
believed to exist in quantities. Rich
mineral waters await only exploitation
to become profitable.

Honduras, the third in size of the
Central American states, has an area
of ahout 45,000 square miles, and a
population, in 1912, of 578,482. The
birth rate is high and the death rate
surprisingly low. It can boast of a
well-organized judiciary; railways,
telegraph and telephones; a system of
good roads built on the tracks made by
the Spanish conquerors, and an up-to-
date postofflce system. Primary public
instruction is free and compulsory; in
1913 there were 37,897 children being
educated in 916 schools.

These schools, with several modern
colleges and universities, are bringing
about an enlightenment that makes the
future of Honduras assured.

267

C. S. S. FORNEY

President Central California Gas Company.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN FRICK

v : : ^^

IN the past two decades few names
have been connected with noted
court cases in Alameda County so
often as the name of Abraham Lin-
coln Frick, whether as prosecutor,
Judge or defender. Big cases mean
prominence in the legal profession.
Judge Frick is prom-
inent.

Some of his cases
have been of nation-
wide interest and in
their handling he has
gained wide repute as
an interpreter of civil
and criminal law. This
has been especially
true of his criminal
work, although' he has
handled many civil
cases of broad ccope
and general interest.

One at least of his
cases has had a pro-
found influence on the
legal profession of Cal-
ifornia, and perhaps of
the whole country.
This was his recent
representation of At-
torney George J. Mo-
Donough.

McDonough, repre-
senting a client ac-
cused of participation
in election frauds, was
asked by the Alameda
County Grand Jury to
tell who retained him and furnished
bail for such client. On advice of Judge
Frick, he declined to. tell. He was or-
dered to do so by Superior Judge Ogden
and refused, whereupon he was ad-
judged guilty of contempt and sen-
tenced to the county jail.

Judge Frick took out a writ of habeas
corpus, returnable before the District
Court of Appeals, which sustained
Judge Ogden. He then brought the
habeas corpus action before the Su-
preme Court of California which, sitting
en banc, rendered an almost unanimous
decision reversing Judge Ogden and
forming an epochal precedent govern-
ing confidential relations between at-
torney and client. From a profes-
sional standpoint, Judge Frick con-
siders this one of his most gratifying
cases.

Judge Frick comes of American pre-
Eevolutionary stock. He is the son of
George Washington Frick, a native of
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania,
who wedded Miss Mary Elizabeth Bry-
ant in Illinois in 1852 and came to Cal-
ifornia with his bride in that year. He
taught in the first public school in San-
ta Cruz, then moved to Centerville and,
in 1857, to Sonoma County. During the
Civil War he was president of the
Sonoma County Bethel Union League.

Abraham Lincoln Frick was born
near Petaluma February 21, 1866, and
is a brother to George William Frick,
now Alameda County Superintendent of
Schools. But Abraham Lincoln Frick
chose the law. He was educated in the

public schools and then went to the
Hastings Law College, being graduated
in 1888. He was admitted to practice
by the Supreme Court on June 28, 1888.
Despite the usual early struggles.
Judge Frick was soon successful in his
chosen work. He served as deputy dis-
trict attorney in Ala-
meda County under
George W. Reed and
later as chief deputy
under Charles E.
Snook.

On December 10,
1894, he was appointed
a superior judge to fill
the unexpired term of
Judge F. W. Henshaw,
who became a Su-
preme Court justice.

On May 21, 1896, the
young jurist took a
wife. Miss Matilda M.
Bader of Oakland.

His real career as an
eloquent pleader at the
bar began after leav-
ing the superior bench.
The first important
case was the defense
of Clara Falmer, a sev-
enteen-year-old girl
charged with murder.
This case helped vastly
to build Judge Frick's
reputation. The trial
consumed several
weeks. Finally the
jury went out for twenty minutes and
acquitted the defendant, who since
has justified all the work in her be-
half.

This case also established the repu-
tation of Dr. O. D. Hamlin as an alien-
ist, thus bringing a young lawyer and
a young doctor into the prominence
they have held ever since in Alameda
County.

Since that case, Judge Frick has
fought many big court battles with less
than the usual percentage of defeats.
One of his most important struggles
was the successful defense of Mrs.
Brown for the killing of her husband,
a case of nation-wide prominence,
whose details were flashed broadcast
over the tele graph wires. Another val-
iant defense was that of Tom Power,
accused of murder. In twenty-two mur-
der cases which Judge Frick has de-
fended, none of his clients has paid the
extreme penalty.

In civil cases success has likewise at-
tended him. An important recent one
was the defense of Dr. John Robertson
of the Divermore Sanitarium, sued for
$80,000 damages by a patient. This
physician, by the way, had been an op-
ponent of Dr. Hamlin as alienist in the
Falmer case.

Judge Frick is medium tall, and slim,
of the incisive type of attorney, with a
vibrant, resonant voice. Whether pros-
ecutor, or defender, he has held the re-
spect of his opponents and has chal-
lenged the best of their talents to com-
bat his marshaling of the law.

269

CHARLES H. GAUNT

THE broad and vigorous adminis-
tration of a public utility, so
closely identified with our every-
day affairs as the telegraph,
creates a business and social asset of
high value; and the exceptional organ-
ization and operation of the forces of
the "Western Union
Telegraph Company
on the Pacific Coast
indicate the skill and
capacity of Charles H.
Gaunt, the General
Manager, to meet every
condition that arises
in the conduct of that
company's relations
with the public.

Mr. Gaunt, pursuing
a course similar to
most executives o f
public service corpo-
rations, has spent all
of his active business
life in the study and
handling of tele-
graphic problems o n
their technical side,
and in the manage-
ment of the forces
dealing with the users
of the telegraph on the
popular side. He has
reached out and
drawn to his service men of both dom-
inant personality and unusual ability to
carry out his ideas of corporate man-
agement in its relation to the compli-
cated demands of the public; and there
has been no department of the work in
which he has not succeeded, nor any
portion of the duties imposed upon him
that have not received progressive and
up-to-date performance.

Mr. Gaunt is a native of New York,
born in Steuben County, August 29,
1869. "With the prevailing enthusiasm
of the young men of that period he
directed his attention to the electrical
field, and entered the fascinating occu-
pation of telegrapher, first at the small
office in his home town in New Jersey,
to which he moved while young, then
in New York City, where he developed
his skill and formed impressions of the
possibilities of telegraphic expansion
and operation that have been of great
value to him in applying his expertness
to the wider fields of the "West.

In 1889 Mr. Gaunt went to Helena,
Montana, then a thriving mining city,
and as manager of the Northern Pacific
Railway's telegraph department passed
that period of development and hard
work through which all forceful men
go in preparation for a successful career
in the Western territory, where fresh
expansion and breadth of operation call
for the best type of mental capacity
and physical endurance.

accepted, the position of Superintendent
of Telegraph of the Santa Fe Railway
System, and with this opportunity he
applied the principles of telegraphic
development and control which he had
long studied and prepared for, with the
result that the telegraph organization
and efficiency brought
o u t o n that railroad
system exceeded in
economic value and
substantial usefulness
any that had been built
up upon large railroad
properties. His admin-
istrative success was
so marked that an ad-
vancement in 1905 to
the position of Assist-
ant General Manager
of the parent lines of
the Santa Fe Railway,
i n ad dition to his
duties as head of the
telegraph department
of the entire system,
carried him into the
direct management of
the railroad property
with consequent en-
largement of experi-
ence and capacity for
responsibility.

Mr. Gaunt was ap-
pointed General Superintendent of the
Western Union Telegraph Company at
San Francisco in July, 1910, and his title
was changed to that of General Man-
ager in December, 1912; his jurisdic-
tional territory being composed of the
States of California, Oregon, "Washing-
ton, Arizona and Nevada, together with
British Columbia in Canada. With the
same energy and resourcefulness exer-
cised in his railroad work he has built
up the "Western Union service on the
Pacific Coast so that it is an organized
telegraphic facility which embraces in
commercial usefulness and adequate
equipment every modern and progress-
ive, idea that highly trained men can
apply to the needs of business develop-
ment and the daily activities of the
people. As the scope of the "Western
Union's operations brings the company
in close touch with every community,
the vigorous and thorough policy insti-
tuted and maintained by Mr. Gaunt is
felt in all parts of the territory as-
signed to his management.

Mr. Gaunt married Miss Mary Flesher
of Helena, Montana, in 1890, and their
family consists of one son, now grown.
Throughout his business career Mr.
Gaunt has been keenly active in
securing a wide commercial acquaint-
ance, both in the territory administered
by him and throughout the United
States. He is a member of the Bohemian,
Press and Country Clubs of San Fran-

In 1902 Mr. Gaunt was tendered, and Cisco, and a lover of automobile touring.

270

JOHN GINTY

CONFIDENCE in a public official fol-
lows only after it is proved that
the office is efficiently and hon-
estly conducted. This is particu-
larly true of the Assessor's office, which
is the real financial agency of the city.

In San Francisco 84 per cent of the
entire expense of the
city is raised by taxa-
tion. San Francisco has
been fortunate in the
selection of its Asses-
sors during the past
sixteen years; not a
suspicion has been
voiced against their
ability or integrity.
Doctor Washington
Dodge served four con-
secutive terms, and
John Ginty, present
Assessor, was ap-
pointed on Doctor
Dodge's recommenda-
tion. In a letter to the
mayor, Doctor Dodge
said:

"I know of no one in
the city that could be-
gin to discharge the
duties of the office as
efficiently as John
Ginty. He is thorough-
ly informed on the
laws governing tax-
ation and had always
taken a deep interest
in matters relating to
this subject previous to his connection
with the office. I engaged him as my
Chief Deputy on account of his expert
knowledge."

Mr. Ginty has carried out all the good
features of Doctor Dodge's adminis-
tration and has added further improve-
ments which will save the City and
County thousands of dollars annually.
To aid in the work of appraising prop-
erty he keeps a ledger account of each
block in the city, and posts to the ac-
count the sale of property as reported
each day, also all building permits or
contracts affecting building operations
in each block.

Notwithstanding that 80 per cent of
the' deeds recorded state only a nominal
consideration, Mr. Ginty always ferrets
out and finds the true consideration
paid. On completion of a building it is
inspected, measured and appraised by a
set of tables covering different classes
of buildings showing an average cost
per cubic or square foot to build. These
are compiled from architect ^tables and
from actual cost prices of thousands of
houses erected since the great Are of
1906.

The assessed values of land are based
on a unit front foot value in each block,
with table calculations for varying
depth of the lot and corner influences,
similar to the Somers system but based
on compilations made from sales in this
city for a number of years and reflecting
the community idea of values as ex-
pressed in sales since 1906.

Mr. Ginty also is the inventor of an
ingenious map and street guide by which
a stranger in the city could, inside of
one minute, locate on the map any block
of land, public building or given ad-
dress, and the street car line that would
carry him there. Travelers familiar
with the Baedeker
guide, used in most
European cities and
with the street guides
of the principal cities
of the United States,
declare that Mr. Ginty's
map and street guide
is superior to any
guide book they have
had occasion to use.

Quiet and unassum-
ing, Mr. Ginty is al-
ways ready to listen to
complaints of tax
payers and to investi-
gate alleged errors and
grant reductions in as-
sessments that the law
or the circumstances
will permit.

Socially, he prefers
the quiet of his own
home and the company
of his family. At the
early age of fourteen
he left school to enter
a printing office, with
the intention of mak-
ing journalism his life
work. Not liking it,
however, he drifted into railroading and
after learning telegraphy rapidly ad-
vanced until he was a station agent,
superintendent clerk and acting train
dispatcher. The wanderlust born in
him led him to come in 1868 to Cali-
fornia. Here he has been for the past
forty years actively engaged in busi-
ness, most of the time in banking. He
has filled with credit important execu-
tive positions in National banks, sav-
ings banks and loan and mortgage com-
panies in various parts of the State,
giving him an experience in land ap-
, praising, as a credit man and as an
expert accountant that has been valu-
able in his present work.

This is the first political office held
by Mr. Ginty, although he has always
taken an interest in public matters and
is a member of several charitable
societies, fraternal organizations and
clubs organized for the study of civic
conditions. His father and, three
brothers served in the Civil War, two
of the brothers being killed in battle.
An Assessor is, in many respects, the
most important official the people elect.
His discretion, judgment and honesty
vitally affect every tax payer. It is of
vast consequence to the progress and
welfare of the people that they choose
a competent and upright Assessor,
since one either incapable or wanting
in integrity may do incalculable harm.
Measured by this standard, Mr. Ginty
has no rival in the hearts of the people.

271

T. SEYMOUR HALL

A DISTINCTIVELY new method of
dealing in securities is that
worked out and put into force by
T. Seymour Hall, secretary-treas-
urei* and managing director of the Oak-
land Street Improvement Bond Com-
pany. He has simplified this form of
financial transaction,
has educated the in-
vesting public up to
the change and has
placed the entire plan
on a solid foundation
that insures complete
confidence on the part
of his patrons.

Street improvement
bonds, issued in odd
denominations with
partial payment on the
principal due each
year, are not sold out-
right by Mr. Hall's
concern. Instead, the
bonds, chosen with
great care as to their
soundness and worth,
are deposited in trust,
and trust receipts in
even denominations
and for definite matur-
ities are issued and
sold. These receipts
entitle the holder to
the amount of his in-
vestment in original-
form bonds held by the
trustee, and he can se-
cure these bonds, if he so desires, at
any time upon presentation of his trust
receipts.

The security is exactly the same as
where the bonds are sold outright. Only
the form of the transaction is different,
and the new form is superior to the old
because of its great convenience. The
security holder, too, is absolutely safe.
He simply cannot lose. Not only have
the bonds been standardized and found
to be of sterling worth before they are
handled by Mr. Hall at all, but the in-
vestor is absolutely independent of the
bond house, for his securities are in
the hands of a third party, the disin-
terested trustee, where they can be had
at any time.

By the very merit of its plan and by
means also of national advertising — ■
this is the first time, by the way, a
California security, as such, has been
nationally advertised — the Oakland
Street Improvement Bond Company is
receiving a very satisfactory response.
It is especially conservative in the
choice of its bonds, and from its ever
growing clientele has never come any-
thing but confidence and appreciation.

Mr. Hall, who has been more instru-
mental than any other man in working
out the details of the new investment
plan, was born February 16, 1880, at
Honolulu, H. I. His father, W. W. Hall,
was proprietor of E. O. Hall & Son, Ltd.,
the largest American hardware firm in
the islands. His mother was Elizabeth
(Van Cleve) Hall. After taking a pre-

paratory course at Oahu College, Mr.
Hall came in 1897 to Berkeley, where he
attended high school. In 1900 he entered
the University of California with the
class of 1904, but after a year entered
Harvard with the class of '05, taking a
general social science course.

Force of c i r c u in-
stances made it nec-
essary for Mr. Hall to
leave Harvard in the
spring of 1902, before
graduation. He en-
rolled at the school of
the Simmonds Hard-
ware Company at St.
Louis, maintained for
the convenience o f
prospective hardware
dealers, and took a
general business
course. Then for a
year and a half he was
on the road for the
Simmonds Company,
but in 1907 resigned
and returned to Berke-
ley, where he associ-
ated himself with the
real estate firm of Ma-
son-McDuffie Company.
After a year with the
Mason-McDuffie Com-
pany Mr. Hall launched
out independently in
the mortgage loan
business in Berkeley.
In November, 1909, he
was married to Miss Ruth Houghton of
Oakland and immediately thereafter
was called back to Honolulu by the
ill health of his father. For a year he
was in charge of the automobile depart-
ment of E. O. Hall & Son, the business
founded by his grandfather. Then fol-
lowing his father's death in May, 1911,
he sold the hardware business and in
1912 returned, this time to Oakland,
where he again engaged in mortgage
loans.

During Mr. Hall's experience in the
mortgage business he had devoted con-
siderable time to the collection of data
and to the study of mortgage institu-
tions of this country and Europe, with
particular attention to the methods of
the great Credit Foncier of France.
The application of this knowledge,
which proved invaluable, was made pos-
sible when he turned to the study of
the California street improvement bond.
He helped organize the Oakland Street
Improvement Bond Company, through
which his ideas have been worked out
with great success. As the firm's clien-
tele and operations grow, it is proba-
ble that it will handle municipal bonds
in addition to. the securities it now
carries.

Mr. Hall's social activities are con-
fined to the Athenian-Nile Club of Oak-
land and the Phi Delta Theta fra-
ternity. He has two sons, Seymour
Houghton Hall, aged five, and Win-
slow William Hall, aged three and a
half.

272

WENDELL P. HAMMON

THE name of Wendell P. Hammon
is as naturally associated with
the idea of the development of
Northern California as the name
California itself is associated with the
idea of a domain of gold and prosperity,
of fruit and flowers, of sunshine and
health. Oroville knows
him as a man who did
much to bring the
town out of the leth-
argy that followed
the mining boom, and
make it a solid, pro-
gressive community;
San Francisco and the
rest of the State know
him as a business man
of high enterprise and
unimpeachable integ-
rity.

It is, perhaps, as a
pioneer in the field of
gold dredging that
Mr. Hammon is the
bestknown. Not
that he has confined
himself to this, how-
ever. He has been,
and is yet, deeply
interested in the grow-
ing of fruit, particu-
larly of oranges, and
is connected in one
way or another with a
number of corporations of varied scope.

Born May 23, 1854, at Conneautville,
Crawford County, Pennsylvania, Mr.
Hammon is the son of Marshall M. Ham-
mon and Harriet S. (Cooper) Hammon.
His paternal ancestors settled at Provi-
dence, R. I., about the year 1726. Pol-
lowing a course in the primary and
grammar schools of his birthplace Mr.
Hammon attended the State Normal
School at Bdinboro, Brie County. He
left the institution in 1875, before grad-
uation, however, to come to California.

Arriving here, looking for an open-
ing, Mr. Hammon secured a position
as salesman for the fruit importing
concern of L. Green & Sons of Perry,
Ohio. He took a keen interest in the
fruit industry and two years later, see-
ing the opportunity of launching out
for himself, engaged in the nursery
business. Meanwhile he studied the
subject deeply and in a few years he
was being spoken of as an authority
on horticulture. His removal to Butte
County, which was to be the scene of
most of his future operations, came in
1890, when he planted a large orchard
about ten miles below Oroville near the
Feather River. He devoted most of
the next ten years to fruit growing,
although he had begun to investigate
mining and operated in a rather small
way in Eastern Oregon, Idaho and Ari-
zona.

Ever since the days of the Argonauts
it had been generally known that there
was gold in Butte County. Oroville was

at one time an important mining cen-
ter; but then came the slump and the
field was practically abandoned. The
Chinese had worked the flats along the
Feather River by their crude methods,
but even they had given it up as not
commercially profitable.

Mr. Hammon was
astonished, when a
well was being sunk
on his property, to dis-
cover excellent pay
gravel. He looked fur-
ther, then secured an
option on about a
thousand acres and
prospected it thor-
oughly. The result was
gratifying, but there
remained the question
of how mining could
be carried on, on a
large scale. Gold
dredging had never
been successful on the
Pacific Coast up to that
time, and this method
appeared impractical
until Mr. Hammon ran
across a new type of
dredger then in use on
the Chicago drainage
canal. He had a sim-
ilar dredger built, or-
ganized the Feather
River Exploration Company, and began
operations March 1, 1898.

As in the case of nearly every new
enterprise, progress in the gold dredg-
ing was difficult. There were those who
scoffed, who declared the project was
certain to fail. For a time it was all
expenditure, with no returns. But the
dredger was gradually improved until
success was assured. The rest of the
story is so well known as not to need
the telling. Let it suffice to say that
today W. P. Hammon directs the
largest gold-dredging operations in the
world, and that his companies have con-
trol of more than 10,000 acres of land
in California and Oregon — with more
than thirty dredgers at work. Among
his corporations engaged in this indus-
try are the Tuba Consolidated Gold
Fields, Calaveras Dredging Co., and
Powder River Gold Dredging Co.

He continues to be a big factor in
the fruit growing industry, as president
of the Oroville Orange and Olive
Groves, and operates his own packing
plants. Besides this he is interested as
officer or director in the Finnell Land
Co., Hammon Engineering Co., Plumas
Investment Co., Santuario Co., the Yuba
Construction Co. and Sierra Pacific Elec-
tric Co.

One of Mr. Hammon's latest achieve,-
ments was the organization of the Ven-
tura Consolidated Oil Fields, whose
stock is listed on the Boston Stock Ex-
change. Subsidiaries of this are the
Montebello N Oil Co. and the Ventura Re-
fining Co.

273

JOHN R. HANIFY

NEARLY every business man has
some sort of relaxation — some
sport or hobby which brings him
rest and change from the daily
routine of work. For some it is athlet-
ics, for others reading, for others the
making of collections of one kind or
another. For John R.
Hanify, founder and
head of J. R. Hanify
Co., lumber manufac-
turers and dealers, it
is yachting.

"When, just a few
weeks ago, Mr. Hanify
won with his racing
sloop Westward the
magnificent gold cup
offered by King George
V of Great Britain he
but demonstrated
again his prowess as a
sailor of yachts. He
did not gain for him-
self by this latest coup
a reputation as a.
yachtsman. The rep-
utation was already
his.

Throughout, the ca-
reer of John R. Hanify
has been a succession
of personal efforts
rightly directed. Born
in New York City Sep-
tember 15, 1862, his father was Francis
Hanify, at one time in charge of the
damage claims department of the Inman
line of steamships, and his mother was
Bridget (Ryder) Hanify. He attended St.
FrancisXavier College in New York, but
in 1876, following his mother's death,
accompanied his father to California.
The intention was to return to New
York, but the elder Hanify passed away
a few months after his arrival on the
Coast and the boy was left to shift for
himself. He was not quite 14 years old.

Mr. Hanify succeeded in landing a
position as office boy with the Moore &
Smith Lumber Company. Thus began a
successful 17 years' connection with this
firm. He rose from office boy to book-
keeper, to cashier, to office manager
and finally became general manager of
the concern, and gained valuable prac-
tical experience in the manufacturing
end of the industry.

In 1893 Mr. Hanify went into business
for himself under the firm name "J. R.
Hanify," accepting the selling agency
for various sawmills. After three or four
years he took in as a partner Albert C.
Hooper, son of John A. Hooper, and
changed the firm name to J. R. Hanify &
Co. At the same time he became inter-
ested in the manufacture as well as the
sale of lumber, and began building
sailing vessels and steamers for the
transportation of their products. The
firm also became owners of a substan-
tial tract of timber land in Humboldt
County, and of 50 per cent of the stock

of the Bucksport & Elk River Railroad
Co., connecting the Elk River lumber
mill with the shipping point on Hum-
boldt bay.

Mr. Hanify purchased the assets of the
copartnership in 1905 and Mr. Hooper
retired from the firm. For a little more
than a year Mr. Hanify
operated alone, but in
April, 1907, incorpo-
rated under the name
of the J. R. Hanify Co.,
allowing each of his
older employes to ac-
quire a substantial in-
terest in the business.
He has built six steam-
ers, although he now
operates but three,
having disposed of the
smaller ones. One of
his largest vessels is
the Francis Hanify, a
combination tanker
and lumber carrier de-
signed for coast-to-
coast trade through
the Panama Canal. He
also has built eight
sailing vessels, three of
which he now operates.
In civic affairs Mr.
Hanify has been ac-
tively interested. For
a number of years he
was a member of the appeals committee
of the San Francisco Chamber of Com-
merce. He also was a member of the
Commerce Chamber party that about
three years ago visited Japan to fur-
ther the commercial relations between
San Francisco and the Orient.

Ever since he was 15 or 16 years old
Mr. Hanify has been deeply interested
in amateur yachting. The first sloop
he owned was the Myrtle, a 32-foot
boat. Since that time he has built three
schooner yachts, although the only one
he owns at present is the Martha. He
has built two motorboats and still
operates one of them, the Scout.

The sloop "Westward is Mr. Hanify's
pride. It was built especially for the
Panama-Pacific Exposition races and
was designed by "William Gardner of
New York, designer also of the Vanitie,
■which has been competing with the
Resolute as a candidate for the defense
of the American cup. The "Westward
has won every time she has started.
She has won one race for the Sir Thomas
Lipton cup, which must be won three
times, and also brought to her owner
the beautiful King George cup last
August.

Mr. Hanify was for two years com-
modore of the San Francisco Yacht
Club, in 1909-10, and is a member also
of the Corinthian Yacht Club of New
York. He is a director of the Olympic
Club of San Francisco, and a member
of the Pacific Union, Bohemian and
others.

274

CARL A. HENRY

IN an adage of such long standing that
its inception goes far back into the
mists of antiquity, young men are
solemnly advised that in order to at-
tain eminence in this world of competi-
tion they must begin at the very bottom
in some line of work and struggle up-
ward by degrees. Then,
once up, they will re-
main up.

Glancing over the
careers of men who
have gained eminence
in their respective
lines in San Francisco
and California, it is
wonderful to note to
how many of them this
ancient rule applies.
The number that
started in as office boys
is staggering. There
seems to be another
rule — less thought of
as such but neverthe-
less true — that a youth,
if he has it in him to
be a first-class office
boy, has it in him also
to develop into a first-
class business man.
And most of them do
develop thus.

Carl A. -Henry, one of
the most widely known business men on
the Pacific Coast today, started his ca-
reer as an office boy. That is, he really
started out as a newsboy. Before and
after school he delivered newspapers in
San Francisco's financial section. This
lasted some time, until he was about
14 years old in fact, when he secured
a position as office boy with one of his
customers.

Just about thirty years have passed
since Mr. Henry left the Boys' High
School and began shifting for himself.
Today he is one of the joint agents in
the Pacific department of several of the
world's leading fire insurance com-
panies; and, besides this, he is vice-
president of the Owl Drug Company,
one of the foremost concerns of its kind
in the United States.

Mr. Henry was born May 21, 1872, at
San Jose, California. When Mr. Henry
was still a small boy his parents moved
to San Francisco and it was in the pub-
lic schools of this city that he gained
his education.

From office boy in an insurance firm
Mr. Henry rose steadily until he was
placed in charge of the office work.
About 1893 he saw an opportunity to
engage in the insurance business for
himself, and embraced it. He became
local agent for a number of important
fire insurance companies, and built
up the business until he had the

largest agency of its sort in the
city.

Until 1899 Mr. Henry retained these
agencies, but in the latter year he
dropped them and took over instead the
general agencies of the Sun Insurance
Office of London founded in 1710 and
the oldest insurance
company in the world,
Sun Underwriters
Agency of London, and
the Michigan Fire and
Marine of Detroit.

A few years ago Mr.
Henry merged h i s
business with that of
Willard O. Wayman,
representing as gen-
eral agent the National
of Hartford, Colonial
Fire Underwriters
Agency and the Me-
chanics & Traders of
New Orleans. The con-
cern does the largest
fire insurance business
west of Chicago. The
combined resources of
its six companies is
$52,000,000. Its terri-
tory extends as far
east as, and including,
Colorado, and e m-
braces California, Ne-
vada, Utah, Arizona, Washington, Ore-
gon, Idaho, Montana, Hawaii, Alaska
and British Columbia. Branch offices
are maintained in Los Angeles, Port-
land, Seattle, Spokane and Denver.

For the past seven years Mr. Henry
has been vice-president of the Owl
Drug Company, and with R. B. Miller,
the president, controls the concern.
He has injected his personality into the
"Owl" as he has injected it into the
insurance field, and the results have
been equally as apparent. He is a vital
force in the conducting of the com-
pany's business affairs, acting chiefly in
an advisory capacity. His enthusiasm
for doing things well, for accepting
nothing short of the very best, is
almost proverbial.

Mr. Henry belongs to a number of
social organizations, among them the
Claremont Country Club and Athenian
Club of Oakland, and the Olympic and
Bohemian Clubs of San Francisco, as
well as to Yerba Buena Parlor of the
Native Sons. Fraternally he is a Ma-
son, holding membership in Golden Gate
Commandery, K. T., and in Islam Tem-
ple of the Shrine.

As a relaxation from business Mr.
Henry indulges in deep-sea fishing,
principally at Monterey and Santa Cruz.
He also owns a number of fine Airedale
terriers, some of which have won blue
ribbons.

275

ALFRED HERTZ

IT was a distinct compliment to Cal-
ifornia and the West when Alfred
Hertz consented to come here to di-
rect the San Francisco Symphony
Orchestra. He has been called "the
big- man of the Metropolitan Grand
Opera," and as a big man he was wel-
comed to San Fran-
cisco last July.

Perhaps it is well to
introduce Hertz with
the same words used in
The San Francisco
Chronicle, upon the oc-
casion of his initial ap-
pearance in San Fran-
cisco August 6th last,
directing the Exposi-
tion Orchestra, aug-
mented to more than
100 musicians, in the
great Beethoven con-
cert at the Civic Audi-
torium. Said The
Chronicle:

"A giant of energy,
Hertz employs his
forces in quantities to
be estimated only in
terms of superlative
power. It seemed as
though by sheer appli-
cation of his own vigor
he himself played ev-
erything from tympani
to contrabasso. He
epitomized the ener-
gies of one hundred
men and in the climaxes exposed a
Dionysiac joy in their tumultuous
shoutings; he summed up in his person
the efficiency of all and added thereto
a surplus of force which directed them
all and controlled them; or, once or
twice, condemned them all when in the
failure to ride as fast and as far and
as high as he willed, the members of
the great orchestra faltered. At such
moments Hertz was not to be regarded
as a being of sartorial propriety, nor
even as one amenable to the conven-
tions which politely ignore sweat. He
wrestled with a god on the mountain,
and he did not let him go until he had
the victory."

A native of Germany, Alfred Hertz
was born July 15, 1872, at Frankfort-on-
the-Main, the son of Leo Hertz and
Sara (Koenigswerther) Hertz. Follow-
ing his preliminary education at Frank-
fort Gymnasium, he began his so fruit-
ful study of music at Raff Conserva-
torium, Frankfort. How rapidly he ad-
vanced in this great conservatory
founded by Joachim Raff and Hans von
Buelow as president, may be gathered
from the fact that upon his graduation
from his courses in piano, theory, in-
strumentation and musical history he
■was appointed, when not yet twenty
years old, to the directorship of the
Hoftheater at Altenburg in Saxony.
Here, at the age of twenty, he was
decorated with the Order of Art and
Science of Saxony. Here, also, he pro-
duced for the first time anywhere Hum-
perdinck's "Hansel and Gretel."

Until 1895 Mr. Hertz filled this posi-
tion at Altenburg with ever increasing
success. Then he was called to Barmen-
Elberfeld, where for four years he was
conductor of opera and concerts at the
Stadttheater. In the spring of 1899 the
works of Fritz Delius, then somewhat
obscure, were to con-
stitute a program at
St. James' Hall, Lon-
don. Delius had heard
Hertz in Blberfeld, and
prevailed upon him to
conduct the rendition
of Delius' works.

By this time Hertz'
fame as a conductor
had spread all over
Europe. During his
London engagement
Maurice Grau offered
the young man the
baton that Anton Seidl
had laid down. It was
a distinct honor, but
one which Hertz was
unable to accept just
at that time, as he had
a three -year contract
to fulfill at the Stadt-
theater, Breslau. This
contract he carried
out.

In 1902 the way was
clear to bring Hertz to
America. Grau re-
newed his offers and
the brilliant young
conductor accepted, assuming at once
the musical direction of the Metropoli-
tan Grand Opera forces in New York.
On December 24, 1903, Hertz directed
the first performance of "Parsifal" ever
heard outside of Bayreuth, and on Jan-
uary 22, 1907, the first and only per-
formance at the Metropolitan Opera
House of Richard Strauss' "Salome."
He directed the first performance of
"Konigskinder" December 28, 1910, at
the Metropolitan, and he was responsible
for first production of important Amer-
ican novelties, such as "Pipe of Desire"
by Converse, "Mona" by Horatio Parker,
and "Cyrano de Bergerac" by Walter
Damrosch. One of his chief triumphs
was the first production of Richard
Strauss' "Der Rosencavalier."

For thirteen successive and success-
ful years Hertz remained at the Metro-
politan as conductor, and then resigned.
His departure was the occasion for one
of the greatest demonstrations ever ac-
corded a musician. But he left, he said,
in order to devote himself to "the higher
things in music." .

His next move was to convert the
loosely organized Los Angeles Sym-
phony Orchestra into a compact band
capable of the greatest and nicest ef-
fects, in order to produce Parker's new
$10,000 prize opera, "Fairyland." Then
he was brought to San Francisco
and given the musical directorship
of our Symphony Orchestra with prac-
tically unlimited powers. And the
fruits of his endeavors are soon to be
seen.

276

HOWARD C. HOLMES

IN this day and age we have come
to take nearly everything for
granted. A big engineering proj-
ect makes life easier for us — we
consider it only for a moment, then
accept it without further ado. Only
a few of us go behind the achieve-
ment and consider the
ingenuity it typifies,
or the man who made
it possible.

One of the first
things noticed by a
visitor to San Fran-
cisco is the city's fa-
mous ferry terminal.
This was built under
the direction of How-
ard Carlton Holmes,
civil and consulting
engineer, who has con-
ceived and put into
execution so many
projects as to make
himself an exception
to the general rule
that the men behind
achievements of this
sort are little known.
Rather, he is recog-
nized up and down the
Pacific Coast as one of
the foremost engineers
west of the Rocky
Mountains.

Since the age of
seventeen Mr. Holmes has been iden-
tified with engineering. He was born
June 10, 1854, at Nantucket, Massa-
chusetts, and when five years old came
with his parents to San Francisco. His
father, C. Holmes, "was prominent in
the early history of San Francisco as a
miner, then as a building contractor.

After receiving his education in the
public schools of this city, the younger
Mr. Holmes started out as a surveyor
and became identified with a number
of leading engineers. He was only
nineteen years old when he made all
the contour surveys necessary for the
development of Lake Chabot, Oak-
land's principal source of water supply.
At twenty-one Mr. Holmes passed an
examination for appointment as United
States deputy surveyor. Soon after-
ward he became assistant engineer of
the State Board of Harbor Commis-
sioners, leaving this position to design
and build the Alameda mole and depot
for the South Pacific Coast Railway
Company.

It might be well to say at this point
that the millions who visited the
Panama-Pacific Exposition gazed upon
Mr. Holmes' work when they viewed
the yacht harbor, its passenger and
freight slips and all the other exposi-
tion water terminals. As consulting
engineer on docks and wharves for the
exposition he designed all these fea-
tures.

Mr. Holmes directed his attention
to street railway construction -when,
in 1887-8, he built the Powell Street

Railroad, known as the Ferries and
Cliff House Railroad. During the next
few years he built the cable railroad
at Portland, that at Spokane and the
Madison Street Railroad at Seattle:
Returning to San Francisco he con-
structed the Sacramento street branch
of the Powell street
road, the lower end of
the California Street
Cable Railroad and
extended the Union
Street Cable Rail-
road from Fillmore to
the Presidio. Later
he secured the con-
tract for the electric
street railway at
Stockton.

Becoming chief en-
gineer of the Harbor
Board in 1892, Mr.
Holmes built the
water terminals for
all the railroads run-
ning into San Fran-
cisco with the excep-
tion of the Southern
Pacific, and even in
the latter's slips were
installed the freight
and passenger hoists
invented by him. One
of his innovations was
a teredo-proof pile for
wharves, concrete over
a core of wooden piles. This type of
pile has been used a number of years
with great success.

As chief engineer of the San Fran-
cisco, Oakland & San Jose Railroad
Company, the Key Route, Mr. Holmes
designed and constructed the terminal
mole which extends 16,000 feet into San
Francisco bay. He also built the Sacra-
mento electric road and the greater part
of the Oakland, Alameda & Piedmont
Railroad, now incorporated with the
Oakland Transit Company.

Resigning in 1901 from his position
with the Harbor Board, Mr. Holmes
became chief engineer for the San Fran-
cisco Dry Dock Company. He built
Hunter's Point Dry Dock No. 2, at that
time the largest graving dock on the ,
Pacific Coast. Later he prepared plans
for dry dock No. 3 at Hunter's Point,
one of the world's biggest and one that
will care for the greatest ocean liners
and battle-ships.

Today, in the East as well as the
West, Mr. Holmes is considered an au-
thority in his line. In 1904 he was
commissioned by the Boston Harbor
and Land Board to report on the re-
spective merits of graving and float-
ing docks. He also planned the Cana-
dian Government's dry dock at Victoria.
He has a goodly private practice, be-
sides being consulting engineer for the
Western Pacific Railway Company for
docks and wharves.

Mr. Holmes is a member of the Ameri-
can Society of Civil Engineers and of
various other prominent professional,
fraternal and social organizations.

277

CHARLES FREDERICK HORNER

ONE of the first things that impress
the visitor to California is the
intense loyalty of its citizens.
Whatever is indigenous to — what-
ever pertains to — the State is dear to
the heart of every Californian. Of all
things loved the best is the "native
son," the one who from
his earliest days has
lived in the environ-
ment of its mountains
a-nd sunshine and boun-
teous harvests; and it
is worthy of note that
a large percentage of
t he men who now
direct the destinies of
the State, in politics
and business, belong
to this class.

In this regard, the
story of Charles Fred-
erick Horner, assessor
of Alameda County, is
worth the telling. - Mr.
Horner is a native of
the Golden State. His
father came West with
the rush of '49, and
subsequently was a
flour miller for many
years. The elder Hor-
ner was a native of
New Jersey, where he
spent the early part of
his life. His brother, J. M. Horner,
had preceded him here by some years,
and it was in conjunction with this
brother that he entered the flour mill-
ing business. In fact, the honor of
founding the first flour mill in the
State belongs to J. M. Horner. It was
located at Union City and continued
to be the largest producing mill in
California for a long while. The two
brothers prospered and among other
things received a Spanish land grant
now known as Horner's Addition, San
Francisco.

Charles Frederick Horner was born
at Irvington, Cal., November 11, 1S58,
the son of W. T. and Anna Bmley
Horner. He attended the primary
schools of that city and then became a
scholar at Washington College, Irving-
ton. Some time after leaving college he
became interested in the culture of
sugar and determined to try his fortune
in the Hawaiian Islands, where he went
in 1879. The islands, then as now, de-
pended on sugar as their main crop and
the field of opportunity open to Mr.
Horner was one of exceptional advan-
tages. He was not slow to make use of
every favorable circumstance and soon
won a competence from the trade. With
the advancing years his holdings in-
creased and he became a man of the
largest influence, doing an annual busi-
ness of big proportions. He also in-
terested himself in public questions and

served two terms (1887-8) as a member ■
of the Hawaiian Legislature. His bus-
iness continued to prosper and he was
looked upon as one of the leading fig-
ures in the sugar industry of what is
now among our richest insular posses-
sions. Owing to a thorough study of
the subject, Mr. Hor-
ner was able to in-
troduce many improve-
ments in the planting
of the cane and its
handling, which result-
ed in important eco-
nomic advance. In
short, he entered into
all departments of the
industry and helped
materially in its ex-
pansion.

Returning to the
United States in 1896,
Mr. Horner established
himself at Centerville,
Cal., and lent his sup-
port to its growth, as-
sisting every under-
taking with the public
welfare as its aim. He
is well known in a
political way, and was
elected Supervisor of
the County for three
terms on the Republi-
can ticket, discharging
the duties of that office in a way that
has received general approval. Under
his administration a rule of economy
and efficiency was obtained, resulting
in a substantial saving to the com-
munity. This county is one of sin-
gular wealth, being located in a district
blessed with every advantage of Nature
and having excellent transit facilities
in all directions, and its industrial im-
portance has also enhanced in recent
years until there are few counties in the
State which can point to a finer record
of growth in all departments. In July,
1911, Mr. Horner was appointed by the
Board of Supervisors of Alameda County
assessor to fill a vacancy, and upon as-
suming the duties of assessor moved to
Oakland, where he has since resided.
Coming to the office at this critical stage
of the county's development, Mr. Horner
has met with a complete measure of
success and is certainly one of the most
popular men in the county.

Mr. Horner is an active member of
the Native Sons of the Golden West and
a supporter of all the ideals for which
that organization stands. He is also
affiliated with the Masonic Order, the
Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the
World, Druids, Odd Fellows, Moose and
B. P. O. Elks. Although a busy man he
finds times to take an active part in the
affairs of all and stands high among
fraternalists of the State.

278

JAMES HORSBURGH, JR.

TO do one-tenth of what James
Horsburgh, Jr., has accomplished
in the interests of California,
were to merit everlasting honor
as the builder of an empire. And to
write it, doing justice to a myriad of
details, were to begin the task of com-
piling a veritable li-
brary of history.

For it is history that
James Horsburgh, Jr.,
has made. It is the
history of California —
its growth from a lit-
tle-known section to
one of the strongest
and most wonderful
States in the Union.
And it is written in
millions of printed
pages, a product of un-
remitting effort and a
fertile brain.

When, just a few
months ago, Mr. Hors-
burgh resigned as gen-
eral passenger agent
of the Southern Pacific
Company to handle
Willys-Overland auto-
mobiles in the San
Francisco district, the
San Francisco Chroni-
cle paid him this trib-
ute:

"The friends of James Horsburgh, Jr.,
predict that his peculiar genius, his
never-failing, hearty good nature and
his immense energy will find a wider
and better expression than ever before
as one of the officials of the Willys-
Overland organization."

James Horsburgh, Jr., is father of the
famous "Raisin Day"; Sunset Magazine
was conceived and started by him; due
to his preliminary efforts Imperial Val-
ley was transformed from desert into a
fertile, spot; tons of literature advertis-
ing California and the West have been
written by him and distributed to the
four corners of the world; he first
brought Luther Burbank into public
notice; farmers' institutes, State farms
and agricultural demonstration trains
by the dozen owe their being to him;
convention after convention has he
brought to San Francisco, entertained
the delegates and sent them back home
rejoicing; he has fostered as many col-
onization projects as perhaps any man
in California.

Born in Edinburgh, . Scotland, Mr.
Horsburgh 'removed with his parents
to Hamilton, Canada, when he was but
two years old. He began railroading
when he was still a mere youth, first as
office boy in the office of the general
manager and treasurer of the Great
Western Railway in Canada, later be-
coming a clerk in the same department.
In 1873, still a boy, Mr. Horsburgh
came to California and became a rate
clerk in the general passenger depart-
ment of the Southern Pacific. Head-

quarters were then in Sacramento, but
soon they were moved to San Francisco
and Mr. Horsburgh came here with
them. From clerk he became chief
clerk and, in October, 1884, was ap-
pointed assistant general passenger
agent. In April, 1906, three days be-
fore the great San
Francisco fire, he was
made general passen-
ger agent upon the re-
tirement from that
position of General T.
H. Goodman.

Immediately Mr.
Horsburgh was
thrown into a situation
that was almost un-
precedented. Under the
most trying conditions
in the days following
the fire he moved 244,-
000 pe'rsons out of
stricken San Francisco
without cost to them
and without injuring a.
single one.

It was upon the re-
alization that Califor-
nia differed from other
sections of the coun-
try, that people had to
be brought here to see
for themselves before
they could understand
its advantages, that Mr. Horsburgh
based his entire publicity campaign.
He went after and secured for San
Francisco the great convention of the
Grand Army of the Republic, fol-
lowed by that of the Knights Tem-
plar and then by that of the Christian
Endeavor. For t'he last-named gather-
ing were brought 23,000 delegates
from east of the Rocky Mountains.
And by their means the gospel of
California was spread amazingly
wide.

At another time, when, such things
were sorely needed, he had his field
agents organize improvement associa-
tions throughout California; then he
got all the clubs in the Sacramento
Valley to amalgamate and did the same
with, those in the San Joaquin Valley
and elsewhere. By a- publicity cam-
paign he helped the prune growers sell
the 90,000,000 pounds surplus of. their
crop. When the raisin growers got into
deep water he did the same for them —
the result was "Raisin Day," which
saved the situation. Sunset Magazine,
a monument to his ability and progres-
siveness, speaks for itself. The South-
ern Pacific building at the Panama-
Pacific Exposition was the evolution of
his idea; and in dozens of other ways
did he assist in the great world
show.

And now, believing the automobile
to b,e the coming transportation factor,
he has entered this new field — and his
future, as The Chronicle has pointed
out, is assured.

279

CHARLES F. HUMPHREY

SEVERAL thousand miles separate
California from the Philippine Is-
lands, and one does not commonly
associate the two so widely dif-
ferent regions together. But they are
linked closely in the mind of Charles
Franklin Humphrey of San Francisco,
for not only is he a
farmer in California,
but a plantationist in
the southern islands
also.

All of Mr. Hum-
phrey's interests today
are of a development
nature. He has ac-
quired large acreages
of land, not for specu-
lation purposes but to
make it bear and pro-
duce useful commodi-
ties. Until recently a
practicing lawyer, he
has turned away from
this phase of his ca-
reer and all of his time
and attention is now
\ devoted to the ad-
vancement of his pri-
vate projects.

Mr. Humphrey was
born November 23,
1872, at Belleville, Kan-
sas, the son of James
C. Humphrey and Anna (Counter) Hum-
phrey. His parents removed to Kansas
from Canada, where the elder Humphrey
published several newspapers. There-
fore, while receiving the groundwork of
his education in the local public schools,
Charles F. Humphrey naturally spent
his spare time working in his father's
newspaper office.

In this way Mr. Humphrey gained a
thorough knowledge of the newspaper
"game," from both the mechanical and
the editorial standpoints. When he en-
tered the University of Kansas at Law-
rence in 1888, he continued to go back
to the newspaper work during his va-
cation periods, working at different
times on the Omaha Bee, the Lincoln
State Journal and the Kansas City Star.

During "all this time, however, Mr.
Humphrey was looking forward to a
career in the law. Accordingly, fol-
lowing his graduation from the Uni-
versity of Kansas with the class of 1892,
he entered the law institution of the
University, taking his degree in 1894.
In the same year he was admitted to
practice in Kansas, but instead of open-
ing an office there he came west and
spent a year in Portland, Oregon, part
of the time with Bradstreet's Mercan-
tile Agency and 1 the remainder in the
law offices of Emmons & Emmons. The
year 1895 brought him to San Francisco.

He practiced law independently until
some time later, when he became a
member of the partnership of Humphrey
& Hubbard, a partnership that was con-
tinued until 1914, when it was dissolved.
At the same time Mr. Humphrey ceased
the practice of law entirely, the better
to manage his private
interests.

For about eight years
Mr. Humphrey lived
with his family in Eu-
rope, at different pe-
riods residing in Ger-
m a n y, France and
Spain, that his chil-
dren might learn the
various languages
first-hand and other-
wise have the best op-
portunities for an ex-
tensive education. On
August 1, 1915, he
brought his family
back to San Francisco,
where he will hence-
forth make his perma-
nent residence, spend-
ing his summers at
Belvedere.

Mr. Humphrey's Phil-
ippine interests -are in
the Cagayan Valley,
Island of Luzon. He
owns there a large tract of land, which
he has developed to the raising of tobac-
co. He has taken a deep interest in the
furtherance of this enterprise and in ad-
dition to the growing of tobacco is ex-
perimenting with sugar. Although he
now raises only enough sugar tor the
plantation's own consumption, he may
increase his acreage in the future so as
to enter the field commercially.

