Page:The Brass Check (Sinclair 1919).djvu/268

 You may recall Mr. Bonfils, one of the owners of the "Denver Post," who "jollied" me over the telephone during the time of the Colorado coal-strike. Now hear Judge Lindsey:

When this latter ticket was named I found it largely composed of Speer corporation Democrats. Mr. Fred G. Bonfils, one of the proprietors of the "Denver Post" (which was still supporting me), assured me that Speer and his city organization would aid me if I would agree to lend my name to this ticket.

In short, the corporations being sure of Adams (the opposition candidate), now wished to make sure of me by tying me to the candidacy of a lot of corporation tools who would never allow us to obtain a reform law. I refused to lend my name to any such business, and I lost thereby the support of the "Post" and the Speer Democrats.

And then, of course, Judge Lindsey was marked for destruction by the "Post." He tells how a false news dispatch reported him as saying in a public lecture in the East that the copper king of the state ought to be hanged. The Denver Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution declaring Lindsey "an enemy of the state." Says Lindsey: "The 'Denver Post' followed the resolution with a demand that I be driven from town, and stirred up all possible enmity against me as a 'defamer' of my state."

Or take San Francisco. Here is Fremont Older, for twenty-five years managing editor of the "Bulletin," telling the story of his life. I shall have more to say about Older later on; for the present, take one incident from his book. Older, leading a terrific reform campaign, is after the "man higher up," and decides that the highest of all is Herrin, head of the law department of the Southern Pacific Railroad. "Herrin is the man behind the corruption of our whole state. Herrin is the man who has broken down the morals of thousands of our young men, debauched our cities and our towns and our villages, corrupted our legislatures and courts." But it appears that Crothers, owner of the "Bulletin," has been taking money from Herrin in times past.

Crothers became very nervous about it and suggested several times to me that he didn't want Herrin attacked. I felt then that he feared Herrin would expose the Wells money paid the paper, but in spite of that power which Herrin held over us, I continued to go on with the campaign against him.

Frequently Crothers would go into the printing office and look