Posted on 03/05/2016 6:37:04 AM PST by ProgressingAmerica
On September 26th, 1907, the National Tribune reported the following: (see the sixth column, very top of the page)
HEARST LEAVES THE SOCIALISTS
A commotion has been created by Mr. Hearst's Labor Day speech at Jamestown when he declared his lack of patience with class agititors and his belief that there was no reason for hostility between employer and employee. He said that the captains of industry were just as essential as Generals of the army and should receive corresponding recognition. "The working man is worthy of his hire the business man of his profit The man who digs the precious metal from the earth is worth his wage. The man who tells him where to find the gold deserved his profit too. The great financial promoters, organizers, executives of America, are worthy of recognition and reward"
This speech has met with widely different comment by the press. The most of them are inclined to the belief that Mr. Hearst is on some new "lay," the purpose of which has not yet developed, but will in time show some ulterior purpose not unconnected with Mr Hearst's own advertisement and benefit. There is strong question as to who wrote it. Arthur Brisbane, the Socialist, who has been credited with supplying most of Mr Hearst's ideas, is held to be guiltless, and Beatrice Fairfax, Ella Wheeler Wilcox and several other fountains of bland and pleasant optimism have been credited as tho author of the address.
On the other hand, the Socialistic press simply foams at the mouth. They claim that at last the mantle of hypocrisy has been stripped from Mr Hearst, and he is revealed as a capitalist and in full sympathy with "the exploitation of the working class," whatever that may mean. The Chicago Socialist says:
"Mr Hearst Is also opposed to class hatred. Since when? If there is anything that has tended to stir up and incite to unreasoning, futile class hatred in this country it is the daily outpourings of senseless denunciations of trust and corporations of which Hearst's papers have been guilty - senseless because the denunciations were purely demagogic, voicing no philosophy and presenting no logical, rational remedy for the conditions which made capitalism a curse and a blight upon civilization."
But he’s 153 years old. May be a bit too old to run. What is his grandkid up to these days?
Interesting comparison between W.R. Hearst (the model for Citizen Kane) and the Democrats and Trump dealing with today’s ossified and Quisling led GOP. Some director’s going to make a movie with a thinly veiled Trump character inheriting wealth, building casinos, screwing everything that moves and bragging about it, becoming a glorified game show host, and running for president on the stream of consciousness ticket.
Socialism is a blight on civilization.
We Americans wer fortunate to have those evil robber barons who, among other things, did NOT fill the countryside with mass graves.
‘Thought it was about Patricia Hearst.
What does ANY of that have to do with socialists?
The cartoon depicts a balky Democratic Party being led unwillingly to a trough, the Socialists of 1907 in that case, by a rich never-run-for-or-served-in-office publicity factory potential (in Hearst’s case) candidate. The Socialist part isn’t relevant. Their policies in 1907 would fit comfortably in the mainstream GOP today. The relevant part is that about 110 years ago a prominent and controversial businessman who built his empire on inherited wealth tried to hijack an old and ossified political party on the basis of personality and publicity. Sound familiar?
I have no idea. I read the entire thing waiting for someone to make a point. Its like another language or a bad translation.
My great great grandparents were invited to the Jamestown tri-centennial ( descendants of Declaration of Independence signers) so I wonder if they heard this speech in person.
Hearst is pulling the donkey and NYC DA William Jerome is at the tail. They are fighting for the Dem nonination for NY Governor. Hearst got it and lost to the Repub. Hearst then moved to the right the next year.
William Jennings Bryan is on the railway embankment. And actually my above mentioned grandmother was a Bryan herself, her family originally from Culpeper County, Va. And was a cousin of the—much younger—William.
I really don’t know that much about the politics of the era but I hope this helps.
I dislike Hearst Corporation *intensely* because of what they did to our good newspaper. Could not compete, so the bought it, gutted it, & replaced it with their liberal crap under the better paper’s name.
I would pay good money for weekend breakfast with a decent paper. :-( I guess that’s gone forever. grrr
Such is life these days. (shrug)
I feel the *impulse* to laugh, but I just can’t. It’s like one of those sneezes.
Hope the craziness settles down soon. The alternative is unthinkable. Yet.
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