The fact that Mr. Humphrey owns
about three thousand acres of excel-
lent land in California makes of him
a California farmer also. His products
are highly diversified, running from
fruit to cattle. All of his operations
are of a private nature and he has
formed no corporations to exploit his
projects.

Socially, Mr. Humphrey is a member
of a number of clubs, among them the
Royal Polo and Golf Club of Madrid,
Spain, the Golf Club of Montrieaux,
Switzerland, and the Bohemian, Union
League and Olympic Clubs of San Fran-
cisco. He also is a Shriner and a
Knight Templar in the Masonic order.
He was married January 16, 1899, to
Elizabeth Warren, daughter of John
Warren, Esq., of Cheshire, England.
He is the father of two sons, James and
John Humphrey, the former of whom
is now at Phillips Exeter Academy, pre-
paring for Harvard University.

280

CASSIUS A. HUTTON

CONSIDERING that Cassius A. Hut-
ton, with an education obtained
by the sweat of his brow, was
at one time the youngest national
bank cashier in the United States —
with this in view one needs no ex-
planation of how Mr. Hutton has been
able to build up from
nothing the largest
flour jobbing business
west of the Missis-
sippi River.

Strenuous and per-
sistent e ff o r t, and
close application to
business — this is the
secret of his success,
of every success. He
has struggled against
competition as keen
as that in any other
commercial pursuit.
There have been times
when the future
looked dark, when it
seemed that all his
efforts were in vain.
But fortitude and per-
sistence on every oc-
casion carried the
day, as such attri-
butes nearly always
will.

C. A. Hutton was born September 4,
1867, on a farm at Algonac, Michigan,
the son of William H. Hutton and M. J.
(Higgins) Hutton. "When twelve years
old he left home and made his way
through the public schools of Attica,
Michigan. Following his graduation
from the high school of Lapeer, Michi-
gan, he attended business college at Bay
City.

With the world before him, and the
necessity of putting his knowledge to
account in his mind, Mr. Hutton en-
tered a railroad office and pursued the
study of telegraphy. At the age of
nineteen he started as a telegrapher
with the Chicago & Grand Trunk Rail-
road Company. The year 1888 brought
him to Cheney, Washington, where he
took a position in the station office
of the Northern Pacific.

Two or three years more as a rail-
roader and Mr. Hutton began look-
ing about him for an opportunity for
more rapid advancement. He was
offered a position as bookkeeper in the
First National Bank of Cheney and
accepted it. As he labored over his
figures Mr. Hutton kept his eyes open
for knowledge of the business in which
he had cast his lot. This desire to
learn was noticed and it was not very
long until he was given the position
of assistant cashier. He was still in
his early twenties when he secured
the cashiership.

After several years in banking, Mr.

Hutton left it to become business
manager for a flour milling concern
of Cheney. This was his first intro-
duction to the business in which he
was later on to become so forceful a
figure. In 1S98 he came to San Fran-
cisco to represent the firm as sales
agent, and a short
while later he opened
in the flour jobbing
business for himself
in a small way.

When he started out
in his new field as an
independent jobber,
Mr. Hutton had only
about $3,000 in capital.
He steadily enlarged
his business, however,
until in 1908 he or-
ganized the C. A. Hut-
ton Flour Company,
. with offices in San
Francisco and Los
Angeles, and incorpo-
rated. The present
volume of business
runs between $1,500,-
000 and $2,000,000 a
year, with capital and
s u r p 1 us of $300,000.
The corporation, which
Mr. Hutton owns and
controls entirely with the exception of
a few shares issued for organization
purposes, confines itself to domestic
trade in California.

In a civic way Mr. Hutton has been
active. He belongs to the Chamber of
Commerce, the San Francisco Commer-
cial Club, and the Olympic and Trans-
portation Clubs. Fraternally, he is a
past master of the Masons and is a
member of Mission Lodge No. 169, A.
F. & A. M.

Mr. Hutton is married and has one
son, Harold P. Hutton, who is asso-
ciated with him in business. He is a
lover of home and his new residence
at 95 West Clay Park, representing
an outlay of $50,000, is one of the most
attractive in the city.

California is essentially a land of
industrial enterprises. Time was when
it produced little of the real neces-
sities of life. Its rich deposits of gold
distracted the settler and left him but
little interested in anything but the
wresting of a fortune from its hills
and river beds. Today, what with the
directing of attention to the "gold"
that can be made to grow upon its
fertile acres, other interests claim the
populace, and California has become a
little country within itself — self-sup-
porting.

One of the most important of these
industries of today is the flour busi-
ness, and in this C. A. Hutton has
played, and is destined to play in the
future, an important part.

281

COLONEL D. C. JACKLING

COLONEL Daniel Cowan Jackling,
whose business career is well
enough known not to need further
exploitation, occupies the unusual
position in respect to San Francisco
of putting something into the city with-
out taking anything out of it.

In other words Colonel Jackling, as
the general public probably does not
realize, has not a single business in-
terest in San Francisco, despite the
_fact that he maintains headquarters
here in order that his various mining
and other properties may be easily ac-
cessible to him. He spends annually
great sums of money in San Francisco
in maintaining his offices and his home,
but neither asks nor receives anything
in the monetary line in return.

None of Colonel Jackling's interests
is exploited to the general public, nor
are his operations carried on by the
public's aid. Yet he is one of the big-

gest and most influential business men
in the West.

Among others, Colonel Jackling is
interested in one way or another in the
following corporations: Utah Copper
Company, Ray Consolidated Copper
Company, Alaska Gold Mines Company,
Bingham & Garfield Railway, Ray &
Gila Valley Railway, Utah Power &
Light Company, Nevada Consolidated
Copper Company, Nevada Northern
Railroad, Chino Copper Company, Butte
& Superior Copper Company, Utah
State National Bank, McCornick Com-
pany of Salt Lake City, Garfield (Utah)
Banking Company, Salt Lake Security
& Trust Company, Utah Hotel Company
and Utah Hotel Operating Company,
Utah Fire Clay Company, Pacific-Alas-
ka Navigation Company, First National
Bank of Denver, Garden City Sugar &
Land Company of Garden City, Kansas,
United Iron Works of Oakland and
Kansas City Structural Iron Company.

282

L. T. JACKS

THE idea that "Opportunity knocks
but once at each man's door,"
and the attendant idea that un-
less full advantage is taken of
the chance Opportunity will not call
again — this is by no means of universal
application. For if Opportunity fails to
seek hirfl out, the red-
blooded man will seek
out Opportunity. He
doesn't wait for the
knocking oh the door.

Lile T. Jacks, San
Francisco attorney at
law, didn't sit around
waiting when it came
time for him to get out
and hustle for an edu-
cation and for a career.
He hustled. And this
involved, at one period,-
working in a hotel for
his board and, at an-
other period, digging
ditches and keeping
pace with men many
years his senior. But
he gained his goal.

Mr. Jacks was born
March 26, 1877, on a
farm at Meadow Valley
near Quincy, Plumas
County, California.
His father is Eichard
Jacks, farmer and
miner, and his mother Florence Fremont
(Bell) Jacks. He attended the public
schools of the neighborhood, and after
finishing the grammar grades worked
for some time as a common laborer for
a mining company. The next year he
entered the Quincy High School, work-
ing in the evenings at the Plumas
House, where he boarded. He was grad-
uated in 1900.

Soon after this Mr. Jacks entered the
mining field by locating what was
known as the Smith's Flat placer claim.
He purchased the necessary equipment,
rented water and worked the claim for
three seasons, making enough money
to come to San Francisco in January,
1901. He took a course in the Gal-
lagher-Marsh Business College, and
after finishing entered the evening law
school of the Toung Men's Christian
Association, where he received his A. B.
degree. The course covered a period, in
all, of four years. He also took a post-
graduate course at St. Ignatius Uni-
versity.

Meanwhile, immediately after taking
up the study of law Mr. Jacks worked
for a month as stenographer in a mer-
cantile firm, holding down this position
in the day time and attending school in
the evenings. In 1902 Mr. Jacks was
placed in charge of the schools' supply
department under the direction of the
Board of Education, a position he re-
tained until about the time he com-
pleted his law course.

In 1906 he became a deputy under
County Clerk Harry I. Mulcrevy. This
position he resigned in 1908, took his
bar examinations and was admitted to
practice November 18, 1908, before the
District Court of Appeals of California.
Since then he has been admitted by the
United States District
and Circuit Courts.
For about a year after
he first was admitted
he was a clerk in the
law offices of McNair
& Stoker. Then he
started practicing in-
dependently and has
done so ever since,
with the exception of
about a year when he
maintained his office
in connection with
that of Frank S. Brit-
tain, now attorney for
the Panama-Pacific
Exposition.

Confining himself al-
most exclusively to the
practice of civil law,
Mr. Jacks has special-
ized in probate matters
and has handled a
number of important
est at e s in court.
Among these was the
$250,000 estate of
Mrs. Ruth Hannah Muzzy, which has
been settled and distributed to the
heirs.

Mr. Jacks represented Mrs. Lovell
White, chairman of the Outdoor Art
League Club, an auxiliary of the Cali-
fornia 'Women's Club, in the fight be-
fore the 1914 State Legislature on be-
half of the cemetery condemnation bill.
This was a measure to amend the code
of oivil procedure relative to eminent
domain, so that the City of San Fran-
cisco might take over old cemetery
lands and make memorial parks out of
them. Mr. Jacks framed the bill, which
was the only bill of a similar nature
that was passed by the Senate. The
whole bill is to be taken up again be-
fore -the next legislature.

In addition to his probate and other
work Mr. Jacks is attorney for several
corporations and business concerns,
the Home Manufacturing Company;
the Imperial Company, manufacturers
of waterprpofing; Fish Brothers, real
estate dealers, and several others.

Socially, Mr. Jacks is a member of the
Native Sons of the Golden West, the
Deutscher Club, Woodmen of the World,
and other private clubs. He was mar-
ried in San Anselmo, September 21, 1913,
to Miss Ethel Kluver, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Henry Kluver o'f San Fran-
cisco, and granddaughter of the late
Henry Dobbel, wealthy California pio-
neer and member of the Vigilance Com-
mittee of San Francisco's early days.

283

HENRY T. JONES

WHEN business philosophers have
set forth, as the fruit of long ex-
perience, what things are nec-
essary to bring about a man's
rise in the world, the whole weighty
argument may be boiled down and re-
solved into three words — ability, effort
and perseverance.

Given those attri-
butes, a man may gain
all others with but
little extra trouble.
But it is essential that
he have the three. The
man who will not or
cannot assimilate
learning, the man who
yawns and watches the
office clock, the man
who flits from one
position to the other
in the hope of "landing
something good" with-
out working up to it —
such men to failure
are foredoomed.

Henry T. Jones is
today general super-
intendent of the
United Railroads of
San Francisco because
he has, and has had
all along, ability, per-
severance and pluck.
In order to learn all about the busi-
ness he had chosen for a career
he began at the very bottom. He
worked, he was dependable, and it
was not long until his worth was rec-
ognized.

Mr. Jones is a native of Bristol,
England. He was born January 22,
1866, the son of Daniel Jones, a Colonel
in the British Army, and Emma (Proc-
tor) Jones. He attended Rugby schools
and in 1881 entered the Royal Navy and
was assigned to H. M. S. Britannica.
Two years later his father died and he
left the navy.

Almost at once Mr. Jones entered the
employment of Sir Clifton Robinson,
who at that time was constructing the
Higate Hill cable railroad in London,
after having been manager of the
Bristol Tramways. This was the first
road of its kind in Europe and was
designed after the cable railroads of
San Francisco, which were the first in
the world. In. 1884 Mr. Jones, in his
capacity of conductor, operated the first
car over the Higate Hill line, with the
Lord Mayor of London and other digni-
taries as guests.

After a few months as a "platform
man" Mr. Jones was given a clerkship
in the company's offices, remaining in
this position until 1887. Thereafter, for
a time, he traveled abroad. Returning
to London from Mexico, he learned that
Sir Clifton Robinson had come to the
United States, to Los Angeles, Cali-
fornia, where he was installing a line
for the Los Angeles Cable Railroad.

Desiring to stay on with his first em-
ployer, Mr. Jones returned to America
and Sir Clifton made him assistant
superintendent of the road.

In 1890 Mr. Jones did something that
few men do. He went back to get more
experience in the actual handling of
street cars. In need
of fresh air, and in
the belief that with
a firmer groundwork
in the street railway
business he would be
better enabled to main-
tain an executive posi-
tion when he came to
it, he came to San
Francisco and became
a conductor on the old
Market Street Cable
Railway. Since that
time he has remained
in San Francisco and
has risen steadily
through the ranks to
the position he now
holds.

Successively he be-
c a m e inspector, car
dispatcher and time-
table expert, and in
1902 when the United
Railroads was organ-
i z e d was appointed
superintendent of employment. Two
years later he was made division super-
intendent and this position he held for
nine years. He was appointed acting
general superintendent in July, 1913, to
succeed the late Elwood Hibbs. Mean-
while, in addition to the regular duties
of his office, he also continued as the
company's time-table expert as well as
cJiief of the employment bureau. On
January 1, 1915, he was formally made
general superintendent.

Mr. Jones personally has employed all
the men of the rank and file that the
United Railroads has added to its pay-
roll since the company's formation in
1902. He is a born executive and
"withal one of the most popular men in
the service of the United Railroads.
Today he is at the head of actual oper-
ation of a road that has 278 miles of
single track, electric and cable. Includ-
ing 1900 platform men, he has under his
direction about 2500 employes of all
classes. His has been a long and faith-
ful service. And the days that he has
worked 20 hours out of the 24, notably
following the fire of 1906 and during the
subsequent strike, have borne their
fruit.

Mr. Jones is a member of the Trans-
portation Club and the Indoor Yacht
Club. He was married in 1902 in San
Francisco to Miss Blanche A. Le Juene,
daughter of A. Le Juene, the noted
Belgian sculptor. He has two sons,
George F. Jones, 10, and Burgess
William Jones, 6.

'284

FRANCIS V. KEESLING

ONE thinking of an exponent of
the law naturally associates with
the profession the idea of a man
whose interest lies wholly in the
interpretation of Blackstone. The im-
pression of versatility is not present,
and it is somewhat surprising to find
a lawyer taking part

in anything so "frivo-

lous" as, for instance,
baseball, or in some-
thing so practical as
military affairs.

Francis V. Keesling,
in his career as a law-
yer, has found pleas-
ure in both these side
pursuits. In his stu-
dent days at Stanford
University he was
baseball manager.
During the San Fran-
cisco fire of 1906 he
was major of a Na-
tional Guard battalion
that won great praise
for its work in pre-
serving order and in
saving life and prop-
erty. The law, how-
ever, is his forte and
in this and in semi-
public life he has ren-
dered such service that
his friends, at the
State primary election in 1914, ran him
for the Republican nomination for
Governor and gave him a flattering
vote of 65,028.

Born in San Jose February 17, 1877,
Mr. Keesling was educated in the pub-
lic schools of the Garden City, being
graduated from the San Jose High
School in 1894. He was a member of
the Gamma Eta Kappa fraternity and
represented the High School in a de-
bate against the State Normal School.
Entering Stanford University he se-
cured the degree of A. B. in 1898. As
he went along his personal popularity
increased. He was first president of
his class; was editor-in-chief of the
Stanford Quad in 1898, the year he was
baseball manager; and held member-
ship in the Sigma Nu fraternity, the
Phi Delta Phi, Skull and Snakes Honor
Society and the Press Club.

Following his graduation Mr. Kees-
ling continued his study of the law in
the office of William M. Pierson and
Crothers & Crothers. On December 31,
1898, he formally was admitted to the
bar.

Prior to this, in 1898, he spent three
months organizing a compaign to se-
cure for Stanford University a con-
stitutional amendment correcting vital
defects in the foundation trusts and
grants and making provision for ex-
emption from taxation by the Legis-
lature. In 1899 he obtained from the
Legislature a submission to the people
of the desired amendment. He kept
at work in the educational campaign

until late in the summer of 1900, when
he toured the State. The final result
was the adoption of the amendment by
the voters and the giving of untold
benefits to the University.

Mr. Keesling enlisted as a private in
the National Guard of California, Bat-
tery D, First Artillery,
in July, 1901. He was
elected a lieutenant in
March, 1902, and in De-
cember of the same
year was made a cap-
tain in command of the
battery. He was spe-
cially detailed as a
representative of the
State to the joint ma-
neuvers of the United
States Army and the
National Guard at
West Point in 1903,
and subsequently was
elected associate mem-
ber of the Military
Service Institution.

The fire of 1906
brought a test of his
efficiency. He was
elected major of the
First Battalion, Coast
Artillery, whose work
was unequalled by any
Army or National
Guard force on similar
duty. In the California archives and
elsewhere are official reports setting
forth this fact. The late E. H. Harfi-
man, the railroad king, paid a well-
deserved tribute when he said:

"These men left their private affairs
and their homes at a critical time,
many laboring under the distress of
personal loss, and gave their service
to their State in her hour of need.
Praise, and only praise, is due the Na-
tional Guard of California for its serv-
ice in this crisis."

Similar commendation was set forth
by Governor Pardee in his message to
the extra session of the Legislature
June 2, 1906.

Mr. Keesling has always been a
stanch Republican and at present is
chairman of the Republican State Cen-
tral Committee. In 1907 he was elected
regent of the Sigma Nu fraternity at
Chicago. Socially he is an active club
member; fraternally, he is a thirty-
third degree Mason and at present is
senior grand warden of the Grand
Lodge, F. & A. M., of California.

Limiting his professional practice to
civil law, Mr. Keesling has taken part
in many important legal matters. Fol-
lowing the passage of the Dick Bill
he practically rewrote the State law to
conform to it. He heads the Stanford
Law Association as its president.

Mr. Keesling was married in 1903 to
Haidee Grau of Sacramento and is the
father of four children. The faintly
home is in Presidio Terrace, San Fran-
cisco.

285

E. J. KINGSBURY

THE world owes much to the in-
ventor — how' much, one can read-
ily conceive by gazing about at
the innumerable "necessities of
life" which our forfathers knew nothing
of and were forced to do without. In-
ventions have made earth more livable;
they have lifted man
from the gloom of ig-
norance and made him
master of all he sur-
veys.

Primarily, B. J.
Kingsbury is a m e -
chanical and electrical
engineer. But he also
is an inventor and to-
day he has to his credit
at least three really
b i g accomplishments
along this line, with
innumerable others of
lesser importance.

His latest coup is the
electrograph. This is
an electrical advertis-
ing device whereby,
through patented
mechanisms known as
the "unit control," let-
ters, characters and il-
lustrations may be
shown extempora-
neously either by night
or by day. The "unit control" allows
any number of different currents of
electricity to pass over the same
wire at the same time without inter-
ference, thus making it possible for a
single contact and a single wire to con-
trol an unlimited number of points. By
means of a standard typewriter the
different characters may be written on
one or more signs with only one key
for each letter or character and one
wire per character. The advantages of
the electrograph over any other elec-
trical advertising device are extempo-
raneous control as compared with pre-
viously prepared "copy," low cost of
construction and operation, and the fact
that it is the' only device whereby pic-
tures, cartoons and colored illustrations
may be flashed on an electrical sign at
will, different pictures appearing on
the same space at different periods.

Mr. Kingsbury invented the electro-
graph while he was in Juneau, Alaska,
and has been devoting his time to its
development since 1914. He incorpo-
rated in Alaska under the firm name of
the Kingsbury Electrograph Company,
of which he is president and manager.
The initial financing of the concern was
completed in Alaska and the first unit
of the electrograph is now being built.
Since early in 1915 the general offices
have been in the Merchants National
Bank Building, San Francisco.

E. J. Kingsbury is a native of Minne-
sota. He was born July 12, 1878, at
Le Roy, the son of Dr. E. J. Kingsbury,
a physician and surgeon, and M. H.
(Hard) Kingsbury. He attended the
public schools of Cannonsburg, Pa., was
graduated from the high school of
Knapp, Wis., and later
from McAllister Col-
lege at St. Paul. He
took post-graduate
work in mechanical
and electrical engi-
neering at Armour In-
stitute, Chicago, and
was awarded the de-
grees of M. E. and
E. E. in 1899.

His first work was
with the Atwood Lum-
ber Company in Min-
nesota, where he in-
stalled power stations
for something more
than two years. Then
for four years he in-
stalled and operated
power stations for the
Great Northern R a i I-
way. At the end of this
period he became su-
perintendent of power
and light for the White
Pass & lukon Railway
at Skagway, Alaska, and after three
years went with the Alaska- Treadwell
Gold Mines Co. at Treadwell, with
whom he remained four years in the
installation and operation of hydro-
electric machinery.

Among Mr. Kingsbury's other inven-
tions is an electrical safety device for
railroad bridges and culverts. In case
of fire, washout, strain or stress to the
bridge, the device throws the sema-
phore signals and automatically calls
up the train dispatcher and gives him
the number and name of the bridge.
All this is accomplished on existing
telegraph wires and in operation it
has proved eminently successful.

Mr. Kingsbury also invented and per-
fected a mechanical refrigeration sys-
tem through the use of electro-chemis-
try. This is to be used in homes in
small units, the current required' being
less than that consumed by a 60-watt
Mazda lamp. Another of his inventions
is an automatic cut-off for steam en-
gine governors, which will, for instance,
make impossible the running away of
an engine. Mr. Kingsbury is also sec-
retary-treasurer of the Quertier Ma-
chine Co. of San Francisco.

In 1900, at Willow River, Minn., Mr.
Kingsbury married Miss Eva Thomp-
son, and is the father of one son, Orval
H. Kingsbury, who is now attending
Lowell High School.

286

EMILIO LASTRETO

IF it -were necessary to describe, in
one word, the character of Bmilio
Lastreto, that word would be "ver-
satile." For not only is Emilio La-
streto a successful practicing attorney
,but he also is a linguist, a notable in-
terpreter of Shakespearean roles, a
writer, and a fencer of
national reputation.
And, aside from all
this, he is active in a
civic way as well as
socially and frater-
nally.

Mr. Lastreto is a na-
tive of San Francisco.
He was born February
25, 1869, the son of
Luigi Felix Lastreto,
who for half a century
carried on here a com-
mission business with
Central and South
American countries.
His mother was Char-
lotte (Parrain) Lastre-
to. After passing
through the Washing-
t o n Grammar School,
M r . Lastreto entered
the Boys' High School,
fromwhichhe was
graduated in 1885.

For two years fol-
lowing this he was en-
rolled at Hastings Col-
lege of the Law in San
Francisco. Because he
was below the age of 21, however, the
institution could not graduate him.
Not to be forestalled by a mere matter
of age, Mr. Lastreto and several other
youths in the same situation clubbed
together and completed their studies in-
dependently. Then, on May 5, 1890, Mr.
Lastreto was admitted to the bar before
the Supreme Court of California at
Sacramento. Several years later, on
December 23, 1898, he was admitted to
practice before the United States Cir-
cuit and District Courts also.

Immediately after securing his cre-
dentials Mr. Lastreto began practicing
alone in San Francisco, and has con-
tinued so ever since. His law work is
of a general civil nature. He speaks
French, Spanish and Italian fluently, in
addition to English, and his clientele is
largely composed of members of those
three races resident in this section of
the State. Mr. Lastreto has assisted in
several probate cases of importance and
has also practiced some in mining law,
although his interests in mining are
largely those of an investor. He has
also been admitted to> practice before
the United States Land Offlces.

As a Shakespearean actor Mr. Las-
treto is widely and favorably known.
On the top story of his home on Rus-
sian Hill he has fitted up a small, but no
less complete, private theater. It has
everything in scenery, lighting effects
and properties that the regular stage
has. Four years ago he organized the
Lastreto Shakespearean Players, whose
productions, presented before private
audiences only, have elicited much
praise. Speaking of Mr. Lastreto's por-

trayal of Iago in "Othello," a, reviewer
said:

"Brobdignagian in the superb manner
in which he pictured Iago on his Lilliput
stage, Lastreto won the encomiums of
his audience by his enthusiasm and
disclosed why, for the mere love
of acting, he has been
willing single-handed
to equip his playhouse
and bear the financial
burden of the series of
Shakespearean shows
that have made it lo-
cally famous."

For twenty-five
years Mr. Lastreto has
been playing Shake-
speare. Though always
as an amateur, he has
appeared o n several
occasions with famous
professionals. In 1893
he appeared with
Sarah Bernhardt in
"Cleopatra," "La Tos-
ca" and "Jeanne d'Arc"
at the old Grand Opera
House. In his private
theater he has played
Shylock in "The Mer-
chant of Venic e,"
Othello and Iago in
"Othello," Cardinal
Wolsey in "King
Henry VIII," and the
title 'rol.es in "Hamlet,"
Richard III," "Mac-
beth," and "King Lear."

For years Mr. Lastreto has been an
exponent of fencing, and has done more
different kinds of fencing than any
other amateur in the West. His efforts
have won for him a number of cham-
pionship medals. In the early nineties
he gave a series of exhibitions at tne
Olympic Club with Professor Tronchet,
then champion of America, and for years
he has been the club's fencing leader.
He was chairman of the department of
athletics for fencing of the Panama-
Pacific International Exposition and
was judge and director of the exposition
tournament,' held at the Olympic Club
in-May, 1915. On different occasions he
has written articles on fencing for the
magazines; his writings also include
dramas, several of which were produced
here before the 1906 Are, at the old
Columbia Theater

' Ever since it was organized, Mr.
Lastreto has been chairman of the
Orphan's Board of the Independent Or-
der of Red Men. He is past-sachem of
Yosemite Tribe No. 103, I. O. R. M.,
past-president of Alcalde Parlor No.
154, N. S. G. W., vice-president of the
North Beach Promotion Association,
and a member of the Players' Club of
San Francisco.

He was married June 6, 1906, in San
Francisco to Goldie Cuffield and has
three children, Eva, Emilio and Carlo
Lastreto.

Mr. Lastrato's offices are in the
Chronicle building where he has
been established since 1892. He is
the Chronicle building's oldest ten-
ant.

287

JAY MONROE LATIMER

THE largest verdict for personal
damages ever awarded by a jury
in a California court was won by
Jay Monroe Latimer, San Fran-
cisco attorney at law, on behalf of a
client.

Such a record, in itself, is sufficient to
establish the reputa-
tion of a practicing
lawyer. But in the case
of Mr. Latimer it mere-
ly strengthened a rep-
utation already gained
by reason of a long
continued and consist-
ent success in the field
of his chosen profes-
sion.

The suit in question
was that of Elsa U.
Arnold et al. vs. the
San Francisco-Oakland
Terminal Railways.
The plaintiff, widow of
Joseph Charles Arnold,
a civil engineer killed
when a train of the
defendant corporation
struck the automo-
bile in which he was
riding, asked dam-
ages of $75,000 for
her husband's death.

The trial, held in the Superior Court
of Contra Costa County at Martinez in
February, 1914, lasted eight days and a
night. Attorney Latimer, by stipula-
tion, spoke less than an hour in his
address to the jury, but in this hour
he displayed such power of oratory — as
described in the newspapers of the next
day — and drew such colorful word pic-
tures of the widow and three children
suddenly bereft of husband and father,
as to elicit tears from jury and court-
room spectators alike. After being out
only about an hour the jury returned a
verdict in which Mrs. Arnold was
awarded damages of $30,000 — a record
figure.

To glance over Mr. Latimer's career
from the beginning, he was born August
12, 1S75, on a farm near Le Boy, Medina
County, Ohio. His father was Julius A.
Latimer, a retired lawyer, and his
mother Mary Elizabeth (Leonard) Lati-
mer. Mr. Latimer attended the public
schools of Le Roy, meanwhile doing his
allotted work at home in the mornings
and evenings, and in the summer season
taking his place in the fields with the
men.

When he was eighteen years old he
was graduated from the Le Roy High
School. Thereafter he entered upon a
combined teacher's and Business course
at Wayne Normal College at Wayne,
Nebraska, but left before graduation to
read law in the office of his brother,
George A. Latimer, at Norfolk, Nebraska.

He remained with his brother until
1896, when he removed toButte, Montana.
In 1899 Mr. Latimer entered the law
department of the University of Wash-
ington at Seattle. The next year, how-
ever, he heard the call of the North,
with the result that he gathered to-
gether his belongings
and went to Nome,
Alaska. He began
there the practice of
law, continuing for
three years, with the
exception of one win-
ter when he returned
to Seattle and pursued
his studies at the law
school. He built up a
clientele rapidly, doing
a general civil law
business and specializ-
ing in mining law. In
fact he tried some of
the.moit important
mining cases that came
up in Alaska while he
made his residence
there. In 1902 he was
defeated in the contest
for appointment as
United States Attorney
at Nome under Presi-
d e n t Roosevelt. Mr.
Latimer spent eight or ten months in
1903 in Juneau, then removed to Fair-
banks, Alaska, and practiced his pro-
fession there until 1908, when he came
to San Francisco. He has remained
here ever since.

While living at Fairbanks, Mr. Lati-
mer sought relaxation in authorship.
The result was an ably written and
profusely illustrated article entitled,
"Our Riches of the Far North," pub-
lished in Metropolitan Magazine of
November, 1907.

At present Mr. Latimer, in view of
the volume of such business that he is
asked to handle, might be said to
specialize in actions for damages. He
also does considerable work of a pro-
bate nature, and has settled a number
of goodly estates in the past few
years.

Although he is a strong Republican,
and is ever actively interested in fur-
thering the party's cause, Mr. Latimer
could not be termed a politician. At
the instance of his friends he became a
candidate, in 1914, for the short
term as Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of California, to fill the po-
sition made vacant by the death of
Chief Justice Beatty. The office
was won, however, by Matt I. 9ul-
livan.

Mr. Latimer confines his fraternal ac-
tivities to membership in American
Lodge No. 5, Knights of Pytlijas, of
San Francisco.

288

JEREMIAH LYNCH

HE has swum in Alaska's river
Yukon, in the Nile of mystic
Egypt — and has written gripping
books about each. In the capi-
tals of the Old World and the new he
is equally at home. He is as well known
in Cairo, to use the words of the famous
Lord Kitchener, as in
his own San Francisco.
And between the two
world extremes one
finds his footsteps
everywhere.

It is condensation,
not elaboration, that is
difficult in telling the
story of Jeremiah
Lynch, author, club-
man and world trav-
eler. His has been a
well-rounded life, tinc-
tured with just enough
hardship to make the
pleasant side the more
appreciated.

Jeremiah Lynch, a •
native of Massachu-
setts, came to Califor-
nia with his parents in
1858, when he was
quite a child. The
family settled in Shas-
ta, then a flourishing
mining town, where
Mr. Lynch's boyhood
was spent. The boy at-
tended the common
schools of Shasta, then
for one year was enrolled in the San
Francisco High School — but his formal
education was discontinued when he
was sixteen years old. In the world's
school he has gained all the rest of that
learning which has enabled him to be-
come the recognized authority in liter-
ature and other subjects that he is
today.

In 1870 Mr. Lynch came to San Fran-
cisco to remain. In 1876, during the
bonanza excitement when fortunes
were being made on every side, he be-
came a member of the San Francisco
Stock Exchange, with which he re-
mained affiliated for twenty years. He
was elected president of the Exchange
in 1888 and at the end of his first term
was re-elected by unanimous vote.

Although he always had taken a keen
interest in politics, Mr. Lynch did not
enter the political arena until 1882,
when he ran for the State Senate on the
Democratic ticket and won the seat by
a majority of five thousand votes. Dur-
ing the two regular sessions of the
Legislature and a special session called
by Governor Stoneman in 1885, Mr.
Lynch made a persistent and determined
fight against every unnecessary, appro-
priation and measure of extravagance.
During this and two other terms Mr.
Lynch was closely connected with the
many attempts at legislation against
the railroads. In fact he introduced
several measures to prevent railway

aggression, but all were defeated by
the corporation hirelings.

Jeremiah Lynch, to quote from The
San Francisco Chronicle, is the man
"who made San Francisco too hot to
hold Boss Buckley." The senator's
fight against Christopher Buckley, un-
scrupulous Democratic
blind boss of the
eighties and nineties,
had its inception while
Mr. Lynch was in the
State Legislature,
when he saw in all
their force the evils of
"the system." Senator
Lynch wrote a little
monograph entitled
"Buckleyism," which
subsequently became
famous for its scathing
denunciation of the
blind politician and his
myrmidons. Th e
pamphlet received a
column and a half re-
view in the London
Times and was noted
by Professor Bryce in
his "American Com-
monwealth."

With the publication
of "Buckleyism" the
fight was on. It was
the first open and in-
dependent cry against
bossism. But it was
not until after he had
spent some time abroad that Senator
Lynch brought his campaign against
crooked politics to a decided victory.
Returning to San Francisco he became
a member of the Wallace Grand Jury
and was largely instrumental in caus-
ing that body to indict Chris Buckley
and his fellow boss, Sam Rainey.

The political career of Senator Lynch
closed with his race for the United
States Senate, soon after his Grand
Jury work. He was given a consider-
able number of votes in the caucus.
Stephen J. White secured the nomina-
tion, however, and was elected. Since
that time Senator Lynch has been in
politics simply in an advisory sort of
capacity.

The rush of gold seekers to the Klon-
dike carried Mr. Lynch along with it,
and in the fall of 1898 he found himself
in the frozen north at the head of large
mining operations. He remained in the
Klondike three years. At times he had
as many as a hundred men working un-
der his direction, and he returned to
civilization in 1902 with a, handsome
fortune.

He is well remembered in Alaska as
the man who invented a new method of
thawing the ground to work it for gold.
He evolved and perfected a hollow drill
through which steam is fed, thawing
as it goes, and by which work that for-
merly took three or four men eight
hours to perform can be done in twice

289

as many minutes. Mr. Lynch never has
patented his process. He saw that the
mining community needed it and he
gave it willingly for the general good.
Today the drill is being used all over
Alaska.

Since his return from Alaska Mr.
Lynch has had no business pursuit. He
has spent his time in extensive travel,
has been to Europe and Egypt a dozen
times or more ar?d has circled the globe.

As an author Mr. Lynch has gained
particular note. Hjs friends were so
surprised at the literary excellence of
his first production, "Buckleyism," that
they couldn't believe he, a man who had
never displayed his talent in this direc-
tion, wrote it. So he wrote another
book to prove he did.

This second book "was the famous
"Egyptian Sketches," a work that the
book reviewers promptly termed a
classic. It is well "written and as popu-
lar today as when it first was issued.
It was commented upon widely by the
Athenaeum and the London Spectator
for its vivid portrayal of true Egyptian
life and scenery. The work was pro-
duced in 1891, after Mr. Lynch had spent
a year in the lotus land.

While in Alaska, Mr. Lynch wrote and
had published in London another in-
teresting book, "Three Tears in the
Klondike." This excited such comment
as .to cause it to be translated into both
French and Spanish. It, like "Egyptian
Sketches," is a faithful -portrayal of a
certain spot on the earth's surface.
One can "feel" the cold when one pe-
ruses its pages.

What is considered by many Mr.
Lynch's chief work is the latest book,
"A Senator of the Fifties," published
In 1911. This is the story of one of the
most exciting decades San Francisco
and California have known, told with
the brilliant but ill-fated David Brod-
erick, one-time political boss and
United States Senator, as the principal
character. The book is considered one
of the most valuable additions to the
history of California of recent years.

During these years in which his
larger books have appeared, Mr. Lynch
has written a number of miscellaneous
poems of acknowledged worth which,
if collected, would fill a volume. Late-
ly, however, he has done nothing seri-
ous in this line, although his friends
are importuning him to take advan-
tage of good health and a clear brain
to produce something more and give
the reading world the benefit of his
wide experience, his Quaint humor and
his ability as a story teller.

Mr. Lynch is no longer a senator. He
has not been for twenty years. But his
friends persist in calling him such, and
as "Senator" Lynch he undoubtedly will
go down to posterity. He has never
married. He is one of the "old guard"
of the Bohemian Club, where he makes
his home when in San Francisco.

On two occasions Mr. Lynch has writ-
ten and produced a high jinks for the
Bohemian Club. One of these, still
vivid in the minds of the Bohemians,
was the presentation of "The Lady Isis
in Bohemia" on the evening of May 5,
1914. The occasion was the giving of
a precious mummy to the club by Mr.
Lynch.

During the year 1S90, while in Egypt,
Mr. Lynch procured a mummy which he
presented to the Bohemian Club. The
mummy was. that of a female member
of the regal family representing the
twenty-fourth Egyptian dynasty and
was discovered at Girgeh on the Nile
just prior to ■ the arrival there of Mr.
Lynch and United States Consul-Gen-
eral Schuyler on their way to Thebes.
Two other mummies he brought back,
those of high priests, later found their
way into the Golden Gate Park Memo-
rial Museum. These were destroyed, as
was that of the princess, in the fire of
April, 1906.

So highly prized had the mummy been
by the Bohemian Club that Mr. Lynch
set out to secure another to replace the
one that was lost. One thing and an-
other came up and it was not until
seven years later that he journeyed to
Cairo. There he found that no mum-
mies were to be had. When found, they
were in. most instances claimed by the
Cairo Museum.

About to give up in despair, Mr.
Lynch learned of the existence of the
mummy of a royal princess, a ■worship-
per of the great goddess Isis, in the
palace of a Pasha where it had rested
many years. The Pasha was dead but
his relatives, not regarding the ancient
relic with the same veneration, agreed
to part with it. It was only by the
intervention of certain high potentates
in Cairo, however, and the "winning over
of Lord Kitchener, present war lord of
Great Britain, that Mr. Lynch obtained
permission to transport his prize to San
Francisco.

The Lady Isis was installed in her
present resting place in the Bohemian
Club with lavish ceremony and after
the presentation of the sketch which
Mr. Lynch had "written for the occa-
sion.

Not the least striking attribute of Mr.
Lynch — and a biographer, to be just,
must be complete — is his versatility.
He is one of the best amatear billiard
and chess players in California. He can
swim all day and ride all night, even
now. He has read pretty much of
everything worth reading and remem-
bers most of it. He can read Egyptian
hieroglyphics easily.

Socially, Mr. Lynch maintains his
reputation for cosmopolitanism for he
is a member of fifteen clubs from Cairo
to San Francisco, including Paris, New
York and London, among those of the
latter the Authors' Club and the Royal
Geographical Society.

290

JOHN J. McCLELLAN

THERE is something about a pipe-
organist that seems to lift him
out, as it were, from among the
rest of mankind. Undoubtedly
this something is his art. A man who
can bring forth from a keyboard of
endless intricacy tones that will move
the thousands to tears,
or hold them spejl-
bound veritably for
hours — there is in this
man the sublimity of
profound genius. He is
like the novelist, the
artist, only more so.
For music appeals to
our primal emotions as
words or colors never
can.

John Jasper McClel-
lan, who appeared in
Ave wonderful recitals
in Festival-Hall at the
Panama-Pacific Inter-
national Exposition, Is
a pipe-organist. He is
such in the fullest
sense. Music to him is
life itself. As organist
at the famous Mormon
Tabernacle at Salt
Lake City he is accus-
tomed to do frequently
what he did in San
F r a n c i s c o — sway a
throng as it never was
swayed before by the mere movement
of a finger.

"Professor McClellan," to quote a
critic, "understands an organ as others
understand a person. To him it is
something more than a collection of
pipes. It has life. It breathes. It
talks to him. He is a master which it
obeys and he caresses it as others
would a pet. He talks to it with his
hands and it responds in the language
of music. It becomes eloquent under
his touch. People nocked to hear its
oratory."

John J. McClellan was born at Pay-
son, Utah, April 20, 1874. At the age
of ten he began his study of music.
Later he went to Saginaw, Michigan,
and studied two years with A. W.
Platte; then to Ann Arbor and was
graduated from the University of Mich-
igan School of Music, where he was a
pupil under Professors A. A. Stanley,
Johann Erich Schmaal, Alberto Jonas
and Xavier Scharwenka. He also was
a pupil of Ernst Jedliczka of Berlin,
Germany.

While at Ann Arbor Professor Mc-
Clellan organized and directed the first
large orchestra there. He also was
organist of St. Thomas Catholic Church
and pianist of the University Choral
Society. In 1893 he was assistant to
Professor Stanley on the great organ
used at the World's Columbian Exposi-
tion at Chicago, which later was
installed at Michigan University. Fol-
lowing this he became assistant to Pro-

fessor Jonas in the Michigan School of
Music and during 1895-96 taught musi-
cal theory there. He was professor of
music in the Brigham Young University
at Provo, Utah, in 1900-01 and in
the latter year became a member
of the faculty of the University of
Utah.

Since October 1, 1900,
Professor McClellan
has been organist of
the Mormon Taberna-
cle, which has the sec-
ond largest pipe organ
in the world; conduc-
tor of the Salt Lake
Opera Company since
1902, and director of
the Salt Lake Sym-
phony Orchestra since
1908. He founded the
Utah Conservatory of
Music at Salt Lake in
1911 and remains dean
and head of the piano-
forte department. He
is now at work on an
original course for the
study of the piano. To-
day he is regarded as
the leading musician
of Utah and more stu-
dents have gone from
his studio to European
and Eastern art cen-
ters than from any
other studio in the State.

Professor McClellan's reputation as
a concert organ recitalist is interna-
tional. He has "opened" pipe organs
in nearly every State. He gave four
recitals at the World's Fair in St.
Louis and ten on the great organ at
the Jamestown Exposition, besides
those at San Francisco's great fair.
Everywhere, music lovers and critics
have considered him one of the most
thorough musicians and artists of his
generation.

Not only is Professor McClellan an
exponent of melody — he creates it. In
addition to several songs, anthems and
instrumental compositions he composed
the "National Ode to Irrigation,"
which has been sung at the National
Irrigation Congresses of Portland,
Sacramento and Boise by the Ogden
(Utah) Tabernacle Choir of 200 voices,
each rendition costing $12,000. In 1911
he was official accompanist of the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir's triumphal
tour from Salt Lake to the New York
City Land Show, during which they sang
his ode more than thirty times at a
cost exceeding $50,000. He is Utah
State President of the National As-
sociation of Organists and a colleague
of the American Guild of Organists,
as well as secretary of the Clayton
Music Company of Salt Lake City.

Professor McClellan is essentially an
artist. And his devotion to this art
is one of his most noticeable character-
istics, i

291

CHARLES R. McCORMICK

LOOKING back over the passage of
time, twelve years does not seem
at all long to the most of us.
Why, twelve years ago we weren't
much different than we find ourselves
today. But, if time may be measured
by activities, this period must appear
unusually extended to
Charles R. McCormick.
For it was only a
dozen years ago that
he established in San
Francisco a lumber
business which today
Is one of the largest on
the Pacific Coast.

In 1903 Charles R.
McCormick, with little
back of him other than
practical experience,
opened offices in San
Francisco and began
selling lumber on a
commission basis. He
then had but one em-
ploye — a stenographer.
Today his employes
are numbered by hun-
dreds. He is at the
head of Charles R. Mc
Cormick & Co., lum-
ber manufacturers and
dealers, and of a num-
ber of subsidiary con-
cerns, whose annual
business runs into the
millions. And lumber
shipped from his mills
goes to all parts of the world.

Born July 6, 1870, at Saginaw, Mich-
igan, Mr. McCormick is the son of
A. W. McCormick, a pioneer lumber man
of Michigan. The elder McCormick
went to Saginaw — which was for years
the greatest lumbering district in the
world — in 1858, when it was a small
village, and grew up with the town.
Mr. McCormick's mother was Harriet
(Frisbie) McCormick.

After attending the public schools of
Saginaw, Mr. McCormick followed his
parents to New York State, where his
father purchased a farm and retired
from business. Later on he attended
the military academy at Albany, N. T.,
leaving there when eighteen years old
and for two years thereafter working
in the Albany lumber district.

As in the case with so many success-
ful men, Mr. McCormick began at the
very bottom. With the experience thus
acquired he went to Ontonagon, Mich-
igan, on Lake Superior, and became
grader in the mills of the Diamond
Match Company. Five years later he
went into the lumber inspection and
shipping business for himself. In 1896
a forest fire destroyed Ontonagon and
its mills and Mr. McCormick removed
to Menominee, Michigan, and estab-
lished himself. In 1901 he came west
to Portland, and a few months later
came to San Francisco to accept a posi-
tion as San Francisco manager for the
Hammond Lumber Company. He re-
mained with the Hammond people until
he opened his own offices in 1903.

Since then Charles R. McCormick &

Co. have built, and now operate, ten
lumber steamers. Mr. McCormick is
president of the companies that own
and operate the steamers Klamath, Wil-
lamette, Yosemite, Multnomah, Celilo,
Shoshone and Wapama, and also oper-
ates the steamers J. B. Stetson, Temple
E. Dorr and Nehalem
and the schooner
Forest Home. Besides
this, the c mpany is
now building a wooden
schooner of record
size, capable of car-
rying 2,000,000 feet
of lumber and with
semi-Diesel engines as
auxiliaries. The Mc-
Cormick steamers car-
ried in excess of 20,000
passengers up and
down the Pacific Coast
in 1915.

Mr. McCormick and
his associates have
practically made the
town of St. Helens,
Oregon, 30 miles down
the Columbia River
from Portland. He is
president and control-
ling stockholder, not
only of Charles R. Mc-
Cormick & Co., but
also of the St. Helens
Lumber Company and
Columbia County Lum-
ber Company, which
operate two huge lumber mills at St.
Helens. He is president of the St. Hel-
ens Creosoting Co., which has there the
largest plant of its kind in the West; of
the St. Helens Shipbuilding Co., which
has its own shipyard for constructing
the McCormick vessels; and president
also of the St. Helens Light & Power Co.
and other related concerns. St. Helens
has several miles of waterfront, besides
12 miles of railroad running back into
the timber, and it is Mr. McCormick's
idea to make the place a real manufac-
turing center, with the erection of ad-
ditional factories to handle the by-
products of the lumber mills, which now
are manufacturing 100,000,000 feet of
lumber a year.

The Charles R. McCormick Interests
handled 201,000,000 feet of lumber in
1914. Sales offices are maintained at
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland
and New York, and yards at San Diego,
Riverside, San Bernardino, Oceanside
and Escondido, besides a 1,000-foot
loading dock at San Pedro. The large
yard at San Diego carries a lumber
stock of 10,000,000 feet, and the San
Pedro dock a stock of 4,000,000 to 6,000,-
000 feet of mining timbers; from San
Pedro are supplied nearly all the mines
of Arizona. This San Pedro mining-
timber business alone averages $1,500,-
000 a year in volume.

In 1907 Mr. McCormick was married
in San Francisco to Miss Florence C.
Cole, daughter of the late Edward P.
Cole, a prominent attorney. The couple
have two children, Charles R., Jr., and
Florence C. McCormick.

292

BENJAMIN L. McKINLEY

FOR thirteen consecutive years Ben-
jamin L. McKinley was in the
United. States District Attorney's
office at San Francisco. During
this period, starting in with the rank
of assistant United States attorney, he
advanced himself to the position of chief
assistant, and finally
to the United States
attorneyship itself.
Such a record can
stand alone.

