Hearst leaves the socialists

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."

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