Note 270 — Chapter XVIII · The Real Fight Begins.
Reading edition
The graft investigation uncovered something of the curious ethics governing this sort of publicity. For example, Mark L. Gerstle of the law firm of Thomas, Gerstle and Frick, who acted as attorneys for the Home Telephone Company, testified before the Grand Jury that the company paid the San Francisco Chronicle $10,000 to educate the people to the idea of a competing telephone system. The testimony was as follows:
“Q. During that time in 1905, were any newspapers paid to help the good cause? A. Yes.
“Q. What papers? A. Only one.
“Q. What paper was that? A. Chronicle.
“Q. How much was paid to it? A. $10,000.
“Q. What were the terms of that employment? A. The object of paying that money was to educate the people to the idea of a competitive telephone system. There seemed to be a prejudice among everybody, or a great many people, as to the value or necessity of another telephone system, and we could not obtain the assistance of any newspaper in that work without paying for it. Some required it in the shape of advertising which we did not need—don’t do any good—others wouldn’t take it in that way; the Chronicle wouldn’t take it that way and we were forced in order to have some newspaper assist us in that work, to pay the price which was $10,000.
“Q. Did they give editorial work for that? A. No. They were supposed when the matters came up before the Board of Supervisors to write it up favorably, that is to say, talk about the advantage of a competitive telephone system in the way of keeping out a monopoly, and doing away with the poor system of the Pacific States.”