Mr. McKinley was
appointed to the
United States Attor-
ney's office, Northern
District of California,
on July 26, 1901, by the
late President McKin-
ley. From the outset
he was successful in
prosecuting actions,
.both civil and criminal,
and the records of the
office disclose hundreds
of instances in which
he won signal victories
at bar. He handled all
legal matters pertain-
ing to the Postoffice
Department within his
jurisdiction, most of
the work of the
United States Secret
Service, the more important Customs
cases and a great deal of miscellaneous
actions. He served under three United
States Attorneys, Marshall B. "Wood-
worth, Robert T. Devlin and John L.
McNab. On January 1, 1911, he became
chief assistant, by appointment; then
on June 26, 1913, following the resigna-
tion of McNab from the office, Mr. Mc-
Kinley was appointed Mc><ab's succes-
sor by United States District Judge
William C. Van Fleet. Six months later,
after filling the office with general sat-
isfaction, he resigned and was suc-
ceeded in turn by John "W. Preston, the
1 present U. S. Attorney.

Mr. McKinley is a native of San Fran-
cisco. He was born July 26, 1874, the
son of Benjamin F. McKinley, for many
years connected with the Postoffice De-
partment, and of Mary A. (Daly) Mc-
Kinley. President William McKinley
was his first cousin.

After receiving his preliminary edu-
cation in San Francisco's public schools
Mr. McKinley was graduated from the
Clement Grammar School with the class
of 1888. He then entered St. Ignatius
College and was graduated from that in-
stitution in 1893 with the degree of
A. B., later on being awarded the degree
of Master of Arts there also. Im-
mediately after leaving St. Ignatius
Mr. McKinley enrolled at Hastings Col-

lege of the Law, the legal department
of the University of California, secured
his LL. B. and was admitted to practice
law in California in 1896.

Five years Mr. McKinley practiced
law independently in San Francisco,
with consistent success, before he re-
ceived his appointment
a s assistant United
States District Attor-
ney. Since his with-
drawal from that office
in 1914 he has resumed
his private practice.
His professional work
at present is in all
branches of the law.

He was given a dis-
tinct honor when, in
1913, he was appointed
professor of law at St.
Ignatius College, h i s
alma mater. He has
held this position
since, regardless of the
fact that it takes
up considerable time
which might be ap-
plied to pursuits of
greater pecuniary re-
ward.

Politically, Mr. Mc-
Kinley has never been
active as an office
seeker, although he has worked consist-
ently for his party's success. He is a
stanch Republican and on one occasion,
in 1909, at the earnest solicitations of
his friends, made the race for City At-
torney with the indorsement of the
Business Men's Committee, but was de-i
feated.

For many years Mr. McKinley has
been an earnest worker on behalf of
the Young Men's Institute and has held
various offices in the organization. He
was elected Grand President of the T.
M. I. in 1914 and served until 1915, dur-
ing which time he was head of a juris-
diction in which the order has 7,000 or
8,000 members. He was also for a long
time Colonel of the First Regiment,
League of the Cross Cadets, resigning
in 1913, after having brought the regi-
ment up to a high state of efficiency.
He is an active member of the Knights
of Columbus, belongs to San Fran-
cisco lodge No. 3, B. P. O. Elks, and
is past president of Precita Parlor
No. 187, Native Sons of the Golden
West.

Because of his long connection with
the United States Attorney's office, and
the large number of cases he tried in
the United States courts, Mr. McKin-
ley is today considered one of Califor-
nia's leading authorities on Federal
law.

293

X E. MANNING

THE truly useful citizen, in any
community, is he who is willing
at any time to serve either his
city, his State or his country in
any way in which he can accomplish
the most good. J. E. Manning, attor-
ney at law, has in at least two ways
given this service. He
enlisted for the Span-
ish-American "War and
helped fight for his
country in the Philip-
pines, and he repre-
sented Marin County
at the last session of
the State Legislature
and was a stanch de-
fender of his constitu-
ents' rights.

A native of Califor-
nia, Mr. Manning was
born in Oakland, Octo-
ber 3, 1873, the son of
Andrew Manning, a
farmer, and Mary (Ke-
hoe) Manning. After
securing his prelimi-
nary education at Sa-
cred Heart College of
San Francisco, he at-
tended for a year at St.
Mary's College, Oak-
land, and was gradu-
ated in 1892 with the
degree of B. S.

The same year, with his mind set on
the study of law, Mr. Manning entered
Hastings College of Law. His spare
time he spent in the law offices of Fisher
Ames, furthering his knowledge of the
profession. Hastings awarded him his
LL. B. in 1895 and at once he was ad-
mitted to the bar and commenced prac-
tice in association with Mr. Ames, his
preceptor.

This continued until June, 1898, when,
the United States of America calling
for volunteers in its war with Spain,
Mr. Manning enlisted as a private in
Battery A, 1st Battalion, California
Heavy Artillery, U. S. V. .He saw serv-
ice in the Philippines from November,
1898, to July, 1899, when his command
returned to San Francisco, where he
was mustered out. He was a non-com-
missioned officer at the time his organ-
ization was discharged from the
service.

Upon doffing the khaki for "civilians"
once more, he resumed his professional
association with Mr. Ames, and, follow-
ing the San Francisco fire of 1906, be-
came a member of the law partnership
of Ames & Manning, a partnership which
continues to this day. Since 1903 Mr.
Manning has made his home in San An-
selmo, Marin County, although his
offices are in the Pacific building, San
Francisco. In 1908 he was chosen city
attorney of the town of San Anselmo,
Marin County, and filled this position
with credit until May, 1914.

At the general election on November 3,

1914, Mr. Manning was chosen as State
Assemblyman from the 17th Assembly
district, Marin County, on the Repub-
lican ticket. Subsequently he fathered
a number of important bills. While at
the Legislature he was characterized
by his fair and impartial attitude
toward labor, as well
as by his refusal to
take the labor pro-
gramme — or any other
programme, for that
matter — right down
the line. When an at-
tempt was made, just
before the election, to
get him to bind him-
self to one fixed policy,
his answer was that
on all important ques-
tions a lawmaker must
consider carefully all
arguments, pro and
con, before he can ar-
, rive at a conclusion
that satisfies his con-
science that he is
right. This attitude he
maintained in the face
of all who approached
him with the idea of
attempting to swerve
him from his policy of
justice.

One of Mr. Man-
ning's bills, which was passed and ap-
proved, places the street improvement
bond on a solid basis and- it makes it
merchantable and one that a bank will
accept. Instead of the contractor mak-
ing collections on the bonds the amounts
of the interest and redemption are
placed on the tax bills, and all the
banker need to do is to go each six
months to the city treasurer and collect
his accumulated interest, and each year,
from the same office, collect installment
redemption payment on the bonds he
holds.

Another bill prepared by Mr. Man-
ning which passed both houses and was
vetoed, provided for the improvement
of streets and roads in unincorporated,
towns by the County Board of Supervi-
sors. As it is at present, a town must
incorporate before it can do street
work, and in many cases the expense is
prohibitory. The bill, if it became a law,
would make incorporation unnecessary.
In addition to his other public serv-
ices, Mr. Manning has been secretary
of the sanitary board of sanitary dis-
trict No. 1 of Marin County for the past
eleven years.

His law practice is almost entirely
of a civil nature. He is general counsel
for a number of corporations and has
also done considerable work in the pro-
bate courts.

Mr. Manning is a member of the B.
P. O. Elks, the Native Sons of the
Golden West and the United Spanish
War Veterans.

294

JOSEPH MARTIN

refrigerating

ONE of California's principal in-
dustries is the shipping of per-
ishable fruit in refrigerating cars
across the Sierra and Rockies to

Eastern markets, and depositing it,
thousands of carloads a year, fresh and
tempting on the breakfast tables of

Chicago, New York

and a score of other

cities.

Joseph Martin, gen-
eral manager of the

National Ice and Cold

Storage Company o f

California, in the early

eighties was responsi-
ble for the first ship-

m e n t of California

fruit under ice to the

East. How jnuch good

has 'resulted to Cali-

f o r n i a through this

project may readily be

conceived. Thousands

of men and women to-
day are provided with

employment by the

State's fruit industry.

California's greatest

advertising asset is

her ability to place her

fruit on the Eastern

markets in a season

when the East itself

is shivering under

snow and ice — and this

asset is directly trace-
able to Mr. Martin's
launching of the
scheme.

With the success of this project as-
sured Mr. Martin turned about and
laid the foundation for another great

industry by shipping to Australia the
first ice and cold storage machines ever
used in the Antipodes. This has made

it possible to ship Australian meat to

the United States, to the British Isles
and to Continental Europe, and the
trade has gone on unceasingly ever
since.

Joseph Martin was born in Prods-
ham, Cheshire, England, April 21, 1854,
the son" of Joseph Martin and Mary

(Grice) Martin. He was educated at
Overton College in Frodsham and in
1868, when fourteen years old, came to
San Francisco by way of the Cape
Horn passage. He arrived here Octo-
ber 21, 1868.

It is significant that his first em-
ployment was in the ice business. He
advanced rapidly. In 1872, when only
eighteen, he was sent on an important
mission to England and Europe, where
he remained nearly a year. Returning
to California he became, like others,
interested in the gold mining possi-
bilities of this State and Nevada. He
entered the new field, locating for a
time at Virginia City, Nevada, during
the boom there.

The year 1875, however, brought Mr.
Martin back to San Francisco. He or-
ganized the Mountain Ice Company in
1878, operated it with profit for five
years and in 1883 launched the Floris-
ton Ice Company. Later he helped

form the Union Ice Company, and
about this same time started the ship-
ping of California fruit overland. At
different times Mr. Martin has organ-
ized and operated a score or more of
ice manufacturing concerns. In his
building up of the ice and cold storage
business he has come
to be known as one of
the leaders in the in-
dustry here and else-
where.

By an amalgamation
of the smaller plants
in 1912 was organized
the National Ice and
Cold Storage Company
of California, with an
authorized capital
stock of $15,000,000.
The company's charter
is the most compre-
hensive ever granted
any ice and cold stor-
age enterprise. With
an eye to the opening
of the Panama Canal
the corporation map-
ped out an extensive
field. It is authorized
to buy, sell and deal
in ice and all kinds of
refrigeration and to
carry on an export and
import business upon
the broadest lines with
several States and
foreign countries; to
maintain offices and stores in the
United States and foreign countries;
to construct and operate refrigerating
plants anywhere; to buy, sell and deal
in securities of other corporations and
to buy, obtain and hold patent rights
and trade marks.

Joseph Martin has been characterized
as the man who started the ice busi-
ness on this coast "with a single cake
of ice" and nursed it into a great in-
dustry. But While doing this he was
not neglecting to look about him for
opportunities of other kinds. He in-
vested in several oil and mining prop-
erties with good success.

In addition to his very responsible
position as general manager of the
National Ice and Cold Storage Company
of California, Mr. Martin is vice-presi-
dent of the Fresno Consumers' Ice
Company, vice-president of the Nevada
National Ice & Cold Storage Company,
a director of the Commercial Petro-
leum Company and the Atlas Wonder
Mining Company, and secretary of the
Sparks-Reno Electric Railroad.

Mr. Martin is one of those men who
believe that to attain real success in
any enterprise, one must absorb just
as much knowledge as possible of his
business. It was with the view of
furthering his education in this way
that, in 1909, he toured the world in-
specting the ice and cold storage plants
of every foreign city in which they
could be found. His two sons, Joseph
Martin, Jr., and Chester Miller Martin,
accompanied him and the trip was a
combination of business and pleasure.

295

CAPTAIN WILLIAM MATSON

ONE bright day in the year 1867
the schooner Bridgewater, after
a long and hazardous voyage
around the Horn from New York
City, passed in through the Golden Gate
and dropped anchor in the Bay of San
Francisco. Among the crew, which
was impatient to rid itself of memories
cf storms encountered and overcome
and to stand once more on terra firma,
was a husky 18-year-old youth — Wil-
liam Matson.

That was nearly half a century ago,
the day when William Matson first
strode up Market street in San Fran-
cisco, eager for an inspection of the
city whose fame already reached around
the world. Today, after decades
crammed full of activity, Captain Will-
iam Matson stands as founder and head
of the Matson Navigation Company, one
of the greatest ocean transportation

companies on the Pacific, as Consul for
Sweden, as president or director of sev-
eral big corporations and as one of the
most highly respected and most influen-
tial workers for commercial and civic
betterment in the State of California.

Among the corporations in which
Captain Matson is interested as officer
or director are: Matson Navigation Co.,
Honolulu Consolidated Oil Co., Paau-
hau Sugar Plantation Co., Atlas Won-
der Mining Co., Commercial Petroleum
Co., Hawaiian Oil Co., Honolulu Oil Co.,
Honolulu Plantation Co., Parkside
Realty Co. and Wonder Water Co.

Captain Matson is a power in busi-
ness circles. And he is a power because
of upright dealing, a spirit of progres-
siveness, and a Arm belief that Califor-
nia is to become, with its industries and
its shipping, one of the foremost of
these United States.

296

E. J. MILEY

NEVER does a man gain success
in this world without there be-
ing a good reason for it. Analyze
his career and you will And,
invariably, honest expenditure of effort
and a consistent struggle against re-
versals on the high road to achievement.

When circumstances
over which he had no
control forced him into
inactivity in one line,
Emmor Jerome Miley
turned to another and
developed himself in
that. Today he is presi-
dent and general
manager of the State
Consolidated Oil Com-
pany, with offices in
Los Angeles, and a
commanding figure in
the oil industry of the
nation.

Born October 22,1873,
in St. Clair County,
Illinois, son of George
C. Miley and Nancy
(Wildermann) Miley,
he was orphaned when
still young. "When
seventeen years old he
came to California, was
graduated from the
San Francisco High
School in 1895, and on
this foundation began
building his career.

His start was in the
fruit growing business, of which he
had learned a great deal during his
school vacations. He leased deciduous
fruit orchards in Solano County and for
the next five years shipped his product,
with prevailing success, to outside
markets. During the same period he
also raised citrus fruits in Southern
California.

About this time interest was being
awakened in California's possibilities
as an oil producing State. In 1900 Mr.
Miley sold his fruit holdings and be-
came interested with Joseph B. Dabney
in oil. The two leased a tract of land
in the McKittrick district in the San
Joaquin Valley and drilled ten wells
the first year. Later the Dabney Oil
Company was formed and Mr. Dabney
and Mr. Miley sold out their holdings
to the new concern.

Mr. Miley then turned about and be-
came interested in the Silver Bow Oil
Company, with holdings in the McKit-
trick and Midway districts. The Mid-
way has since become one of the most
famous oil sections in the world, but
at that time it was undeveloped and
Mr. Miley was one of its -pioneer pros-
pectors. The Silver Bow was a Mon-
tana corporation and Mr. Miley was its
general manager for California. In-
dependently, he drilled and brought in
the first commercial well in the extreme
north end of the McKittrick district.
In 1903 came a slump in the oil in-
dustry and Mr. Miley's company ceased
operations. He started out for himself
and drilled several wells, but the market

failing to relax he went to Nevada and
interested himself in mining. He began
developing copper mines, only to run
into another period of financial de-
pression following the San Francisco
fire of 1906. Then he returned to San
Francisco and associated himself with
the Summit Construc-
tion Company in the
rebuilding of the city.
The year 1908
brought new vitality
to the oil industry and
Mr. Miley again in-
vaded the McKittrick
fields, forming, with
David J. Graham, the
State Oil Company,
with Mr. Miley as
president and general
manager. The concern
operated until March,
1911, then took over
personal holdings of
Miley and Graham and
was reincorporated as
the State Consolidated
Oil Company, with Mr.
Miley still at its head.
With Joseph B. Dab-
ney, in 1913, Mr. Miley
developed properties in
Ventura County under
the name of the Hidal-
go Oil Company, but
sold out in 1914, al-
though the State Con-
solidated still operates
there. Early in 1914, again with Mr.
Dabney and under the name of Joseph
B. Dabney & Company, he began devel-
opment once more in the Midway fields,
where the concern at present has 15
producing wells. Mr. Miley retains
valuable holdings also in the McKit-
trick, Bellridge and Front fields.

Mr. Miley became a national figure
in the oil business when, in 1910, he was
one of the first chosen as member of the
California oil men's Washington dele-
gation. He gave valuable aid in com-
piling data for presentation to Congress
and was rewarded by a personal com-
pliment from the Congressional com-
mittee that was investigating the
industry. Also the report, which fol-
lowed the withdrawal of millions of
acres of oil lands by the Government,
brought about new laws clearing up
titles and protecting investors against
loss.

Fort Miley, San Francisco, is named
in honor of Mr. Miley's brother, John
David Miley, who gained heroic renown
in the Spanish-American war. From
First Lieutenant he became chief aid
to General Shatter, was brevetted
Brigadier-General and given the rank
of Lieutenant Colonel in the volunteer
army. Later, while Inspector General
in the Philippines, he died.

E! J. Miley was married in 1898 to
Beatrice M. Butler, daughter of A. B.
Butler, former Fresno vineyardist and
oil operator. They have three sons,
Emmor Jerome Jr., 15; Alban Butler,
7; and David, 3.

297

THOMAS L. MILLER

HOW forcibly, sometimes, do little
things or a combination of little
things, react upon and shape our
future destinies! A single ac-
tion, a spoken word, even a thought
has swerved men from the path they
were treading and made their lives
something entirely dif-
ferent from that on
which they had
planned.

Thomas L. Miller,
president of the West
C o a s t-San Francisco
Life insurance Com-
pany, owes his en-
trance to the insur-
ance field largely to
the fact that as a youth
he was attracted by
the sea and spent a
great deal of his time
on and about the wa-
ter. In this way he
picked up a fund of
first-hand, practical in-
formation o f things
maritime; and when
the old Commercial
Insurance Company of
California wanted a
man to take charge of
its marine department,
Mr. Miller, by reason
of his knowledge and
experience, was given
the job.

In 1875, following a
course in Urban Academy of San Fran-
cisco, an early-day school which then
took the place of a college, Mr. Miller
had secured a place as bookkeeper in
the old Merchants' Exchange Bank. He
remained there several months, until
the bank went into the hands of a re-
ceiver. Then, casting about for another
job, he landed the one with the Com-
mercial Insurance Company.

For 'something like nine years Mr.
Miller remained with this concern. At
first he had charge of the marine de-
partment. Later on he went to Port-
land, Oregon, and with J. W. G. Cofran
represented the Commercial Insurance
Company and the Hartford Fire In-
surance Company as general agent in
the Pacific Northwest. Resigning from
this agency in 1885, he returned to
San Francisco and for the next four or
five years managed his own interests.

At the end of this period Mr. Miller
entered the insurance field again and,
in association with L. L. Bromwell and
M. A. Newell became general agent of
the People's Fire Insurance Company
of Manchester, N. H., and of the Amazon
Insurance Company of Cincinnati. After
a couple of years he sold out his inter-
est in the agency and took over the
Pacific Coast agency of the Southern
Insurance Company of New Orleans; re-
maining so until the company retired
from the Coast.

Then, in 1895, Mr, Miller went with

the Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Com-
pany as assistant secretary and mana-
ger of its industrial department. The
Pacific Mutual, in September, 1901, scld
its industrial insurance business to the
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company,
and early in 1902 Mr. Miller went with
the Metropolitan as su-
perintendent of agen-
cies at the home office
in New York. He
served in this and other
capacities until 1905,
■when he broke down in
health and returned to
San Francisco for a
much needed rest.

The organization of
the West Coast Life In-
surance Company "was
brought about by Mr.
Miller in 1905, in asso-
ciation with Dr. George
" A. Moore, former presi-
dent of the Pacific
Mutual. Dr. Moore was
made the first president
of the new concern,
and Mr. Miller vice-
president. The organ-
ization was effected
just in time to be swept
away by the Are of
April, 1906, which de-
stroyed offices, statis-
tics and the best insur-
ance library west of
the Missouri river. Al-
most before the smoke had cleared away
the company had rented a flat on Ellis
street and had resumed business. No
furniture was to be had and Mr. Miller
sat on a box, using a packing case for
a desk. It was not until July, 1907,
that a downtown office could be secured.
On February 16, 1915, occurred an
event important in local insurance cir-
cles. This was the consolidation of the
West Coast Life with the San Francisco
Life Insurance Company, incorporated
in 1910. Mr. Miller became president of
the new West Coast-San Francisco Life
Insurance Company.

The new concern, with a capital stock
of $350,000, strengthens the security of
policy holders and makes a strong in-
fluence in Northern California. Life in-
surance companies are the biggest gath-
erers and centralizers of money in the
country today. And the fact that Mr.
Miller is and has been for a long time
a leader in Pacific Coast insurance cir-
cles, augurs that the West Coast-San
Francisco Life will become the domi-
nant factor in the Northern California
investment field.

Mr. Miller belongs to the Burlingame
Country Club, San Francisco Commer-
cial Club and the Masonic 'order. Knights
Templar and the Shriners. He was mar-
ried in 1885 in San Francisco to Eleanor
L. Laidley and has one son, Thomas
Nuttall Miller, a mining engineer at
present in Korea.

298

THOMAS S. MINOT

EIGHT years of litigation to set
aside land grants on the Pacific
Coast has placed Thomas S. Minot,
attorney at law, in a unique posi-
tion among his colleagues, inasmuch as
he is the first man locally to launch
such litigation against land titles which
h e believes, wrong-
fully held.

On July 12, 1915, was
handed down by Jus-
tice Charles E. Wol-
verton of the U. S. Dis-
trict Court for Oregon
a decision which set-
tles, declares Mr.
Minot, the legal contro-
versy over the Coos
Bay Wagon Road
Grant, in which litiga-
tion Mr. Minot repre-
sented many people de-
termined to break the
grant and distribute
the land to bona-fide

The first suit against
the Southern , Oregon
Company, claimant o f
the grant, was brought
by Mr. Minot in 1907
before the then U. S.
Circuit Court at Port-
land. It involved tne
aforesaid land grant,
which was made by
Congress in 1869, dur-
ing the reconstruction
period following the Civil War. Con-
gress granted it to the State of Oregon
in trust; the State passed it along to
the Coos Bay Wagon Road Company in
trust, and finally it was acquired by the
Southern Oregon Company in violation,
says Minot, of the original granting
act. It is a 12-mile strip, nearly 68
miles long, extending from Coos Bay
to Roseburg, Oregon, containing 95,000
acres of excellent timber and agricul-
tural land, valued at $15,000,000.

The Supreme Court's decision, made
by Justice Joseph J. McKenna June 21,
1915, in United States vs. the Oregon
& California Railroad Company, be-
came the, law of the case against the
Coos Bay grant. In the railroad case
numerous settlers on the property in
controversy came in as cross-complain-
ants or interveners. Justice McKenna's
ruling was one of the strangest and
ablest in' American legal history. It
was wholly negative — all parties liti-
gant were beaten. The lower court,
which forfeited the land to the Govern-
ment, was reversed and the Government
thrown out of court on the ground that
it had no right to forfeit. The rail-
road's grant was declared legal to the
extent' that the grantee was entitled
to an equity of $2.50 an acre but should
lose the grant. And the interveners
were denied relief on the ground that
they, not being in privity with the orig-
inal contracting parties, never had a
right to settle on the land or to en-
force its conditions.

The result of this decision will be

that Congress must enact a law by
which a commission may be appointed
to sell the land for $2.50 an acre plus
the expenses of the commission. The
interveners must take their chance with
the others who may try to gain a por-
tion of the land at the sale.

Mr. Minot, in 1909,
brought suit against
the Southern Pacific
Railroad Company be-
fore the U. S. District
Court at Los Angeles
on behalf of 45 oil men
to enforce or control
an exception in the
patent to 6,960 acres of
oil land near Coalinga,
valued at $3,000,000.
The exception, decree
of the Secretary of the
Interior, and patent, is
to the effect that min-
eral lands were ex-
cluded from the rail-
road grant. Through
Mr. Minot's efforts the
Government was
brought in and has in-
stituted suit to set
aside the patents cov-
e r i n g this territory.
This litigation, involv-
ing oil lands valued at
$2,000,000,000, is pend-
ing. The Southern Pa- ,
cific is still, in defiance
of law, says Mr. Minot,
taking oil from this Government land
and not paying for it — nor owning it,
unless it and the Standard Oil Company
own the Government. Meldrum, Puter,
McKinley, Mitchell, and others were
convicted of looting the public domain
in Oregon in the land fraud cases, but
no one interferes with the Southern
Pacific and it is taking $1,000 where
the timber grabbers took one; Mr. Minot
declares. Other oil lands are withdrawn
from men of moderate means by a
beneficent but impotent administra-
tion.

. Thomas Sumner Minot was born Au-
gust 18, 1862, in Brunswick, Maine,
son of Alexander Baker Minot and
Mary (Ramsdell) Minot. His father's
line runs back to Elder George Minot,
who settled at Salem, Massachusetts,
May 30, 1630. Elder George Minot was
the son of Thomas Minot, Esq., Secre-
tary to the Abbot of Walden, Essex,
England.

After completing his education in
England Mr. Minot returned and spent
three years studying law with Hon.
John A. Gray and General J. M. Siglin
at Marshfield, Oregon, and was admitted
to the bar at Salem, Oregon, in 1896.
November 12, 1902, he was admitted
before "the U. S. District and Circuit
Courts. He removed to San Francisco
in February, 1901, and in July was ad-
' mitted to the bar of this State; Septem-
ber 10, 1909, to U. S. District and Cir-
cuit Courts of Southern California, and
October 6, 1909, to U. S. Circuit Court
of Appeals.

299

J. R. MOLONY

ORGANIZATION undoubtedly has
more to do with the success of a
venture in which several hands
and minds are needed to carry on
the work, than any other one factor.
This is coming to be recognized more
and more as the years of the twentieth
century slip by. Young
men, active and intel-
ligent, with their new
ideas of system and ef-
ficiency, are every-
where superseding the
older ones who have
alio. red themselves to
run along in the pro-
verbial rut.

When J. R. Molony
became "Western
branch manager for
the Aetna Life Insur-
ance Company at San
Francisco the business
was practically in its
infancy, although the
office had been estab-
lished eight years. The
company stood in
seventh place in vol-
ume of business in this
territory. B y reason
of his organization
methods Mr. Molony
put his company into
first place three years
later, in 1913, and the
Aetna has since been
doing the largest cas-
ualty business in this territory. Since
1910 Mr. Molony has increased the
business just an even thousand per
cent.

Mr. Molony is a native of Humboldt,
Nebraska. He was born September 25,
1881, son of R. S. Molony, an attorney
at law, and Katherine (tingles) Molony.
His paternal ancestors were of the
Knickerbockers of New York and his
mother's people were prominent in Vir-
ginia.

Following his graduation in 1899 from
the Humboldt, Nebraska, High School,
Mr. Molony entered the University of
Nebraska. He spent six years in the
law and academic departments but did
not take either degree, as circumstances
made it necessary for him to leave
school. He became connected with the
Lincoln Star, and for several months
filled a position in its circulation de-
partment.

Mr. Molony's introduction to the in-
surance business came in 1905, when he
went to St. Paul and became a solicitor
for the Employers' Liability Assurance
Corporation of London. After about a
year he "was placed in the claims de-
partment as an adjuster, but after a
few months was made superintendent
of agencies. Nine months more saw
him in charge of the Minneapolis office
as district manager, where he remained
two years.

In the spring of 1909 Mr. Molony ac-
cepted a better place with the Aetna
Life Insurance Company at Hartford,
Connecticut. He was executive special

agent and his work was largely of a
general agency organization nature in
the accident and liability department.
Coming to San Francisco April 1, 1910,
to fill the vacancy caused by the resigna-
ation of the Western branch manager,
he has remained here ever since. His
territory embraces
California, Nevada,
Arizona and the Ha-
waiian Islands.

The reason for Mr.
M o 1 o n y's gratifying
success in his new field
is that he has applied
Eastern intensive cul-
tivation methods
through a young and
aggressive organiza-
tion built up from raw
and green material. He
is a strong champion
of the college-trained
man and his present
organization has a col-
lege man at the head
of every department.
Nearly all of these men
are under thirty years
of age. In his office he
has, in addition to the
Aetna Life Insurance
Company's accident
and liability depart-
ment, the Aetna Acci-
dent & Liability Com-
pany and the Automo-
bile Insurance C o m-
pany of Hartford, both subsidiaries of
the Aetna Life.

Ever since he came to San Francisco
Mr. Molony has been actively engaged
in organizing all the casualty under-
writing companies doing business here
into the Casualty Underwriters' Asso-
ciation, which was formed in 1911. He
has been chairman of all its committees
on organization and legislation, and as
such has helped bring about a general
co-operation to meet new problems
growing out of the employers' liability
and workman's compensation laws.

In 1913 Mr. Molony initiated the op-
position to the Boynton Act before the
California Legislature by the employers
and property owners of the State and
Chambers of Commerce. The fight was
admittedly the hardest ever made on
a bill at Sacramento; some 300 amend-
ments were added, and this was the
only thing that gave California fair
liability rates.

Although his forbears for seven gen-
erations back were in politics, Mr. Mo-
lony finds no time for such activities
except in a way that affects his busi-
ness. His social activities also are lim-
ited to membership in the Bohemian
Club and in the Alpha Tau Omega and
Theta Nu Epsilon fraternities. • He is
unmarried.

Mr. Molony believes that a man, to
succeed, must choose his field and then
devote himself "wholly to advancing
himself in this sphere. And the fact
that he has followed his own belief ex-
plains his rapid progress.

300

P. J. MORAN

EVERYTHING that has come to
P. J. Moran, Salt Lake City capi-
talist and industrial promoter,
has been the reward of stern, hon-
est, unremitting effort. Riches have not
been handed him. His career he has
carved by the sweat of his brow — and
he has carved it well.

P. J. Moran did not
come to the great West
in the days known as
"pioneer"; yet he has
made himself a pioneer
in the true sense of the
w o r d — for he started
out as a leader and he
has remained such ever
since.

"When he was but
seven years old Mr.
Moran was left father-
less. He was born in
Yorkshire, England,
January 23, 1864, the
son of Laurence Mo-
ran of County Mayo,
Ireland, and Bridget
(D u r k i n) Moran of
County Sligo, Ireland.
Ten years old he was,
a mere child, when he
started to seek an in-
dependent living. Of
schooling he had but
little. His education
he acquired in the
workshop, supplemented later by in-
dividual study when the day's work was
done.

Bidding his birthplace good-bye when
he was fourteen years old Mr. Moran
crossed the Atlantic and in April, 1878,
landed in Baltimore, where he spent
four months. He then went to Cincin-
nati, where he became apprentice to a
steam-fitter, mastering his' trade and
working at it in Chicago as a journey-
man until 1887. Removing to Omaha,
he remained there several months and
then came still further westward to
Salt Lake City, where he has since
lived and prospered.

Mr. Moran worked about two years
at his trade in Salt Lake City, then
started in as a steam heating and ven-
tilating contractor. He furnished and
installed most of the heating plants in
the city's public schools as well as
those in the State University at Salt
Lake City and- in the State Agricultural
College at Logan. He also fitted a number
of office buildings, residences, churches
and schools in various parts of Utah.

As he went along he enlarged his
field. In 1900 Salt Lake City awarded
him the contract for the installation of
a new and modern waterworks costing
several million dollars. One part of
the work in particular, the Big Cotton-
Wood conduit, ten miles long, has since
been pronounced one of the finest of
its kind in the United States,

In 1903 Mr, Moran branched out again man can receive,

301

and became a paving contractor. His
company has laid many miles of asphalt
on the streets of Salt Lake City, Ogden
and other cities of the West and Middle
West. Hundreds of men are given em-
ployment at the Moran asphalt plant,
one of the largest in the country.

In concrete construc-
tion he has excelled.
He put in the masonry
for the American
Smelting and Refining
C o m p a n y's plant at
Garfield, Utah, and also
built the power plant
of the Utah Light and
Railway Company i n
Weber Canyon. In the
past twelve or fifteen
years he has built
practically all the en-
largements to Salt
Lake's water supply
system. He constructed
the immense water
conduit leading from
City Creek Canyon, as
well as the irrigation
dam of the Pacific Rec-
lamation Company by
which the water of
Bishop Creek, near
Wells, Nevada, has
been conserved and a
vast acreage about the
new town of Metropo-
lis has been made to blossom.

One of Mr. Moran's greatest enter-
prises of recent years was his purchase,
as head of a syndicate, of the Utah
Portland Cement Company, of which he
is president and controlling stock-
holder. The corporation's plant in Par-
ley's Canyon near Salt Lake City is one
of the largest in America, and supplies
a market in which cement formerly was
scarce.

It would require pages to enumerate
all of Mr. Moran's successful industrial
enterprises. He organized and incorpo-
rated the Federal Coal Company of
Utah, of which he is vice-president and
general manager; he is director of sev-
eral realty concerns that handle his
vast land holdings; he is director and
one of the incorporators of the National
Copper Bank of Salt Lake City; he is
president, general manager and sole
owner of the F. J. Moran Contracting
Company, his original concern; and is
a director of the Keith-O'Brien Com-
pany, which operates Salt Lake City's
largest department store, in addition
to his presidency of the Portland Ce-
ment Company of Utah.

They like P. J. Moran in Utah. Every
year there is set aside a "Moran Day,"
when his thousands of employes take
their wives' and children and friends
for a picnic and outing. And by this
they give him the strongest testimonial
for honesty and right dealing that any

PAUL CONRAD MORF

WHEN Paul Conrad Morf left the
home of his birth in Germany
at the age of sixteen to see the
world, his relatives asserted
that he would soon be back. But he
kept going and never did return except
for a short visit. He found his way
to California. He is a
Californian.

That youthful de-
parture from the Fa-
therland was not at all
romantic. He did not
run away, nor ship be-
fore the mast, nor come
west aching to kill In-
dians. He departed so-
berly, with full and
formal leavetaking
and money in his pock-
et. Then he crossed
the Atlantic and the
American continent
and finally reached the
ranch of an aunt in
Calaveras County.

The Calaveras ad-
vent was the real be-
ginning of his career,
for he studied law in
that mountainous
county and has ad-
hered to the legal vo-
cation ever since. Ho
has climbed until re-
c e n 1 1 y he was made
counsel for the United
Railroads of San Fran-
cisco, and still more recently was ap-
pointed city attorney of Oakland, where
his home has been for several years.

Morf was born in Bsslingen, Wurtem-
berg, Germany, April 2, 1869. He is the
son of Bmil Morf, a merchant, and
Pauline Morf, whose forefathers in-
cluded several burgomasters in her
native city.

Paul Morf went through the usual
German elementary school course and
then entered the Esslingen Lyceum,
where training is begun for profes-
sional careers. At the age of sixteen
he completed his course and was ready
to enter a university. But he did not
enter a university. He passed the
Statue of Liberty and entered California.

After a few health-giving years at
his aunt's ranch, Morf became compe-
tent in the English language and re-
newed his early desire to study the law.
He already knew French and Latin and
Greek and some Hebrew, but he cannily
waited until he could gain a fair com-
mand of English. With this acquired,
He entered the law office of Judge Ira
Hill Reed at San Andreas, going through
all that neophytes in the law usually
endure.

This was in 1885, when the turbulent
pioneer days were just beginning to
wane. Then he was offered a chance
of going to the law qfflce of F. W.
Street in Tuolumne County, where he
completed his studies. He was admitted
to practice by the Tuolumne County
Superior Court and, in May, 1890, by
the California Supreme Court.

Morf then went back to San Andreas
and hung out his sign. This was in
1889. There was law in San Andreas,
but also some lawlessness, and the
young attorney was kept fairly busy.
His first three cases were murder cases.
In 1893 Morf went to Stockton and be-
came associated with
former Congressman J.
A. Louttit in the prac-
tice of his profes-
sion,

Morf, in 1899, went
to Europe for a visit.
Returning a year later
he found an opening
in New York City and
practiced law there
until 1908, when he
returned to California,
taking up his resi-
dence in Oakland and
practicing in San
Francisco with Frank
Solinsky. His work
soon attracted the at-
tention of officials of
the United Railroads
of San Francisco and
he was invited to join
that company's legal
staff, meanwhile con-
tinuing his private
work. Then, last July,
when the Davie admin-
istration took charge
of Oakland's affairs,
Morf was named city
attorney, a. position which he now
holds.

Mr. Morf has always taken an active
interest in political affairs, although
the present is his first public office. He
has been chairman of the Republican
County Central Committee in Calaveras,
chief clerk of the State Senate's judi-
ciary committee in 1893, chairman of the
Calaveras delegation to the Republican
State Convention in 1894, and an ac-
tive member of the Alameda County
Republican Central Committee during
the strenuous 1914 campaign.

Perhaps Morf's most notable achieve-
ment of recent years was his drafting
of the Public Utilities District bill,
which passed the recent Legislature and
revolutionized the handling of water
district matters in California.

A portion of the residents of Alameda
County desired to form a water dis-
trict in Autumn, 1914, but the project
failed of passage because the voters
showed their fear that the then exist-
ing State statute was so worded as to
invite political favoritism in the ad-
ministration of a water district.

The citizens clamored for a new law.
Morf was picked to draft it. When
completed, his work was discussed pro
and con throughout the State, but in the
end it was successfully passed before
the Legislature, thus giving the com-
monwealth a new and improved method
of controlling water districts and bring-
ing Morf into prominence as the "fa-
ther of the Public Utilities District
bill."

302

LEON E. MORRIS

THERE are at least three essentials
to any man's success — i ntelli-
gence, perseverance, speed. "With
these three things as attributes,
and with the determination that goes
with them, no problem is too great nor
no obstacle too big. The wide-awake
'and aggressive indi-
vidual will be found,
when the smoke of
battle clears away, to
have won the point for
which he set out.

Leon E. Morris, San
Francisco' attorney at
law, has just such a
character; and by
reason of it he has
made for himself in the
comparatively few
years he has been prac-
ticing a record of ac-
complishment that
many an older man in
his profession might
well envy.

Born February 24,
1884, in San Francisco,
Mr. Morris is the son
of Henry E. Morris and
Henrietta (Levy)
Morris. His father has
been in the d r a y i n g
business in this city
since 1876 and is well
known and liked in San
Francisco business circles. The younger
Mr. Morris, after attending the public
schools, was graduated from Lowell
High School in 1901 and the same year
entered the University of California.
He received his degree of A. B. in 1905
from the University, and his LL. B. in
1907 from Hastings College of the Law.

The beginning of Mr. Morris' law
practice really dates from 1905, the
year he entered Hastings College, for
it was then he entered the law offices
of Bishop & Hoefler as clerk and all-
around handy man. He was formally
admitted to the bar May 1, 1907. Mean-
while, in 1906, Thomas B. Bishop had
passed away, and on March 1, 1909, Mr.
Morris became a partner in a new law
firm known as Hoefler, Cook, Harwood
& Morris. When, on August 1, 1913,
this association was dissolved and the
new firm of Hoefler & Morris was or-
ganized, Mr. Morris became its mana-
ger. This in turn was dissolved January
1, 1915, since which time Mr. Morris
has been practicing alone, as the head
of a highly efficient personal organ-
ization.

It is not an abuse of the superlative
to say that Mr. Morris has made a
phenomenal record for a man of his
years. Confining himself to a general
civil law practice he is general counsel
for a number of corporations and
holds officerships or directorships in
a score or more others. Included
among these are the Brunswick-BaLke-
Collender Company of California, the

Steiger Terra Cotta and Pottery Works,
the Howard Cattle Company and other
interests of the late Edward W. Howard
and of the Whitwells of Boston.

One of' his recent coups, in which the
necessity for speed was paramount, was
the mandamus proceedings, in 1914,
against the trustees of
the City of Hanford.
The removal b y t h e
trustees of an i n i t i -
ative measure from the
ballot at the last min-
ute was involved. Mr.
Morris had but three
hours to frame pro-
ceedings that covered
40 typewritten pages.
But he accomplished
it, rushed the case to
court and succeeded in
establishing the point
of law that city trus-
t e e s cannot halt the
voting on an initiative
measure as it is a
matter having to do
with the State consti-
tution. Incidentally, in
this instance, the initi-
ative proposition won.
In a recall against
two trustees of Vallejo
in 1914, Mr. Morris won
another notable vic-
tory. The trustees re-
fused to canvass a vote in which it ap-
peared that at least one of them had
been ousted from office. The appellate
court in Sacramento was appealed to for
an alternative writ of mandate to com-
pel the trustees to make the canvass,
and from there the case was taken to .
the Supreme Court. Mr. Morris disclosed
the fact that the two "reform" candi-
dates had run for the office of trustee
indiscriminately instead of specifying
which of the terms, the long or the
short, each sought. In winning his
case, Mr. Morris caused it to be estab-
lished that two terms comprise two
offices instead of one, and that there
should have been two distinct recall
elections.

The success of Mr. Morris' legal career
has largely been made possible by the
very efficient office organization he
maintains. He has expended not a little
effort in building up this organization,
until today its superior cannot be found
in San Francisco.

Politically, Mr. Morris is a Republi-
can, though he is held by no narrow
party ties, nor has he ever sought or
held office. He belongs to the Union
League, San Francisco Commercial and
Merchants' Exchange Clubs, to Islam
Temple of Shriners and to San Fran-
cisco bodies of the Scottish Rite. He
was married August 27, 1912, in San
Francisco to Elede Prince and is the
father of one daughter, Eleonor, aged
2 years.

303

LOUIS CHRISTIAN MULLGARDT

««T OUIS CHRISTIAN MULLGARDT

I is emphatically an original de-

■*—" signer. The freshness of his
vision and the novelty of many of
his technical expedients will be manifest
to the most superficial observer, while at
the same time it is equally .obvious that
his innovations have
not been conceived in
any perversity of
spirit. He is a man
who goes his own way,
because he has to go
his own way."

This, in part, is what
Herbert D. C r o 1 y ,
author and editor,
wrote of Mr. Mullgardt
after he had made a
critical study of his
work several years
ago. Mr. Croly's analy-
sis accounts for the
originality and beauty
of Mr. Muilgardt's
"Court of the Ages"
and other structures
designed by him at the
Panama-Pacific Inter-
national Exposition.
The Court of Ages has
commanded such uni-
versal expressions of
approval by architec-
tural critics and public alike in respect
to distinctive composition, style and in-
finite detail, as to insure its permanency
in the annals of architecture.

The general theme of the Court of
the Ages is based on the world's
geological and progressional develop-
ment depicted in architecture, sculpture
and mural paintings. It is an epitome
of the world's progress.

The architectural style of the court
is characteristically Gothic without
bearing any traceable evidence of
having been directly influenced by any
other similar preceding style. It is a
distinctive evolution in architectural
design, self-evidently based on a colos-
sal historical theme and in style tradi-
tionally ecclesiastic.

The preliminary studies, working
drawings and every individual detail
of ornament and moulding were pro-
duced by the architect himself, in-
cluding final , life-size clay models for
each architectural detail.

He was responsible for the selection
of Frank Brangwyn, the famous London
artist who painted the eight notable
murals symbolizing Earth, Air, Fire
and "Water, which are placed in the
four corners of the cloister.

The work of Mr. Mullgardt consist-
ently divulges its creator's wide versa-
tility. It cannot be classified as
belonging to any previous architec*
tural style, but there is something

For the
designed
original

about it, perhaps its very quality, that
betrays its authorship.

This is proven by Mr. Muilgardt's
work in the various exhibit palaces.
W. P. Fuller Company he
a Moorish temple of most
composition and exquisite
detail. For the Union
Oil Company of Cali-
fornia exhibit he used
as a theme four huge
dinosauria symbolizing
the origin of the oil
industry, geologically
speaking. His design
for the Transvaal gold
display consisted of an
immense gold obelisk
showing cubically the
world's annual output
of gold. Two balls on
adjoining pedestals
terminating an exedra
represented the Trans-
vaal output as com-
pared to that of the
rest of the world. The
design was strikingly
Egyptian. In contrast
to all this was his
"Home of Redwood"
in the South Gardens,
designed for the red-
w o o d industries o f
Sonoma, Mendocino and Humboldt
Counties.

Mr. Mullgardt came from London to
San Francisco in 1905. He is a native of
Missouri. His earlier years were spent
in St. Louis, where he began the study
of architecture. Subsequently he con-
tinued his studies in Bbston and at
Harvard. Following this he went to
Chicago, where he first became en-
gaged as designer of important work.
In 1893 Mr. Mullgardt entered private
practice in St. Louis. In 1895 he made
an extended trip to Europe for further
study.. In 1902 he was commissioned
to go to Manchester, England, and in
1903 to London, to execute important
work there and in Scotland. The results
of his labors for the next two years
before coming to San Francisco, could
they be noted here in detail, would be
most complimentary testimonials of his
genius.

To his accomplishments as an archi-
tect and sculptor should be added those
of artist and writer, he having con-
tributed liberally to maga'zines, par-
ticularly those relating to architecture.
Mr. Mullgardt is president of the
California Society of Etchers, vice-
president of the San Francisco Society
of Artists, director of the San Francisco
Art Association, ex-president of the
San Francisco Society of Architects and
member of the International Fine Arts
Jury of Award of the Panama-Pacific
International Exposition.

304

C. P. MURDOCK

THIS is indeed the young man's
age. Now, perhaps more than
ever before, is there opportunity
for the aspiring young man to
advance himself to a position of trust
and responsibility and compel recog-
nition of his assets. Time was when
the youthful were
frowned upon by their
elders; a man was
supposed to live sev-
eral decades before he
became really "set-
tled." But the world
moves and to youth is
left the task of sup-
plying most of the
energy — because youth
is prone to accept the
element of risk.

C. P. Murdock, vice-
president and general
manager of the Realty
Syndicate of Oakland
and officer or director
in a number of Cali-
fornia corporations, is
still a young man. But
for a dozen years or
more he has been
identified with big
projects in positions N
calling for executive
ability and prompt ac-
tion. He is typical of the progressive
young man of the day.

Mr. Murdock is a native of San Fran-
cisco. He was born August 29, 1881,
the son of George H. Murdock, head
of the real estate and insurance firm
of George H. Murdock & Son, and
Susan L. (Puller) Murdock. After at-
tending the public schools of Alameda,
in 1895 he entered the. California School
of Mechanical Arts in San Francisco.
The institution was founded by James
Lick and Mr. Murdock's class was the
second to attend there.

In 1898 Mr. Murdock entered his
father's real estate and insurance bus-
iness. He remained a partner in the firm
until 1907. The San Francisco Are of

1906 caused the concern to remove to
Oakland, but it moved back to the city
as soon as possible and for a time
maintained offices on both sides of the
bay. Mr. Murdock is still interested in a
financial way with hisi father in the firm.

An opportunity to advance came in

1907 when Mr. Murdock associated
himself with the Great Western Power
Company as assistant to the superin-
tendent in the construction of the mon-
ster power plant on the north fork of
the Feather River. He was closely
associated with the executive side of
the project until its completion in 1909.

