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Show H MERGER .OF CALL WITH CHRONICLE. H Passing of San Francisco's Oldest Morning H Dally and Ono of Its Groat- H est, Sooops. M Los Angeles Graphic: Soptcmbor 1, H 1013, nftor an cxistonco of noarly flfty- H seven years having boon founded Docom- H her l, 1850 the San Francisco Call will H pats into the possession or fa. II. Do H Young: and becomo merged with the H Chronicle, Us oldest competitor, but H cloven years its Junior. Ono or Its H oarllest editors was tho lato Col. James H J. Ayers of Los Angeles, for a long tlmo H one of the owners or tho old Los Angeles H Herald. Mark Twain was a rcportor on H its start, at Hint time and at a lator date H Charlotto Parkins Stetson was a con- H stant contributor. In i860 Loring ricker- H lng and aeorge K. Fitch bocamo Inter- H ested In tho paper togethor with James H W. Slmonton. Mr. Pickering also held a H controlling interest in the Dullotin up to H the tlmo or his death, Dccombcr 20, 1892. H Ills Interest In both papors was acquired H by Mr. Tltch who retained control or tho H Call until tho paper was acquired by H John D. Sprockles. H There aro probably fow papers In the H PaclHc Coast whero tlioro has dovoloped H such an osprlt do corps In tho staff as H existed on tho San Francisco Call In tho H days when It was managod by Charles D. H Ilnrnlck and edited by Ernest Simpson. H As the call is about to lose Its Identity H through the merger with the Chronicle, Hj It Is Interesting to recall ono of tho H greatest exhibitions or this spirit over H displayed. It occurred In connection with H jtlio conresslqn of the murder of a young Hj voman bookkeeper, tho slnyor of whom H was cleverly rotalnod In tho Call's editorial H rooms all nlgljt to protect tho most ro- H markablo scoop In Paclllc Coast news- H paper history slnco tho tlmo Tom Qarroit H llgured out that Durrant was tho murdoror H br tho two girls for whoso death ho lator H Was bangod, and an oditlon was published H Recusing blm ovon bororo tho pollco had Hj decided upon bis guilt. Following is an H account or tho Call's big scoop: B Miss Caroline Drasch, bookkeeper Tor H Gray Drothers, contractors, was shot and H Instantly killed In her onlco In the Wolls H i'argo building at 1-30 Wcdnosday, Juno Hj 00. In an adjoining office were Harry Hj ifclray and n stenographer. Gray rushed H Snut when the shot was llred, but by tho H tlme he bad ascertained that the girl was Hl head, the man had disappeared. The nrst H jCIup the police found was tho statement H fit Harry Gray that Miss Drnsch had H telephoned to him a few minutes provlous- H Jy that a laborer was complaining over a HH charge or 96.40 against him on his pay 1 check. Later devolopmonts provod that Hj this conversation bad boon moro than an j hour earlier, if not, In fact, bororo lunch. H Examination or tho books or tho firm H showed that tho only man against whom H tlioro had been a charge of ? 0.40 was H Joseph Novak, who had boon In tho com- 9 pany's office early in tho day, quarreling H with Miss Drasch over bis pay c'jeck. H This seemed to placo tho guilt and tho E pollco net was spread, but It was news- H paper publicity that brought about tho H arrest. All the morning papers Thursday M tried and convicted Novak. Thursday H morning a man applying for work at an M employment agency at 01 S Clay street, HH (ravo his name as Joo Novak, and was HJH arrested. At the pollco station, undor tho yffl most severe "swoattng," the accused H man insisted that bo was Innocent. Ho H declared that he did not go back to Gray H Drothers arter his altercation In tho morn- H lng. He admitted going to a socond hand IH sure, however, and buying a now cont and H changing bis shoes. This was whllo tho H police were hunting ror him. So it was IH decided that Novak was the guilty man, H and the afternoon papers asserted that H the murderer bad beon captured. H About o o'clock Thursday night a man M In the garb or a laborer walked Into tho H anteroom or the editorial offices of the Call and asked to sec tho city editor. Ho said ho bad a "news Item." Now It was a complicated process, getting admission to tho Call editorial rooms. First a telephone girl had to Indorse you, and sho turned you over to an ornco boy. If ho approvod you ho Informed tho porson you wanted to see, and you waltod until that porson found tlmo to Interview you So tho laborer waltod, and waltod, and waited, it so happoncd, as It usually did, that Fcrnback. tho city editor, wos busy, and bo turned to J. nussoll Colo, ono or the star reporters: re-porters: " 'Busty, spo what that gink out there wants. Ho says he has a news Item." 