Still larger things loomed ahead. In
May, 1909, he became assistant sec-
retary to F. M. Smith, the "borax
king," in connection with all the vast
Smith holdings. This gave him valua-
ble experience in the realm of capital

and he made the most of it. The direct
result was that in January, 1913, when
Nat M. Crossley resigned from the
managership of the Realty Syndicate,
a Smith property, Mr. Murdock was
chosen for the vacant position. Ever
since he has assumed the details of
the concern's business.
Just what this
means may be under-
stood from the fact
that the Realty Syndi-
cate is the largest
owner of land in Ala-
meda County. It con-
trols the San Francis-
co-Oakland Terminal
Railways; owns the
Syndicate building in
Oakland, valued at
$1,500,000, and also
owns several million
dollars worth of sub-
divided property, in-
cluding 5,000 acres
contiguous to the
present developed por-
tions of Berkeley and
Oakland. Some of the
most fashionable and
popular of the trans-
bay residential sec-
tions it has put on the
market.
Mr. Murdock is vice-president and
general manager of the Realty Syn-
dicate and also of the Realty Syn-
dicate Company, the latter a concern
growing out of the reorganization
of the original corporation several
months ago. In several other Smith
holdings he has positions also. He
is president of the Idora Park Com-
pany, owned by the Realty Syndi-
cate Company; vice-president of the
Twelfth Street Realty Company of
Oakland; and director of the West End
Consolidated Mining Company with
properties at Tonopah, Nevada, and of
the Sorosis Fruit Company.

Mr. Murdock has long been promi-
nent in tennis circles and is well known
up and down the Pacific Coast for his
playing. He has won several cham-
pionships and still plays tennis as a
recreation from business.

Although he is deeply interested in
the civic advancement of Oakland and
the East Bay community Mr. Murdock
is not one of those that spend their
time talking, leaving very little time
for really doing things. Rather, he re-
mains in the background, no less a
"booster" but accomplishing his public
work quietly and without ostentation.
He is a member of the Oakland Com-
mercial Club as well as the Athenian
Club and the Sequoia Country Club.
He is affiliated with no fraternal or-
ganizations.

Mr. Murdock was married in March,
1912, in Alameda to Catherine War-
field Wells. The couple have one son,
C. P. Murdock, Jr.

305

THOMAS R. MURPHY

of blue -clad

IT IS not always — not even often —
that a man lives to see his greatest
ambition realized. That Thomas R.
Murphy has done so makes him a
man in whose career there is a general
interest.

The ambition of Thomas E. Murphy,
Chief Engineer of the
San Francisco Fire De-
partment, has been to
make that department
rank with the very
best in the world. He
has done so, in point of
organization, equip-
ment and general effi-
ciency, and in some
particulars he has
made it the peer of
them all. '

San Francisco has the
only central fire alarm
station of its kind in
the world. It is abso-
lutely isolated— there-
fore, absolutely safe.
Never again can a flre
like that great con-
flagration of April,
1906, cripple the de-
partment by destroy-
ing the very center of
its system. Let every-
thing else go up in
flames and Chief
Murphy will still have
his station in Jefferson
Square from "where he
can marshal his force
fighters.

Chief Murphy only recently won this
new and isolated central station, after
a struggle before the Supervisors last-
ing three years. But the result will
be worthy of the effort, for when his
other plans for strengthening the sys-
tem have been carried out he will have
caused the lowering of fire insurance
rates, it is promised, at least two per
cent.

Born in San Francisco August 31,
1870, Murphy entered the Fire Depart-
ment as a relief driver in 1892. The
late lamented Chief Dennis Sullivan ap-
pointed him captain of Chemical Engine
6 in 1897, and in 1905 he was again pro-
moted by Chief Sullivan, this time to
battalion chief.

The disastrous fire of 1906, which
caused the death of Chief Sullivan, gave
Murphy his opportunity to distinguish
himself. It was he who directed the
work that saved the only block left
standing within the burned area of the
city. The direct result of this coup was
the recommendation of Murphy for pro-
motion by Acting Secretary of the Navy
Newberry, and Murphy was appointed
second assistant chief engineer under
Chief Shaughnessey. In 1910, upon the
retirement of Shaughnessey, the Board
of Fire Commissioners made Murphy
chief.

When an entire city endorses a public
official's administration, it means that
that official knows his business. Chief
Murphy has been endorsed, unmistak-
ably, by every fire insurance interest

of San Francisco, by every newspaper,
by the Civic League of Improvement
Clubs, the Downtown Association and
by dozens of other commercial, politi-
cal and civic bodies. And the reason
is not difficult to find.

Chief Murphy has injected efficiency
into the Fire Depart-
ment of San Francisco.
When he became chief
engineer the only mo-
tor apparatus the de-
partment was provided
with was the chief's
automobile. Today
nine engine companies
are completely motor-
ized, as are five truck
companies and three
chemical engine com-
panies; and each of
eleven battalion chiefs
and two' assistant
chiefs have automo-
biles. In order to have
men competent to
handle this motor ap-
paratus the Chief
started a school of
automobile instruction
at the Corporation
Yard, where the Bre-
men take turns attend-
ing.

Where drills once
were desultory, they
are now given every
day in the yeiar except
Sundays. In addition to the regular
weekly company drills at headquarters,
where the men familiarize themselves
with tools and apparatus, there is a drill
school at Seventeenth and Harrison
streets, where new and old members of
the department alike are given instruc-
tion in their turn, each one attending
about four days a month. Here they
work with pompier ladders, extension
ladders, hose, high pressure valves, and
in actual rescue "work with life guns,
life lines, and nets. There is also a de-
partment of first-aid instruction, and
eventually the "flying squad" wagon
will be equipped to respond to any first-
aid emergency. In addition, each fire-
boat has six two-hour oxygen helmets,
with two each for the truck companies
in the congested district.

During Chief Murphy's regime the
city's fire alarm system has been in-
creased more than twenty-five per
cent. There are now 672 boxes, and the
Chief says eventually there will be
1,050. New fire houses have been built
and more are contemplated for the near
future. The high-power system has
been extended until now there are 8S9
high-power water hydrants capable of
developing 335 pounds pressure to the
square inch. In all these improvements,
economy has been the keynote quite as
much as has efficiency.

And as for his "human" side, Chief
Murphy has collected a fund of $17,000
with which he will perpetuate, by a
monument in the Civic Center, the mem-
ory of his stanch friend, the late Chief
Sullivan.

306

MAJOR GENERAL ARTHUR MURRAY, U. S. A.

NEARLY any normal man can
make something of himself in
this world with the proper en-
couragement. It is the worth-
while man who accomplishes it in the
face of disheartening opposition.

When Major General Arthur Murray,
Commander of the
Western Department
and Third Division of
the United States
Army, started on his
career, he met any-
thing but assurance.
His ambition was to
gain entrance to West
Point in a competitive
examination. But when
he announced himself
as a competitor to the
Congressman of his
home district, Bowling
Green, Missouri, he
was told the expense
would be useless, that
his lack of education
made it impossible for
him to win.

"I'll stand the ex-
pense," replied the
19-year-old youth
in a way character-
istic of him. "I -want
to take the chance,
for I'll at least find
out how much the
other contestants
know." He took the
chance. Also, he won the appointment.

Major General Murray was born in
Bowling Green, April 29, 1851. He was
graduated from West Point in 1874 with
second honors and made a second lieu-
tenant of artillery. In 1880 he captured
first honors in graduation from the
Artillery School at Fort Monroe, "Vir-
ginia. There followed his marriage at
Fort ' Monroe to Sara Wetmore De
Russy, and a year later he returned to
West Point, this time as instructor — •
later becoming assistant professor — in
the department of philosophy. He re-
mained until 1886.

Promoted to first lieutenant of artil-
lery, Murray was then made captain
and acting judge advocate of the De-
partment of Missouri. He also studied
law, which in 1895 gained for him ad-
mittance to the bar before the United
States Circuit Court at St. Louis. Also,
he wrote "A Manual for Courts Martial,"
published privately in 1887 but in 1895
revised and issued by the War Depart-
ment. It remains today the sole Army
guide in minor courts martial.

There followed transferences and
more-promotions. In 1891 he was acting
adjutant general of the Department of
Dakota. In 1893 he wrote "Mathematics
for Artillery Gunners," still used as a
text book. He also designed the artil-
lery post at Fort Hancock, N. J., and,
after declining a commission as captain
and quartermaster, went to Tale as
professor of military science.

In December, 1908, following the out-

break of the Spanish-American war,
Murray became acting judge advocate
for the First Army Corps at Matanzas,
Cuba, and was in charge of civil govern-
ment affairs of the provinces of Matan-
zas and Santa Clara. The latter part
of 1899 he spent in Washington, in ■
charge of all legal
matters relating to the
military branch of the
Army.

As Colonel o f t h e
43rd Volunteer Infan-
try, in 1900 and 1901,
Murray was active in
the Philippines. He
was governor of the
islands of Samar and
Leyte, and then com-
mander of the First
District, Department
o f t h e Visayas. His
regiment participated
in 451 fights.

Declining, in 1901,
another advancement,
Murray was given
charge of the School
of Submarine Defense
at Fort Totten, N. T.
His development o f
submarine defense
brought him appoint-
in e n t as lieutenant
colonel, October 1,
1906, and on the same
day as brigadier gen-
eral and chief of artil-
lery. Meanwhile he had helped design
and construct the land fortifications of
the United States, and his reward came
in March, 1911, when President Taft
made him major general, which brought
about his present command.

After all, a man's success is measured
by what those closest in touch with him
say of his work. Former President
Roosevelt, speaking of General Murray
to George Griswold Hill, then chief of
the New York Tribune's Washington
bureau, said:

"Major General Murray is, in my
opinion, not only one of the ablest
soldiers in the Army but he has to my
knowledge done more for the Army
than any other man in the War Depart-
ment or anywhere else. He is essential-
ly a man who does things, who gets
results."

In* a similar vein was former Presi-
dent Taft's characterization.

"I don't know but I ought to make
Murray a major general in order that
his great ability may be exerted for the
benefit of the entire military establish-
ment," said Taft. "I am a little dis-
posed to believe he has too much force
and enterprise to be confined to one
branch of the service."

As a still more visible testimonial
Major General Murray, who reached the
retiring age in April, 1915, was kept on
the active list, by a special order unique
in Army history, until the close of the
Panama-Pacific Exposition, December
4, 1915.

307

HAMDEN H. NOBLE

IT is to such men as Hamden Holmes
Noble — men whose integrity and
stamina are combined with a pro-
gressivism that keeps them really
ahead of their times — that California
owes much of her wonderful growth
and prosperity as a State. He is one of
those who have given
the very best that was
in them to California;
and the results have
been far-reaching and
permanent.

Posterity will re-
member Mr. Noble, if
for nothing else, at
least for his pinoeer
work in the converting
of electric current into
heat for the treatment
of iron ores in smelt-
ing. In 1906 he organ-
ized and became presi-
dent of the Noble Elec-
tric Steel Company, a
project characterized
by the Journal of Elec-
tricity in its columns
as "one of the nerviest
ever fostered in Cali-
fornia." It opened up
a new era in the mar-
keting of pigiron produced in this coun-
try, for until the new system was in-
troduced the smelting of iron ores in
the United States was considered com-
mercially unprofitable owing to the dif-
ficulty in obtaining suitable coking coal.

In a few words this same trade jour-
nal tells of the struggle to perfect Mr.
Noble's idea, when it says: "The story
of the development of this smelter, the
heartbreaking trials, costly delays, un-
foreseen misfortunes, repeated failures,
always bolstered up and ready to go at
it again by the indomitable courage and
unswerving faith of these men, held to-
gether and helped and reassured through
the untiring energy of their leader (Mr.
Noble), will add a chapter to the glo-
rious history of California which, next
to the satisfaction of the success that
it will chronicle, will be a fitting trib-
ute to the genius ot faith and daring."

Mr. Noble, the recipient of this un-
usual mark of esteem, is a native of
Fairfield, Maine. He was born August
16, 1844, the son of James Wellington
Noble, farmeu and carriage builder, and
Louisa (Knox) Noble. The younger Mr.
Noble attended the public schools of
his birthplace until the age of eighteen
when — on September 9, 1862 — he was
mustered into the United States Army

as a private in Company B, Twenty-
first Regiment of Maine Infantry. After
serving for eighteen months he was
honorably- discharged on account of ill-
ness, and came to California in October,
1864, to regain his lost vitality.

Mr. Noble's first business experience
was as a clerk in the
wholesale paper con-
cern of George W.
Clark. After five years
he went to White Pine,
Nevada, and for two
years engaged in min-
i n g and lumbering,
after which he re-
turned to San Francis-
co. Purchasing a. seat
on the San Francisco
Stock Exchange Mr.
Noble operated on the
board for the succeed-
ing quarter of a cen-
tury, resigning in 1895,
after an unusually
fruitful career.

The Cypress Lawn
Cemetery Association,
of which he remains
vice-president to this
day, was organized by
Mr. Noble in 1892. He
also formed the Cypress Lawn Improve-'
ment Company, of which he is president.
In 1900 he organized the Northern Cali-
fornia Power Company, and later on the
Keswick Electric Power Company,
which became a part of the first named
concern under the name of the Northern
California Power Company, Consoli-
dated. He is at present chairman of
the board of directors of the corpora-
tion, whose offices are in San Fran-
cisco.

The plant of the Noble Electric Steel
Company, that project which has
brought forth so much commendation
from the business and mining interests
of California, is located on the north
bank of the Pitt river in Shasta County,
on the Sacramento Valley & Eastern
Railway. Immediately back of the
plant is a veritable mountain of mag-
netite iron ore having a percentage of
seventy in metallic iron. The success
of the electrical furnace is an assured
fact.

Mr. Noble is interested in several
other commercial and industrial enter-
prises in addition to those already
touched upon. Among these is the
newly formed West Coast-San Fran-
cisco Life Insurance Company, of which
he is a director.

308

WILLIAM A. NUNLIST

ONE can find almost any number of
lawyers who might be said to
have a "business mind," who see
everything from a business
standpoint only and weigh its feasi-
bility on such scales alone. There also
is any number of lawyers who view
every proposition sole-
ly from the lawyer's
standpoint, that of an
action at law. But
those men are few in-
deed — in San Francisco
they might be counted
on the fingers of one
hand — s o constituted
and so trained as to be
actually efficient in the
dual capacity of law-
yer and business man.

One of these latter
is William A. Nunlist.
He, .by a combination
of faculties, wide and
varied experience and
peculiar training, i s
the business man's
lawyer in the sense in
which present condi-
tions in the United
States have defined
"business man." Not
the lawyer who does
all his work in court
or in an office, but one
equally at ease in
either place; not he who
litigates every contro-
versy, but the one who helps his clients
primarily to avoid lawsuits and then
to win them if they cannot be avoided.

To settle everything, regardless of
the result, is no more good business
than to litigate every question that
arises. The sole end of a lawsuit is
to accomplish substantial justice. If
this end can be attained by avoiding
controversy or as a matter of negotia-
tion after a difficulty has arisen, it is
so. much the more advantageous to all
concerned; if it cannot, litigation is the
last resort. This balancing of the con-
siderations of practical business expe-
diency against the probable outcome of
litigation is the province of the business
lawyer. «

Born January 26, 1876, at Springfield,
Ohio, Mr. Nunlist was educated in the
public schools of Ohio, at Wittenberg
College, Ohio Northern University, Uni-
versity of Chicago, the law school of
the same institution and the John Mar-
shall law school at Chicago. He was
not sent to school — he went. Conse-
quently he had to finance his going.
He did this first as a stenographer, then
successively as a teacher of mathemat-
ics, as an expert stenographer, and
secretary to managing officials of busi-
ness corporations, and finally by filling
various corporation positions, the di-
rect result of former employments.
Thus was gained a practical experience
with twenty-one or twenty-two differ-
ent kinds of businesses, among them
retail dry goods, stationery and furni-
ture; manufacturing agricultural im-

plements, radiators, carriages, railway
cars, iron foundries and steel mills,
structural iron work, meat packing,
railroads, oil, insurance, contracting,
bank and trust companies; newspapers
and hotels. He came to California to
adjust the losses and wind up the af-
fairs of two insolvent
insurance companies
and has since made
San Francisco his
home.

Americans are essen-
tially a business peo-
ple. They have been
such since the first col-
onies were planted
here and will remain so
for a n indefinite time
to come. Taking into
consideration our pe-
culiar institutions i t
can be satisfactorily
shown that we are
likewise a lawabiding
people, much agitation
to the contrary not-
withstanding. The
great difficulty always
is to know what the
law is. As our devel-
opment becomes more
complex, legislation
piles up.

Generally speaking,
our laws are made by
men who have had lit-
tle or no actual expe-
rience with modern business conditions.
They are interpreted by lawyers in their
counsel to clients, then by judges who
must decide controversies. In both cases
this interpretation and application must
be made by men almost invariably
trained for something altogether dif-
ferent from practical business. As a
result business affairs are hampered by
ill-considered lerislation, retarded by
advice and counsel which lacks com-
prehensiveness, and positively repressed
by ensuing needless and costly litiga-
tion. A final decision, when rendered,
often reflects the fundamental question
in such a curious way as to make the
whole matter even more uncertain than
it was at the beginning.

The need for the business man's law-
yer is thus obvious. He is the business
man and sees the questions involved
from that standpoint; and he is the
lawyer, who must find the way to
solve business difficulties by recognized
legal principles. Considerations such
as these, in the opinion of the business
men themselves, explain why there is
a growing tendency oh their part to
seek and make use of sound legal-busi-
ness advice. It also accounts, to a large
extent, for the success of Mr. Nunlist,
a man who has the needed dual capacity.
Mr. Nunlist has had a great deal of
litigation before the Interstate Com-
merce Commission and also in the Fed-
eral courts. He represents a number
of corporations as general counsel, and
his practice takes him all over the
State. Always, however, he is' the busi-
ness man's lawyer.

309

EDWARD H. O'BRIEN

BACK of the name "C. E. Biokford
& Company," a name known in
every coffee market of the United
States, is a reputation for hon-
esty of purpose and straight dealing
that has come as the result of half a
century of upright work. And back of
this is the ever-green
memory of Clarence E.<
Bickford, and the
forceful personality of
Edward H. O'Brien,
who since Mr. Bick-
ford's death in 1908
has carried on the con-
cern's business.

C. E. Bickford &
Company is one of the
largest coffee broker-
age houses outside of
New York City, and, in
volume of business, one
of the most important
in the Nation. It is the
only statistician in this
market on the coffee
trade of the world, and
comes as near being an
exchange as the busi-
ness of the port war-
rants. It is the con-
trolling factor i n i t s
field on the Pacific
Coast, and handles
more Central Ameri-
can coffee products
than any other brokerage 1 organization
in the United States.

On April 27, 1908, in memoriam to
Clarence E. Bickford, there was drawn
up and signed by practically every cof-
fee dealer in San Francisco an apprecia-
tion which, in scope, is unique* One
paragraph in particular, which explains
the standing of the late Mr. Bickford
and his concern, is as follows:

"Mr. Bickford has so possessed the
confidence of the coffee trade that he
has been, by common consent, the ar-
biter and adjuster of all questions aris-
ing between importers on the one hand,
and all dealers on the other. His de-
cisions have been so just, so considerate
of the rights of the disputants, that
acquiescence has always followed the
decision; thereby litigation and quar-
rels have been avoided and good feeling
and good fellowship have existed where
there might have been bitterness and
recrimination."

There is a great deal that is romantic
in the history of C. E. Bickford & Com-
pany, and in the manner in which Ed-
ward H. O'Brien came to be its head
and principal owner.

The business was established in 1854,
when San Francisco was still the Mecca
for gold-seekers, by R. Hockhofler, then
Consul for Austria. Clarence E. Bick-
ford was engaged as office boy when he
was thirteen' years old, arid so worked
and advanced himself that in 1883, on
the demise of Mr. Hockhofler, the busi-

ness was turned over to him. The name
was changed to "C. E. Bickford," and
thus it continued until 1908, the year
of Mr. Bickford's death.

Edward H. O'Brien was born in San
Francisco in 1876. He left school when
he was twelve years old and secured a
position with the Cas-
tle Brothers coffee
house, with whom for
the next five years he
served his appren-
ticeship }n the cof-
fee business. When he
was twenty years old
he became a salesman
for C. E. Bickford. Like
Bickford himself, Mr.
O'Brien plunged into
his work with such a
will that soon his em-
ployer made him chief
clerk, and he remained
in this capacity about
seven years.

For about two years
before his death Mr.
Bickford was practi-
cally confined to his
home by illness, and
during this period Mr.
O'Brien ran the busi-
ness. By will Mr. Bick-
ford left his entire
business to Mr.
O'Brien, with the legal right to con-
tinue the business name. Then two
years ago Mr. O'Brien took in, as his
junior partners, P. W. Holmes and J. O.
Falkinham, who also had been with
Mr. Bickford in the business for ten
years or more.

C. E. Bickford & Company has as high
a commercial standing as any broker-
age house in the United States. For
many years it has tested for their drink-
ing qualities coffee samples submitted
on bids to all public institutions in
California. Several of its clients among
the wholesale coffee dealers have dealt
with it for as long as fifty years, and
today it has the exclusive representa-
tion of more than 90 per cent of the
Central American coffees shipped into
the port of San Francisco.

Since the awarding of the grand prize
at the Panama-Pacific International Ex-
position to Guatemalan coffees, as the
best grown anywhere in the world, Mr.
O'Brien has conceived the project of
making Guatemalan coffees of more
importance in the United States. In
the course of his career he has visited
Europe, Brazil and Argentine Republic
to further his knowledge of coffee grow-
ing, and expects soon to visit Guatemala
to complete plans for his forthcoming
campaign.

This should result in not only the
popularizing of Central American cof-
fees in the Eastern States, but it should
vastly increase the importance of San
Francisco as a world market.

310

JOHN ALBERT PERCY

KNOWN throughout the "West as the
man who put the "bucket-shops"
out of business, John Albert
Percy has been kept in the public
eye by a number of other matters of a
legal nature that he has carried through
to a successful conclusion. Not the
least of these was his
bill, passed at the 1915
session of the State
Legislature of Califor-
nia, settling the time-
worn question of the
negotiability of bonds.
Ever since the bank-
ing and brokerage firm
of B. F. Hutton & Co.
established its San
Francisco offices in
1905, Mr. Percy has
represented the con-
cern as its general
counsel. About 1911,
when the illegal
"bucket-shops" were
giving Federal officials
not a little concern, Mr.
Percy was retained by
the New York Stock
Exchange and the Chi-
cago Board of Trade to
drive those gambling
institutions out of San
Francisco. He pre-
pared and secured the
adoption of the neces-
sary ordinance and
launched a series of
prosecutions which spelled the "bucket-
shops' " doom. At the same time he had
passed by the Legislature a statute
covering the same ground, but to this
Governor Johnson refused to attach his
signature. Since that time Mr. Percy
has had the same law enacted in Oak-
land, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City,
and through his efforts every "bucket-
shop" west of Denver has been forced
to close.

John A. Percy was born February 4,
1871, on a farm in Illinois, the son of
John A. Percy and Hannah M. (Miller)
Percy. When four years old he came
to California with his parents and set-
tled in Monterey County about two
miles from Salinas. He attended the
Salinas public schools, riding back and
forth on horseback, and in 1887 was the
first graduate of the then new Salinas
High School. He then attended the Uni-
versity of the Pacific at San Jose and
was graduated in 1891 with the degree
of A. B. He has since received from
the University of the Pacific the hono-
rary degree of A. M., and has, since 1895,
been its attorney and one of its trus-
tees.

Ever since his high school days Mr.
Percy had had his mind set on studying
law. In 1891 he matriculated at Stan-
ford University with the first class en-
tered there, but changed his mind and
took his law course at the University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He was grad-
uated with the degree of LL.B. in 1893.
It was necessary for him, while at the

university, largely to pay his own way.
This he did by selling books, earning
$800 in three months.

Returning in 1893 to San Jose, to
which place his parents had removed,
Mr. Percy entered the law offices of
Morehouse & Tuttle. Early in 1894 he
opened an office for
himself. In December
of that year ex-Sen-
ator James G. Fair
died in San .Francisco,
leaving an estate of
$20,000,000. Through a
friendship that began
in his student days, Mr.
Percy was retained to
represent all the
brothers and sisters of
Fair, to whom had been
bequeathed legacies
aggregating $900,000
and also a contingent
interest in Fair's estate
under the famous trust
clause in Fair's will.
Thereupon, in January
of 1895, Mr. Percy
moved his office to San
Francisco. The subse-
quent litigation over
Fair's estate was one
of the most notable
will contests San Fran-
cisco has ever known.
But during the first
year of the legal battle
Mr. Percy compro-
mised, on behalf of his clients, with the
Fair children, who paid approximately
$1,000,000 to settle the brothers' and
sisters' claims.

Early in 1896, after this victory, Mr.
Percy became a partner in the law firm
of Pierson & Mitchell, attorneys for
three of the executors of the Fair will.
Robert Brent Mitchell withdrew from
the firm in 1902 and Mr. Percy con-
tinued on with William M. Pierson until
the latter's death in 1904. Then, until
the fire of 1906, he was associated with
L. A. Redman, but since has practiced
alone.

With Pierson & Mitchell, Mr. Percy
helped organize the California Gas &
Electric Corporation and represented
it until its absorption by the Pacific Gas
& Electric Company. They also organ-
ized and represented the North Shore
Railroad Company, consolidated later
with the Northwestern Pacific, and the
Sanitary Reduction Works, which is
now owned by the City of San Francisco.
Mr. Percy's practice is largely con-
fined to corporation and probate mat-
ters. He represents the San Francisco
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals, for which he has obtained
much legislation, and is a director in
the corporation of McNab & Smith and
a large number of other corporations.
He was married February 10, 1904, to
Miss Adeline A. Smith of San Francisco
and has two sons — John Albert, Jr., 10,
and George Dowling, 3.

311

JOHN W. PRESTON

MAN cannot . hope to obtain
lasting results without con-
centration. If he is to he a
lawyer, a good one, he must
apply himself to law and its ramifica-
tions constantly, ever studying to ad-
vance. The same is true of every pro-
fession in which
knowledge count s —
and this means all of
them."

Such is the philos-
ophy of John W. Pres-
ton, United States
Attorney for the
Northern District o f
California. By con-
stant application h e
won the goal and made
a name for himself; by
the same means he
became United States
District Attorney.

Born at Woodbury,
Cannon County, Ten-
nessee, May 14, 1877,
Mr. Preston is the son
of Hugh Lawson Pres-
ton, president of the
First National Bank of
Woodbury, former
State Senator and
holder of other public
offices for the past
forty years. Mr. Pres-
ton was educated at a
country school, then
Academy, and in 1894
years old, was graduated from Burritt
College at Spencer, Tennessee, the
youngest graduate the college ever had.
The latter part of 1894 and all of 1895 he
taught school in De Kalb County, Ten-
nessee, earning enough to attend
Bethany College at Bethany, West Vir-
ginia, for a year.

Meanwhile, as a youth, Mr. Preston
had been delving into law. So closely
did he apply himself that he was en-
abled, from 1894 on, to practice with-
out a license in the justice courts. So
hard did he labor over borrowed law
books that he contracted fever. He
was admitted to the bar in Tennessee
April 3, 1897, and after practicing alone
for eight months formed a partnership
with Major James A. Jones, a cele-
brated lawyer.

In 1899 Mr. Preston came to Cali-
fornia to try a will case in Mendocino
County, won it, and pending its ap-
peal returned home and established a
branch law office at Murfreesboro, Ten-
nessee. In 1901 he came back to Cal-
ifornia and compromised the case. He
was married at Nashville January 8,
1902, to Sarah Rucker, by whom he has
since become the father of two chil-
dren. The honeymoon trip brought
the young attorney to Ukiah again,
this time for good, and he remained
there until his appointment as United
States Attorney January 3, 1914, for
a term of four years.

at Woodbury

when only 17

The work of Mr. Preston in the fed-
eral office has been unique. The Euro-
pean war brought about a situation
which made him prominent as a pre-
server of United States neutrality. He
set precedents, as legal adviser to the
Collector of the Port, in the case of
three steamships sus-
pected of being about
to carry supplies to
belligerent warships in
the Pacific Ocean. Tak-
ing the initiative,
against the advice of
other federal officials,
Mr. Preston held that
the delivery of contra-
band, even at sea, was
against international
law and virtually
made this port a base
of supplies for the
warring nations. He
started prosecutions
and was sustained by
Washington; and in-
quiries before the lo-
cal Federal Grand
Jury were followed by
similar ones instituted
by the United States
Attorney of New York.
Mr. Preston's legal
career at Ukiah, be-
f o r e he became the
Government's attor-
ney, was fruitful. Always independent
in politics, he secured the district attor-
neyship through no "pull" of any kind;
in fact he met strong opposition. But
it was shown by sworn affidavits from
disinterested court officials that he
had tried more than 900 cases in court
in California with less than 50 ver-
dicts against him — and by this record
of legal successes alone he won the
appointment.

Mr. Preston organized and for ten
years was president of the Ukiah
Guarantee Abstract and Title Company,
and is a member of the law firm of
Preston & Preston with his brother,
Hugh L. Preston, Jr., as partner. He
is one of the organizers and directors
of the Fort Bragg Commercial Bank at
Fort Bragg and of the Willits Commer-
cial Bank at Willits, and is president
of the Preston Loan and Investment
Company of Ukiah, a private concern
handling his realty and financial hold-
ings and those of his brother, Hugh.

Although he has always maintained
his right to vote as he pleases, and
not as someone else pleases, and has
thus upheld his political independence,
Mr. Preston is an active worker for
the Democratic cause. He was chair-
man of the Democratic County Central
Committee and a member of the State
Committee in Tennessee, and for sev-
eral years was chairman of the Men-
docino County Committee. He was
elected to the State Legislature in
1908 from the Sixth district and was
renominated in 1910, but declined to run.

312

GEORGE E. PRICE

THE general impression seems to
be that a career in the United
States Army unfits one, at least
temporarily, for any profession
other than the military. But George
Elder Price is a striking example of
what an Army training really will ac-
complish, providing a
■ man take advantage
of it. When Mr. Price
emerged from sixteen
years in the Army he
already had gained ad-
mittance to .the bar in
Kentucky and almost
at once started prac-
ticing law in San Fran-
cisco after being ad-
mitted in California.

Mr. Price is of that
sturdy type that makes
up the real American
citizenship. He was
born December 17, 1S77,
in Davis County, Ken-
tucky, on the farm
of his father, George
Elder Price. His
mother, Lydia (Miles)
Price, was of the line
of the Linthicum fam-
ily of Kentucky and
Virginia. His paternal
great - great - great-
great - great - grand -
father was John Price
the Emigrant, who
came from Wales in
1620 and settled in the Jamestown
Colony. He was one of the eleven
counsellors, with Sir Francis Wyatt, of
the provisional government of the col-
ony under the London Company. His
wife was slain in the Jamestown Mas-
sacre of May, 1622. One of his de-
scendants was General Sterling Price
of Missouri, great-uncle of the present
George E. Price.

During his early years George E.
Price attended the district school near
his home. When he was yet a boy his
mother died and from then on he was
raised in the family of an uncle, a,
lawyer in Kentucky. At the age of
fourteen he left school and thereafter
was with another relative in Illinois.

In 1896, attracted by the Army, he
enlisted % and was assigned to the
Seventh Cavalry, with which he served
in the Spanish-American and other
campaigns. Re-enlisting in 1899, he
became a clerk, and later chief clerk,
at the recruiting station at Denver. He
attended night school, was studious and
ambitious and in 1901 gained an ap-
pointment as second lieutenant of the
Tenth Cavalry. He was made first
lieutenant of the Fourteenth Cavalry in
1909.

Most of Mr. Price's relatives were
lawyers and he never took his eyes off
the ultimate goal, the law. When he
became Second Lieutenant he attended
the military university at Fort Leaven-
worth, Kansas, taking the law course
there as well as engineering, the
languages and others. Seated in his
tent beneath the trees of Cuba or the

Philippines he studied law, and by dili-
gent application was enabled to quali-
fy, in 1906, for admittance to the bar
in Kentucky.

In 1909 he was assigned to engineer-
ing work in connection with the Hetch
Hetchy water project under the Interior
Department. One night
his horse fell with him
over a forty-foot cliff
in the Yosemite and he
suffered a broken leg
and other injuries that
kept him in the hos-
pital for eight or nine
months. Later rejoin-
ing his regiment in the
Philippines he con-
tracted tropical dis-
eases which brought
about his retirement
from the Army for dis-
ability in 1912.

Thereupon Mr. Price
returned to California
to regain his strength.
He was admitted to
practice before the Su-
preme Court and en-
tered the law office of
George D. Shadburne in
the Humboldt' Bank
building., Later he
opened offices for him-
self in his present lo-
cation, the Underwood
building.

Mr. Price's practice
has been largely in the criminal courts.
Among his important cases was that of
Emil Gunlach, charged with the mur-
der, on the night of November 4, 1914,
of Louis A. Andrus, proprietor of the
Casa Loma Apartments on Fillmore
street. Gunlach was acquitted. Mr.
Price also made a strong effort on be-
half of Verne W. Fowler, convicted of
the slaying of Willie Fasset during an
attempted burglary December 18, 1914.
Fowler's case was appealed. The
civil law work of Mr. Price is largely
on behalf of the Wholesalers' Board of
Trade.

During his connection with the Mili-
tary Information Division at Manila
Mr. Price helped advance legislation for
the Anti-Espionage law, prohibiting the
taking of photographs within a military
reservation. He also was one of the
agitators for the present law making
it a crime for a man to secure free
transportation on the representation
that he is about to enlist in the Army
or Navy.

Fraternally, Mr. Price belongs to the
United Spanish War Veterans, Modern
Woodmen of America, Moose, Red Men,
Eagles and Elks. He is a fellow of the
Royal Geographical Society of London
and belongs to the National Geograph-
ical Society of the United States, and
the Union League and Southern Clubs.
He was married in 1903 at Hudson, N.
Y., to Miss Wie D. Townsend. The
couple have three children, Dorothy
Townsend, Cordelia Newland and
George Sterling Price.

313

W. J. RAND, JR.

ONE who does not believe that "it's
the little things in lite that
count," need only analyze the ca-
reer of F. W. Woolworth, or of
W. J. Eand, Jr., Pacific Coast manager
of the F. W. Woolworth Co., to be
convinced that the old saying is
eminently true.

It was by looking
after the little things
that Mr. Woolworth
made of his concern the
largest of its kind in
the world. It was by
looking after little
things, tending strictly
to business and guard-
ing his employer's in-
terests that Mr. Rand
advanced himself from
a $1 a day job as stock
boy to the Pacific Coast
managership, with fifty
stores and nine states
and something like
1,500 employes under
his direction.

Mr. Rand is a native
of Brooklyn, New
York. He was born Au-
gust 2, 1877, the son of
W. J. Rand, a musician
who has since retired
from active business, and Lillias L.
(Warner) Rand. He attended the pub-
lic schools of Brooklyn and there-
after spent five years at Trinity School
of New York, finishing at the latter in-
stitution when he was about eighteen
years old.

From school Mr. Rand went directly
into the offices of a New York advertis-
ing concern as office boy. Later he so-
licited classified advertisements for the
New York Journal, and in 1897, when he
was twenty years old, began his so
fruitful connection with the F. W.
Woolworth stores.

At the outset Mr. Rand was stock boy
in the F. W. Woolworth Five and Ten
Cent Store at Yonkers, N. Y. The work
was hard, the job was confining, and the
emolument was $1 a day — $6 a week.
Mr. Woolworth, however, had the repu-
tation of being willing to help his em-
ployes if they were willing to help
themselves. He still has that reputa-
tion, by the way. He has given hun-
dreds of young men the opportunity to
advance themselves in the business
world, and the fruits of this policy have
been most gratifying.

With the future, rather than the pres-
ent, in mind, Mr. Rand proceeded to
stick to business. The eyes of the store
manager were upon him, even though
his work kept him in the basement, and
within two months his salary was raised

to $10 a. week and he was made floor
walker. He continued thus until 1900,
when he was transferred to Norfolk,
Virginia, as assistant manager of the
store there. In 1901 he was sent to
Hartford, Connecticut, in the same ca-
pacity and in 1902 became manager of
the store at Maiden,
Massachusetts, a sub-
urb cf Boston. About
this time he married
Miss Clara Wake of
Providence, Rhode Is-
land.

From this time on
Mr. Rand's rise was
rapid. He had already
proved his worth and
it remained only for
him to acquire a broad-
er experience. In 1904
he was made manager
of the Decatur, Illinois,
store; in 1907 he was
given charge of the
store at Omaha, Ne-
braska, and before the
end of the same year
was recalled to the
Chicago offices as trav-
eling superintendent.
The assistant mana-
gership of the Chicago
offices was given him in 1910, and in
1912 he was' made a director of the
F. W. Woolworth Co. and Pacific Coast
manager with offices in San Francisco,
where he has since remained. To-
day he is in charge of all the F. W.
Woolworth Co. stores west of Den-
ver..

The F. W. Woolworth Co. operates
more than 800 stores, among which 47
are in Great Britain and 75 in Canada.
'Mr. Woolworth started his first store in
Utica, New York, with $300 capital. His
1915 business was expected to reach the
startling figure of $70,000,000. There
are probably less than ten concerns in
the United States whose volume of busi-
ness is annually so great. The growth
of the corporation in the past few years
may b~ realized from the fact that when
Mr. Rand started in as basement stock
boy, there were but 47 Woolworth stores
in operation.

Mr. E.and, by the way, came near
being a California native sort, his par-
ents having moved to this State when
he was six months old, but later re-
turned to the east.

Socially, Mr." Rand is a member of the
Claremont Country Club and the Olym-
pic Club. He is a director of the Cham-
ber of Commerce of San Francisco and
also belongs to the San Francisco Com-
mercial Club and the Rotarian Club
and to the Masonic order.

314

H. A. RISPIN

IT is a fact generally known that a
man who has been reared in a
certain environment, and who elects

. to remain in that environment to
mould his adult career, is more likely
to attain unusual success than the man
who invades such a field, as it were,
from without.

H. A. Rispin, vice-
president of the Amity
Oil Company and of-
ficer or stockholder of
a number of other con-
cerns, comes under
this designation. Born
August 26, 1872, in
Petrolia, Ontario, the
only producing oil field
in the Dominion of
Canada and one dis-
co v e r e d about the
same time as the oil
fields of Pennsylvania,
it was only natural
that Mr. Rispin should
finally choose the oil
business as a pursuit.

Mr. Rispin's parents
were British and both
died when he was still
an infant. In fact he
was at such a tender
age that he has no
recollection of either
his father or mother.
The untimely taking
off of the parents left
a family of seven
children practically without support.
It was in such a crisis that W. B.
Rispin, the eldest child, proved the
stock of which he is made. He was
then but 18 years of age, and was em-
ployed by a railroad. Rather than see
the little family cast about and sepa-
rated on the tide of ill fortune he as-
sumed the head of the household,
raised his youthful charges and gave
every one of his brothers and sisters
an education. Nor did he, by marrying,
assume other responsibilities until his
primary duties were fully accomplished.

Of all the children, H. A. Rispin
secured perhaps the most incomplete
education, as he was the youngest.
When he was fourteen years old, wish-
ing to lessen the cares of his eldest
brother, whom he loved, and still' loves,
as a father; Mr. Rispin left school and
started out to make his own way. This
he has done ever since, at times against
heavy odds, and, as in the case of most
oil operators, with hard knocks and
many ups and downs in the develop-
ment of new oil fields. Today, however,
at the age of 43, he is not only con-
sidered an authority on all matters per-
taining to the production of oil but is
also numbered among the big oil oper-
ators of California.

Mr. Rispin's first employment was as
assistant clerk in the passenger office
of the Grand Trunk Railroad at Chat-
ham, Ontario. He remained there until

he was about 18, when he became a
clerk in the auditing offices of the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad
at Chicago. Subsequently he was city
passenger agent for the Canadian
Pacific in Chicago and world's fair agent
for the Illinois Central at the same place.
From there he went to
New York City to ac-
cept a position with the
Iron Clad Manufac-
turing Company, and
after two years went
south into Tennessee
and Kentucky, where
he engaged in the
lumber business for
himself. In 1901 he
came to San Francisco,
to carry out his long-
cherished plan of
entering the oil indus-
try.

At the outset Mr.
Rispin was made
manager of the United
Oil Producers, then the
oil marketing concern
of the State. When it
was merged in 1902
with the Standard Oil
Company, Mr. Rispin
went with the Rocke-
feller concern as as-
sistant manager of the
fuel oil department. In
1903 he resigned to
go into business for
himself, since which time he has been
his own employer.

Today, besides being vice-president
of the Amity Oil Company, Mr. Rispin
is secretary of the Kernel Consolidated
Oil Company and stockholder in a
number of other producing oil concerns.
He is also interested in a financial way
in businesses of a different nature, and
is vice-president of the Mission Quarry
Company, whose rock-crushing plant
is the largest in the West. He has pro-
moted all his companies among his
friends and acquaintances, never having
sold stock to the general public, and
consequently has shared his friends'
losses and profits.

Mr. Rispin was married in 1901 to
Annette Blake, the beautiful daughter
of Isaac B. Blake, California oil pioneer
and at one time president of the United
Oil Producers. He belongs to no clubs
nor fraternities and, although offered
political opportunities, has refused,
preferring his own fireside to, the tur-
moil of political life. He has, however,
taken an active interest in many
matters pertaining to the welfare of
the city, especially during the stressful
days immediately following the fire of
1906.

A curious fact is that Mr. Rispin is
one of but four men by that name now
living, and each of the four has but
one son. The family is traced clear
back to the Battle of Agincourt in the
fourteenth century.

315

ROBERT A. ROOS

Oakland and

FEW San Franciscans have been so
consistently active in advancing
the interests of their city, in ad-
vertising it to the world as a
bustling business community and a good
place to live, as has Robert A. Roos.
Civic projects fathered or participated
in by him have helped
San Francisco to a de-
gree that is beyond
measure.

Born June 7, 1S83, in
San Francisco, Mr,
Roos is the son of
Adolph Roos and Er-
nestine (Mahler) Roos.
He was graduated from
the University of Cali-
fornia in 1904, after
having taken a leading
part in student affairs.
He at once entered the
San Francisco store of
Roos Brothers, a busi-
ness established in 1851
at Virginia City by his
father and his uncle,
the latter Achille Roos,
and removed in 1860 to
San Francisco. The
younger Mr. Roos has
worked himself up un-
til now he is a member
of the firm, in charge
of the merchandise of-
fice of the largest con-
cern of its kind west
of Chicago, with three
stores — San Francisco,
Berkeley.

Immediately after the San Francisco
fire of 1906 Mr. Roos was in charge of
one of the relief food stations. Soon
afterward he was one of the founders
of the Fillmore Street Improvement
Association, serving as an officer until
1908. He and another member made
possible by their work the illuminated
arches on Fillmore street, a monument
to civic progressivism.

In 1907, during the street car and ac-
companying strikes, he was a member
of the San Francisco Conciliation Com-
mittee, which helped settle the con-
troversies.

In 1908, when Market street once
more became the business artery, Mr.
Roos helped form the Downtown As-
sociation and became one of its direc-
tors. He' also helped form the Civic
League of Improvement Clubs by the
amalgamation of about 100 improve-
ment associations; he was its president
in 1912 and 1913, declining a third term.
He was in charge of the League's non-
partisan campaign, which did away with
political parties in San Francisco's gov-
ernment system. Again, he aided in
the formation of the League's inspec-
tion bureau, which checked up the re-
pairing of the city's streets and the
spending of the bond money, thereby
saving a considerable sum. And he co-
operated with the City Attorney and
Police Department in framing laws and
rules for the police traffic squad.

Mr. Roos was a member of the com-
mittee that consolidated the old Cham-
ber of Commerce, the Downtown Asso-
ciation and the Merchants' Association,
and for a year and a half was a director
of the new Commerce Chamber.
What really started the campaign for
the F a n a m a- Pacific
Exposition was the
first organized New
Tear's Eve celebration
in San Francisco in
1908-9, which Mr. Roos
helped bring about,
and the subsequent
1909 Portola festival,
of whose executive
committee he was a
member, as well as
of the Portola of 1913.
Prior to the fiesta he
w e n t to Washington
and persuaded Presi-
dent Taft to flash his
famous "Toast to San
Francisco" around the
world, besides visiting
all the foreign em-
bassies and inviting
the nations to partici-
pate officially in the
Portola, which many
of them did. In 1910
he was a member of
the San Francisco del-
egation to the n a -
tional capital and aided
in the campaign that
finally gave the exposition to this city.
He now is a member of the exposition's
ways and means committee; and was
one of those in charge of the ceremonies
on October 14, 1911, when former Presi-
dent William Howard Taft broke ground
for the exposition, receiving the execu-
tive at his home.

In dozens of other ways Mr. Roos has
displayed his publie zeal. When the
fleet of the United States Navy came
around the world to San Francisco in
1908 he helped arrange the entertain-
ment for the enlisted men. He is one
of the founders of the San Francisco
Public Schools' Athletic League, sanc-
tioned by the Board of Education, was
its vice-president and is still one of its
directors. He has done much to bring
the Chinese merchants of the city into
closer touch with the municipal govern-
ment. In 1909, as a trustee of the San
Francisco Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals, he was appointed
as its delegate to the International
Animal Protection Congress at London.
He was named by President Taft in 1912
a member of the United States Assay
Commission and served one year, and
during Taft's 1912 campaign was sec-
retary of the California State Republi-
can Committee. In many other public
movements of importance Mr. Roos has
proved himself an indefatigable worker.
He belongs to a number of social clubs
both in San Francisco and in New York.
Mr. Roos was married April 26, 1915,
in Chicago, to Miss Louise Swabacker.

316

SAMUEL ROSENHEIM

DURING the more than a quarter of
a century in which Samuel Rosen-
heim has been engaged in prac-
ticing law he has widened his
field to a really remarkable extent, con-
sidering the many branches of his pro-
fession in which he has successfully
practiced. He can
hardly be said to have
specialized, as do the
majority o f lawyers.
He has been, and is,
equally at home in all
law's subdivisions.

Mr. Rosenheim is the
son of A. Rosenheim
and Pauline (Schwab)
Rosenheim. He was
born November 17,
1863, in Portland, Ore-
gon, and secured his
education in the Port-
land and San Francis-
co public schools. In
1886 M r . Rosenheim
began studying law in
the offices of "Williams,
Ach & Wood in Port-
land, of which firm
George H. Williams,
United States Attorney
General under Presi-
dent Grant, was senior
member.

A year later, in 1887,
Mr. Rosenheim re-
moved to San Francis-
co and entered the law
offices of Rothschild & Ach. He was ad-
mitted to the bar in 1889 and thereafter
had his office with those of ' the firm
until 1900. From then on until 1906 he
practiced alone, but in the latter year
formed an association with Albert M.
Johnson, brother of Governor Hiram
Johnson of California. Johnson died
soon afterward, however, and since then
Mr. Rosenheim has practiced entirely
alone.

As heretofore stated, Mr. Rosenheim
is engaged in all branches of civil law,
with even some work in the criminal
courts. Throughout his professional
career he has been consistently active
in important litigation. One of his first
cases of note was the Agacio divorce
suit, which involved more questions
of international law than perhaps
any other divorce action on record.
It lasted over a period of two
years.

Agacio, who at the time was the
Republic of Salvador's minister to
France, sued for divorce in San Fran-
cisco, claiming American citizenship.
His true identity was established, how-
ever, after he had cut off the allowance
of his wife, who then resided in Eng-
land. The wife consulted a number of
lawyers of international fame, among
them Sir Charles Russell and Sir George
Lewis of London and Frederick R. Cou-
dert of New Tork and Paris, who ad-
vised her that she could do nothing.
Mr. Rosenheim, however, represent-
ing Mrs. Agacio, secured a decree
in her favor after a money settle-
ment had been arranged in Paris.
The case attracted a great deal

of attention, both in America and
abroad.

In 1907, and subsequently, Mr. Rosen-
heim was of counsel of the Creditors'
association in suits against the direc-
tors and stockholders of the defunct
California Safe Deposit & Trust Com-
pany, whose failure in-
volved $12,000,000. His
success in this litiga-
tion may be measured
by the fact that the
Creditors' association
has paid its members
as much, to date, in re-
coveries from the di-
rectors and stockhold-
ers as has the Trust
company receivers.

If Mr. Rosenheim
has laid stress on any
particular kind of law
practice, it has been
on corporation, liabil-
ity insurance, bank-
ruptcy and probate
matters. He has de-
fended hundreds of
damage suits brought
against assured under
their policies, and al-
most invariably has
won a complete victory
or has arranged satis-
factory adjustments.

He has played a con-
siderable part i n t h e
past few years in re-
construction work arisinsr from the
failure of railroads or other public
service corporations. In fact he is con-
sulted in nearly all important cases of
industrial or public service corporation
difficulties that occur locally. He has
often been called in to assist corpora-
tions in danger of financial ruin, and
has usually succeeded in tiding matters
over until difficulties have been read-
justed. Along this line he has done
considerable work for insolvent finan-
cial institutions, being considered an
authority on failures involving intri-
cate questions of directors' liability or
questions going into figures and ac-
counting. Also has he had much prac-
tice in mechanic's lien and admiralty
matters, -and even in mining cases. But
throughout he has counseled against
long drawn-out litigation, believing
that this is hurtful to client and lawyer
alike.

Mr. Rosenheim has been too busy
with his legal work to take much active
part in politics, although he is a strong
Republican in sympathies. Not long
since he was recommended by Governor
Johnson to the Industrial Accident Com-
mission as its attorney, but finding the
position would command all of his time,
Mr. Rosenheim declined an appointment.
Besides belonging to a number of
charitable organizations, Mr. Rosenheim
is a member of the B'nai B'rith, Masonic
Order, Traffic Bureau of the Merchants'
Association, Fly-Casting Club and Civic
League of Improvement Clubs and the
Bar Association. He was married Sep-
tember 18, 1901, in San Francisco to Mrs,
Fannie Myer.

317

JOSEPH ROTHSCHILD

PERSONAL popularity, the direct re-
sult of a magnetism that evidences
itself in him at all times, has been
the keynote of the success of Jo-
seph Rothschild, San Francisco attorney
at law, not only in his profession but
in the business field and in public life.
He has the gift of com-
pelling attention. I n
the law he is noted for
h i s clear analysis of
the problems involved,
and for the simple but
logical manner in
which he presents his
cause at bar.

From his earliest
years M r . Rothschild
has enjoyed that popu-
larity which distin-
guishes him. He was
born in San Francisco
October 5, 1857, son of
Henry Rothschild and
Hannah (Mossheiml
Rothschild, and after
attending the public
schools entered Yale
College from which he
was graduated in 1879.
At the conclusion of
his course he was pre-
sented with the Scales
of Justice, a distinctive
Yale honor, as the most
popular member of his
class.

After leaving Yale
Mr. Rothschild took the examination
for admittance to the bar in Connect-
icut and was granted his credentials.
He did not practice there, however,
but returned to San Francisco and was
admitted before the Supreme Court of
California. In 1895 he was admitted to
practice also before the Supreme Court
of the United States.

The professional career of Mr. Roth-
schild has been in all branches of the
civil law. He has specialized in com-
mercial litigation, and today is con-
sidered one of the leading authorities in
this branch. He has a large and strong
clientele, largely composed of impor-
tant mercantile firms, some of which he
has represented as general counsel for
nearly a quarter of a century. Since
March, 1911, he has been senior partner
in the law firm of Rothschild, Rosen-
heim, Schooler & Miller.

As already intimated, Mr. Rothschild
does not believe that flowery language,
meaningless phraseology, strengthens a
cause at bar. His arguments are made
up of facts rather than of surmises.
And how forcefully he presents these
facts may be gleaned from the number
of notable victories he has won in the
courts of California and the United
States.

For many years Mr. Rothschild has
been in the front rank of public-spirited
citizens of San Francisco. Fcllowin.ee
the disastrous fire of April, 1906, he was
one of those "who determined the future
of the Western metropolis by beginning
the work of rebuilding almost before

the ashes were cold. Not a moment did
he waver in his determination to help
rehabilitate the city of his birth. Soon
after the fire he helped organize the
South of Market Improvement Asso-
ciation, and continuously since has
served as its president. He is also a
member of the execu-
tive committee of the
San Francisco League
of Improvement Clubs
and of the Greater San
Francisco Committee.
Furthermore, he suc-
ceeded A. W. Scott, Jr.,
as president of the Ex-
position Committee of
Improvement Organi-
zations, composed of
100 improvement clubs
of San Francisco,
which so materially
aided the Board of Di-
rectors of the Panama-
Pacific International
Exposition to make the
1915 "world exposition a
success. In other posts,
civic and political, he
has distinguished him-
self. He was a member
of the San Francisco
Board of Education
from 1889 to 1890; and
was president of the
Democratic County
Committee, and vice-
president and acting
chairman of the Democratic State Cen-
tral Committee, from 1902 to 1906. On
March 6, 1913, he was elected president
of the San Francisco Tunnel League, a
property owners' association affected by
the assessment for the Fillmore Street
Tunnel, which was expected to cost
$4,000,000 to $7,000,000. The organiza-
tion defeated the construction of the
tunnel and caused to be abandoned all
proceedings in reference thereto.

Fraternally, Mr. Rothschild has been
highly honored, especially by Jewish
organizations. He is past-grand pres-
ident of the Independent Order B'nai
B'rith; past-president of Unity Lodge,
B'nai B'rith; past-president of the In-
dependent Order of Free Sons of Israel
and a member of the National Grand
Lodge of the U. S. ; past-president of
the Board of Relief, B'nai B'rith, and
former vice-president of the Young
Men's Hebrew Association. He was del-
egate in 1890 to the Constitution Grand
Lodge, B'nai B'rith, at Richmond, Vir-
ginia, and there was elected judge of the
Court of Appeals of the Grand Lodge
and re-elected in 1895 at Cincinnati,
Ohio, serving as judge of that court for
ten years. He also served ten years as
president of the B'nai B'rith Hall As-
sociation. He is a member of San Fran-
cisco chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Doric
Lodge No. 216, F. & A. M.; past-presi-
dent of the Native Sons of the Golden
West; past-president of Golden Shore
Council No. 5, United Friends of the Pa-
cific, and belongs to the Yale and Con-
cordia clubs.

318

ALFRED C. RULOFSON

FEW San Franciscans have given so
much time, attention and money
to the upbuilding of their city, or
have worked so consistently for
the general advancement of tiie com-
munity, as has Alfred C. Rulof-
son, head of the A. C. Rulofson
Company, general
Western sales agent
for the Pittsburgh
Steel Company and for
other industrial con-
cerns- of high repute.
In his many years in
business in San Fran-
cisco, Mr. Rulofson has
stood in the fore-
ground, as a layman,
in the conduct of
municipal affairs.

Mr. Rulofson was
born October 26, 1853,
at Sonora, Tuolumne
County, Cal., son of
William H. Rulofson
and Amelia V. (Currie)
Rulofson, and was ed-
ucated in the public
schools of Sonora and
San Francisco and at
Brayton's College in
Oakland. In 1868 he
went directly from
school to the San
Francisco offices of the
Russell & Brwin Man-
ufacturing Company,
with whom he spent
the next two years learning the rudi-
ments of the business. In 1870 he ac-
cepted a bigger opportunity offered by
the firm of Baker & Hamilton. So in-
defatigably did he work with his new
employers that they made him business
manager, a position he held until 1904.
And not a little of the firm's present
standing is due to his tireless energy
while he was guiding its affairs.

Leaving Baker & Hamilton, Mr. Ru-
lofson organized the A. C. Rulofson
Company and became Western sales
agent for a number of manufacturers,
among them the Harrisburg Pipe &
Pipe Bending Company, Illinois Mallea-
ble Iron Company, Thomas Steel Com-
pany, McKeesport Tin Plate Company,
Standard Chain Company, Bettcher
Manufacturing Company, Osgood Scale
Company, Edwards Manufacturing
Company, Charles Morrill Company,
Success Manufacturing Company and
Savage Tire Company. At present he
confines himself to the Pacific Coast
branch of the Pittsburgh Steel Com-
.pany, one of the largest concerns of
its kind in America, the Briar Hill
Steel Company, Illinois Malleable Iron
Company and Standard Chain Com-
pany.

Mr. Rulofson was a pioneer in the
metal window frame, industry, which
has grown to huge proportions, and
also was one of the first to deal irt
fireproof metal doors. His Rulofson
Underwriter Fireproof Metal Windows,
manufactured along with steel offlce
furniture and other non-inflammable
materials by the Rulofson Metal Win-

recognized every-

ilow Works, are
where as standard.

Going beyond his immediate inter-
ests, Mr. Rulofson has made for him-
self a reputation as a business man
and as a developer of business inter-
ests. For several years he occupied
with credit the presi-
dency of the Home
Industry League of
California, aiding
in making gospel of
the idea of "aid me
and I will aid you."
Early in March, 1914,
as part of a commis-
sion representing the
California manufac-
turers and exporters,
he sacrificed time and
money to make a trade
investigation trip t o
the Orient, although
his own business was
benefited in no way by
the fund of valuable
trade information he
brought back. In line
with' his "booster"
work Mr. Rulofson
also was president of
(he former Manufac-
turers' and Producers'
Association and of the
Pacific Coast Jobbers'
and Manufacturers'
Association, and was a
member of the traffic
bureau of the old Merchants' Ex-
change.

Mr. Rulofson is the second of his
name to gain wide recognition for abil-
ity in San Francisco. His father, Wil-
liam H. Rulofson, during the sixties
and early seventies was prominent here.
He came around the Horn from St.
John's, Newfoundland, in 1851, and aft-
er a year or so of mining in Sonora re-
turned across the plains to Missouri to
meet his wife, who had journeyed alone
from Newfoundland. Returning to
California, Mr. Rulofson established in
Sonora the first permanent photograph
gallery in the State. He came to San
Francisco in 1861 and resumed photog-
raphy under the firm name of Brad-
ley & Rulofson. On one occasion, when
taking official photographs of fortifica-
tions for the Secretary of War, he was
arrested as a Confederate spy but was
released. Photos taken by him are
still extant, bearing the statement that
in his gallery was the only passenger
elevator in the world connected with
a similar institution.

The present Mr. Rulofson, frater-
nally, is a member of California Lodge
No. 1, F. & A. M.; California Chapter
No. 5, R. A. M.; Golden Gate Comman-
dery No. 16, K. T., and Islam Temple
of Shriners. He also belongs to the
Rotary Club and, with his wife, is
prominent socially. He is the father
of five children: Alfred C, Jr.; Mrs.
Joseph E. Cutten and Mrs. Carl Platte
of San Francisco; Mrs. Henry Platte
of Portland and Mrs. Zadie Riggs of
Salem, Oregon.

319

MILTON L. SCHMITT

GREAT responsibility devolves
upon the man sent to the State
Legislature to become his neigh-
bors' voice in the framing of laws
affecting their interests, in the remedy-
ing of evils and in the promotion of the
general welfare. It has been said that
to become a legislator
is not the really diffi-
cult thing — it is to se-
cure re-election on tho
strength of past per-
formances rather than ,
future promises.

Four times has
Milton L. Schmitt been
sent to the Legislature
of California and each
re-election has placed
the mark of approval
upon his record. Ever
in the forefront in the
fight for adequate,
sensible laws, he has
fathered dozens of
bills of lasting good-
through the tortuous
course to the signature
of the chief executive.

Before he entered his
so fruitful public
career Mr. Schmitt
sought and attained
success in the practice
of law. He was born
in San Francisco Feb-
ruary 4, 1877, son of Maurice Schmitt
and Ella (Lewis) Schmitt, and acquired
his education in the public schools, the
University of California and the Hast-
ings College of Law, being graduated
from the latter in 1899 and gaining ad-
mittance to the bar. He entered the
offices of Naphtaly, , Freidenrich &
Ackerman and following the deaths of
Naphtaly and Ackerman formed with
Freidenrich an association which still
persists. He has gained an enviable
reputation in general civil practice.

In 1907 Mr. Schmitt was a delegate to
the Republican convention in San Fran-
cisco and in 1908 was nominated as
Republican candidate for the State As-
sembly from the old fortieth district.
He secured a comfortable majority and
held office from January 1, 1909, to De-
cember 31, 1910.

Assemblyman Schmitt did not forget
the University of California. As chair-
man of the Assembly committee on uni-
versities he promoted a bill increasing
the State institution's income from two
cents to three on each $100 valuation.
Also he secured passage of several bills
amending the McEnerney act, for the
restoration of land titles lost in the San
Francisco fire of 1906; and was official
California representative at the Alaska-
Yukon-Pacific Exposition at Seattle In
1909.

In 1910 he was re-elected from the
fortieth district. More hard work fol-
lowed. He "was a candidate in 1911 for
speaker of the Assembly, but with-

drew, to his friends' disappointment.
In February, 1911, he evolved a bill
which, had it passed, would have
brought three-quarters of a million
dollars additional automobile tax to
the State annually. As chairman of
the Assembly committee on commerce
and navigation he had
passed, at the 1911 ses-
sion, bills giving
waterfront control to
the cities of Oakland,
San Diego, Las Angeles
and Long Beach.

The Panama-Pacific
Exposition had a
champion in Mr.
Schmitt from the start.
In the special 1910 Leg-
islature session, called
to raise funds for the
exposition, he intro-
duced Assembly Con-
stitution Amendment
No. 33, giving San
Francisco the right to
bond itself for $5, 000,000
for fair purposes. This
was the first legisla-
tion to make the expo-
sition a possibility. At
the same session he
aided in the passage of
a measure by which the
State was empowered
to bond itself to a sim-
ilar amount for the same cause.

Following the reapportionment of the
State, Mr. Schmitt was elected by a
majority of 2,280 votes to the Assembly
from the newly formed thirty-first dis-
trict. He gained a similar victory at
the 1914 election and entered upon his
fourth term. It would require a volume
to enumerate all his fights on behalf of
the people of San Francisco.

At the 1915 session Mr. Schmitt was
particularly active. He led the minor-
ity's fight against the administration's
non-partisan bills, "which, designed- to
wipe out political party lines in State
affairs, he believed to be the initial step
toward eliminating parties in the Na-
tion. He was chosen to lead this fight
by Republican, Democratic and Pro-
gressive sympathizers alike. Mr.
Schmitt also led the battle against the
constitutional amendment eliminating
constitutional taxation restrictions and
leaving to the Legislature the fixing of
tax rates as it saw fit., Both these
measures Mr. Schmitt considered iniq-
uitous.

Maurice Schmitt, father of Milton L.
Schmitt, was a partner with his two
brothers in the brokerage firm of J. L.
Schmitt & Company, which at one time
was heavily interested in the Sutter
Street Railroad. Milton L. Schmitt was
married February 12, 1900, to Miss Helen
Alexander, daughter of the late S. O.
Alexander, founder of the firm now
known as Hoffman, Rothchild & Com-
pany.

320

WILLIAM SEA, JR.

THAT there is a limit to the work
a man can accomplish is pretty
generally conceded. Up to a cer-
tain point he can hold his own,
but past this point the load is too heavy
for his shoulders and something gives
way — either the man or the work, but
always one of the two.
But there is no cer-
tain limit of accom-
plishment that can ap-
ply to all men, univer-
sally. Were there such,
we would all of us rest
at a certain level or
beneath it, but never
above. Ambition and
the willingness to ex-
pend brain and brawn
in advancement would
count for naught. The
work limit would hurl
us back with the dog-
gedness of a stone wall,
despite ability or any
other distinctive quali-
fication we might pos-

Never yet has a man
really done big things
without work and
plenty of it. And it is
such men to whose ef-
forts the building up
of the commonwealth
is due.

William Sea, Jr., attorney at law,
has before him one of the brightest
futures of any young man in Cali-
fornia He has already demonstrated
that what he goes after he gets, and
it is no idle prediction that the pas-
sage of years and the concomitant
opportunities will bring out even
greater displays of this winning at-
tribute.

A native of San Francisco, born here
November 10, 1883, Mr. Sea is the son
of William Sea and Anna Helen
(Jordan) Sea. On his mother's side he
comes of old English-Irish stock, one
'of his ancestors, a grand-uncle, having
been knighted. This one was Sir John
Pope-Hennessy, M. P., of Innesfallen
Castle, County Cork, Ireland. He pur-
chased the house of Sir Walter Scott
with the intention of bringing it to
America, but death came before the
plans were completed. Mr. Sea's grand-
uncle on his father's side was Premier
of Australia.

After attending the local grammar
schools Mr. Sea entered Lowell High
School, and following his graduation
from that institution he entered
Hastings College of the Law, which
awarded him his degree of LL.B. May
13, 1908. Prior to this, however, he had
advanced so far in his legal studies
that he gained admittance to the bar
January 18, 1907, the first member of
his class to secure such recognition.

In February, 1905, along about the

time he entered Hastings Law College,
Mr. Sea began studying in the offices
of the well-known firm of Maguire,
Lindsay, Wyckoff, Houx & Barrett. At
first he was merely one of a number of
clerks but following the fire of April
18, 1906, when his associates refused to
stay on in their posi-
tions, Mr. Sea became
chief and only clerk of
the firm.

From 1906 until May,
1910, was a period of
real labor for the
young law student. Not
only did he handle the
clerical work of the
law association prac-
tically unassisted, but
he carried on his col-
lege duties and even
managed to find time
enough to practice fol ■
lowing his admittance
to the bar in 1907.
Nights, Sundays and
every day in the week
and every week in the
year he kept plugging
away at his three-fold
task, astonishing him-
self as well as others
by his capacity for ac-
complishment. It was
effort, and long-sus-
tained effort, but it
gave Mr. Sea a fine groundwork in the
law and for this reason carried its own
reward.

After leaving the office of Judge Ma-
guire and his associates, Mr. Sea be-
came assistant secretary of the Cham-
ber of Commerce. In line with this
position he drafted a number of memo-
rials to the State Legislature, to Con-
gress and to the President, the last
one being directed to President Taft
and asking that a fleet of war vessels be
stationed permanently in the Pacific
Ocean.

Until the first part of 1911 Mr. Sea
remained in the assistant secretaryship.
From then on until June, 1912, he was
associated in the practice of law with
Samuel T. Bush; after that he practiced
independently until September, 1913,
when he formed the firm of Sea &
Fallon with Joseph P. Fallon. Since
October, 1914, Mr. Sea has practiced
alone, almost exclusively in the Federal
courts, specializing in criminal cases.
He has been admitted to practice, how-
ever, in all the State and Federal courts
of California.

In politics Mr. Sea is an active Repub-
lican. In 1910, at the first primary elec-
tion under the new law, he was a can-
didate for justice of the peace, but al-
though he qualified, was defeated at the
subsequent election.

Mr. Sea was married June 22, 1910,
at Mill Valley to Lorena Florence
Barnes. He has one son, William
Francis Sea.

321

FRANK H. SHORT

THE man who declared that he
would rather be "a big toad in a
small puddle than a small toad
in a big puddle" had not that
self-confidence so necessary if one is to
become really "big." A man may ac-
quire neighborhood fame. It is quite
another thing to ex-
tend one's sphere to
take in the entire na-
tion — this is only for
the valiant, who has
the courage to try to
make of himself "a big
toad in a big puddle."

Frank H. Short — he
probably will be rec-
ognized more readily if
we speak of him as the
Honorable Frank H.
Short of Fresno — has
never been held back
in his career by fear.
Aggressive, capable, a
close thinker and a flu-
ent speaker, he has
locked horns with
some of the greatest
statesmen in the land
on questions of public
import — a n d success-
fully.

When Mr. Short
stepped forth to en-
counter former Presi-
dent Theodore Roose-
velt and Gifford Pin-
chot in public debates
on water conservation, it was with a
deep and first-hand knowledge of his
theme. And this and his other activities
have brought him national recognition
as an authority on the constitutional
law as it affects the relation of the Fed-
eral Government to the rights of the
sovereign States.

Judge Short was born September 12,
1862, in Shelby County, Missouri, son of
Joshua Hamilton Bell Short, who came
of a family noted in the literary and
legal history of the United States, and
Emily (Wharton) Short. After attend-
ing the public schools of Missouri and
Nebraska, Mr. Short came in 1881 to
California. For some time he taught
school in Fresno, as he had done in Ne-
braska, meanwhile studying law.

Judge Short was only twenty-two
years old when, in 1882, he was elected
Justice of the Peace in Fresno. He was
admitted the following year to practice
in the State courts and in 1901 to the
Supreme Court of the United States.
For a decade he carried on a general
legal practice, gradually broadening his
field and taking part in civil actions
relating to irrigation, mineral rights
and light and power and other corpo-
rations. ' He built up a reputation for
keen retort and strong mental grasp of
his cases, a reputation that has since
grown amazingly.

In railroad rate litigation Mr. Short
appeared as special counsel for the
State of California in the Fresno rates
case and the oil rates case as well. He
represented the oil operators of Cali-
fornia in the Scrippers case, involving

title to a large area of oil-bearing lands.
This took him to Washington to appear
before the United States Supreme Court
and the Interior Department, and he
won a notable victory. Later Judge
Short went to Washington as chairman
of the California oil men's delegation
and it was largely
due to his persuasive
powers that Congress
in 1911 enacted reme-
dial legislation per-
mitting the issuance of
patents to corporations
as assignees of oil land
locators, v

In matters pertain-
ing to water and irri-
gation, Judge Short
has long been active.
As counsel for Miller
& Lux and other corpo-
rations he has ap-
peared in the leading
■water cases in the Cal-
ifornia courts.

Judge Short has op-
posed radical conser-
vation 'movements for
the past fifteen years.
He has debated before
several large public
meetings, including the
Irrigation Congress
and the Conservation
Congress of 1910. He
debated with Eoosevelt
before the Common-
wealth Club of San Francisco in 1911
and caused the former president to be
visibly disconcerted.

Judge Short is an active Republican.
He has been a delegate to most of the
State Republican conventions since 1884
and to the national conventions of 1896
and 1904, and has represented the party
in many other ways without seeking
any remunerative offices. He was one
of the three representatives from Cali-
fornia in the Governors' Conference, of
1908 at the White House in Washington.
He has taken part in the National Geo-
graphic Society, National Civic Feder-
ation and Economic League and was
commissioner of Tosemite National
Park from 1898 to 1908.

Judge Short is interested in various
California corporations as general
counselor, director or officer, being
general counsel for the San Joaquin
Light & Power Corporation and its al-
lied corporations, Fresno Water Co.,
Fresno Canal & Irrigation Co., ' Con-
solidated Canal Co. and others; general
counselor and director for Fresno Na-
tional Bank, Fresno County Abstract
Co., Mount Diablo Oil Co., Bakersfield
& Fresno Oil Co., Netherlands Oil Co.,
San Juan Oil Co., 401 Orchard & Land
Co. of Medford, Oregon, and California
Raisin Growers' Assotiation.

He has been a member of the Ma-
sonic fraternity for many years and
belongs to the Fresno Country, Fres-
no Sequoia and Fresno Commercial
Clubs, and Pacific Union, Bohemian
and Union League clubs of San Fran-
cisco.

322

FRANK R. SHORT

IT takes all sorts of men to make a
world. Some remain in the place
where they were born, grow up
with it, shape their careers to it
and at length die in it, perfectly con-
tented with their rather blase life. For
others therejs ever a sensation of being
crowded if they at-
tempt to remain in
one community. The
world is their stamp-
ing ground, and when
their career draws to
a close they have the
satisfaction that
comes with a. life well
spent.'*

Such a. man as the
latter sort is Frank R.
Short, expert mining
engineer and world-
traveler. From his
main offices, now lo-
cated in the Hobart
building in San Fran-
cisco, he flits from
one place to an-
other, as "his duties call
him, and is as much
at home in, say, Peru,
as he is in any part
of the United States.

Born in San Francisco, August 8, 1876,
Mr. Short is the son cf Josiah M. Short
and Sarah (Blanchard) Short. His fa-
ther came across the plains in 1850 from
Illinois and was well known in this
city in the early days as a miner, mer-
chant and capitalist.

The early schooling of the present
Mr. Short was obtained in the public
schools, after which he for some years
attended Napa Academy at Napa. In
1894 he entered Stanford University,
specializing in geology and mining, and
was graduated in 1898 with the degree
of A. B. His interest had been directed
toward mining as a career by his
father's success in the same sort of
pursuit.

Almost at once, after he left the uni-
versity, Mr. Short went abroad. For
two years he traveled extensively over
New Zealand, Australia and South Afri-
ca, examining properties of a general
mining nature. In 1900, finding himself
in South Africa with the Boer "War in
full blast, he joined in the excitement
by aligning himself with the forces of
the Cplonial defense. At first he was a
scout, but later on his commanders
placed him in charge of transportation
and supply stations for the British
army. He did not lack for adventures.
On one occasion he was made pris-
oner by Theron, a. Boer comman-
dant, but after a. few days succeeded

in escaping and rejoining his com-
rades.

For about a year Mr. Short remained
with the Colonial forces. Then he went
to the Transvaal and resumed his pro-
fession of mining engineer. He was
overseer in various gold mines until
1907, when he re-
turned to San Fran-
cisco and opened of-
fices. Since that time he
has carried on the busi-
ness of consulting min-
ing engineer. He has
remained independ-
ent in his practice, but
his clientele is large
and he finds his serv-
ices much in demand.
From 19p7 until 1912,
though he made San
Francisco his head-
quarters, Mr. Short
traveled extensively in
New Zealand, Austra-
lia, South .America,
Mexico, Canada, Yukon
Territory, Alaska, and
throughout the West-
ern, United States. He
specialized in the ex-
amination of aurifer-
ous lands and in gold dredging.

The revolution in Mexico drove him
out of that country in 1912. He was
forced to flee for his life from the out-
law bands that were terrorizing the
country. A part of his party was cap-
tured, the natives slain and the others
robbed of their every possession. Sub-
sequently, in 1912 and 1913, Mr. Short
was technical adviser to the Natomas
Consolidated on its properties near
Sacramento.

During the past four years Mr. Short
has done considerable work in various
parts of the world for the Guggenheim
interests, particularly the Yukon Gold
Company, and has recently traveled ex-
tensively in Alaska for this concern.
He has just returned from a trip to
Peru, during which he investigated the
development of a placer mine for gold
operations. His journeys also have
taken him to Europe, particularly to
England and France, although not in
a professional capacity. At times, also,
he has varied his work by operating
gold mines on his own account.

By reason of his extensive traveling
Mr. Short has found little time to
mingle in social or fraternal activities.
He confines himself, in fact, in this re-
gard to membership in the San Fran-
cisco Press Club and the American
Institute of Mining Engineers, and in
the Masonic order.

323

DR. THOMAS E. SHUMATE

IN three separate and distinct fields
of endeavor — in the profession of
medicine, in the drug business and in
public life — has the name of Dr.
Thomas B. Shumate come to be familiar
to the people of San Francisco. For
the more than a quarter of a century
that has passed since
he first came, as a
youth, to the Western
metropolis, has yielded
well.

Twenty-seven years
ago Dr. Shumate was a
clerk in a San Fran-
cisco drug store, at-
tending the College of
Pharmacy at night.
Today he is a physician
with a large and flour-
ishing practice, owner
of the best retail drug
business "west of the
Rocky mountains, and
in his second term as
member of the Board
of Police Commission-
ers.

Dr. Shumate was
born April 1, 1871, at
St. Louis, Missouri. His
father was Charles H.
Shumate, stock raiser
and dealer, and his
mother Cornelia Hicks
(McKaney) Shumate.
The youth secured the
groundwork of his ed-
ucation in the St. Louis public schools,
and in 1888, immediately following his
graduation from the West Side High
School, St. Louis, came west to San
Francisco.

Having learned in his high school
days that chemistry was his forte, Dr.
Shumate resolved to take up pharmacy
and, perhaps, later on, medicine. He
did not come to San Francisco in a pri-
vate car; nor did he put up at the best
hotel when he got here. Rather, the
first thing he did was to look for
a job. He found one, in a drug
store.

From 7 o'clock in the morning until
6 o'clock he waited on the trade and
otherwise kept himself busy. After
dinner he took his books and spent
the evening at the College of Phar-
macy, and at night he slept in the
store, not only for convenience sake,
but also that he might be on hand
bright and early in the morning to
attend to business. This lasted for
two years and in 1890 he was grad-
uated from the College of Pharmacy,
which is an adjunct of the Univer-
sity of California, with the degree of
Ph. G.

Dr. Shumate's next step was to open
a drug store — a very small drug store,
by the way, but much larger now — at
Sutter and Devisadero streets. It re-
mains today No. 1 of his chain of sim-
ilar stores. Once his drug business "was
going to his satisfaction he enrolled

in Cooper Medical College. During the
day he attended at the college, then
until 11 o'clock at night he worked- in
his store. From the latter hour on
until he finally sought his bed, he car-
ried on his studies.

It was a hard grind, but it brought
its reward, for the
drug store made possi-
ble his attendance at
college, and his studies
by lamp light gained
for him graduation, in
1894, with the degree
of M. D.

The same year Dr.
Shumate opened offices
and began practicing
his latest profession.
A few months later
there occurred a va-
cancy in the position
of surgeon to the San
Francisco Police De-
partment, and Dr.
Shumate secured the
appointment. From
1894 until 1900 he
served as the depart-
ment surgeon. During
this period he uncon-
sciously prepared him-
self for the office he
now holds. He kept
his eyes open to the
manner in "which the
affairs of the depart-
ment were conducted,
and also came into close touch with
the members of the force, to most of
whom he is known personally. The
result was that when James Woods re-
signed from the Police Commission
in 1912, and Mayor Rolph was called
upon to appoint his successor, he chose
Dr. Shumate for the place. Dr. Shumate,
said the mayor, was in sympathy with
the administration and was a man in
every way qualified to serve.

After serving out Commissioner
Woods' unexpired term Dr. Shumate
was reappointed and is now in his sec-
ond term as a member of the Board.
Dr. Shumate has accomplished much
good for the Police Department. He
helped bring about a recognition of
seniority of service and he has aided in
making San Francisco a better place to
live, but without, at the same time, for-
getting to be broadminded and tolerant.
Seven high-class drug stores are now
being conducted in San Francisco under
the name of Shumate's Pharmacy, Inc.
All are enjoying a high class of trade.
In addition to his other activities Dr.
Shumate is, and has been for several
years, a director of St. Francis hospital.
Dr. Shumate was married in 1899 in
San Francisco to Freda Ortmann and
is the father of three children: Ort-
mann, aged thirteen; Albert, ten, and
Virginia, four. He belongs to the South-
ern, Olympic and Press Clubs of San
Francisco and also the Independent Or-
der of Odd Fellows,

324

ROMULO MELITON FRANCISCO SOTO

A VARIED experience in all
branches of the law has been
gained by Romulo Meliton Fran-
cisco Soto in the thirty-five years
and more that he has practiced his pro-
fession. Always a close student, he be-
lieves that a man must apply himself
constantly to further-
ing his knowledge if he
is to advance in his
chosen work. And such
application is the se-
cret of Mr. Soto's own
success.

Mr. Soto was born
April 1, 1855, in Mon-
terey County, Califor-
nia, the son of Jose
Manuel Soto and Maria
(Perez) Soto. His fa-
ther was the owner of
the Santa Rita ranch,
a Mexican grant of sev-
eral thousand acres in
Monterey County, and
was also interested
with H. M. Newhall in
another large ranch in
Los Angeles County,
where the town of
Newhall now stands.
The elder Soto came to
California in 1849 from
Peru, his birthplace,
and was very success-
ful in both ranching
and the mercantile
business until the dis-
astrous dry year, 1876
practically his entire
present Mr. Soto's' mother was a
native-born Californian, of Spanish
origin.

Following his graduation from Santa
Clara College at Santa Clara June 5,
1876, with the degree of A. B., Mr. Soto
entered Harvard Law School, which
awarded him the degree of LL. E., June
27, 1878. It was soon after he went to
Harvard that his father met with his
financial reversal, but this did not in-
terfere with the completion of the law
course.

For about a year after obtaining his
degree Mr. Soto was in the offices of
Winans, Belknap & Godoy of San Fran-
cisco, to gain practical experience. He
was admitted to the bar July 16, 1879,
and the following December commenced
practice at Salinas, Monterey County. He
continued to practice independently un-
til 1883, when he formed a partnership
with S. L. Cutter under the firm name
of Cutter & Soto. This partnership was
dissolved when, in 1884, Mr. Soto was
elected District Attorney of Monterey
County on the Republican ticket. He
served during this term, but since that
time he has not been active in politics
nor has he again sought office, disliking
the idea of being expected to carry out
the plans of someone else.
, Removing from Salinas to San Fran-
.cisco in August, 1887, Mr. Soto entered
into partnership with James Herrmann

when he lost
fortune. The

under the name of Herrmann & Soto,
and continued in a general practice such
as he had had in Monterey County. He
had much work in the probate courts,
but appeared little in criminal matters.
In late years Mr. Soto has paid partic-
ular attention to matters relating to
land titles involving
street improvement as-
sessments, tax titles
and irrigation district
assessments, i n Cali-
fornia and Nevada. For
years h e represented
property owners in
contesting the issuance
of bonds for street im-
provements, and lately
h e h a s represented a
number of contractors
in matters relating to
the improvement o f
streets. He is consid-
ered an authority on
such phases of the law.
Together with
George H. Maxwell, Mr.
Soto has charge of irri-
gation litigation cov-
ering a period of eight
years and involving ten
or twelve irrigation
districts extending
from Marysville as far
south as San Diego. He
represented property
owners that were con-
testing bonds and the
taxes levied to pay them. Finally, in
1902, the United States Supreme Court-
ruled in the Tulare Irrigation District
case adversely to the property owners
and, on the conclusion that it was an
almost impossible task to invalidate
bonds issued by the districts, Mr. Soto
abandoned the litigation.

Another notable litigation in which
Mr. SotO' has taken part is that of B. A.
Gamble et al vs. the Silver Peak Mining
Co., which has been before the courts
since 1896. Mr. Soto, John "W. Dorsey
and associates came into the case in
1903 to represent the plaintiffs. The
suit is to enforce ar option contract
for the purchase of the Silver Peak
mine, claimed by some to be worth sev-
eral million dollars, and by others to be
almost valueless. Opposed to Mr. Soto
and his associates was Rush Taggart,
well known as Chief Counsel for the
Western Union Telegraph Co. The suit
is still before the United States courts
and the district court of Nevada.

The firm of Herrmann & Soto was dis-
solved in 1890, and from 1893 until 1894
Mr. Soto was in partnership with George
H. Maxwell and John W. Dorsey as
Maxwell, Dorsey & Soto. Since then
Mr. Soto has practiced alone.

Mr. Soto holds membership in the
Holy Name Society, Gentleman's
Sodality of St. Ignatius Church, and St.
Anthony's Guild of Old St. Mary's
Church. He was married October 22, 1879,
in Boston to Susan Rosalinda Duffy.

325

GEORGE HILL STODDARD

WHEISt George Hill Stoddard,
general manager of the Asso-
ciated Supply Company, started
out to put to use the knowledge
he had gained in school and college, he
saw an opportunity — and grasped it. He
made good until he saw a better oppor-
tunity, then grasped
that. And he continued
to keep his eyes open
and take advantage of
chances until today he
is one of the youngest
men in the country in
a position such as he
fills.

Born August 19, 1881,
at Grass Valley, Cali-
fornia, Mr. Stoddard
is the son of Walter
Scott Stoddard, one of
the builders o f t h e
Nevada County Narrow
Gauge Railway from'
Colfax to Nevada City,
and of Harriet Caroline
(Hill) Stoddard. His
paternal grandfather,
Alexander Stoddard,
was prominent in the
early mining days of
Grass Valley as member
of the banking andgen-
eral merchandise firm
of Campbell & Stod-
dard. His maternal
grandfather, George W. Hill, also was
a well-known Grass Valley pioneer.

Mr. Stoddard attended the public
schools of Grass Valley, and later those
of San Francisco for a short time.
Subsequently he went to school at Los
Gatos, Portland and Seattle and after
a course in Belmont Military Academy
entered the University of California in
1903. He attended the university two
years, making the College of Commerce
his major, and in 1905 went abroad to
round out his education. His route
took him to New Orleans, Cuba, Florida,
New York, then to the Mediterranean
sea, with stopovers at Gibraltar and
points in North Africa, then Naples,
Rome, Venice, Milan and other cities of
Europe, until the San Francisco fire of
April, 1906, brought him home. In
December, 1906, he made another trip,
this time to the City of Mexico, where
he continued his study of trade con-
ditions generally.

Upon his return to California Mr.
Stoddard secured a position with the
Associated Oil Company as inspector in
the construction of its pipe line from
Bakersfleld to Martinez. He saw in this
field a promising future and forthwith
set out to learn everything he could of
the oil industry, not only of that which
directly concerned him and his in-
spectorship, but all the rest. In the
year that he held his first post he ac-
quired a fund of that knowledge which
later on was to prove of great use to
him in his advancement.

The Associated Supply Company was
organized in June, 1908, as a subsidiarj
cf the Associated Oil Company. Th<
concern handles supplies for drillini
and operating oil wells, does all th(
necessary buying and selling and main-
tains in the oil fields six stores, eacl
of which carries com-
plete well supplies, ii
eluding boilers, casing
and pipe.

When he started in
with the Associated
Supply Company Mr
Stoddard was given a
clerkship in the pur-
chasing department. In
1911 he was taken into
the sales department
as salesman, his work
being divided between
the office and the oil
fields. Just two years
later, in June, 1913, he
was made general man-
ager of the company,
his supervision includ-
1^ ing both purchasing

MM and, in short, all the
jH-:-.:i»^,; concern's affairs.
Mti''J'."-< : _,j The oil industry is

— ^B.--'. ■;,'';■•* »H one of the most im-
jUtP'i- "''iidJ P or tant in California,
- J ^^^^^^^ m an( j the Associated Oil
Company, with its sub-
sidiary, is one of the largest concerns of
its kind in the State. To conduct success-
fully the affairs of such a huge corpo-
ration, to provide it with the necessary
commodities for the operation of its
wells and to buy and sell such commodi-
ties to others, involves a vast amount of
detail work. Mr. Stoddard is in a
position where he must have all these
details at his fingers' ends, ready on
the spur of the moment to decide im-
portant questions pertaining to the
business, and ever on the lookout for
expanding and building up the con-
cern's trade. Perhaps it is the very
nature of his duties that makes him
successful in the managership of the
company where an older man might
fall.

Mr. Stoddard takes no interest in
politics, nor is he able, what with the
press of other business, to give much
of his time to strictly civic matters.
Socially, he belongs to the University
of California Club and since 1909 has
been a member of the Bohemian Club.
He is a thirty-second degree Mason,
having joined Madison lodge No. 23 at
Grass Valley when a young man.

In June, 1908, just before he became
identified with the Associated Supply
Company, Mr. Stoddard was married to
Miss Helen Elizabeth Bates, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene J. Bates of 1981
Pacific avenue, San Francisco. The
couple have one son, Eugene Bates
Stoddard, now three years old.

326

EDWARD J. TALBOTT

CONTRARY to popular belief, the
success or ability of an attorney
at law cannot be' gauged by the
number of sensational legal bat-
tles in which he appears. Were this so,
some of California's foremost lawyers
would be accorded far less recognition
than they really de-
serve, for their work,
though extremely im-
portant, is not of a na-
ture to bring them
much into the lime-
light.

O n e of those attor-
neys whose practice is
largely quiet, but who
none the less has an
enviable reputation for
ability in his chosen
profession, is Edward
J.' Talbott. He has no
practice to speak of in
the criminal courts,
but confines himself to
a general civil prac-
tice, largely in probate
and corporation mat-
ters, which are of more
vital interest to those
directly concerned than to the public
at large.

Unlike some others, Mr. Talbott did
not decide fully upon the law as a,
career until he was half way through
the university and until after he had
investigated fully the field and his own
fitness for entrance to it. He was
born August 9, 1878, at Lompoc, Santa
Barbara County, California, the son of
William L. Talbott, a farmer and stock
raiser, and Amelia (Irwin) Talbott. He
is of Irish stock, with several noted jur-
ists among his maternal ancestors.
' After traversing the grammar schools
at Lompoc Mr. Talbott entered high
school, from which he was graduated in
the spring of 1896. In August of the
same year he matriculated at the Uni-
versity of California, finishing in May,
1900, with the degree of B. S. By this
time he had resolved to become a legal
practitioner. Accordingly he attended
Hastings College of the Law for two
years and in May, 1902, was admitted to
practice before the Supreme Court of
California.

Mr. Talbott at once began practicing
in San Francisco in association with
William J. Herrin. The partnership
continued until Herrin's death in Octo-

ber, 1913, since which time Mr. Talbott
has practiced alone.

For the past ten years Mr. Talbott has
been one of the attorneys in the litiga-
tion over the estate of Thomas Bell,
one of the longest drawn out and hard-
est fought cases in California's legal
history. It has been
before the probate
court for twenty-three
years and it probably
will be several years
more before the vari-
ous claims to the prop-
erty are adjudicated.

Thomas Bell was at
one time the wealth-
iest man on the Pacific
Coast. His' property
aggregated some $20,-,
000,000 in value, but he
lost it in one way and
another, principally by
unwise investments,
until at the time of his
death in 1892 he was
worth only about $200,-
000, with outstanding
debts totaling twice
as much. Following
Bell's death, however, oil was discov-
ered on his land. By taking advan-
tage of this the administrators have
built up the estate once more until
today it represents something like
$5,000,000.

Mr. Talbott has been interested as an
attorney in several other good sized
estates, which he has settled in one way
or another to the satisfaction of his
clients. He also is general counsel for
a number of corporations, among them
the San Francisco Sulphur Company,
which does practically all of the import-
ing and exporting of sulphur that is
carried on in San Francisco. In this,
as well as in other concerns, Mr. Tal-
bott is likewise interested in a financial
way.

In politics Mr. Talbott is a. stanch
Republican. He has neither sought nor
held office, but has preferred to do his
work for others or for the party's gen-
eral good. He does not find time to be-
long to social clubs, although he is a
member of the B. P. O. Elks as well as
of the American Geographical Society.
Mr. Talbott was married in 1906 in
San Francisco to Lillie V. Rose. He is
the father of one child, a daughter, now
seven years old.

327

JOHN E. D. TRASK

HAT any city needs, more
even than a propaganda lor
higher morality, more even
than political reform or
municipal ownership of public utilities,
is an appreciation of art and art work —
without which life is dry and sordid
indeed."

These few words are
the key to the phi-
losophy of John B. D.
T r a s k, Director-in-
Chief of the Depart-
ment of Fine Arts of
the Panama-Pacific
Exposition. He is an
art connoisseur, one
might say an executive
artist; and his peculiar
aim in life is to draw
together and amal-
gamate the interests of
the artist himself and
the art lover, to weld a
bond of sympathy be-
tween them.

In how far he has
succeeded in doing this
is testified to by the
words on a great
square of parchment
presented to him upon
his resignation from
the managership of the
Pennsylvania Academy
of Fine Arts to accept
the honor offered him by the Exposition.
This testimonial, dated Philadelphia,
February 4, 1913, and signed by 86
artists, is worded:

"To John B. D. Trask on the eve of
his retirement from the office of Secre-
tary and Manager of the Pennsylvania
Academy of the Fine Arts. We, the
undersigned members of the artistic
fraternity, desire to express our appre-
ciation of his services to the cause of
American Art; of his loyalty and un-
selfish devotion to the best interests
of the Pennsylvania Academy of the
Fine Arts; of his sympathetic under-
standing and support of the artistic
spirit in all its vagaries, and of his
many qualities of mind and heart which
have endeared him to us as a man, a
comrade and a good sport."

Were he not too modest to advance
them, Mr. Trask might make three dis-
tinct claims to fame as an art director.
He is a native of Brooklyn, New York,
born February 18, 1871, and following
his graduation from college in 1888 en-
gaged in newspaper and magazine work
until 1896. In the latter year he be-
came affiliated, in the capacity of as-
sistant manager, with the Pennsylvania
Academy of the Fine Arts, founded in
1805, the oldest art institution in the
country. In 1905, when the Academy
celebrated its centennial, it chose Mr.
Trask- as its secretary and manager,
and such he continued to be until Feb-
ruary, 1913. He had resigned to become
the Exposition's fine arts director in
November, 1912, but the Pennsylvania

Academy would not let him go until
after he had arranged its annual exhi-
bition.

As executive head of the Academy
Mr. Trask found his forte. Under his
direction the annual exhibitions of the
institution came to be recognized as
the best in the country.
He was especially in-
terested in the Acade-
my's schools, and in
the development of
talent of the youthful
and aspiring artists,
those who needed an
encouraging word.
Philip L. Hale of
Boston, son of Edward
Everett Hale, once
characterized the
Pennsylvania Academy
under Mr. Trask's
management as "the
only institution of its
kind in the country
that was almost
human."

Mr. Trask gained
widespread recognition
in 1910 as United
States Commissioner
General to the Expo-
sicion Internacional de
Arte del Centenario at
Buenos Aires, Argen-
tina, and to the Expo-
sicion Internacional de Bellas Artes at
Santiago, Chile, as well as to a special
art exhibition at Montevideo, Uruguay.
These events did probably more than
anything else to familiarize the South
American peoples with American art
and artists. The United States sec-
tions, though not the largest, received
the greatest number of awards, and
more than twenty-flve per cent of the
works that were for sale were sold
and remained on view. Also, a con-
siderable part of the appropriation
made for this work by Congress was
returned, unexpended.

The whole world, by this time, knows
of the excellence of the display of fine
arts at the Panama-Pacific Inter-
national Exposition — so it is needless to
dilate upon it. Mr. Trask, who con-
ceived it, then carried out his concep-
tion, says of it just this: "The Fine
Arts exhibition has received many com-
pliments it hasn't deserved — and some
knocks that it also has not deserved.
But it is the most intelligent repre-
sentation of modern art ever shown in
America, and it was made possible be-
cause American artists are today doing
better work than ever before."

Mr. Trask now has seen art exposi-
tions from the outside in and from the
inside out. And this well rounded ex-
perience, with that as manager of the
Pennsylvania Academy, should make
him one of the foremost art directors
in America. ,

A. E. VANDERCOOK

« T N MY opinion, A. E. Vandercook
■ is the Edison of mining. He has

-M. invented what will prove one of
the greatest boons California has
known. And, withal, he is one of the
most 'human' men I have ever met."

That is what L. B. McMurtry, presi-
dent of the California
Extraction Company,
thinks of the inventor
of the Vandercook Sys-
tem of Ore Treatment,
a system he is develop-
ing in a commercial
way. And when one
considers the results
that already have been
attained with the Van-
dercook Treatment, the
reason for the enco-
mium is plain.

Prom the very first,
almost, Mr. Vandercook
had mining mapped out
for him as a career.
That he has followed it
steadily and consist-
ently is perhaps one
reason why he has
been able to invent and
perfect a treatment of
ore extraction which
not only upsets old
chemical theories but
has proved itself more
than 98 per cent perfect
in practical operation.

Mr. Vandercook is a
native of Jackson, Michigan, born June
12, 1874, the son of Oscar Vandercook,
mining investor and at one time Chief
United States Marshal for Utah. Pol-
lowing his graduation from the common
schools of Salt Lake City, Mr. Vander-
cook spent three years studying under
Charles Wyman, a well-known mining
engineer. Subsequently he spent two
years in special courses in mining at
the University of Utah, and specialized
in chemistry for another year at the
Ogden Military Academy at Ogden,
Utah.

In 1894, when twenty years old, Mr.
Vandercook became chief assayer in
John McVicker's assay office at Salt
Lake City. After a little more than a
year he became an assayer on the prop-
erties of the Cedar Valley Gold & Silver
Mining Company in Arizona, near King-
man. While there he evolved a plan
for the cyanidation of mine tailings and
tried it out, with success, at the South-
western Mining Company's workings at
El Dorado Canyon, Nevada, owned by
Joseph Wharton of Philadelphia, the
"Nickel King". Mr. Vandercook, after
erecting this plant, the first ever built
in that section, became its superintend-
ent. He then was 22 years old.

The installation and operation of the
Nevada cyanide plant was really the
basis for the present perfected system,
which is the result of a series of de-
velopments.

From El Dorado Canyon Mr. Vander-

cook went to Bohemia, Oregon, and for
one winter operated the Champion
mines. Coming back to San Francisco,
he was attracted by a property orig-
inally operated, but then abandoned, by
Alvinza Hayward. Mr. Vandercook,
finding the mine had not been opened up
properly, acquired it,
spent some months de-
veloping it along the
right lines and incor-
porated the Dairy
Farm Mining Company,
in which L. C. Trent
became interested.'
Three years later the
property, now known
as Vantrent, was sold
to the Guggenheims.
His present association
with L. B. McMurtry
and E. W. Kay in the
California Extraction
Company began in
1911; a laboratory and
a complete working
model plant has been
operated by them since
July, 1913, in East
Oakland.

In the Vandercook
cyanide treatment the
ore is slimed and
classified to the re-
quired fineness direct-
ly in the cyanide solu-
tion, while at the
same time amalgama-
tion is effected. This does away with
long hours of agitating the pulp and
completes the extraction while the
crushing is going on. The metallic
mercury, as thus employed, prevents
any fouling of the solution, which may
be re-standardized and used over again,
at a great saving. After the amal-
gamation process a large part of the
solution is removed through the Van-
dercook thickener; then the thickened
pulp is passed on to the Vandercook
filter for the washing out and retain-
ing of its pregnant solution. This solu-
tion then is in an absolutely clear state
- — a condition not the case in other
processes — and is precipitated on zinc
shavings.

So epochal is the Vandercook process
that miners must be shown before they
will believe it possible to secure a 98
or 99 per cent extraction. The secret
lies largely in the combination of the
cyanide and amalgam systems, which
ordinarily are used separately. Even
the most conservative have character-
ized the system as revolutionary, Inas-
much as with it tailings of aban-
doned mines and ores considered of
prohibitive low grade may be worked
with profit.

And the invention is no longer in the
experimental stage. It has been fully
proven. Patents have been secured,
plants are now being, or about to be,
erected for a number of mining com-
panies, and the way is opened for uni-
versal exploitation.

329

JOHN CHARLES KEMP VAN EE

FEW sections of the globe have been
overlooked by John Charles Kemp
Van Be in his promotion of min-
ing, oil and varied industries. His
operations have not only embraced the
Western United States and Mexico but
they have carried him to England, South
Africa, West Africa,
Australia and the Cen-
tral and South Ameri-
cas. For nearly half a
century he has been
known as an industrial
pioneer.

On November 22,
1856, Mr. Kemp Van Ee
was born at Ruther-
ford Park, New Jersey.
He is of the purest
Dutch strain and de-
scendant of a family
unusually well-known.
His father was John
Charles Kemp Van Ee
and his mother Hen-
rietta A. M. C. Sin it
(Roeters) Van Ee.

Following his grad-
uation, in 1867, from
grammar school, Mr.
Kemp Van Ee imme-
diately came west to
San Francisco, where
he settled. A few years
later, while still but a
youth, he began his
study of mining by en-
tering the field in Tu-
olumne County, California. He also
mined considerably at White Pine, Ne-
vada; Pioche, Utah, and in other sec-
tions, and in 1876 became interested in
the Sierra mine at Bodie. In those days
Bodie was one of the most famous min-
ing camps in the West, and Mr. Kemp
Van Ee operated there for nearly three
years.

The first railroad line across the
Sierra range from Bloody Canyon to
Sonora was surveyed by Mr. Kemp Van
Ee in 1878. This made accessible a
vast new territory and proved of untold
value from the beginning. He con-
tinued his pioneering operations by the
construction, two years later, of the
first telephone line from May Lundie to
the Tosemite Valley, and this was fol-
lowed the next year by his building of
the railroad from Crockers to Lake Ten-
nia, thence to the Sierra mine and the
base of Mount Dana. During this con-
structive period he also did much to
preserve California's famous big trees
by the issuance of what is known as
Valentine scrip, which cannot be given
out on other than gold-bearing prop-
erties.

Mr. Kemp Van Ee sold most of his
California mining Interests in 1882 and
began operating elsewhere. In 18S6 he
became owner of mines in Mexico and,
as in previous instances, connected it
by rail with the world's markets. He
built sixty miles of road from Ortize to
Las Bronzas, and eighty-eight miles

more between Las Bronzas and Trini-
dad. Returning to Idaho in 1888 he
again became interested in mining
there, and did much to establish and
build up the towns of Mountain Home,
Rocky Bar and Silver City. Thereafter
he went abroad and was gone until 1897.
It was during this
long sojourn, in which
he traveled extensively
all over the world, that
Mr. Kemp Van Ee did
important mining and
other promotion work
in Central America,
South America, Aus-
tralia and Africa. He
was interested i n a
great variety of in-
d u s t r i e s, especially
during his residence in
London, where his en-
terprises involved i n
actual investments an
aggregate of more
than $100,000,000. In-
cluded in these proj-
ects were the steam
steel axle-box and the
development of the
Barton vineyards and
of the Garfield mine.
The mine was later
disposed of for a con-
sideration o f ?1,250,-
000.

Returning, in 1897,
from abroad, Mr. Kemp
Van Ee purchased the Royal mine in
Calaveras County, California, near Cop-
peropolis. In the subsequent strike
that occurred at the properties, he
set a precedent by securing from the
Federal courts a permanent injunction
against the Miners' Union. The Royal
is still in operation and today has
one of the largest stamp mills in the
State. Mr. Kemp Van Ee remains in
control.

Not long after the fire Mr. Kemp Van
Ee turned his attention to the develop-
ment of his oil holdings, at the same
time forming the San Juan Portland
Cement Company. In line with his oil
operations he, with a New York capi-
talist, purchased the Chittenden ranch
in Santa Cruz County and also mineral
rights on 8,750 acres of land in San
Benito County. He was one of the chief
purchasers, late in 1906, of the Palmer
and Palmer Jr. oil properties in Santa
Barbara County. It is to these interests
that most of his attention is today di-
rected, although in addition to these he
is president of the California Central
Railroad Co. and the Old Mission Portr
land Cement Co., vice-president of the
San Juan Pacific Railroad Co. and gen-
eral manager of the North Star mine at
Mokelumne Hill.

Mr. Kemp Van Ee was married in
1873 in San Francisco to Miss Hattie
Holt King. He has one son, John Charles
Kemp Van Ee, Jr., now attending Col-
umbia University. ,

330

A. WENZELBURGER

THERE are two ways, from the
psychological viewpoint, of living
with satisfaction to ourselves.
One way is to set ourselves no
goal whatsoever, to let intellectuality
and personal attainments go for naught,
and we are happy and satisfied through
ignorance. The other,
and the better, way is
to choose our goal,
then as we struggle
constantly compare our
"success" with our
"pretensions" until the
two balance; and when
they do, then have we
lived, then have we
attained inner satis-
faction, indeed!

Measured by such a
standard as this, A.
Wenzelburger, expert
public accountant and
head of a large corps
of workers, has gained
satisfaction in his suc-
cess. He has become
what he set out to be-
come; and though that
does not mean that he
has ceased to advance,
still he has reached
his original goal and
more.

There are many
reasons why Mr. Wen-
zelburger should se-
cure recognition in the
story of San Francisco and California.
It is on the shoulders of such men as he,
stanch and dependable, that has fallen
the burden of this State's develop-
ment.

Of particular interest at this time,
when the Spring Valley Water Company
has been brought into the limelight by
the proposed purchase of its properties
by the City of San Francisco, is the
fact that it was Mr. Wenzelburger who
made the examination of the water
company's affairs for the city in 1904.
This was in connection with the munic-
ipality's suit against the corporation
and involved an investigation of the
cost of operation of Spring Valley from
the date of its organization in 1854.
The work, done under the direction of
City Engineers Dockweiler and
Grunsky, took nine months of close
application and tedious labor; it was
the most extensive examination ever
made by the city of the affairs of a
public utility. Mr. Wenzelburger's ap-
pointment carried with it a salary of
$1,000 a month.

A. Wenzelburger was born in 1847
in Southern Germany, the son of the
Rev. John George Wenzelburger, a
Lutheran minister who acted as director
of the diocese of Braunsbach in the
kingdom of Wurtemberg. Mr. Wen-
zelburger was graduated, in 1865, from
the Latin school of his native city, a
school graded somewhat higher than
the high schools of the United States.
For the succeeding three years he en-
gaged in mercantile pursuits, but in

1868 came to the United States. This he
was prompted to do partly because he
felt that military service, which would
have been compulsory had he remained
in Germany, would retard his progress
in a career which had far more attrac-
tions to him than that of bearing arms.
The spring of 1868
witnessed Mr. Wenzel-
burger's arrival at
Philadelphia. He
visited relatives there
a few months, then
came across country
to San Francisco. A
week spent here and
he went to Eastern
Nevada, where he be-
came accountant for a
large mining concern.
In those days mining
operations in Nevada
were sometimes of
rather short duration,
so that Mr. Wenzel-
burger was obliged to
change his position
frequently and at times
seek employment with
commercial Arms. At
length he started out
independently in the
hardware business at
Hamilton, Nevada, re-
maining in this pursuit
until 1876, when he re-
turned to San Francis-
co, this time to remain.
An active business association with
the late Julius Jacobs began when Mr.
Wenzelburger became cashier and ac-
countant of the Germania Life Insur-
ance Company. Mr. Jacobs was then
general agent for the Germania com-
pany. Afterward he was made Assist-
ant United States Treasurer under
President McKinley, but passed away
before his term of office expired. Mr.
Jacobs was a member of the firm of
Jacobs, Easton & Company, to which
Mr. Wenzelburger was admitted to
partnership in the late eighties, when
it was the largest insurance concern
in San Francisco.

Following the passing of the Public
Accountancy Act by the State Legis-
lature, Mr. Wenzelburger was appointed
by Governor Pardee a member of the
State Board of Commissioners of Public
Accountants and during the second year
of the board's existence served as its
president. Since that time, however, he
has devoted his entire attention to
private practice and has built up a
strong clientele. He is auditor for a
number of large local concerns.

Mr. Wenzelburger was married in
1878 in San Francisco to Miss Ella
Carter. The couple have two daughters:
Elise, wife of Judge A. E. Graupner,
and Lalla, wife of First Lieutenant
William H. Shea, U. S. A. Mr. Wenzel-
burger is a member of several fraternal
orders, among them holding the thirty-
second degree of the Scottish Rite, and
in matters pertaining to civic better-
ment is especially active.

331

J. E. WHITE

EVERT man has his personal con-
victions. He knows certain things
are right and that their growth
should be fostered, and that cer-
tain other things are wrong and should
be rooted out. But so prone is mankind
to evade its responsibility that the one
who shows the cour-
age of his convictions
is the exception, per-
haps, rather than the
rule.

J. B "White, attorney
at law and one of the
greatest champions of
good in the State of
California, has shown
this sort of courage to
an unusual degree. He
believes that anything
that lowers the stand-
ard of morality, any-
thing that tends to be-
set the youth of the
land with temptations
and dangers, is a men-
ace to society and that
it is the duty of honest
individuals to pool
their efforts toward ef-
fecting a change for
the better. Believing
thus, he has for the
past dozen years or
more been in the thick
of. the fight for the
better life and has not
spared his efforts in anything worthy,
despite the fact that his activities have
worked a great personal loss by taking
him away from monetary pursuits.

Away back in 1902, with others, Mr.
"White organized the Higher License
League and launched a campaign to
raise the saloon license in San Fran-
cisco from $84 a year to $500 a year.
The project was defeated at an election
in the fall of 1905 by about 3,000 votes,
but following the fire the organization
went before the Board of Supervisors
and secured the ordinance they desired.
This included provisions making it un-
lawful to conduct a saloon within 150
feet of a school or church and also
divorcing the saloon from the grocery
store. Up to that time nearly all the
groceries had bars, but by means of
the ordinance the number of bars in
the city was reduced by about 1,200.
Since then Mr. "White has represented
about 90 per cent of the protestants
against the location of saloons in dis-
tricts where they were not desired. He
also has been called upon .to assist
other cities in a similar work. Among
others he led a campaign in 1906 in
"Vallejo which reduced the number of
saloons by one-half. He has been at-
torney for the Anti-Saloon League in
Northern California for ten years.

In 1909 Mr. White led the campaign
that did away with slot machines in
San Francisco, a. campaign backed by

the San Francisco Church Federation,
which he has represented in its civic ac-
tivities for the past eight years. In 1911
Mr. White led the fight before the
State Legislature which spelled the
doom of slot machines throughout Cali-
fornia. About the same time he did con-
siderable campaigning
on behalf of "woman
suffrage, which finally
won.

About eight years
ago Mr. White started,
with others, a move-
ment to abolish prize
fights in San Francis-
co. He succeeded, in
1910, in blocking the
Johnson -Jeffries fight
that was to have been
held here. After failing
to get an anti-prize
fight bill through the
1911 Legislature he
helped pass one under
the initiative in 1914
and it went into effect
last December. He was
secretary of the State
campaign committee
in 1914 that worked
for the Redlight Abate-
ment Bill, which be-
came a law, and in the
subsequent test case
Mr. White represented
the people of Califor-
nia. He also campaigned all over the
State in 1914 on behalf of the prohibi-
tion amendment, as chairman of the
citizenship and temperance department
of the State Christian Endeavor Union.
He is aiding the "dry" campaign now
under way for the 1916 election.

Mr. White was born November 8, 1870,
on a farm in Grundy County, Iowa, the
son of Robert White and Rosa (Zeran)
"White. He attended the public schools of
Rockford, Iowa, was graduated from the
High School in 1889 and received his
A. B. from Cornell College in 1895. He
worked his way through school almost
from the beginning. For some time he
was employed at nights as call-boy for
a railroad, pursuing his studies in the
day time. Later, during his vacations,
he worked as chore boy in a law office.
In 1896 Mr. White went to Riverside,
California, and taught in a business
college besides conducting a private
preparatory school for teachers. He
came to San Francisco in 1899, entered
the Hastings College of the Law,
through which he worked his way, and
received his LL. B. in 1902. He at once
began practicing his profession inde-
pendently, specializing in probate and
corporation matters. Politically he is
an ardent and active Progressive.

Mr. White belongs to the Common-
wealth Club and is a stanch member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, of
which he is general State counsel.

332

RANDOLPH V. WHITING

A NATIVE SON of the Golden West,
mingling with the broad optimis-
tic outlook of the Westerner the
traditions of his distinguished
Southern ancestry, no history of San
Francisco or California would be com-
plete without the name of Randolph V.
Whiting, lawyer, edi-
tor, politician — in the
highest sense of the
term— -and gentleman.
A descendant of the
famous Carter and
Braxton families of
Virginia, who in the
days before the Civil
War occupied princi-
palities in that State,
Mr. Whiting was born
in Q u i n c y , Plumas
County, California, and
received his early
training in the schools
of that community. His
later education was
obtained i n Bowens'
Academy, Berkeley,
whence he entered the
University of Califor-
nia and afterward
Hastings College of the Law, receiving
his degree from the latter institution
in 1895.

While in college, Mr. Whiting dis-
tinguished himself in athletics and
held several coast records for a number
of years. Upon leaving college and
being graduated from Hastings in 1S95,
he took up the practice of his profes-
sion in this city.

In 1900 he was appointed Assistant
District Attorney of San Francisco un-
der Lewis F. Byington and served in
that capacity until 1906, when he en-
tered private practice again. It was
during his term in the District Attor-
ney's office that Mr. Whiting won a
remarkable victory, when he served as
an expert on California law in the ex-
tradition of George D. Collins, accused
of bigamy and perjury, who had made
his escape to Canada.

Mr. Whiting is today one of the fore-
most lawyers in San Francisco. For
ten years he has been very prominent in
State and County politics and has been
mentioned for high offices, although he
has refused steadfastly to accept the
urgings of his friends in this di-
rection. Among the offerings were

those for the offices of Superior Judge,
United States Attorney and District At-
torney.

He was a member of the Democratic
State Central Committee and of the
County Central Committee and was one
of the four men appointed to represent
San Francisco at the
inauguration of Presi-
dent Wilson, the other
three being M. H. de
Toung, Theodore Bell
and Congressman Ju-
lius Kahn.

A well known and
able law writer, Mr.
Whiting is noted for
his grasp of legal de-
cisions and the points
involved. For many
years he has been edi-
tor of two legal publi-
cations, "California De-
cisions" and "California
Appellate Decisions,"
which are the advance
publications of the Su-
preme and Appellate
Court decisions.

On February 1, 1915,
Mr. Whiting had conferred upon him
the honor of being appointed by the
Supreme Court of California to the
position of assistant reporter of State
Supreme Court decisions as well as
of decisions of the District Court of
Appeals. This position involves the
digesting and preparation of syl-
labi of the decisions of these two
courts.

Mr. Whiting is prominent in the Ma-
sonic order and has been closely identi-
fied with the extensive charitable work
of that organization. He is past master
of King Solomon's lodge, having filled
all the chairs of the lodge one after the
other. He is also a member of Califor-
nia Commandery of Knights Templar
and of the Scottish Rite bodies, as well
as of Islam Temple, Ancient Arabic
Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of
San Francisco.

In 1900 Mr. Whiting married Miss
Mary Rosselet Bowens, daughter of the
late T. Stewart Bowens and Mrs. Bow-
ens of Oakland and Berkeley, a belle
of the east bay community and at the
present time prominent in the club and
social life of Oakland and San Fran-
cisco.

333

VINCENT WHITNEY

IT is quite as important to retain
something that has come into one's
possession as to possess it jn the
first place. And this is particularly
true when it applies to an estate, on
which work must be constant if it
is to be kept up to its original status
or value.

Vincent Whitney has
found his life's work in
the management of the
properties acquired
and partially built up
by his noted father, the
late J. Parker Whit-
ney. Even before his
father's death, which
occurred i n January,
1913, Vincent Whitney
had been placed in
charge of the Whitney
interests, and these he
has strengthened and
increased in a most ca-
pable manner.

Born May 13, 18S0, in
New York City, the
younger Mr. Whitney
secured his early edu-
cation at St. Paul's
School of Concord, New
Hampshire. He after-
ward attended Harvard
University and spe-
cialized in engineering. The knowl-
edge thus gained has proven decidedly
useful to him, as he has applied it
since to the practical side of ranching.

In 1903 Vincent Whitney came to Cal-
ifornia and lived for three years in Los
Angeles and at other points in Southern
California. He removed to San Fran-
cisco in December, 1905, and has re-
mained here ever since in charge of
the Whitney Estate Company. He has
taken a keen interest in matters having
to do with the advancement of the city
of his choice and has been active in a
number of public movements. One of
these was the 1909 Portola Festival,
which came near being an international
celebration, and in which Mr. Whitney
was one of the leading spirits. He has
long been prominent also in sports,
particularly in golf.

The Whitney Estate Company's hold-,
ings are by no means confined to Cal-
ifornia, although the bulk of the prop-
erties is in this State. There is in-
cluded the 18,000-acre Whitney ranch
in Placer County at Rocklin, other
real estate, town lots in San Francisco
and elsewhere, the Congress Hotel
property at Pueblo, Colorado, and vari-
ous other interests of one kind and
another.

The late J. Parker Whitney, whose
work his son is carrying on, was a
sturdy California pioneer. In all forms
of Western enterprise — in mining, fruit
raising, land reclamation, live stock
breeding and ranching — the name of

Whitney has been widelv known, and
in each of these subjects he was an
authority.

The son of a prominent New England
family, Mr. Whitney the elder was but
seventeen years old when he made his
first trip to California by water around
the Horn. Later he
crossed the plains
no less than five times.
In 1865 he went to Col-
orado and was for a
long time active in
mining. During this
period, in 1867, he was
appointed United
States Commissioner to
the Paris Interna-
tional Exposition.
Some time after this
he went to New Mex-
ico, where he built the
Silver City Railroad,
connecting Silver City
with the Santa Fe
Railway at Deming.

For half a century
the late Mr. Whitney
was active in agricul-
tural, horticultural and
stock raising pursuits,
and in each of these
three he was a pioneer.
He was the first to im-
port thoroughbred Merino sheep to Cal-
ifornia from Spain; it was he who first
demonstrated that not only could
oranges be grown in Northern Califor-
nia but that they ripen here from six
weeks to two months earlier than those
grown in the Southern section of the
State; and he it was who shipped the
first carload of raisins out of California,
He did notable land reclamation work
at Roberts Island in the San Joaquin
river.

Like father; like son, the Whitneys
have ever been stanch believers in San
Francisco and California and have lent
a hand at every opportunity toward the
upbuilding of both. Following the San
Francisco fire of 1906 the Whitneys
■were among the first to start rebuild-
ing, with the erection of the Whitney
building at 133 Geary street.

The elder Whitney, besides his busi-
ness accomplishments, was a sportsman
and a writer of far more than ordinary
note. His exploits with the rod and
gun extended over two continents.
Among the works of which he was the
author are: "The Reminiscences of a
Sportsman," "Fresh-Water Tide Lands,"
"Colonization of Lands," "Citrus Culti-
vation" and "The Greater Future and
Welfare of California."

Vincent Whitney is active in a num-
ber of social organizations. He was
married in San Francisco to Miss Pearl
Landers, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John
Landers of this city, at a brilliant so-
cial wedding.

834

EDWARD D. WILBUR

THE difference between a man who
accomplishes something in this
life and the one who drifts
through it with as little expen-
diture of effort as possible, is simply
that the successful man fixes a certain
goal and sets out to win it, letting
nothing divert him
from his course.

Edward D. Wilbur
became an attorney-
at-law after constant
studying, at times
when he fain would
have rested from his
bread-winning labors,
those of a carpenter-
ing contractor. That
a man's wife can
either make him or
drag him down, ac-
cording to her attri-
butes, is exemplified in
' the case of Mr. Wilbur.
His wife ever urged
him on and encouraged
him; by his side she
went, studying law
with him, giving him
examinations and thus
rounding out his
knowledge and making
it permanent.

The result — Mr. Wil-
bur passed his bar ex-
aminations with flying colors and today
enjoys a strong and ever-growing
clientele as a reward for his endeavors.

Edward Douglass Wilbur comes of a
stock that for generations has been
noted for doing big things. He was
born at Frankfort, Kentucky, June 13,
1857, the son of Sydney Wilbur, an Epis-
copal minister, and Emily (Douglass)
Wilbur. His paternal great-grand-
father, Edward Wilbur, was a merchant
on the high seas at the time of the
American Revolution. He turned his
vessel over to the Colonies as a fight-
ing frigate and retained its command.
The present Mr. Wilbur has the chapeau
and plaid coat of his fighting ancestor.
The son of the sea captain, also Edward
Wilbur, was one of the projectors and
builders of the Erie Canal.

The maternal great-grandfather of
Mr. Wilbur was Andrew Ellicott, civil
engineer, companion of George Wash-
ington and one of those who laid out
the City of Washington. As United
States Surveyor General he did much to
bring West Point Military Academy up
to standard. David Bates Douglass,
Mr. Wilbur's maternal grandfather, also
was a civil engineer of the United
States Engineering Corps. Among his
projects were the remodeling of West
Point, laying out of Greenwood ceme-
tery, Long Island, and building of Cro-
ton Waterworks, New York City.

After attending the common schools
of his birthplace, Mr. Wilbur in 1869

came across the continent with his
parents by the Central Pacific Railway.
They stopped off in San Francisco, just
at the time "Steam Paddy" Hewes was
removing the sand dune from the pres-
ent Palace Hotel site. In San Diego
Mr. Wilbur went to school about a year.
The rest of his educa-
tion has been gained in
the great school of ex-
perience.

Starting out to make
his own way, he came
to San Francisco and
worked at various jobs.
Drifting into carpen-
tering, he finally be-
came a building con-
tractor. In 1880 he
married Jennie Evans
of Point Reyes, daugh-
ter of the agent for the
O.L. Shatter estate. His
wife was highly edu-
cated and encouraged
him to enter the law.
The couple had three
children, but death
took them all, the wife
herself dying in 1899.
Mr. Wilbur entered
the law offices of Til-
den & Tilden in 1884,
but was forced to go
to San Diego to re-
cover from an accident. Returning
here, in 1889, he was admitted to the
office of Judge Barney McKenna and
in February, 1892, gained entrance to
the bar. For several years he was
associated with other attorneys, but
a little more than three years ago set
up an independent practice. Today he
engages in general civil law work,
keeping out of the criminal law as far
as possible.

Politically Mr. Wilbur is a Republi-
can, but always has declined public
office or political preferment. Ever
since 1872, when, as captain of the Boys
in Blue at San Diego, he worked on
behalf of Grant for a second term as
president, he has stood for the good of
the party.

"Dike the leopard," says he, "I cannot
change my spots. I believe the Repub-
lican party is the best. Simply be-
cause we find one or two undesirables
within its ranks is no reason why the
whole party should be cast under as-
persion. Rather, it should make us put
our shoulders to the wheel with greater
zest, rid ourselves of the undesirables
and cause the party to be looked up to
more than ever before."

Since the death of his wife Mr. Wil-
bur has taken no part in social or fra-
ternal affairs. In civic matters, how-
ever, he is active. He was the founder
of the Fourth and Fifth Streets Im-
provement Clubs and only recently won
a notable victory before the Supervisors
in securing much needed lights for
Fourth street from Market to, Townsend.

335

FRED S. WILSON

THE rule that the man who knows
the most about his own business,
and has the best chance of suc-
cess in plying- it, is he who has
learned it from the very bottom up —
this rule holds good today just as much
as it ever did. And it must continue to
apply so long as our
present-day economical
system lasts.

Fred S. Wilson, vice-
president of the Ther-
moid Rubber Company,
manufacturers of Nas-
sau Tires, turned natu-
rally to the rubber
business when it came
time for him to begin
casting about for a
means of self-support.
He was born May 5,
1877, in Trenton, New
Jersey, son of Richard
P. Wilson and Cather-
ine (Jones) Wilson.
Trenton is a manufac-
turing center for rub-
ber and pottery, and it
follows that the
you ng e r generation
takes to one or the
other of these two in-
dustries.

Sixty years or more
ago Joseph O. Stokes,
superintendent of the New Jersey
Steel & Iron Company at Trenton,
gave a job to Richard P. Wilson,
then fourteen years old. Ten years or
so later, when Wilson started out for
himself in the coal and lumber busi-
ness, he took in with him Stokes' eldest
son, W. J. B. Stokes, then aged 17.
Subsequently W. J. B. Stokes became
president of the Home Rubber Com-
pany, among others, and when Fred S.
Wilson was sixteen years old, he left
the public schools to accept a position
tendered him by Stokes, his father's old-
time business partner. This has kept
the names of Stokes and Wilson linked
together for more than half a century.

Mr. Wilson went into the rubber busi-
ness through the factory door. He was
put to work at the bench, as an ap-
prentice in the manufacture of bicycle
tires. Here he labored three years,
when, having made good, he was sent
to New York as city salesman for the
Thermoid Rubber Company, also a
Stokes concern. And it is with the
Thermoid company that he has re-
mained.

Three more years, spent as city sales-
man, and Mr. Wilson was given a terri-
tory in the Eastern States. He traveled
over this and other territories, with
consistent success, for about Ave years.
By his knowledge of the business and
his ability as a salesman he made him-
self valuable and the result was that

he was recalled to the mai.i offices at
Trenton and made sales manager, later
being given the added work of adver-
tising manager.

In 1907, fourteen years after he took
his place at the apprentice's bench, Mr.
Wilson became a director in the
Thermoid Rubber Com-
pany and was chosen
its vice-president, a
position he retains to
this day. The concern
is a close corporation,
consisting only of
Joseph Oliver Stokes,
as president; Fred S.
Wilson, as vice-presi-
dent; W. J. B. Stokes,
treasurer; and Robert
J. Stokes, son of W. J.
B., secretary and fac-
tory manager.

Mr. Wilson went to
Chicago in 1911 to open
up a factory branch.
This once under way,
the Thermoid Company
began considering the
advisability of locating
another branch on the
Pacific Coast. In this
connection it was taken
into consideration that
the opening of the
Panama Canal would
make California and New Jersey
next-door neighbors, and that a
vessel loaded with goods within a
quarter of a mile of the Thermoid fac-
tory at Trenton, could be unloaded at
the very doors of the concern's Pa-
cific Coast warehouse. It was decided
that one member of the company should
be sent here, to take up his residence
on this coast and become a part of it.
And in 1913 Mr. Wilson, chosen for the
place by his associates, came to San
Francisco.

The Thermoid Rubber Company,
whose local branch office is in the
Monadnock building, is known through-
out the world for its Thermoid Brake
Lining and Nassau Tires. The Nassau
owes part of its fame to the fact that
it is the tire used by nearly all automo-
bile racers of the day. The Peugeot
Car in which Dario Resta won both the
Grand Prix and Vanderbilt Cup races
at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, was
equipped for both races with the same
set of Nassaus. And the tires would
last through another race easily.

The business of the Thermoid com-
pany has been built up on the strength
of honest goods, honest treatment and
honest advertising. It believes that a
*'white lie" is no whiter "when mixed
with printer's ink. And as proof of the
wisdom of this policy, its factory has
for more than four years been running
23 hours a day.

336

JOHN RALPH WILSON

THE day of the long-winded law
orator, whose aim in the conduct
of a case in court is to lead the
jury into a maze of perplexities,
is past. The lawyer who succeeds in
this decade is he who sums up the
salient points of his argument and pre-
sents them to the
jurors in compact, con-
crete form. , He is the
man, in short, who em-
ploys facts instead of
vain expoundings to
win; who brings forth
the principles of law
and the cases bearing
clearly on the issue,
and concerns himself
with these alone.

This is the opinion,
as often expressed to
his friends and associ-
ates, of John Ralph
Wilson, San Francisco
attorney, whose own
legal record proves his
contention. There are
few legal practitioners
in California who, in
the past few years,
have so consistently
won what they set out
for and have added
such a number of
favorable court rulings
and jury verdicts to
their credit.

Mr. Wilson's record
has been made possible by his careful
preparation of cases. He works on his
theory of isolating one or more points
that form the crux of the case, then
driving those points home to the jury
without attempt at blandishment. The
jury, unhampered by complexities, does
the rest.

Being the son of a Methodist Epis-
copal minister, whose pastorate was
changed at regular intervals, John
Ralph Wilson's early schooling was
somewhat intermittent and was ob-
tained in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia
and New York. He was born at Wil-
mington, Delaware, April 13, 1878, to
Rev. John A. B. Wilson and Mary E.
(Jefferson) Wilson and is descended
from original Cavalier stock.

After receiving all but one year's
preparation for college Mr. Wilson
moved to Los Angeles with his parents
in 1894. There, under a private tutor,
he crowded the final preparatory year
into three months and entered the Uni-
versity of Southern California in 1895.
Here he did nearly three years' work
in two, then entered the law offices of
Wells, Works & Lee and for two years
more studied under the personal direc-
tion of Colonel G. Wiley Wells. In
December, 1899, he was admitted to the
bar and set up a private practice in San
Francisco.

Mr. Wilson today is counsel for a
number of casualty companies. For five
years he has been trial attorney for the
Pennsylvania Casualty Company and

since 1912 has represented the liability
department of the Massachusetts
Bonding and Insurance Company. Since
the automobile business became a great
industry he has been counsel for
several large Eastern automobile con-
cerns, as well as for a number of
Eastern manufac-
turers.

Several of his clients,
wealthy landowners,
leave to Mr. Wilson the
handling of their prop-
erty. He has put on a
number of subdivision
projects and for a long
time has operated the
business of one of the
large companies deal-
ing in farm lands, with
holdings in various
parts of the State. He
is a director of the
Venitia Company and
also its general coun-
sel in its new subdi-
vision near San Rafael,
Marin County. He is
also a director of and
general counsel for the
Realty Mortgage Com-
pany of San Francisco.
In 1904, in litigation
involving the estate of
the late Thomas J.
Clunie, he represented
the widow. The estate
was valued at $1,100-
000. Before the case came to a final
hearing Mr. Wilson obtained for his
client one of the most satisfying settle-
ments in the history of local probate
matters. Another interesting bit of
litigation in which Mr. Wilson has
figured is the case of alleged fraud
against the promoters of the Dabney
Oil Company. About $750,000 is in-
volved. The case, after going once to
the Supreme Court, is now in shape for
the trial in the lower court. Still an-
other notable case was his successful
defense of certain suits in eminent
domain instituted by the Central
Pacific Railway when it was about to
build the Rockland-Colfax cutoff.

In addition to his corporation and
probate work, which is heavy, Mr.
Wilson has a general civil practice that
takes him all over the State. He is
active in civic matters and at one time
was prominent in Republican politics.
In 1907, at the Republican convention
of San Francisco, he was chairman of
the minority that made the fight for
Taylor for mayor. On another occasion
he ran for the State Senate from the
Forty-sixth district and lost in a hot,
three-cornered campaign by only about
150 votes.

Mr. Wilson was married April 15,
1903, at Alameda, to Miss Emilie Duryea
Mason, of an early American family of
Mayflower stock and a descendant of
the Colonial Governors. The couple
have one daughter, Emilie Mason
Wilson, aged eight.

337

GEORGE WINGPIELD

PERHAPS the most interesting lives
in this country to contemplate
are those of the men who, start-
ing with nothing, have achieved
fame and fortune by their own initia-
tive and strength. One of such men in
the Western country is George Wing-
field of Nevada, a man
who now, before he is
forty years of age, is
counted among the
wealthy men of the
country, is a potent
factor in > the mining
and banking world and
i s favorably known
from one end of the
nation to the other.

George Wingfleld
was born in Port
Smith, Arkansas, Au-
gust 16, 1876, the son
of Thomas T. and
Martha M. Wingfleld.
His parents came
across the plains and
settled near Lakeview,
Oregon. It was here
that Wingfleld spent
his youth, attending
the public schools and
working on his fa-
ther's ranch.

From Lakeview he
went to Golconda, Ne-
vada, when he had
barely reached his ma-
jority and Interested
himself in mining and other pursuits.
He made two or three small fortunes
but these he lost. Finally he went to
Tonopah, when the mining boom
started there in the spring of 1900.

Before leaving Golconda, George S.
Nixon, who later became U. S. Senator
from Nevada, told Wingfleld that if he
saw anything that looked good around
Tonopah to let him know. Acting upon
this suggestion, Wingfleld advised Nix-
on that he thought the opportunities
around Tonopah excellent. Nixon there-
upon joined Wingfleld in several en-
terprises, Wingfleld having accumu-
lated some money in the meantime.

It has been rumored that Senator
Nixon "grubstaked" Wingfleld, but this
is contrary to fact. The joint invest-
ments finally resulted in the partner-
ship of Nixon and Wingfleld, which
later developed into one of the biggest
that the West has ever known — a part-
nership that involved millions, but with-
out a written agreement, and which
depended wholly upon the personal
honor and integrity of the two men.

While Tonopah was booming a min-
ing strike occurred at the camp then
called Grandpa, which later became the
world-famous Goldfleld. Nixon and
Wingfleld secured, with others, a lease
on the Florence mine, from which they
took out several hundred thousand
dollars net. They then became inter-
ested in various other leading mining
properties in Goldfleld and also estab-
lished the banking house of John S.
Cook & Company.

Believing thoroughly in the camp's
future, Wingfleld gradually acquired

more partnership stocks. He studied
the situation thoroughly and with the
aid of his associates determined upon
those properties which should show
the greatest promise and which would
command the situation. These prop-
erties were the Combination, Mohawk,
L a g u n a, Red Top,
Jumbo and Gold-
field Mining Company.
Having gained con-
trol of these he
launched and carried
the idea of consolidat-
ing them into one
company, known a s
the Goldfleld Consoli-
dated Mines Co., with
a capital stock of
$50,000,000, of which
approximately $35,000,-
000 in stock was is-
sue d to absorb the
subsidiary companies.
By the end of 1914 the
company produced
$44,000,000, made a net
recovery of $29,000,000
and paid a total of
$27,398,215 in dividends
or $7.70 per share. As
far as known this is a
record.

Nixon and Wing-
fleld extended their in-
vestments to banking,
live stock, real estate
and other business
pursuits and acquired the Nixon Na-
tional Bank of Reno and the First
National Bank of Winnemucca. In 1909
they decided upon a friendly dissolu-
tion of the partnership. The banks —
with the exception of that of John
S. Cook & Co. at Goldfleld — the real
estate and other property went to
Senator Nixon, while the mining and
-other interests passed to Mr. Wing-
fleld.

In 1912 Senator Nixon died and Gov-
ernor Oddie appointed Mr. Wingfleld as
United States Senator from 'Nevada.
But Mr. Wingfleld declined to accept
as he wished to devote all his time to
his business and the upbuilding of the
State.

Shortly thereafter the Nixon heirs
requested Mr. Wingfleld to act as presi-
dent of the Senator's banking insti-
tutions in Nevada. Later the interest
of the Nixon estate in these banks was
sold to Mr. Wingfleld and he is now
president and controlling factor in the
Nixon National Bank of Reno, First
National Bank of Winnemucca, Bank
of Nevada Savings & Trust Co. of
Reno, Carson Valley Bank of Carson
and John S. Cook & Co., Bankers, of
Goldfleld. In addition he is president
of the Goldfleld Consolidated Mines
Co., and of numerous other mining cor-
porations, and has extensive ranch and
live stock interests.

Mr. Wingfleld believes in spending
his money where he made it. He has
done many things for Nevada, simply
because he thought it would help make
it grow and prosper — where the profit
to himself was very little or nothing.

338

HYRUM SMITH WOOLLEY

EVERYTHING that Hyrum Smith
Woolley has undertaken in the
way of business has been on an
unusually large scale. When he
was ranching in Idaho he had a place
of 15,000 acres; when, later on, he fur-
nished the timber for the construction
of the Oregon Short
Line, he furnished all
the timber; today he is
back of a big mining
development project in
which 40,000 acres of
rich alumina nitrate
bearing lands are in-
volved.

Mr. 'Woolley is a na-
tive of Salt Lake City,
Utah. He was born
July 16, 1852, the son
of Edwin D. Woolley,
merchant and farmer,
and of Mary Ellen
(Wilding) Woolley.
Between the ages of
seven and sixteen Mr.
Woolley attended
school in the winter
and worked during the
summer months. Cir-
cumstances made it
necessary that he be-
gin earning a liveli-
hood, and the remain-
der of his education he
has gained in the great
school of business.

Upon striking out
for himself, Mr. Woolley determined to
learn the blacksmithing trade. He se-
cured a position as apprentice, and so
rapidly did he advance himself that six
months later he was doing a journey-
man's work, and in two years had be-
come a full-fledged journeyman. He
broke all records and took the State
prize by completing the building of a
wagon within a year after he entered
the business.

For four years Mr. Woolley carried
on his trade. Then, seized with the
wanderlust, he went to the Sandwich
Islands. He became proficient in speak-
ing the Hawaiian language and for four
years was in charge of a sugar factory
on the plantation of Laiea, Island of
Oahu. Returning to the continent in
1877, he took over a 15,000-acre ranch in
Bannock County, Idaho, and began oper-
ating it. At the same time he started a
general merchandise store at Paris,
Bear Lake County, Idaho.

When the construction of the Oregon
Short Line began in 1882, from McCam-
mon, Idaho, to Ham's Pork, Wyoming,
Mr. Woolley secured ' the contract to
furnish all the necessary timber fbr
ties and bridges. The right to cut tim-
ber from along the 180-mile right-of-
way was vested in him by the Govern-
ment. Mr. Woolley delivered every
stick of the wood by wagon. He had
as high as 150 teams of horses going
at once on hauls ranging from 10 to
150 miles, and had seven portable saw-
mills in full operation. He did not com-
plete his 'work until 1883.

In 1885 Mr. Woolley's store was
burned down and thereafter for ten
years he confined himself to ranching.
He handled from 5,000 to 10,000- head of
cattle each year, and when Colonel W.
F. Cody ("Buffalo Bill") opened his
Wild West show at the Chicago World's
Fair, Mr. Woolley fur-
nished him his, initial
150 head of horses.

Leaving Idaho in
1895, Mr. Woolley went
to New York City and
engaged in mining and
land promotion. In
1900, the year of the
big gold rush to .Nome,
he organized, with Ja-
cob Furst of Seattlei
the Pacific Abstract
Title & Trust Com-
pany, with headquar-
ters at Nome. He had
charge of this business
until 1901, when ill-
ness compelled him to
give it up and return
to New York.

In 1901 Mr. Woolley
invented the Woolley
Smokeless Furnace,
which is still the best
smokeless furnace i n
the world which acts
by natural draft. Be-
tween, 800 and 1,000
, of the furnaces are
in use in Pittsburgh
alone today. Mr. Woolley disposed
of his patent, however, some years
ago-.

Mr. Woolley returned west to Nevada
in 1907, and was interested in mining
there until 1910, when he went to Port-
land and from there came to California,
settling near Crescent City, where he
has remained most of the time since
and where he at present has a large
land project.

It was while investigating a placer
mining property in Harney County,
Oregon, that Mr. Woolley discovered a
vast deposit of 40,000 acres of alumina
nitrate. Under his direction the land
has been located for development.
From present indications this is the
largest and highest grade deposit of its
kind ever found in the United States,
and the discovery is considered of par-
ticular importance because it is believed
it will make the United States Govern-
ment entirely independent of Chile and
the German Empire for its supply of
nitrates, and related products, so nec-
essary in, the manufacture of explosives.
Chemical analysis of the Harney County
ore has shown a contei t of 20 per cent
potassium nitrate and 23 per cent
alumina, and even the residue, red
oxide of iron, is of commercial value.
Mr. Woolley's time is at present de-
voted to the development of this
project.

In 1873 Mr. Woolley was married in
Salt Lake City to Minerva Rich. He is
the father of nine children, eight of
whom are still living.

339

CHARLES E. PIPER

THE man who has a reputation
for straight dealing: among his
fellows has something . whose
monetary value to him is ex-
ceeded only by its mor-
al value. Such a rep-
utation has Charles B.
Piper, attorney at law,
of San Francisco. No
lawyer stands higher
in this respect than he.
A judge on this
Coast tells of a case
tried a few years ago
in Seattle in which the
attorneys for the
plaintiff, believing the
case could not be won,
abandoned it. The
plaintiff had a just
cause but the evidence
available was over-
whelmingly for the de-
fendant. When the evi-
dence was all in spec-
tators and witnesses
went home, taking for
granted what the ver-
dict would be. The de-
fense attorney declined
to argue the case, say-
ing there could be but
one verdict and that for his client.
The trial judge communicated to Mr.

Piper that it would be a waste of
time to argue the matter to the jury.
The clerk and bailiff volunteered to
tell him that he was a fool for trying
such a one-sided issue.
Mr. Piper made his
argument, however,
and the jury rendered
a verdict in full for
the plaintiff.

Mr Piper was born
in Illinois in 1872. He
completed the courses
prescribed in the public
schools, business col-
lege, classical college,
divinity sphool, college
of law and schools of
oratory. He attended
Yale University i n
1898-1899. He received
the collegiate degree
of A. B. in 1898 and the
law degree of LL. B.
in 1903. He does a gen-
eral practice and from
the beginning has had
unusual success.

Mr. Piper is a mem-
ber of the Greek letter
fraternity A. T. O., a
Knight Templar, mem-
ber of the 32nd degree Scottish Bite
and of the Mystic Shrine.

J. A. ELSTON

J A. Blston, United States Congress-
man-elect from the Sixth District
• of California, owes his being sent
to Washington as a representative
of the people to the fact that he has
constantly applied himself to his work.

Congressman Blston was born at
Woodland, California,
February 10, 1875. The
basis of his education
h e received in Hes-
perian College o f
Woodland, of which
his father, A. M.
Blston, for a quarter
of a century was presi-
dent. Following his
graduation in 1892, Mr.
Elston entered the Uni-
versity of California,
which he left in 1897
with the degree of Ph.
B. One year he was
president of the Asso-
ciated Student Body,
another editor of the
University of Califor-
n i a Magazine, played
baseball and belonged
t o t h e Delta Upsilon
fraternity and the Phi
Beta Kappa honor
fraternity. For two
years, 1911-13, he was
president of the Uni-
versity Alumni Asso-
ciation.

For a year following
his graduation Mr. Elston was principal
of the public schools of Watsonville.
Then for a year and a half he was prin-

cipal of the Intermediate High School of
Berkeley and a member of the Alameda
County Board of Education. In the fall
of 1899 he was admitted to the bar, be-
ginning his practice in San Francisco.
His first public office was his appoint-
ment as executive secretary to Governor
Pardee. He held the
position for a little
more than three years
"when he became pri-
vate secretary, vice A.
B. Nye, who became
State Comptroller.
For two years Mr.
Elston was attorney
for the State Board of
Health, resigning to
engage in private law
practice, with offices in
Berkeley and Oakland.
In 1911 he was ap-
pointed by Governor
Johnson to the board
of trustees of the State
Institution for the
Deaf and Blind, re-
signing in 1914 upon
his election to Con-
gress by a plurality of
nearly 6,000 votes.

Congressman Blston
was married in May,
1911, to Miss Tallu-
lah Lie Conte, grand-
daughter of Professor
John L,e Conte, first
president of the University of California.
They have one child, a daughter, two
years old. —

340

STUART CHISHOLM

HOW inconsistent it is, says Stuart
Chisholm, for one who erects
a magnificent house costing fif-
teen or twenty thousand dollars
to neglect to beautify
the surrounding land-
scape, the home's set-
ting. For the outdoors,
particularly in Cali-
fornia, is as much our
real home as the house
itself.

Stuart Chisholm,
landscape architect,
went to Europe and for
three years he delved
into this and into gen-
eral principles of art
and composition, vis-
iting dozens of famous
gardens in France,
Germany, Italy, Eng-
land and Scotland. In
1914 he again spent six
months abroad, in
England, in an inten-
sive study of formal
gardening.

Since 1910 Mr. Chis-
holm has been practic-
ing landscaping in Cal-
ifornia. The first two
years were marked by
his connection with the
planting of the 800-
acre estate of F. W. Sharon at Menlo
Park. Subsequently he landscaped the
estates of William Cranston and E. J.

Thomas at Los Altos, that of Gale
Carter in Marin County and that of Mor-
timer Fleishhacker at Woodside. He
also laid out the grounds for the Illin-
ois State Building at
the Panama - Pacific
Exposition.

Perhaps Mr. C h i s -
holm's most distinctive
work thus far has been
on the beautiful Alex-
a n d e r Russell home
bordering the sea
along the Great High-
way. Reclaimed from
the wind-blown sand
dunes, the garden has
upset horticultural
rules right and left.

Several months of
the present year Mr.
Chisholm spent in the
East where he planned
a number of land-
scaped estates^ includ-
ing those of G. Brinton
Roberts and Dr. Alfred
Stengel of Philadel-
phia; E. Nelson Fell,
"Creedmoor," Warren-
ton, Va. ; Lucien Keith,
Colonel Dorst, and
Fairfax Harrison, all
of Warrenton, Va. ; John
S. Barbour of Wash-
ington, D. C, and the 800 acres of G.
Temple Gwathmey at Fauquier Springs,
Va., along the Rappahannock P.iver.

341

Index to Journalism in

California

v , and

Pacific Coast

and

Exposition Biographies

INDEX

Journalism in California

— A—

ABEND ZEITUNG, career of, v-37.

ACCESSORY TRANSIT CO., proposes
to dig a canal, vi-48.

ADAMS PRESS, invented 1835, v-35.

ADVERTISEMENTS, preponderate

over reading matter in 1850, ii-11; ad-
vertisers not eager for big type, vii-53;
growth of summer resort, xx-166; great
volume of in Golden Jubilee edition of
Chronicle, xxiii-190.

AGITATIONS, sand lot troubles, xii-91..

AGRICULTURE, earliest Americans
found hopes on, i-6, expansion of cereal
industry, vi-51; development of in State,
vi-51; waning glory of cereal crops,
xv-120.

ALASKA, gold discoveries in the Klon-
dike, xviii-151.

ALTA CALIFORNIA, San Francisco's
first daily, ii-15; career of, v-36; ab-
sorbs Times, ix-73; its publication office
and editorial rooms, xiii-99; its many
changes of ownership, xiii-100; David C.
Broderick one time owner of, xii-100; de-
clining prestige of, xvi-125; disappear-
ance of, xviii-145; sold to McCrellish &
Co., xviii-145.

AMERICAN, career of, v-37.

AMERICAN FLAG, charges that Leg-
islature was corrupted, vii-61.

AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION,
uses railway wires, xvi-129.

ANDERSEN, E. J., first secretary of
Charles de Young, xvi-132; writer on
naval subjects, xvi-132.

ANNEXATION, California by the
United States, i-1; of Cuba favored,
iii-20.

ANNUAL EDITIONS, a Chronicle fea-
ture, xv-120; Chronicle prints 80-page an-
nual 1907, xxi-176.

ANZA, Juan Baptista de, names Mis-
sion Dolores, i-1.

ARGONAUT, under management of
Somers & Pixley, xiii-105.
. ARIZONA, Chronicle advocates admis-
sion of to Union, xviii-150.

ASSOCIATED PRESS, see also West-
ern Associated Press, New York Asso-
ciated Press and Chronicle Press Asso-
ciation, xvi-130; New York, its early
patrons in California, xvi-129.

ATHENAEUM and California Critic,
career of, v-37.

ATHERTON, Gertrude, her early in-
clination for journalism, xix-160.

AUSTRALIA, much space to intelli-
gence from, ii-12.

AUTHORS, their contributions made
acceptable by illustrations, xix-155.

AUTHORS' CARNIVAL, Chronicle re-
ports at great length, xv-118.

AVIATION, Chronicle pictures its fu-
ture in 1881, xiii-103.

— B—

BANKING, loose methods, x-82; failure
of Bank of California, x-81; Bank of
California rehabilitated, x-83; Nevada.
Bank founded, x-83; San Francisco banks
victimized by Pinney, xi-87; several
banks close as result of Pinney's frauds-
xi-87; exposure of loose methods by
Chronicle cause adoption of laws to regu-
late, xi-89; Commission, created as re-
sult of Pinney exposure, xi-89.

BAGGETT, W. T„ Hearst's agent in
purchase of Examiner, xvi-126. •

BALLINGER, Frank, reporter and city,
editor, xiii-105.

BARNES, W. H. L., defends Evening
Post and is decorated, x-79; makes speecn
at Midwinter Exposition ground break-
ing, xvii-140.

BARNES, George E., criticises work of
early reporters, vii-57.

BARTLBTT, Washington A, fixes
name of San Francisco, i-7. ^

BARTLETT, William, editorial writer
for Bulletin, xviii-146.

BAUSMAN, William, editorial writer,
xiii-105.

BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO, discovered
by Portola's hunting party, i-2; entrance
named by Fremont, i-2; Captain Richard-
son monopolizes its traffic, i-3 ; importance
of recognized, vi-47; water front troubles,
vi-49; attempt to change bulkhead line
frustrated, vi-49; dock constructed at
Hunter's Point vi-50; offer to improve
San Francisco water front, vi-50.

BEECHER TRIAL, reported at great
length by San Francisco papers, xiv-114.

BENICIA, fails to appropriate name
San Francisco, i-7.

BENJAMIN, Benny, sporting editor of
Chronicle, xxi-177.

BENNETT, Ira E., star reporter and
Washington correspondent of Chronicle,
xix-159.

BENTON, CRITIC, career of, v-37.

BIG BONANZA, discovery of creates
excitement, x-79; enormous output of the
mines, xi-84.

BIERCE, Ambrose, his work on News
Letter, xiii-105; on staff of Examiner,
xix-160.

BIGELOW, Harry, reporter and maga-
zine publisher, xix-159.

BIMETALLISM, book on by John P.
Young published in single edition of
Chronicle, xviii-151; Bimetallist of Lon-
don says publication of Young's book
was unprecedented newspaper enterprise,
xviii-152.

BLACK FLAGS, San Francisco Chron-
icle's correspondent interviews, xiii-104.

BOARD OF EQUALIZATION, created
by Constitution of 1879, xii-95.

BOHEMIAN CLUB, honors memory of
Daniel O'Connell, xiii-106; newspaper
members of, xvi-114.

345

346

Index

BOSSISM, Chris Buckley, Democratic
"boss, xviii-748; people indifferent to its
consequences, xxi-171.

BOWMAN, J. F., death of in 1881,
xvi-432.

BRANNAN, Samuel, leader of Mormon
■colony, i-4; withdraws from Mormon
Colony, i-6.

BRIDGE, first bridge built in Cali-
fornia, i-3.

BRODBRICK, David C, his early
career, iv-26; killed in duel by Terry,
vi-44; political career, vi-45; Legislature
honors his memory, vii-59; one time
owner of Alta California, xiii-100.

BROOKLYN, brings Mormon colony to
Terba Buena, i-4.

BONNER, John, editorial writer of
The Chronicle, xix-159.

BOOTH, Newton, vetoes bill to relieve
Harry Meiggs of criminal charges, iv-32.

BRTCE, James, English historian,
criticises Constitution of 1879, xii-91;
says Chronicle was well written, xiii-103.

BUCKLEY, Chris, the blind boss of
the Democrats, xviii-147; advocates dol-
lar limit, xx-163.

BUGLE, career of, v-37.

BULKHEAD LINE, San Francisco har-
Ibor, vi-49.

BULLETIN (San Francisco), first pub-
lished in 1855, ii-15; its sudden rise of
popularity, iv-27; advocates lynch law,
iv-28; strenuously advocates retrench-
ment, v-34; abandons general for specific
headings, ix-73; course of shaped by
George K. Fitch, ix-73; vehemently op-
poses Goat island scheme, ix-75; its early
literary supplement, xiii-99; its publica-
tion office and editorial rooms, xiii-99; a
morning paper in early days, xiii-100;
ignores railway abuses after 1879, xvi-
125; avoids, big heads, xviii-14 6; old
timers applaud its hostility to expendi-
ture, xviii-146; opposes Spring Valley
■purchase, xviii-147; conduct under man-
agement of R. A. Crothers, xx-162; Fre-
mont Older, managing editor, xx-162; one
of three daily survivors from pioneer
■days, xxii-180.

BUNKER. "William M., sells Evening
Report, xviii-145.

BURKE, H. J., reporter on Call,
xiii-104.

BURLINGAME, W. D., cashier of
■Chronicle, xxi-177.

BURNHAM & ROOT, architects of
■Chronicle building, Market, Geary and
Kearny streets, xvii-135; devise a plan
for beautifying San Francisco, xx-166.

BUSINESS, promoted by adhering to
gold money, vii-61.

— c—

CALIFORNIA. Commodore Sloat's
proclamation of possession, i-1; made
free State by Monterey convention,
iii-19; State division projects, vi-45; lo-
cation of State Capital, vi-47.

CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE, career of,
v-37.

CALIFORNIA FARMER, career of,
V-37.

CALIFORNIA MAIL, career of, v-37.

CALIFORNIA REGISTER, career of,
v-37.

CALIFORNIA STAR, first newspaper
published in Yerba Buena, i-4; first num-
ber appears, i-6; issues a boost paper,
i-6; original copy in Memorial Museum,
ii-8; career of, v-36.

CALIFORNIAN, first paper published
in California, i-5; its defective plant, i-5;
removes to San Francisco, i-5; career of
v-36.

CALL (San Francisco), issued at 12%
cents a week, ix-73; under joint owner-
ship of Fitch, Simonton and Pickering,
ix-73; its publication office and editorial
rooms, xiii-99; fails as co-operative ven-
ture, xiii-100; installs a French printing
press, xiii-100; indifferent to railway
regulation, xvi-125; purchased by John
D. Spreckels, xviii-146; avoids big heads,
xviii-146; changes made after its pur-
chase by Spreckels, xviii-149; acquisition
of by Spreckels results in more vigorous
methods, xx-162; suspends publication
for several weeks, xxi-176; changes of
ownership of, xxii-180; sold to M. H. de
Young, xxii-180; extinction of causes
much comment, xxii-181.

CANALS, early consideration of de-
sirability of linking Atlantic and Pa-
cific, vi-47; "Vanderbilt's Nicaragua
project, vi-48.

CANNON, Frank J., Coast exchange
editor Chronicle, xvi-133; elected United
States Senator, xvi-133.

CAPITAL, location of State, vi-47.

CARTOONS, increasing use of, xx-16S.

CASEY, James P., assailed by James
King of William in Bulletin, iv-29;
shoots James King of William, iv-29;
hanged by the Vigilantes, iv-30.

CATHOLIC STANDARD, career of,
v-37.

CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILWAY, its
originators, ix-75; tries to grab Goat
island, ix-75.

CHALK PROCESS, described, xvi-130;
used in newspaper illustrating, xvi-130.

CHARTERS (San Francisco), adoption
of prevented by fear of expenditure,
xviii-146; adoption of that of 1898,
xx-162; cause of rejection of several,
xx-161; small votes cast at election for,
xx-162.

CHARITIES, newspapers mainstay of,
xx-167; lives of inmates of Children's
Hospital and Relief Home brightened,
xxii-186; toys sent to orphans of war,
xxii-186.

CHESLEY, James G., cashier of
Chronicle, xxi-177.

CHINA, conquest of advocated by San
Francisco editor, iii-21.

CHINESE, crusade against immigra-
tion, xv-120; vote of California on exclu-
sion, xv-120.

CHIROGRAPHY, bad handwriting of
Joaquin Miller, xix-158.

CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE, career of,
v-37.

CHRISTIAN OBSERVER, career of,
v-37.

CHRYSOPHYLAE, first name given to
Golden Gate, i-2.

CHRONICLE, see San Francisco
Chronicle.

Index

347

CHRONICLE PRESS ASSOCIATION,
formed by M. H. de Young, xvi-129;
patrons of, xvi-129.

CITY EDITOR, duties of, xix-157.
CITY EDITORS, use made by them of
telephone, xix-157; of Chronicle, 1870-
1896, S. P. Sutherland, A. B. Henderson,
Horace R. Hudson, Thomas Garrett,
Ernest S. Simpson, xix-160.

CITY HALL, its excessive cost due to
conservatism, xviii-146; built on install-
ment plan, xviii-147; not satisfactory
architecturally, xviii-147.

CIVIC CENTER, plans for projected,
xx-166.

CIVIC IMPROVEMENT, first public
work in California, i-3; Ralston's ener-
getic promotion of, x-81.

CIVIL WAR, makes business prosper-
ous in San Francisco, v-36; stimulates
desire for news, vi-42; editorial discus-
sion on eve of, vi-43; high cost of news
paper during, vii-57; inadequate accounts
of local movements, vii-58; attempt of
Southern sympathizers to capture a Pa-
cific Mail steamer, vii-58; a minister who
sympathized with the South, vii-60; Cali-
fornia attitude not clearly understood,
vii-61; history of specially written for
Chronicle, xv-121.

CIRCULATION, small editions printed
in pioneer days, iv-28.

CLIMATE, a favorite topic in the 50s,
v-41; Chronicle's exploitation of glories
of California, xv-121; that of California
eulogized by Chronicle, xviii-150; Tetraz-
zini sings in open air on Christmas eve,
1910, xxi-178.

CLIPPER ships, interest in their ex-
ploits, vi-48.

CLUBS, formation of women's in San
Francisco, xx-167.

COFFEY, James V., editorial writer
and reporter, xiii-105; member of Legis-
lature and chairman of San Francisco
delegation, xiii-105; many times re-
elected to Superior Judgeship, xiii-105.

COLEMAN, William T., opposes con-
certed withdrawal of patronage from
Herald, iv-30.

COLTON & SEMPLE, first publishers
of California, i-5.

COLONIES, from South objected to,
iii-20.

COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION, M. H.
de Young appointed Commissioner-at-
Large by President Harrison, xvii-137.
COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER, v-37.
COMMITTEE OF FIFTY, in 1906, its
admirable work, xxi-171.

COMSTOCK, discoveries give impetus
to business, ix-77.

COMPOSING ROOM, it ceases to dic-
tate to the editor, vii-53; economies ef-
fected by machines offset by innovations,
xix-156.

CONSOLIDATION ACT, increases po-
lice force, 1856; bristled with prohibi-
tions, v-39; its system of checks and
balances, xviii-146.

CONSTITUTION, first convention at
Monterey, iii-19.

CONSTITUTION of 1879, misrepre-
sented, xii-91; antagonized by corpora-
1 tions, xii-92; fight for financed by
Chronicle, xii-92; not a sand lot instru-
ment xii-93; convention called before
sand lot troubles, xii-93; convention

called by Legislature of 1875-76, xii-D3;
land and railway monopoly cause con-
vention for to be called, xii-93; election
in favor of calling convention, xii-93;
modifies rigors of libel law, xii-94; adop-
tion of, xii-94; thoroughly discussed,
xii-94; interests seek to prevent discus-
sion by hiring all halls, xii-95; antici-
pated modern reforms, xii-95; vote for
and against, xii-95; popular indifference
causes sacrifice of reforms of, xii-95; did
not drive out capital, xii-95; ends land
monopoly, xv-119; anticipated recent re-
form movements, xvi-124.

CO-OPERATION, newspapers fruit of,
xix-153.

CORA, hanged by the Vigilantes, iv-30.

CORRUPTION, combined interests an-
tagonize Constitution of 1879, xii-92.

CORTISSOZ, Royal, his criticism of
the P. P. I. E., xxiii-192.

CORYN, Sydney, writes History of
Civil War for Chronicle, xv-121.

COSGRAVE, James O'Hara, publisher
of Wave, xix-160.

COURIER, career of, v-37.

COURTS, corrupted and justice para-
lyzed, iv-25; Bulletin menaces Court and
jury, iv-28.

CRAFT, Miss Mabel, Sunday editpr of
Chronicle, xix-159.

CRIME, briefly reported, ii-12; rampant
between 1849-51, ii-12; not promoted by
extended accounts of, ii-12, 13; criminal
element not in the majority in 1856,
iv-25; killing of Richardson by Cora,
iv-28; criminal element sides with James
P. Casey, iv-29; the true cause of in-
solence of law-defying class, iv-31; crim-
inal element ceases to be assertive, v-34.

CROTHERS, R. A., conducts Bulletin,
xx-162.

CUBA, annexation of advocated, iii-20.

CURRENT OPINION, of New York,
founded by Fred Somers, xiii-105.

— D—

DAGGETT, Rolin M., editorial writer
of The Chronicle, xix-159.

DAILY MAIL, writers and contribu-
tors, xiii-106; its career and demise,
xiii-106.

DAM, Harry J., Chronicle reporter,
makes London success, xvi-133.

DAVIS, Sam, reporter and publisher,
xiii-105.

DEL MAR, Alexander, authority on
subject of money, xvi-133; regular con-
tributor to Chronicle, xvi-133.

DEMOCRATIC PRESS, predecessor of
San Francisco Examiner, vii-63.

DEMOKRAT, German, career of, v-37;
one of the three survivors from the 50s,
xxii-180.

DENSMORE, G. B., editorial writer
and dramatic critic, xiii-105.

DEPRESSION of business in 1857,
v-34' that following election of Grover
Cleveland, xvii-137; workingmen claim to-
have removed it, xx-163.

DEVELOPMENT, Chronicle annuals a,
record of State's progress, xv-121.

DEWEY, W. S., reporter and special
writer, xiii-105.

348

Index

De YOUNG (brothers Charles and
M. H.), organize party favoring Consti-
tution of 1879, xii-92; exhibit their confi-
dence in future of San Francisco, xiv-108.

De YOUNG,, Charles, with his brother,
M. H., starts the San Francisco Chronicle,
viii-64; insists on proper nominations,
xi-88; his consideration for employes,
xiii-107; brings first electric lamps from
Paris in 1878, xiv-109; his great faith in
future of electric lighting, xiv-109; death
of in 1880, xv-117.

De YOUNG, Charles (son of M. H.),
receives his baptism of fire, xxi-174;
takes charge of circulation after fire,
xxi-174; made business manager of
Chronicle, xxi-176; made publisher of The
Chronicle, xxi-176; superintends handling
of Reno prize fight report, xxi-177; his
lively interest in public affairs, xxi-178;
induces Tetrazzini to sing in open air in
San Francisco, xxi-178; director of P.-P.
I. E., xxi-178; brightens lives of children
in hospitals, xxii-186, death of, Septem-
ber 17, 1913, xxi-179.

De YOUNG, M. H., and his brother,
Charles, start Dramatic Chronicle, viii-
64; manages business of Chronicle, viU-
65; assumes full control of Chronicle,
xv-117; prominent in councils of Repub-
lican party, xvi-127; forms Chronicle
Press Association, xvi-128; erects first
skyscraper in San Francisco, xvii-135
appointed National Commissioner-at
Large to Columbian Exposition, xvii-137
elected vice-president of National Com
mission,. Columbian Exposition, xvii-137
suggests holding Midwinter Exposition
in San Francisco, xvii-137; subscribes
$5,000 to Midwinter Exposition project,
xvii-138; chosen president and director-
general of Midwinter Exposition, xvii-
139; makes speech telling hearers that
Midwinter Exposition will save them
frone depression, xvii-140; makes protec-
tion advocacy leading policy of Chronicle,
xviii-152; political activities, xx-165;
builds seventeen-story annex to Chron-
icle, xxi-171 ; his speedy determination
to restore Chronicle building, xxi-175;
purchases San Francisco Call, xxii-180;
celebrates fiftieth anniversary continu-
ous ownership of Chronicle, xxii-180; at-
taches of paper present him with album
of employes, xxii-184; his work in build-
ing up Memorial Museum in Golden Gate
Park, xxii-185; director of P.-P. I. E.,
xxi-178; subscribes $25,000 to P.-P. I. E.,
xxi-178; congratulations tendered him on
completing his fiftieth year of ownership
of Chronicle, xxiii-190.

DIAMOND MINE SWINDLE, account
of in Chronicle, xiv-112.

DIME NOVELS, Sunday magazines
drive out low-grade stories, xiii-99.

DOLLAR LIMIT, the slogan of Chris
Buckley, xviii-147; slogan helps Chris
Buckley, xx-163.

DOLORES, Mission, named by Juan
Bautista de Anza, i-1.

DOUGHFACES, anti-slavery Demo-
crats eve of Civil War, vi-45.

DRAMA, criticism of a leading feature
in fifties, v-41; love of San Franciscans
for, viii-64; Tremenhere Johns, first
dramatic critic of Chronicle, viii-67;
theater district in the eighties, xiv-110.

DRAMATIC CHRONICLE, first name
of San Francisco Chronicle, viii-64; name

changed to Daily Morning Chronicle, ix-
71.

DRED SCOTT DECISION, editors di-
vided concerning, vi-43.

DUELLO, personal encounters com-
mon, ii-14; succinct reports of "affairs of
honor," ii-15; senior editor of Alta killed,
ii-15; David C. Broderick killed by Terry,
vi-44.

_E—

' EARTHQUAKES, report of that of
1868 by Chronicle, ix-72; Chronicle's re-
port of the Inyo and picture of, xvi-111;
erection of Chronicle's steel building im-
parts confidence, xvii-136.

EARTHQUAKE, of 1906, xxi-171; ad-
mirable work of Committee of Ffty, xxi-
171; newspapers strive to get out extras,
xxi-172; Chronicle, Examiner and Call
issue a joint paper, xxi-173; weakens in-
terest in outside news, xxi-174; work per-
formed by newspapers in reorganizing
community, xxi-175; fire destroys all
newspaper plants, xxi-175; cause of de-
struction of Chronicle building, xxi-175;
followed by speedy rehabilitation of city,
xxi-175: three months after Chronicle
prints fourteen pages daily, xxi-176.

EDITORS, vigorous writers held in.
great eeteem, ii-14; little concerned about
circulation, v-35; serious minded in the
fifties, v-39; fire eaters, but harmless,
v-40; all around workers, xiii-104; Samuel
Seabough's vigorous style, xii-106;
marked accession of capable writers in
eighties, xvi-131; a trio of bright writers,
xvi-134.

EDITORIAL, deemed more important
than news, ii-14; disappearance of pre-
dicted, xviii-148.

EDUCATION, college graduates nu-
merous, v-40; history of published by
Chronicle,, xvi-127.

ELECTRICITY, its use for power pur-
poses not anticipated in 1878, xiv-110.

ELECTRIC LIGHT, Chronicle in-
stalls first lamps in America, xiv-109;
Chronicle's new Kearny street build-
ing illuminated with, xiv-110.

ELECTIONS, ballot box stuffing in
1856, iv-25; good men and low taxes de-
manded after '56, vi-42; numerous for
obtaining a charter, xx-162; celebration
of triumph of W. P. C, xx-163.

ELIOT, Joseph R., business manager of
Chronicle, xxi-176.

EXAMINER, founded' 1865. viii-63;
started by trained journalists, viii-63;
preached orthodox Democratic doctrine
in early days, xiii-105; passes into pos-
session of George Hearst, xvi-126; osten-
tatious neglect of editorial feature, xvii-
148; ceases to be orthodox Democratic,
xviii-149; its early advocacy of free
trade, xviii-149; Ambrose Bierce, Charles
F. Holder, Ashton Stephens members of
staff, xix-160; assists Chronicle in get-
ting out paper, xx-164: maintains- a
shack corner Market and Third streets
after fire, xxi-176.

EXCLUSION, Chinese laborers ex-
cluded by Congress, xv-120.

EXPOSITIONS, see Midwinter, Colum-
bian and Panama-Pacific; opening of the
Panama-Pacific International, xxiii-192.

EVANS, Taliesin, . editorial writer for
Chronicle, xix-159.

Index

349

EVENING POST, takes up cudgels for
sailors, x-78.

EVENING REPORT, career and death
of, xvili-145; killed by reduction to 1
cent, xviii-145. i

— P—

PAIR, James G., one of big bonanza
owners, x-79; buys Alta, and it dies on
his hands, xviii-145.

FEDERAL, PATRONAGE, part played
by it in Vigilante uprising, iv-24.

FERNALD, Chester Bailey, his work
on The Chronicle, xix-159.

FILIBUSTERING, encouraged by San
Francisco press, iii-19; press generally
favors movements, iii-20; Walker's
schemes supported, ill-El; exploits of
Freneh adventurers, iii-22.

FILLMORE street, newspaper offices
maintained on for several months,
xxi-176.

FIRE, concise description of an early
conflagration, ii-12; Chronicle's tower
destroyed by, xx-164; the great fire of
1906, xxi-171.

FIREMEN'S JOURNAL, career of,
V-37.

FITCH, George H., joins The Chronicle
In 1880, xvi-132; author of numerous
books, xvi-132; book reviewer of Chron-
icle for thirty-five years, xvi-132; gets
out Chronicle in Herald office, Oakland,
xxi-174.

FITCH, George K., part owner of Call,
ix-73; shapes policies of Bulletin, ix-73.

FLOOD, James C, one of big bonanza
owners, x-79.

FLTNN, Thomas E., first sporting
editor of Chronicle, xiii-103.

FRANCE, French Consul implicated
in filibustering schemes, iii-22.

FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR, fully re-
ported in San Francisco newspapers, -
xiv-114.

FREAKING, displaces methodical ar-
rangement of reading matter, xvi-131;
departure from ordinary usage in type-
setting and display, xix-156.

FREE TRADE, Samuel S. Moffat,
writes defense of for Examiner, xviii-
149.

FREMONT, first exploring party, i-2;
names entrance to Bay of San Francisco
Chrysophylae, i-2; Pathfinder founded to
advocate his election, v-37.

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE, a fea-
ture of early Sunday magazine, xix-155.

FOURGEAD, Dr. Victor J., author of
first boost prospectus, i-6.

FOWLER, W. H. B., made business
manager of Chronicle, xxi-176.

FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT, attitude
toward, iii-20.

— G—

GAMBLING, effects of passion for,
x-80; in mining stocks, ix-77; collapse of
mining stock, xv-116.

GARRETT, Thomas, city editor of
Chronicle, xix-160.

GASSAWAY, Frank, reporter and
author, xiii-105.

GEARY, John W., first Mayor of San
Francisco's message, ii-12.

GEORGE, Henry, his San Francisco
career, x-78; does editorial work for
Chronicle, x-79; made good wages as a
printer, xiii-101; favors Chinese immi-
gration, xiii-102; never destitute in San
Francisco, xiii-102; in enjoyment of
political sinecure when he wrote
"Progress and Poverty," xiii-102; opposed
to Constitution of 1879, xiii-102; his
theory and predictions falsified by events,
xv-119.

GLASSFORD, Colonel W. A., signal
service officer, assists Chronicle in pro-
moting a warning service, xvi-127.

GLOBE, career of, v-37.

GOAT ISLAND, effort to secure for
railway terminal, ix-75.

GOLD, earliest discovery in Los An-
geles county, i-2; early discovery barely
mentioned in first boost paper, i-6; dis-
covery of at Sutter's Mill, i-2; California
experienced no difficulty maintaining it
as a circulating medium, vii-62; dis-
covered in the Klondike, xviii-151.

GOLDEN ERA, career of, v-37.

GOLDEN GATE, first named Chrys-
ophylae by Fremont, i-2.

GOLDEN GATE PARK, opposition to
its use for Midwinter Exposition over-
come, xvii-140; a barren waste converted
into a garden, xvii-140; profits from Mid-
winter Exposition, xvii-143; money voted
for extension of Panhandle of, xx-163.

GOLDEN JUBILEE EDITION of San
Francisco Chronicle, January 16, 1915,
xxiii-190; contains twelve pages of ex-
position matter, xxiii-193.

GOODMAN, Joseph, author, special
writer and reporter, xiii-105.

GRANT RECEPTION, San Francisco's
welcome to ex-President, xv-118.

GRAND ARMY OF REPUBLIC, his-
tory of organization in Chronicle, xv-121.

GREATHOUSE, Clarence, editor of
Examiner, ■ xvi-126; appointed Consul-
General to Korea, xvi-126.

GREELY, General, extols value of
Chronicle's meteorological experiment,
xvi-128.

GREENBACKS, dealt in on the ex-
changes, vii-61.

— H—

HALFTONES, made for newspapers,
xvi-131; use of in Sunday magazines,
xix-155.

HAMILTON, Edward, his work on the
Examiner, xix-159.

HANSBROUGH, Henry C, news editor
of Chronicle, xvi-132; elected United
States Senator, xvi-132.

HART, Will N, reporter and special
writer, xiii-105.

HARTE, Bret, an early contributor of
The Chronicle, viii-66; possible resurrec-
tion of some uncopyrighted material,
viii-66; contributions of not copyrighted,
ix-71; writes "Through the Santa Clara
Wheat" for The Chronicle, xvii-137. ,

HAWAII, its relations with San Fran-
cisco, xviii-150; special editions devoted
to by Chronicle, xviii-151; story of an-
nexation in Chronicle, xviii-151.

HA WES, Horace, framer of Consolida-
tion act, v-39.

350

Index

HEARST, George, Examiner acquired
to forward his "political aspirations, xvi-
126; becomes United States Senator,
xvi-126.

HEARST, William R., intimates that
editorial is to become a negligible factor,
xviii-148.

HENDERSON, A. B., city editor
Chronicle under Charles de Young,
xiii-104; managing editor of Examiner,
xix-160.

HERALD (San Francisco), champions
Law and Order party, iv-30; leading
newspaper up to time of Vigilante up-
rising, iv-30; career of, v-27.

HERALD (Oakland), affords Chronicle
facilities after Are, xxi-174.

HERON, Matilda, an actress who ob-
jected to being called fat, viii-68.

HINCKLEY, William Sturgis, first
Alcalde of Yerba Buena, 1-3.

HISTORY, special numbers of Chron-
icle devoted to, xv-121; Chronicle prints
details of its progress during twenty-five
years of its existence, xvii-136; special
edition of Chronicle on development of
California under Spanish and American
rule, xviii-149.

HOLDER, Charles P., member of Ex-
aminer staff, xix-160.

HORTICULTURE, editors slow to per-
ceive its possibilities, vi-51; vastly bene-
fited by institution of Chronicle's warn-
ing service, xvi-127.

HOSPITALITY, missions extend to all
travelers, i-2.

HULL, Chester, reporter and special
writer, xiii-105.

HUME, Hugh, publisher of the Wave,
xix-160.

HUNTER'S POINT DOCK, constructed
by Dock and Wharf Company, vi-50.

—I—

ILLUSTRATIONS, picture of Booth
assassinating Lincoln published by
Chronicle, viii-69; Inyo earthquake pic-
tured in 1872, xiv-112; attempt to illus-
trate author's carnival, xv-118; one and
a half artists in 1879, xv-118; growing
use of pictures, xv-121; improvement in
character of, xvi-130; use of dropped for
a period, xvi-130; use of becomes com-
mon, xvi-130; use of chalk process,
xvi-130; Mark Twain's. chalk process pat-
ent, xvi-130; zinc etchings, xvi-131; in-
troduction of color printing, xix-155; pic-
tures add to popularity of Sunday maga-
zines, xix-155; improvement in use of
colors, xix-155; growth of the use of
color in, xx-168; cartoons, xx-168; half-
tones of Reno prize fight printed morn-
ing after in Chronicle, xxi-177.

IMMIGRATION, discouraged by Span-
iards and Mexicans, i-5.

IMPROVEMENTS, hostility of Bul-
letin and Call to expenditures for, xviii-
148; adoption of charter of 1898 followed
by agitation for, xx-163; millions voted
for Panhandle roadway to Park, xx-163;
city beautiful idea, xx-166; David A.
Burnham's plan for city, xx-166.

INCIVICISM, San Franciscans indif-
ferent to civic duty, iii-17; shirking of
duty by pioneers, iv-25; true cause of de-
fiance of law, iv-31 ; attention to political
duties increases, vi-42; neglect of people

nullifies reforms of Constitution of 1879,
xii-95; failure of people to insist on car-
rying out reforms of Constitution of 1879,
xvi-124; small votes cast at charter elec-
tions, xx-162; people fail to heed warn-
ings of newspapers, xxi-170.

INDEX CARD SYSTEM, installed in
Chronicle office in 1879, xiv-110.

INDIANS, padres devoted to saving
their souls, i-2; taught music by the mis-
sionaries, i-2; apprehenhions concerning
wild, i-5 ; Modoc war, last uprising in
California, xiv-112.

IRRIGATION, special editions of
Chronicle devoted to, xviii-149.

IRWIN, Wallace, reports for Chron-
icle, xix-159.

IRWIN, Will, Sunday editor of Chron-
icle, xix-159.

JAPAN, manufacturing industries of,
book on by John P. Young, published in
Chronicle, xviii-152.

JAPANESE EDITION published by
Chronicle, xxii-188.

JASON, collier, carries to Europe toys
and clothing collected by Chronicle*
xxii-186.

JOHNS, Tremenhere, first dramatic
critic of Chronicle, viii-67.

JOHNSON, George Penn, one of
founders of Examiner, viii-63.

JOHNSON, Grove L., author of retrac-
tion bill, xii-93.

JONES, E. P., editor California Star,
i-6.

JOURNALISM, resorted to by college
bred men, v-40; Chronicle examples of
kind that "does things," xiv-111.

JOURNALISM IN CALIFORNIA, a
twenty-two-page article on in Chronicle's.
Golden Jubilee edition, xviii-191.

JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, career of,
v-37; one of three survivors from pioneer
days, xxii-180.

JUNTA, of People's party make secret
nominations, vi-42.

— K—

KEARNEY, Denis, part in sand-lot
troubles, xii-93.

KING, 'James of William, wages a.
patronage fight, iv-24; assaults upon
Broderick, iv-26; his salutatory in the
Bulletin, iv-26; shot by Casey, iv-29; dies
from his wounds, iv-30.

KLONDIKE, gold discovered in 1897,
xviii-151.

KNIGHTS TEMPLARS, specially pre-
pared history of in Chronicle, xv-121.

— L—

LABOR, Chinese exclusion law passed,
xv-120.

LA CHRONICA, Spanish, career of,
v-37.

LAGOON, separating North Beach and
district south of San Francisco, i-3.

LA GRANGE, Oscar H., Superintend-
ent of Mint, xi-85.

Index

351

LAND, frauds not severely criticised
tiy press, 3-17; advocady of private
ownership general, iii-18; prices of town
lots, iii-18; squatter troubles, iii-18; lit-
tle or no demand for town lots, iii-18;
fraudulent Limantour grant claim, iii-18;
lower morale of community, iii-19; Mexi-
can and Spanish grants regarded as an
obstacle to development, vi-51; monopoly
of dreaded, x-78; big grants of to rail-
ways not antagonized at first, x-79; an-
tagonism to monopoly of, xii-93; big
holdings broken up, xv-119; of city sold
to procure money to build City Hall,
xviii-147.

LANE, Franklin K., reporter and New
Tork correspondent of Chronicle, xvi-133;
appointed Secretary of Interior, xvi-133;
eulogizes the Panama-Pacific Interna-
tional Exposition, xxiii-192.

LARKIN, Thomas O., with M. G-
"Vallejo, starts Benicia, i-7.

LATHROP, Barbour, reporter on Call,
xiii-104.

LAWRENCE, Andrew, reporter for
Chronicle, xix-159.

LE CALIPORNIAN, French, career of,
v-37.

LEESE, Jacob Primer, starts first store
in Yerba Buena, i-3.

LEGISLATURE, corrupted by rail-
way managers, ix-76; Stanford person-
ally supervises lobby, xii-93.

LETTER LISTS, published by Chron-
icle, xiv-113.

LIBEL, attempts to indict Chronicle
in every county in California, xi-85; law
amended by Legislature, 1877-78, xii-94;
Chronicle sued for exposing primary
frauds, xx-164.

LIBRARIES, Chronicle's contemporary
library, xiv-110; modern newspaper the
people's, xix-154; Chronicle's valuable
reference library destroyed, xxi-175.

LIMANTOUR, Jose J., claims nearly
whole of San Francisco, iii-18; his claim
adjudged fraudulent, iii-19,.

LINCOLN, carries State of California
in 1860, vii-59; news of his assassination
first published by Dramatic Chronicle,
vlii-68.

LINOTYPE, invention of Otto Mer-
genthaler, xix-155; becomes accepted
typesetting machine, xix-156; its econ-
omies offset by innovations, xix-156.

LITERATURE, author's productions
appear in newspapers before book pub-
lication, xix-154; part played by the Sun-
day magazine in promoting, xix-154;
modern newspapers present best, xix-154;
contributions came slowly when Sunday
magazine first started, xix-155; disregard
of shorthand develops facile writing,
xix-158; army of writers recruited from
newspaper press, xix-158.

LOAN SHARKS, Chronicle strikes a
blow at their business, xxii-187.

LOPEZ, Francisco, discovers gold in
Los Angeles, in 1841, i-2.

LOS ANGELES, connected by wire
with San Francisco, ii-11; the Chronicle
its friend when it needed one, xviii-150.

LOUGHEAD, Florence Apponyi, first
woman reporter, xv-119.

LUMBERING whipsaw" sole depend-
ence until 184 3, i-4: Stephen Smith estab-
lishes first sawmill, i-4.

LYNCH, Jeremiah, on early news
transmission, vi-42; writes pamphlet,
against Buckley, xviii-148.

LYNCH LAW, prevalent in pioneer
period, ii-12; Casey and Cora hanged by
Vigilantes, iv-30.

LYON, George E., his portrait work in
Chronicle, xx-169.

— M—

MACKAYE, Robert, reporter for
Chronicle, xix-159.

MACKEY, John W., one of big bonanza
owners, x-79.

MAGUIRE, Thomas, sues the Chron-
icle, viii-68.

MAKE UP, methodical arrangement of
reading matter, xvi-131.

MANIFEST DESTINY, Californians
believers in, iii-21.

MANUFACTURING, only crudest
articles produced by neophytes, i-4; pro-
moted -by W. C. Ralston, x-81.

MARITIME, natives no inclination for
the sea, i-4.

MARIOTT, Frederick, founder of
News Letter, xiii-105.

MARCONI, general use of wireless by
newspapers, xxii-181.

MARK TWAIN, writes for The
Chronicle, viii-66j boosted by The Chron-
icle, ix-71; patents chalk process of il-
lustrating, xvi-130.

MARSHALL, discovers gold at Sutter's
Mill, i-2.

MARKET STREET, its desolate con-
dition after the fire, xxi-175.

MCCARTHY, D. O., editor of American
Flag, vii-60.

McCLURE, S. S., originator of the-
newspaper syndicate, xix-154.

McCRELLISH & CO- Fred, buys Alta.
California in 1858, xviii-145.

McDONALD, Calvin B., startles readers-
by using "caps" in an editorial, vii-53;
denounces Copperheads, vii-60.

McDONALD, Mark, secures Daily Mail
to make his Senatorial fight, viii-106.

McDOWELL, Harry, reporter for Ex-
aminer, xix-159.

McEWEN, Arthur, special writer and
author, xiii-105.

MEIGGS, Harry, his meteoric career,
iv-31; flees.' from San Francisco owing
$8p0,000, iv-31; makes fortune in Peru
and pays his creditors, iv-31; failure of
attempts to lift indictments against him,
iv-32.

MEMORIAL MUSEUM, a legacy from
the Midwinter Exposition, xvii-143.

MERGER, California's first newspaper
combination, ii-15.

MERGENTHALER, Otto, invents lino-
type, xix-155.

METEOROLOGY, Chronicle takes a.
lively interest in, xvi-127; present land
warnings due to Chronicle's efforts, xvi-
128; General Greely extols value of
Chronicle's experiments, xvi-128.

MEXICO, revolts from Spain, i-1; the
victim of filibustering attempts, iii-21;
plots against by French adventurers,
iii-22.

MIDWINTER EXPOSITION, sug-
gestion made by M. H. de Young to hold

352

Index

one in San Francisco, xvij-137; M. II.
de Young suggests holding it in Golden
Gate Park, xvii-137; financed wholly by
private subscriptions, xvii-137; Citizens'
Committee of Fifty chooses M. H. de
Young as director-general, xvii-139; ad-
visory board of, xvii-139; amount sub-
scribed by citizens, xvii-139; occupies 200
acres, Golden Gate Park, xvii-140; cere-
mony of ground breaking, ■ xvii-140;
opened on January 1, 1894, xvii-140; 150
buildings erected in four months, xvii-
140; description of buildings, xvii-141;
use of color causes the fair buildings to
be called "Opal City," xvii-141; cost of
buildings, xvii-141; ceremonial opening,
January 29, 1894, xvii-142; figures of at-
tendance, xvii-142; a financial success,
xvii-143; special Chronicle edition de-
voted describing State's progress, xviii-
150; growth of Memorial Museum, xvii-
185.

MILLARD, Frank Bailey, commences
newspaper career on Chronicle, xix-159.

MILLER, Joaquin, contributes to
Chronicle, ix-72; articles consigned to
waste basket because illegibly written,
xix-158.

MINING, agriculture beginning to
share interest with it, vi-52; Comstock
discoveries give impetus to business,
ix-77; stock exchanges formed, ix-77; the
Big Bonanza discovery, x-79; the owners
of the Big Bonanza mine, x-79; Big
Bonanza discovery calls new papers into
existence, x-80; stock gambling general,
x-80; great fluctuations in stock quota-
tions, x-81; struggle for control of mine
causes failure of Bank of California,
x-81; stock assessments eat up people's
substance, x-83; George M. Pinney as a
mining operator and stock broker, xi-85;
last big stock deal, xv-116; legislation
against wash sales of stocks, xv-117;
legitimate industry and stock gambling
confused, xv-117; oil industry slighted in
early days, xv-117; subsidence of stock
excitement causes death of two papers,
xviii-145.'

MISSIONARIES, devoted to saving
souls of Indians, i-2; ignorant of outside
world, i-2; history of California missions
written for Chronicle, xv-121.

MISSIONS, located at suitable inter-
vals, i-2; Dolores named by De Anza,
1-1; links in chain of intelligence, i-2;
few books possessed by them, i-4;
Captain Richardson gathers up their
products, i-4. *•

MISSOURIANS, inducements offered
them to settle, i-7.

MOB RULE, Vigilance Committee's
action denounced as, iv-24.

MODOC WAR, San Francisco Chron-
icle's account of, xiv-112.

MOFFATT, Samuel S., writes book on
free trade for Examiner, xviii-149.

MOFRAT, de, hears Indians sing mass
to tune of Marseillaise," i-2.

MONEY,, Californian aversion for
paper money.' vii-61 ; greenbacks refused
circulation, vii-61; effects of adoption of
specific contract act, vii-61; merchants
profit by adherence to gold money, vii-
61; San Francisco aversion for pennies,
xviii-145.
1 MONTEREY, hears of gold discovery,
vi-42; first paper in ■California published
there, i-5.

MONOPOLY, newspapers antagonize
Dock and Wharf Company's offer to im-

prove water front, vi-50; of land dreaded,
x-78; railway land grants not antag-
onized at first, x-79; land and railway
cause of calling Constitutional conven-
tion, xii-93; fears _ of land absorption
vanish, xv-119; a subject for Eastern
newspaper jokesmith, xvi-124; none in
newsgathering, xviii-144.

MORALS, public, land frauds under-
mine, iii-19.

MORGUE, adopted by Chronicle in
early seventies, xiv-110.

MORMONS, issue California Star in
Yerba Buena, i-4.

MORMON COLONY, brings printing
press, i-4.

MOSS, William S., one of founders of
Examiner, viii-63.

MUNICIPAL, corruption boldly at-
tacked, ii-14; assaults upon corruption
ineffective because of the overshadowing
slavery question, iii-23; gross extrava-
gance and corruption prior to 1856, iv-25;
expenditures greatly reduced by People's
party, iv-25; offices sold to highest bidder,
iv-27; lax methods of accounting, iv-31;
no civic improvements made for many
years, v-33; ingrained fear of corruption,
v-34; retrenchment after 1856, v-34; Con-
solidation act a barrier to extravagance.
v-39; People's party junta names tickets,
vi-42; San Francisco bonds Itself to aid
Southern Pacific, ix-75; pay-as-you-go
policy costly, xv, xviii-146; acquisition
of Spring "Valley water works opposed,
xviii-147; expenditures without improve-
ments, xvlii-148; difficulty of obtaining
a charter for San Francisco, xx-161;
Consolidation act replaced by a charter
in 1898, xx-162; heavy expenditures but
no improvements, xx-163; extravagance
and turpitude, xx-163; Schmitz elected a
third time, xx-163.

MUSEUM, Midwinter Memorial, con-
tains first California press, ii-8; con-
tains copies of earliest papers. i'--8:
growth of Midwinter memorial in Golden
Gate Park, xxii-185.

MULFORD, Prentice, contributor of
special articles, ix-71; his descriptions
of miners and mining camp scenes, xvi-
133.

NAPOLEON, III., probable instigator
of filibustering schemes, iii-22.

NATIONAL, career of, v-37.

NATIVES, easy mode of life, 1-1; not
addicted to reading, i-4; discourage im-
migration, i-5.

NAUGHTON, W. W., sporting editor cf
Chronicle, xvi-133.

NAVIGATION, strong interest in,
vi-48.

NAVAL IRREGULARITIES, Mon-
taigne, Hanscom and Jordan charged
with, xi-187.

NAVY PAY CERTIFICATES, value-
less paper accepted by banks, xi-S7.

NERI, Father, his demonstration of
electric lighting, xiv-110.

NESFIELD, (David, editorial writer
Daily Mail, xiii-106.

NEVADA BANK, founded by Flood,
O'Brien and Mackey, x-83.

NEWS, transmitted through the mis-
sions. i-2; of gold discovery weeks reach-
ing Monterey, i-2; not rapidly transmit-

Index

353

ted to Californian, i-5; early papers de-
ficient in, ii-9; received by steamer, ii-10;
steamer editions in early days, ii-10; lit-
tle space accorded to its presentation,
ii-10; conciseness a feature of presenta-
tion, ii-10; by overland stage line, ii-10;
"by Pony Express, ii-10; Point Lobos tela-
graph constructed, ii-10; Los Angeles a
poor base in early days, ii-ll; reporting
not highly developed, ii-ll; important
events briefly treated, ii-12; ; mining in-
telligence chiefly copied, ii-12; municipal
documents quoted at length, ii-12; first
Mayor of San Francisco's message, ii-12;
intelligence from . Australia accorded
much space, ii-12; crime briefly reported,
ii-12; subordinated to editorial, ii-14j use
of telegraph increases during sixties,
ix-73; Chronicle Press Association
formed, xvi-129; Chronicle secures New
"York Associated Press franchise, xvi-129;
American Press Association, xvi-129;
California patrons of New York Asso-
ciated Press, xvi-129; gathered by phone,
xix-156; general use of wireless tele-
graph, xxii-181; always enough to All up
with, xix-157; care taken by modern
newspapers to verify, xxii-184.

NEWSPAPERS and their activities;
Yerba Buena had no paper before the
occupation, i-3; California Star, first
paper published in Yerba Buena, i-4;
Colton & Semple first publishers in Cali-
fornia, i-5; the plant of the Calif or-
"nian, i-5; Californian moves from
Monterey- to San Francisco, i-5; first
boost edition published in California, 1-6;
liven up Yerba Buena after occupation,
i-6; Pony Express started by New York
publishers, ii-9 ; papers published in East
before occupation, ii-9; twelve dailies in
1853, ii-10; a specimen daily of 1850,
ii-ll; boldly attack municipal corruption,
ii-14; those of pioneer days merely
pamphlets, ii-14; editorial columns popu-
lar, ii-14; personal journalism rampant,
ii-14; anonymity a characteristic of early
publications, ii-14; editors in personal
encounters, ii-14; ephemeral existence of
«arly publications, ii-15; San Francisco's
first daily, ii-15; not much capital re-
quired to start them, ii-16; not profitable,
ii-15; San Francisco'^ first batch, ii-15;
ndt severe critics of land frauds, iii-17;
pioneer editors well informed, iii-19:
encouragement of filibustering by, iii-19;
editors favor annexation movements, iii-
20; favor annexation of Cuba, iii-20; ad-
vocate annexation of China, iii-21;
slavery the engrossing - subject, iii-22; ab-
sorption in rational affairs diverts atten-
tion from local evils, iii-23; James King
of William's personalities, iv-26: small
circulations in pioneer clays, iv-28', Vigi-
lance Committee of 1856 causes with-
drawal of advertising from Herald, iv-
30; absence of conventionalism, iv-31;
much space devoted to slavery discus-
sion, v-35; little attention devoted tp
literature, art, etc., v-35; not paying en-
terprises during fifties, v-35; publisher
and editor combined in one person, v-35;
lack of attractive features in pioneer
days, v-36; list of those published dur-
ing fifties, v-36; equipment of an office
during the fifties, v-36; editors produce
the sensations, v-35; Sunday weeklies,.
v-37; their limited appeal in the fifties,
v-38; produced by small forces, v-38;
those of the fifties filled with scandals,
v-39; editors who dropped into poetry,
v-39; college bred men resort to jour-
nalism, v-40; editorial rivalry intense

in fifties, v-40; public partial to editorial
"scrapping," v-40; dramatic criticism a
prominent feature, v-41; early discus-
sions of climate, v-41; telegraph pro-
motes disposition to amplify, vi-42 ; opin-
ions in demand prior to Civil War, vi-42;
defend acts of Vigilance Committee, vi-
44; discuss Broderick-Terry duel, vi-44;
little interest in State division question,
vi-45; not poncerned over State capital
location, vi-47; a unit on importance of
bay of San Francisco, vi-47; maritime re-
ports a feature, vi-48; insistent demand
for low taxes retards improvements, vi-
50; brag about big wheat farms, vi-51;
list of survivors of Civil War, vii-54;an
extensive mortality list, vi-53; slow im-
provement in journalistic methods, vii-53
dominance of the composing room, vii-53
flamboyant typography avoided, vii-53
advertisers not exacting as to typog-
raphy, vii-53; effect of reduction of paper
prices, vii-57; George E. Barnes criticises
early reporting, vii-57; names of some of
early reporters, vii-57; reporting during
the sixties, vii-58 : unsatisfactory reports
of local movements during Civil , War,
vii-58; activity in editorial columns dur-
ing Civil War, vii-59; San Francisco jour-
nals with Southern proclivities, vii-59;
mobs gut offices of Confederate sym-
pathizers, vii-GO; attitude toward specific
contract act, vii-61; prevent scaling of
debts by threats of ostracism, vii-62; San
Francisco Chronicle founded, viii-63;
foundation of San Francisco Examiner,
viii-63; Dramatic Chronicle first name of
San Francisco Chronicle, viii-64; their
early home, viii-65; assassination of
Lincoln, illustrated by Chronicle, viii-69;
Bret Harte, Mark Twain and Joaquin
Miller contributors to Chronicle, ix-71-
72; Chronicle reports earthquake of 1868;
in extras, ix-72; make-up of dailies dur-
ing sixties, ix-73; Alta absorbs Time's,
ix-73; Call published at 12 y 2 cents a
week, ix-73; Bulletin and Call under
same ownership, ix-73; build great hopes
on completion of overland railway, ix-74 ;
hostility of to converting Goat island
into railway terminal, ix-75; attitude of
toward mining stock gambling, ix-77;
Chronicle's assaults on land monopoly,
x-79; affected by discovery of Big
Bonanza, x-80; expose mining stock
manipulators, x-81; warn people of
danger of mining stock speculation, x-S3;
attempt to institute libel suits against
Chronicle in every county, xi-85; as a
source for historical information, xii-
91; Chronicle's advocacy of Constitution
of 1879; xii-92; antagonists of Constitu-
tion of 1879 try to drive Chronicle out
of business, xii-92; Eastern press ill in-
formed concerning Constitution of 1879,
xii-93; retraction bill introduced in Leg-
islature, xii-93; libel law amended con-
fining actions to a single county, xii-94;
career of Chronicle typifies development
of journalism, xiii-97: heads modest and
otherwise, xiii-9S; Chronicle introduces
innovations in heading, xiii-97: Chronicle
issues first eight-page edition, xiii-99;
advent of "Sunday magazine, xiii-99; low-
grade-literary offerings, xiii-99; journal-
istic conservatism illustrated by the Bul-
letin, xiii-99; modest quarters of early
journals, xiii-99; makeshift quarters of
in 'early clays, xiii-100; a co-operative
failure, xiii-100; career of Loring Picker-
ing, xiii-100; changes in ownership of
Alta California, xiii-100: J. W. Simonton,
Pacific Coast manager New York Asso-

354

Index

ciated Press, xiii-100; four-page editions
maintain their vogue, xiii-101; hand com-
position and cost of, xiii-101; Robert
Louis Stevenson's newspaper work, xiii-
102; San Francisco Chronicle well writ-
ten, xiii-103; growth of Sunday magazine,
xiii-103; limited space accorded to sports
in early days, xiii-103; reporters who
could do all around work, xiii-104; a list
of well-known writers of the eighties,
xiii-105; Examiner's devotion to orthodox
Democracy, xiii-105; editors politically
honored, xiii-105; Samuel Seabough's
vigorous editorials, xiii-106; John P.
Young made managing editor Chronicle
in 1878, xiii-107; Chronicle moves into
its Kearny and Bush street building, xiv-
108; Chronicle's Kearny-street first San
Francisco building specially constructed
for a newspaper, xiv-108; equipment of
the new Chronicle office, xiv-108; San
Francisco Chronicle inaugurates index
card system in its library, xiv-110;
Chronicle indexed, xiv-110; Whitelaw
Reid says Chronicle has best library sys-
tem in country, xiv-111; French attach
great importance to interview in Chron-
icle with Henri Rochefort, xiv-113; pub-
lication of overland passenger list, xiv-
113; publication of letter list by Chron-
icle, xiv-113; methods of still provincial
in the eighties, xiv-113; take lively inter-
est in outside world, xiv-114; reports of
Franco-Prussian war, xiv-114; complain
that Eastern press minimizes Pacific
Coast happenings, xiv-115; account of
Grant reception by Chronicle an unprec-
edented feat of reporting, xv-118;
Chronicle employs first woman reporter,
xv-119; big promotion editions, xv-120;
the days when there were party organs,
xvi-123; San Francisco Chronicle's unr
aided fight against railway abuses, xvi-
125; Examiner appears as a morning
paper, xvi-126; Chronicle a pronounced
advocate of protection, xvi-127; Chron-
icle's weather warnings an instance of
Journalism that does things, xvi-127;
Call, Bulletin and Sacramento Union
patrons of New York Associated Press,
xvi-129; American Press Association, xvi-
129; Chronicle Press Association formed,
xvi-129; improvement in character of il-
lustrations, xvi-130; zinc etched plates'
used in illustrating, xvi-131; methodical
make up of matter, xvi-131; number of
capable writers increases during the
eighties, xvi-131; Chronicle attaches pro-
moted to high positions, xvi-132;
McEwen, Flynn and Goodman start a
weekly, xvi-134; erection of skyscraper
of Chronicle an instance of journalism
that does things, xvii-136; comparison il-
lustrating growth of Chronicle, xvii-137;
prosperity promotes development of
journalism, xviii-144; no monopoly in
news gathering, xviii-144; only become
great bv the slow process of upbuilding,
xviii-145; vicissitudes and decease of Alta
California, xviii-145; disappearance of
Stock Exchange, xviii-145; Evening Re-
port killed by reduction to 1 cent, xviii-
145; Call purchased by John D. Spreckels,
xviii-146; editorial writers for Bulletin
and Call, xviii-146; on municipal acquisi-
tion of water system, xviii-147; contro-
versies over street improvements, xviii-
148; disappearance of the editorial pre-
dicted, xviii-148; Charles M. Shortridge
editor of the Call, xviii-149; Chronicle's
special irrigation editions, xviii-149;
their attitude toward Hawaiian annexa-
ton, xviii-150; publication of Young's

Bimetallism or Monometallism in a
single issue of Chronicle an unprece-
dented newspaper feat, xviii-152; cheap-
est of all manufactured products, xix-
153; fruit of co-operation, xix-153;
the people's library, xix-154; print
best products of modern literature, xix-
154; Sunday magazine the people's,
library, xix-154; the rewards they offer
the author, xix-154; introduction of type-
setting machines, xix-155; introduction
and use of telephone by, xix-156; care
taken by modern to verify reports, xix-
157; the pressure of matter, xix-157; ef-
forts made to verify stories, xix-157;
use of typewriting machines, xiX-158;
shorthand reports not common, xix-158;
literary ranks recruited from, xix-158;
expose irregularities of municipal gov-
ernment, xx-163; destruction by fire of
Chronicle tower, xx-164: Sehmitz-Ruef
crowd bring suits against Chronicle, xx-
164; President Roosevelt applauds Chron-
icle monograph on modern trusts, xx-165;
growth of summer resort advertising,
xx-166; help charitable undertakings..
xx-167; report women's club activities,
xx-167; growing use of color illustra-
tion, xx-168; growth of cartooning in,
xx-168; continue to assail Ruef-Schmitz
methods, xxi-170; part played by them in
the great fire, xxi-171; efforts of staffs,
to avoid break in publication, xxi-172;
joint edition of Chronicle, Examiner and
Call,, xxi-173; Fillmore street their
headquarters, xxi-174; slight interest in
telegraphic news for a time, xxi-174;
many pages of small ads of inquiry, xxi-
174; plants of all San Francisco papers
destroyed in 1906, xxi-175; Chronicle
prints sixty-two-page Sunday editions.
November, 1906, xxi-176; Chronicle's re-
port of Jeffries-Johnson fight at Reno,
xxi-177; longest telegraphic report ever-
sent to Coast, xxi-177; death of Charles,
son of M. H. de Young, September 17,
1913, xxi-179; number of publications in
California 1912, xxii-180; German Demo-
krat, Bulletin and Journal of Commerce
survivors from pidneer days, xxii-180;
San Francisco becomes a two-morning-
daily city, xxii-181; general use of wire-
less telegraph by, xxii-181; many editions
printed by those of San Francisco, xxii-
182; suburban editions printed by San.
Francisco papers, xxii-182; special trains
tised to send out early editions, xxii-182j
many changes in make up, xxii-182p
labors of night editor greatly increased,
xxii-182; cheapest of manufactured:
products, xxii-183; number of employes
of Chronicle 1915, xxii-184; care taken
to verify statements, xxii-lS4; Chronicle,
publishes Japanese and Pan-American,
special editions, xxii-188; "Journalism in
California," by John P. Young, written
for Chronicle's Jubilee Edition, xxiii-191;
part played by them in making a suc-
cess of the Panama-Pacific International
Exposition, xxiii-193.

NEW YORK ASSOCIATED PRESS,
J. W. Simonton Pacific Coast manager,
xiii-100; Chronicle secures franchise,
from, xvi-129; Call. Bulletin and Sacra-
mento Union its patrons, xvi-129.

NEWS LETTER, office gutted by union
mob, vii-60: founded by Frederick Mar-
riott, xiii-105.

NEUTRALITY, not respected, 111-21.

NICARAGUA ROUTE, canal projected
by Vanderbilt, vi-48.

Index

355

NIGHT EDITOR, many changes in
make up increases his work, xxii-182.

NON-PARTISANISM, People's parties
.After 1856, vi-42.

NORRIS, Frank, receives inspiration
in Chronicle office, xix-160.

NORTH BEACH, attempt of Harry
Meiggs to boost, iv-31.

NUGENT. John, founds Herald, v-37.

—0—

O'BRIEN, William, one of big bonanza
owners, x-79.

O'CONNELL, Daniel, reporter and
special writer, xiii-105 ; Bohemians honor
with annual dinner, xiii-106.

ODD FELLOWS, specially prepared
history of in Chronicle, xv-121.

OLDER, Fremont, managing editor of
Bulletin, xx-162.

O'MEARA, James, on editorial rivalry
In the fifties, v-40; his account of Brod-
erick-Terry duel, vi-46.

OPAL CITY, name given to Midwinter
Exposition, xvii-141.

OUTING EDITIONS, of San Francisco
Chronicle, xx-167.

OVERLAND STAGE LINE, news by,
il-10.

— P—

PACIFIC, career of the, v-36.

PACIFIC COAST, Chronicle its cham-
pion, xviii-150.

PACIFIC MAIL STEAMSHIP COM-
PANY, attempt of Southerners to capture
its vessels, vii-58.

PALACE HOTEL, construction started
by Ralston, x-82.

PAGE, Horace F., member of Con-
gress, charged with buying votes, xi-87.

PANICS, effects of that of 1857, v-34.

PAN-AMERICAN EDITION published
by Chronicle, xxii-188.

PANAMA CANAL, proposals th,at an-
ticipated its construction, vi-48.

PANAMA-PACIFIC INTER-

NATIONAL EXPOSITION, opened Feb-
ruary 20, 1915, xxiii-192; attendance,
xxiii-192; appreciation of by Eastern and
foreign critics, xxiii-192; Chronicle
devotes twelve pages to description in its
Jubilee Edition, xxiii-193.

PALL MALL GAZETTE, false stories
concerning Stevenson in San Francisco,
xxiii-102.

PAPER, high cost of white news
paper during the war, vii-57; cost of
white hews in big Sunday editions, xix-
153.

PARIS OF AMERICA, W. C. Ralston
aimed to make San Francisco, x-92; city
beautiful idea in San Francisco, xx-166.

POLITICAL, divisions in Democratic
ranks, iv-26; nominations sold, iv-27;
Law and Order party advocates not all
mob sympathizers, iv-29; People's party
formed as result of "Vigilante uprising,
v-33; People's party makes nominations
in secret, vi-42; mixed condition of Dem-
ocratic party, vi-45; rapid decline of
Southern Democrats after 1860, viil-59;
local Republican boss helps Pinney to
escape, xi-85; Republican bossism, xl-85;

Pinney as manipulator, xi-85; San Fran-
cisco Chronicle a Republican paper, but
not an organ, x-88; Republicans defeated
as result of Finney's exposures, xi-88;
Senatorial aspirants seek newspaper
help, xiii-106; when Democratic editors
opposed centralization, xvi-123; Buckley
Democratic boss, xviii-148; Buckley puts
good men at head of his party, xviii-148;
claims of Ruef and Schmitz, xx-163; suc-
cess of the Workingmen, xx-163.

PATHFINDER, career of the, v-37.

PATRONAGE, offices sold for money.

PAVEMENTS, hostility of Bulletin to
smooth, xviii-148

PEOPLE'S PARTY, makes big reduc-
tions in expenditures, iv-25; outcome of
Vigilante uprising, v-33; its opposition to
improvement, xviii-146.

PERSONAL JOURNALISM, preva-
lence of, ii-14; in 1856, iv-26; applauded
by pioneers, iv-28; utter absence of con-
ventionality in pioneer press, iv-31.

PETROLEUM, no interest in its de-
velopment in early days, xv-117.

PHOTOGRAPHY, use in newspaper il-
lustrating processes, xvi-131.

PICAYUNE, Evening, career of the
San Francisco, v-37.

PICKERING, Loring, part owner of
San Francisco Call, ix-73; controls course
of Call, ix-73; relations of proprietors of
Call and Bulletin, xiii-100; his news-
paper career, xiii-100.

PICTORIAL TOWN TALK, v-37.

PINDRAY, Marquis de, plots against
Mexico, iii-22.

PINNEY, George M., chief clerk
United States Mint, xi-85; clerk in Navy
pay office, xi-85; fails as a stock broker
and absconds, xi-85; surrenders as a
deserter, xi-85; relation of his revela-
tions involve Chronicle in libel suits,
xi-87; witness for The Chronicle at
Placerville, xi-87; develops forgetfulness,
xi-87.

PIXLEY, Frank, editor and publisher,
xiii-105; his conduct of the Argonaut,
xiii-105; still in harness in late eighties,
xvi-131.

POETRY, editors addicted to quoting,
v-39.

POLICE, inadequate force during
pioneer period, ii-12; six constables in
San Francisco in 1849, v-39; force in-
creased in 1856, v-39.

POLICE GAZETTE, career of, v-37.

POLK, Willis, draws designs for a
thirty-seven-story Chronicle building,
xxii-189.

POND, E. B., Buckley's candidate for
Mayor, xviii-148.

PONY EXPRESS, New York papers
start one, ii-9; between Missouri river
and San Francisco, ii-10; arrival of first
rider, ii-10; dangers incurred by riders,
ii-11; beats telegraphic arrangements,
11-11.

POPULATION, California and San
Francisco in 1856, iv-28; slow growth
after 1856, vi-51.

PORTOLA, his hunting party dis-
covers bay of San Francisco, i-2.

PRESIDENT, career of the San Fran-
cisco, v-37.

PRIMARIES, ignored after 1856, vi-42;
efforts of Chronicle to secure honest,
xx-164.

356

Index

PRICES CURRENT, career of the
San Francisco, v-36.

PRINTERS, start San Francisco Call
and sell out, xiii-100.

PRINTING PRESS, first one used in
California, i-4; brought by Mormon
colony, i-4; earliest California in Golden
Gate Park Museum, ii-8; hand presses
in use, v-35; Adams steam-power press,
v-35; effect of introduction of rotary
presses, v-35; Hoe's first press, v-35;
first perfecting press in Cincinnati, v-36;
The Chronicle's four-cylinder, xiii-101;
San Francisco Call's French fast press,
xiii-101; Chronicle installs two Hoe per-
fecting, xiv-109.

PROMOTION, universality of boosting
habit, ii-9; first boost paper issued, i-6;
Harry Meigg's an active promoter of im-
provements, iv-31; Chronicle's big "Pros-
perity" edition, xv-120.

PROGRESS AND POVERTY, Henry
George's book, x-78; circumstances under
which it was written, xiii-102; its land
monopolization theories discredited, xv-
119.

PROSPECTS OF CALIFORNIA, title
of first boost paper, i-6.

PROSPERITY, promotes development
of journalism, xviii-144; cause of that
of San Francisco, xx-163; Schmitz and
Ruef claim to have made city prosperous,
xxi-170; city prosperous on eve of great
fire, xxi-171.

PROSPERITY EDITION, published
by Chronicle in 1882, xv-120.

PROTECTIVE POLICY, Chronicle's
stanch advocacy of, xvi-126; Chronicle
devotes eight pages to subject, xvi-127;
San Francisco Chronicle's devotion to
principles of, xviii-152; a Chronicle pre-
diction made in 1882 realized, xviii-152;
twelve-page presentation of merits of
system in Chronicle, xx-166.

PUBLIC BALANCE, career of the San
Francisco, v-37.

PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS, needed by
city, v-34.

— Br-

RAILWAYS, completion of overland
looked forward to, ix-74; early efforts
at monopoly by Central Pacific, ix-75;
attempt of Central Pacific to secure Goat
island, ix-75; San Francisco issues bonds
to Southern Pacific, ix-75; corrupt
methods of Central Pacific managers,
ix-76; when California had but one road,
ix-76; attitude of people toward at-
tempted monopoly, ix-76; last spike of
first overland driven, ix-76; all favor big
land grants to, x-79; Legislature domi-
nated by, xii-93; Central Pacific in-
stigates retraction act, xii-93; Consti-
tution of 1879 creates Commission with
plenary powers, xii-95; Henry George not
a victim of their oppression, xiii-101;
publication by newspapers of overland
passenger list, xiv-113; Interstate Com-
merce act entering wedge of regulation,
xvi-123; little fear of monopoly felt in
the East, xvi-124; how the Southern Pa-
cific beat attempts at regulation, xvi-124;
clever manipulation of Legislatures by,
xvi-125; California's venal commissions,
xvi-125; Chronicle's efforts to secure
regulation of, xvi-125; wires used to
transmit news, xvi-129.

RALSTON, W. C, his remarkable'
career, x-81; promotes manufactures and
other enterprises, x-81; tragic death of,
x-81

RAOUSSETT-BOULBON, Count Gaston
Raoul de, plots against Mexico, iii-22.

READING HABIT, its effect on devel-
opment of California, i-4.

REFORMS, aimed at by Constitution
of 1879, xiii-95.

REGULATION, opposed by Demo-
cratic press, xvi-123; attempts at rail-
way control in California, xvi-124.

REID, Whitelaw, his tribute to Chron-
icle's library system, xiv-111; his opin-
ion of future of reporting, xiii-104.

REMEDIAL LOAN ASSOCIATION,
formed through efforts of Chronicle,
xxii-187.

RENO, Johnson-Jeffries fight in 1910,
xxi-177.

REPORTING, conciseness a character-
istic of early, ii-11; duels briefly re-
corded in pioneer days, ii-15; not high-
ly developed in fifties, v-38; an early
editor criticizes work of reporters, vii-
57; not on a high plane during the sixties,.
vii-58; local room recruited from the
professions, xiii-104; future reporters to
be Macaulays, xiii-104; account of Grant
reception in Chronicle, xv-118; authors'
carnival reported at great length, xv-118;
Florence Apponyi Loughead, first woman
reporter, xv-119; reporters endeavor to
get the truth, xix-157; shorthand not
much employed, xix-158; longhand de-
velops facility of expression, xix-158;
San Francisco Chronicle sends dozen men
to report prize fight at Reno, xxi-177;
visible improvement over old methods,
xxii-184; qualifications of a modern re-
porter, xxii-184.

RETRACTION ACT, beaten in Legis-
lature, 1877-78, xii-93.

RICHARDSON, Captain, enjoys mo-
nopoly of bay traffic, i-3.

RICHARDSON, killing of by Cora, iv-
28.

RITCHIE, Anna Cora Mowatt, Lon-
don correspondent of Chronicle, ix-71.

ROACH, Philip A., one of founders of
Examiner, viii-63.

ROBERTSON, Peter, president of Bo-
hemian Club, xvi-132; author of "The
Seedy Gentleman," xvi-132; dramatic
critic of Chronicle, xvi-132.

ROBESON, Secor, Secretary of the
Navy, xi-87.

ROCHEFORT, Henri, interviewed by
Chronicle, xiv-113.

ROOSEVELT, Theodore, his attitude
on trusts, xx-165; his first visit to San
Francisco, xx-165.

RUEF, Abraham, his gang of "paint
eaters," xx-163.

— s—

SAN DIEGO, linked with San Fran-
cisco in chain of missions, i-2.

SAND LOT, disturbances fore-
shadowed, ix-76; and Constitution of
1879, xii-91; Denis Kearney's participa-
tion in, xii-93.

SAN FRANCISCO, connected by tele-
graph with San Jose and Point Lobos,
ii-10; first Vigilance Committee, ii-12;
name changed from Yerba Buena, i-7; in

Index

357

the eighties, xiv-109; peculiarities of its
people made much of, xiv-113; news-
pape .1 » methods indicate provincialism,
xiv-113.

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE,
founded 1865, viii-64; its boyish founders,
viii-64; started as "Dramatic Chronicle,"
viii-64; its humble beginnings, viii-64;
novel modes of expanding circulation,
viii-65; soon gains advertising patronage,
viii-66; its modest equipment, viii-65;
Mark Twain writes for, viii-66; Bret
Harte an early contributor, viii r 66; Tre-
menhere Johns, first dramatic critic, viii-
67; theater managers dislike its frank
criticism, viii-68; publishes first news of
Lincoln's assassination, viii-68; illustra-
ton of assassination of Lincoln, viii-69;
boosts Mark Twain, ix-71; Anna Cora
Mowatt Richie, first London correspond-
ent of, ix-71; Prentice Mulford contrib-
utor, ix-71; Dramatic Chronicle appears
as Daily Morning Chronicle, ix-71; Bret
Harte's uncopyrighted contributions, ix-
71; Joaquin Miller's contributions to, ix-
72; reports earthquake of 1868 in ex-
tenso, ix-72; Henry George writes for,
x-79; exposes mining stock manipulators,
x-81; Pinney's story published in, xi-85;
criminal libel suits instituted by Repub-
lican politicians, xi-85; tried for libel in
El Dorado county, x-87; charges H. F.
Page with buying votes, xi-87; a Repub-
lican paper but not an organ, xi-88;
causes adoption of law to regulate bank-
ing, xi-89; advocates adoption of Con-
stitution of 1879, xii-92; opponents of
Constitution of 1879 try to drive out of
business, xii-92; defies antagonists of
Constitution of 1879, xii-93; causes de-
feat of retraction act, xii-93; brings
about modification of libel law, xii-94;
its thorough discussion of Constitution
of 1879, xii-94; hires halls for advocates
of Constitution of 1879, xii-95; celebrates
victory of advocates of new Constitution,
xii-95; its career typifies development of
journalism, xiii-97; breaks away from set
headings, xiii-97; Sunday eight-page edi-
tion issued, xiii-99; its home before 1878,
xiii-101; relations with Robert Louis
Stevenson, xiii-102; James Bryce pays a
tribute to its writers, xiii-103; prophesies
future of aviation in 1881, xiii-103;
growth of Sunday magazine, xiii-103; a
training school for journalists, xiii-104';
Albert Sutliffe its correspondent in Tong
King, xiii-104; Samuel Seabough's vigor-
ous editorials, xiii-106; John P. Toung
becomes managing editor, 1878, xiii-107;
moves into its Kearny and Bush street
building, xiv-108; up to date equipment
of Kearny-street new home of, xiv-109;
installs two Hoe perfecting presses, xiv-
109; its Kearny-street building in heart
of theater district, xiv-110; index card
system installed in 1879, xiv-110; sub-
stitutes index card system for scrap
books, xiv-110; its advent in the field of
journalism that "does things," xiv-111;
its account of the diamond mine swindle,
xiv-112; its reports of Modoc war, xiv-
112; interviews Henri Rochefort, French
communists, xiv-113; success of its war
on stock gambling, xv-117; death of
Charles de Toung, xv-117; M. H. de
Toung assumes full control of, xv-117;
its report of Grant's reception, xv-118;
reports author's carnival at great length,
xv-118; first to employ woman reporter,
xv-119; leads successful fight against
Chinese immigration, xv-120; its pre-

dilection for statistics, xv-120; novel
reatures of its annual editions, xv-120-
its annuals record progress of State, xv-
121; prints histories in special numbers,
?oc ■ efforts to secure reforms, xvi-
}'Ji a s t an< * advocate of protection, xvi-
lz f! Publishes a history of education,
xvi-127; inaugurates a weather warning
service, xyi-127; secures franchise from
New Tork Associated Press, xvi-129;
?o e o°A rge Ham » lin Pitch Joins Chronicle in
1880, xvi-132; Vivian's articles in Sun-
day magazine, xvi-132; a training school
tor statesmen, xvi-132; its new building
at Market, Geary and Kearny streets,
xvn-135; establishes center of city, xvii-
136; its building in the heart of the city,
xvii-136; publishes sixty-page edition to
celebrate occupation of new building,
xvii-136; twenty-five years of growth
described, xvii-137; advocates purchase
of water system in 1877, xviii-147; advo-
cates smooth pavements, xviii-148; spe-
cial ' editions devoted to irrigation, xviii-
149; special edition on development of
State under Spanish and American rule,
xviii-149; its Midwinter Exposition edit-
tion, xvii-150; champions Pacific Coast
interests, xviii-150; urges climatic ad-
vantages of Southern California, xviii-
150; predicts two great cities in Cali-
fornia, xviii-150; story of Hawaiian an-
nexation by Walter Gifford Smith, xviii-
151; sends corps of correspondents to
Klondike, xviii-151; special Klondike edi-
tion July 29, 1897, xviii-151; publishes
Toung's "Bimetallism or Monometal-
lism," xviii-152; its devotion to princi-
ples of protection, xviii-152; difficulty
experienced getting suitable magazine
matter, xix-154; introduces telephone
into its new building, xix-156; Rollin M.
Daggett, Walter Gifford Smith, Taliesin
Evans, James O'Meara and Marcus P.
Wiggin, editorial writers for, xix-159;
George F. Weeks first Sunday editor, xix-
159; Frank Bailey Millard commences
career on, xix-159; some of its Sunday
editors, xix-159; city editors, 1870-1906,
xix-160; its exposures of graft, xx-163;
tower of its building burned during cele-
bration of W. P. C. victory, xx-164; as-
sists Fairfax Wheelan in effort to se-
cure fair primary election, xx-164; prints
monograph on trusts by John P. Toung,
xx-165; twelve-page article on protection
in 1894, xx-166; outing editions of, xx-
167; Davenport's cartoons, xx-168; ad-
dition to its building, xxi-170; attempts
to issue extra April 18, 1906, xxi-172;
Charles de Toung (son of M. H.) receives
his baptism of fire, xxi-174; printed in
Oakland Herald office, xxi-174; after big
fire establishes office on Fillmore street,
xxi-174; cause of destruction of its build-
ing, xxi-175; its valuable reference li-
brary destroyed, xxi-175; first downtown
building: to be restored after fire, xxi-175;
its Market-street quarters bustling three
months after fire, xxi-176; Charles de
Toung (son of M. H.) made business
manager, xxi-176; its various business
managers, xxi-176; W. H. B. Fowler
becomes business manager, xxi-176;
cashiers of, xxi-177; prints halftones of
Reno prize fight morning after event,
xxi-177; Tetrazzini sings in front of
Chronicle office, xxi-178; celebrates fif-
tieth anniversary, xxii-180; employes
present album to M. H. de Toung, xxii-
184; number of employes, xxii-184; col-
lects toys and clothing for war orphans,
xxii-186; causes formation of Remedial

'358

Index

Loan Association, xxii-187; Willis Polk
draws designs for a thirty-seven-story
building for, xxii-189; Golden Jubilee edi-
tion, January 16, 1915, xxiii-190; cele-
brates Golden Jubilee by publishing
"Journalism in California," a twenty-
two-page article, xxiii-191; defeats efforts
of Spring Valley to sell water system
.at an exorbitant figure, xxiii-194.

SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER, see
Examiner.

SAN FRANCISCO DOCK AND
WHARF COMPANY, offers to build
stone docks, vi-50.

SCHMITZ, Eugene, conditions during
his term of Mayoralty, xx-163; his third
election to Mayoralty, xx-163; claims to
have made city prosperous, xxi-170.

SCRAP BOOKS, discarded by Chron-
icle in 1880, xiv-110.

SCRIPPS LEAGUE, buys Evening Re-
port and makes a penny paper of it,
xviii-145

SEABOUGH, Samuel, editorial writer,
xiii-105; his attainments and methods of
writing, xiii-106.

SENSATIONS, found in editorial col-
umns, v-35.

SHARON, William, brings about re-
habilitation of Bank of California, x-82.

SHORTHAND, not much employed in
modern reporting, xix-158.

SHORTRIDGE, Charles M., becomes
-editor of the Call, xviii-149.

SIERRA NEVADA DEAL, end of stock
gambling excitement, xv-116.

SIGNAL SERVICE, co-operates with
Chronicle in testing value of weather
warnings, xvi-127.

SIGNED ARTICLES, rare in early
days, ii-14.

SIMONTON, James A., part owner of
San Francisco Call, ix-73.

SIMPSON, Ernest S., city editor of
Chronicle, xix-159.

SKYSCRAPERS, first tall building in
San Francisco erected by M. H. de
Young, xvii-135; M. H. de Young builds
seventeen-story annex to Chronicle, xxi-
171; another soaring building contem-
plated for Chronicle, xii-189.

SLAVERY, hopes of extending insti-
tution to California, i-7; Monterey con-
vention decides against, iii-19; many
sympathizers with institution, iii-19; con-
fused attitude toward, iii-19; editorial at-
titude toward fugitive slave act, iii-20;
attempts to introduce into California re-
sisted, iii-20; filibustering schemes pro-
moted by its supporters, iii-21; plans of
French adventurer antagonized by South-
erners, iii-22; the absorbing editorial
topic of pioneer editors, iii-22; sentiment
against crystallizes slowly, iii-22; hos-
tility to Broderick shown by its sup-
porters, iv-26; great space devoted to
discussion of, v-35; red hot editorials on
eve of Civil War, vi-43; agitation of ques-
tion responsible for Broderick-Terry
duel, vi-44; intolerant attitude of South-
erners, vi-45.

SLOAT, Commodore, proclamation to
natives of California, i-1.

SMITH, Peter, fraudulent land trans-
actions, iii-18; bulkhead job to patch up
his titles, vi-49.

SMITH, Walter Gifford, writes story
of Hawaiian annexation for Chronicle,

xviii-151; editorial writer for Chronicle,
xix-159.

SMITH, Harry B., sporting editor of
Chronicle, xxi-177.

SOMERS, Fred, reporter, correspond-
ent and publisher xiii-105; assailed by
Assemblyman, xiii-105.

SOULE, Frank, author of Annals of
San Francisco, v-39; a poetical editor,
v-40.

SOUTHERNERS, influential in pioneer
days, iii-19; seek to introduce colonies
with slaves, iii-20; stigmatize Northern
Democrats as mudsills and doughfaces,
vi-45; rapid decline of influence after
1860, vii-59.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC, incorporated
in 1865, ix-75.

SPAIN, Mexico revolts from, i-1; in-
difference of Spaniards to trade, i-4; her
rule in province of California, i-1; dis-
courages immigration, i-5.

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR, fol-
lowed by prosperity, xx-163.

SPEAR, Nathan, reaches Yerba Buena
1840, i-3.

SPECIAL TRAINS, used by San
Francisco papers, xxii-182.

SPECIAL EDITIONS, Japanese and
Pan-American published by Chronicle,
xxii-188; Chronicle's Golden Jubilee edi-
tion, January 16, 1915, xxiii-190.

SPECIFIC CONTRACT ACT, to pre-
serve circulation of gold, vii-61.

SPIRIT OF THE TIMES, career of,
v-37.

SPORTS, limited space accorded in
early days, xiii-103; Thomas E. Flynn,
Chronicle's first sporting editor, xiii-103;
early sporting editors of Chronicle, xvi-
133; report of a great prize fight at Reno,
xxi-177; increased attention paid to re-
porting, xxi-177; Benny Benjamin, sport-
ing editor Chronicle, xxi-177.

SPRECKELS, J. D., purchases Call,
xviii-146; sells Call to M. H. de Young,
xxii-181.

SPRING VALLEY, valuation of in
1877, xviii-147; hostility to its purchase,
xviii-147.

STANFORD, Leland, directs legisla-
tion, xii-93.

STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION,
its power for good destroyed, xvi-125.

STATE DIVISION, little excitement
over early efforts, vi-45.

STATISTICS, a feature of Chronicle
annuals, xv-120.

STEELE, Rufus, Sunday editor of
Chronicle, xix-159.

STEAMER EDITIONS, newspapers
publish on arrival of, ii-10; peculiarities
of, ii-11.

STEVENS, Ashton, dramatic critic of
Examiner, xix-160.

STEVENSON, Robert Louis, his career
in San Francisco xiii-102; a Pall Mall
Gazette yarn about him, xiii-102; Chron-
icle publishes one of his earliest stories,
xix-154.

STODDARD, Charles Warren, poem of
welcome to ex-President Grant in Chron-
icle, xv-118.

STOCK, Ernest C, police reporter for
half a century, xiii-105.

STOCK EXCHANGE, becomes a news-
paper, x-80; dies when mining stock
gambling subsides, xviii-145.

Index

;,"j9

after £S "AMBLERS, abandon State -
xii-95. optl °n of Constitution of 1879,

paper? x?80 REPORT ' becomes a news "

ioll, T 5S? 1 'i > 9 Arthur ' reporter for Chron-

fnfhv «?•?§.' sp . ecial editions printed
for by San Francisco papers, xxii-182.

of S™MER RESORTS, multiplication

SUMNER. Charles, attack on discussed
virulently, vi-43.

SUN, career of, v-37.

SUNDAY MAGAZINE Chronicle starts
feature, xiii-99; Chronicle embarrasses
weeklies, . xjii-t0&;,-,6uugg;e to secure
matter for in eighties, J xiii-103;* cost of
white paper, xix-l'53'r'llb , rary of America^
people, xix-154; the sheet aneH'orof mod-
ern literary workers, xix-154; contrib-
uted to by the best authors, xix-154;
when authors welcomed the syndicate,
xix-154; preparation of special articles,
xix-155; illustration promotes their pop-
ularity, xix-155; use of halftones and
colored pictures, xix-155; editors of
Chronicle's, xix-159; first editor of
Chronicle's, xix-159.

SUNDAY VARIETIES, career of, v-37.

SUNRISE CASE, brutal treatment of
sailors exposed, x-78.

SUTLIFFE, Albert, member of Chron-
icle staff, xiii-104; early book reviewer
of Chronicle, xvi-132.

SUTTER'S MILL, gold discovered, i-2.

SYDNEY COVES, San Francisco's
early criminal element, ii-12.

SYNDICATES, authors appear in
newspapers in advance of books, xix-154;
part played by them, xix-154.

TIMMINS, John, earliest managing
edjtor. of Chronicle, xiii-105.

TITLES, newspapers always urgent
for settlement, iil-18.

TONG KING, Albert Sutliffe reports
rebellion for Chronicle, xiii-104.

TOWNSEND, Edward, Chronicle re-
porter, xvi-133; elected to Congress, xvi-
133.

TOWNSEND, George Alfred, special
correspondent of Chronicle, xvi-133.

TOWN TALK (Pictorial), career of
San Francisco, v-37.

TRADERS, Yankee skippers visit the
missions, i-3.

TRIBUNE, Oakland, affords facilities
to San Francisco morning papers, xxi-

TRUE VIGILANTE, career, of San
Fran-eisco, v-47. ,.,..."

TRUSTS, Chronicle publishes' ex-
tended monograph on, xx-165.

TYPEWRITERS, general use of in
newspaper offices, xix-158.

TYPOGRAPHY, headings in early
days, xiii-97; cost of hand composition,
xiii-101; flamboyant headings objected to
by Pickering and Fitch, xviii-146; experi-
ments in machine typesetting, xix-155;
Mergenthaler's linotype, xix-156; econo-
mies effected by linotype, xix-156; the
growth of freaking, xix-156.

_u—

UPTON, Matthew G., editorial writer
Bulletin, xviii-146.

— T—

TAXATION, low taxes People's party
slogan, v-33; George K. Fitch advocates
low, ix-74; Courts nullify provision of
Constitution of 1879 designed to remove
inequalities, xii-95; more equitable under
Constitution of 1879, xv-119; the dollar
limit policy, xviii-147; limitation of key-
note of municipal politics, xviii-147;
Chris Buckley and dollar limit policy,
xviii-147; dominating fear of excessive,
xx-161; demand for. low made use of by
boss, xx-163.

TELEGRAPH, line constructed from
San Francisco to Point Lobos, ii-10; line
between San Francisco andSan- Jose,-ii- ..
fO; Los Angeles and San Francisco con-
nected, ii-11; use of news- improyes apr
pearance of papers, vi-42; hill used as
maritime lookout, vi^48; liberal use of
by San Francisco papers, xiv-114; intro-
duction of wireless, xxii-181.

TELEPHONE, its introduction in 1879,
xix-156; part played by it in modern
newspaper office, xix-156; part played by
it in verifying reports, xix-157.

TERRY, David S., kills Broderick in
a duel, vi-44; political career, vl-45.

TETRAZZINI, Prima Donna sings in
public, xxi-178.

TIMES, career of San Francisco, x-37;
of London experiments in typesetting,
xix-155.

VACATION, growth of the habit, xx-
166.

VALLEJO, Mariano G., with Larldn
seeks to appropriate name San Fran-
cisco, i-7.

VANDERBILT, Cornelius, projects
Nicaragua canal, vi-48.

VAN NESS AVENUE, proposal to
make it business center, xxi-175.

VERDENAL, , D. F., on deck in the
eighties, xvi-131'.

VIGILANCE COMMITTEE, first one
formed in 1851, ii-12; the organization
of 1856,-11-13; actions of that of 1856
widely discussed, iv-24; called together
when James King of William is shot,
iv-29; causes withdrawal of patronage
from San Francisco Herald, iv-30; Peo-
ple's party formed by its members, -v-33;
•itSSsicts defended, vi-44. _

VIVIAN;" Thomas • JV-dr&Wtdc critic -
and special writer for Chronicle, xvi-
132; author of article on future of avia-
tion written in 1881, xiii-103.

— w—

WALKER, William, his filibustering
exploits, iii-21.

WARD, Josiah, city editor of Exam-
iner, xix-159.

WARDELL, B. A., cashier of Chron-
icle, xxi-177.

360

Index

WAR ORPHANS, Chronicle collects
toys and clothing for, xxii-186.

WASHINGTON, B. F,, one of founders
of Examiner, xiii-63.

WATER SUPPLY, efforts of Spring
Valley to sell at an exorbitant figure
defeated, xxiii-194.

WAVE, published by Cosgrave and
Hume, xix-160.

WEATHER WARNINGS, service in-
stituted by Chronicle, xvi-127.

WEEKS, George F., Chronicle's first
Sunday editor, xix-159.

WELLER, Charles L., one of founders
of Examiner, viii-63.

WESTERN ASSOCIATED PRESS,
takes over Chronicle Press Association,
xvi-130.

WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH,
carries 40,000 telegraphic report of prize
fight for Chronicle, xxi-178.

WHARVES, the long wharf con-
structed by Meiggs, iv-32.

WHEAT, enormous shipments of, vi-ol.

WHEELAN, Fairfax, efforts to force
honest elections, xx-164.

WHIG, career of San Francisco, v-37.

WIGGIN, Marcus P., editorial writer
for Chronicle, xix-159.

WILLIAM, James King of, see King
James of William.

WILSON, Piercy, book reviewer for
Chronicle,, xvi-132.

WIRELESS, introduction of Marconi
system, xxii-181. -

WOMEN, their club activities, xx-1 67.

WOOD, William S., a contemporary
worker with Clemens, viii-66.

YERBA BUENA, in 1841, i-3; William
Sturgis Hinckley its first Alcalde, i-3 ;
first store started 1836, i-3; first bridge
constructed, i-3; did not awaken until
advent of printing press, i-4; its first
newspaper issued, i-4; conditions in dur-
ing year after occupation, i-6; name'
changed to San Francisco, i-7; com-
merce of first year after occupation, i-7;
Yerba Buena Cemetery used as City Hall
site, xviii-147.

YOUNG, JOHN P., early journalistic
career, xiii-107; made managing editor
of Chronicle 1878, xiii-107; writes' book
on bimetallism for Chronicle, xviii-151;
writes manufacturing industries of
Japan for .Chronicle, xviii-152; his man-
ufacturing industries of Japan published
as a Senate public document, xviii-152;
monograph by him on trusts written for
The Chronicle, xx-165; writes "Journal-
ism" in California" for Chronicle's Golden
Jubilee edition, xxiii-191.

ZINCOGRAPH, process of making, xvi-
131.

INDEX

Pacific Coast and Exposition
Biographies

PAGE

Adams, Charles F 235

Alexander, H. F 236

Bissell, "William A 237

Blake, Anson S 238

Blakeman, Thomas Z 239

Boardman, Louis P 240

Boardman, Philip C 241

Bradley, George 242

Briggs, Herbert F 243

Byington, William H., Jr 244

Cantrell, Eussell W 245

Cashin, Thomas A 246

Chisholm, Stuart 341

Clayberg, John B 247

Cohen, Alfred Austen 248

Colvin, Francis M 249

Corson, Henry L 250

Coryell, John B 251

Crabbe, John H 252

Crocker, Charles H 253

Crothers, Judge George E 254

Curtis, Allen A 255

d'Albergaria, Dr. M. C. M. Soares. . 256

Davis, Janies R 257

Denson, S. C 258

Donaldson, John T 259

Dorn, Walter E 260

Dorsey, John W 261

Eggers, Frederick 262

Eickhoff, Henry 263

PAGE.

Elston, J. A 340

Engels, Henry 264

Fenton, James E 265

Fleishhacker, Herbert 263

Fontecha, Dr. Antonio A. Ramirez F. 267

Forney, C. S S '. . 268

Frick, A. L 269

Gaunt, Charles H., Jr 270

Ginty, John 271

Hall, T. Seymour 272

Hammon, Wendell P 273

Hanify, John R 274

Henry, Carl A 275

Hertz, Alfred 276

Holmes, Howard C 277

Horner, C. F 278

Horsburgh, James, Jr 279

Humphrey, Charles F 280

Hutton, Cassius A ' 281

Jackling, Colonel Daniel C 282

Jacks, Lyle T 283

Jones, Henry T 284

Keesling, Francis V 285

Kingsbury, E. J 286

Lastreto, Emilio 287

Latimer, Jay Monroe 288

Lynch, Jeremiah 289-90

361

362

Biographical Index

PAGE.

McClellan, John J 291

McCormiek, Charles B 292

McKinley, Benjamin L 293

Manning, James E 294

Martin, Joseph 295

Matson, Captain William 296

Miley, E. J 297

Miller, Thomas L 298

Minot, Thomas S 299

Molony, J. B 300

Moran, P. J 301

Morf, Paul C 302

Morris, Leon E 303

Mullgardt, Louis C 304

Murdoek, C. P 305

Murphy, Thomas B 306

Murray, Major-General Arthur,

IT. S. A 307

Noble, Hiram Holmes 308

Nunlist, William A 309

O'Brien, Edward H 310

Percy, John Albert 311

Piper, Charles E 340

Preston, John W 312

Price, George E 313

Band, W. J., Jr 314

PAGE.

Bispin, H. A 315

Boos, Bobert A 316

Bosenheim, Samuel 317

Bothschild, Joseph 318

Bulofson, A. C 319

Schmitt, Milton L 320

Sea, William, Jr 321

Short, Frank H 322

Short, Frank B 323

Shumate, Dr. Thomas E 324

Soto, B. M. F 325

Stoddard, George Hill 326

Talbott, Edward J ' 327

Trask, J. E. D 328

Vandercook, A. E 329

Van Ee, J. Charles Kemp 330

Wenzelberger, A 331

White, J. E 332

Whiting, Bandolph V : 333

Whitney, Vincent 334

Wilbur, Edward D 335

Wilson, Fred S 336

Wilson, John Balph 337

Wingfield, George 338

Woolley, Hyrum S 339

? iftilli

| ISw llill IIP HSifl^HHI

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