'Dusty' wont out Into tho hall. "Aro you tho city editor?" asked tho man. "Yes," said Colo. "Well, I'm tho man that murdered tho girl In tho Wolls-Pargo building" said tho stranger. "Horo's the gun I did It with," and ho pulled rrom a pockot a long rovolver. Colo thought bo hod a maniac to deal with, but ho grabbed tho tho gun, poked It against tho man's side, and marched him Into tho editorial room to tho amazo-mont amazo-mont or a score or reporters, copy readers and odltors. Then tho man, James Edward Cunning-bam, Cunning-bam, bogan bis conrcsslon, and although It was circumstantial to tho smallest dotal), describing ovon how a chip or plaster flow on tho wall when the bullot went through Miss Drasch's head, still tho newspaper men would not bollevo that ho was the murderer Tor a long tlmo. Ho showed no romorse, but said that his motive In conrosslng was to rroo tho In-nocont In-nocont Novak, who was well started on bis way toward tho gallows. Finally, tho editors wore convinced, and thoy novor allowed Cunningham out-sldo out-sldo tho little omco whero "Dusty" Colo nrst took htm, and Jack Nyland, a husky young giant or a reporter, stood guard over him. Column artor column or tho conrcsslon was turned out, giving tho lira history or Cunningham from his birth to tho minute or going to press, ir thoro had not been a strike or tho ongravcrs In offoct It Is Impossible to Imaglno what pictorial variations would bavo boon worked out. Soon after midnight tho Call's big "scoop" was ready. Thon camo tho battlo or nowspapcr experts to pro-toct pro-toct a record breaking story. Ordinarily, tho city editions or the San Francisco papers come on" tho presses about 3 a. m. and ir It Is discovered that ono Is holding back, tho lato watch on tho othor two boglns to worry. So whon 3:30 arrived and no Call, Watt Brown, assistant city odltor, and Lawronco Toolo, night odltor or tho Kx-amlnor, Kx-amlnor, startod to wonder. Whon i o'clock arrlvod, but no Call, thoy hostoned to ascertain as-certain ir It was mechanical trouble Whon thoy round that tho oditlon was bolng bold thoy got Into action. Now Watt Brown Is goncrally admlttod to possoss moro rosourcc In trailing down a story than any othor man In San Francisco. Fran-cisco. So Brown and Toolo callod taxlcabs and startod on tho scont. Rather, thoy startod to find tho scont, but thoro was nono to bo found. At tho pollco station, at Jolllson's saloon (tho omclal press club), at tho lunch countors ovorywhoro thoy wont thoy woro met by tho donsost lg-noranco lg-noranco as to what tho Coll had up Its sleovo. Finally, a nowsboy" succeeded In gottlng In and out of tho pressroom or tho Call and reported: "Thoro's a big soven column lino "I Klllod Miss Drasch James Edward Cunningham. Cun-ningham. " By the tlmo Brown and Tooolo woro almost rrantlc, and when thoy learned that tho Call had the roal murdoror or tho cushlor, thoy took oytromo moasuros. Rushing to a tolophon. Iiooth thoy bogan calling up ovory Cunningham that had a phone, trying to nnd who "James Edward" was, but this yielded nothing, and as It was almost 5 o'clock by this tlmo, and It would bavo boon Impossible to retrieve ovon had thoy learned tho Tacts, thoy wont out and stood on tho sldowalk opposite op-posite tho Call corner and waited to see tho papor. Moanwhllo, Ernest Simpson, managing odltor or tho Call, was standing at tho window or his omco, and enjoying tho spoctaclo or Brown and Tooolo on tho rampage. In tho next room was tho murderer, and chaso as they would, tho F.amlner men could not got any lnrorma-tlon lnrorma-tlon until they saw tho Call, and Simpson knew It. At 5 o'clock Simpson told "Dusty" Colo to llnd out If tho Examiner prcssmon had gono homo. An unsuspoctlng boy on tho tolophono oxchango or tho rival papor inrormod him that thoy had. "Thon lot hor go" said Simpson. And sho wont. Not until thon did tho Call men notify tho pollco that thoy bad the murdoror of Caroline Drasch in their office. Ono of tho most remarkable things about tho wbolo alfalr, rrom tho nowspapor-mun's nowspapor-mun's point or vlow, was learned later. Tho Examiner editorial rooms and plant woro thon near tho waterrront in a temporary tempo-rary ono-story shack, built Just artor tho 1000 disaster. Cunningham told several roportcrs that ho first wont to tho Examiner Ex-aminer branch office at 74 Goary street, whon ho docldod to glvo hlmsolf up. This omco Is only hair a block rrom tho Call building. But tho young man In chargo or tho Goary street omco thought Cunningham Cun-ningham was Insane, and told him he would bavo to go to tho main omco. "I started to go down there," said Cunningham, "but It was too Tar." So, through Its geographical advantage, the Call got tho "scoop" originally Intended Tor tho Examiner, and tho Talluro or William Wil-liam Randolph Hearst and tho Hearst ostnto promptly to build on tho only vacant va-cant comer at Third and Market cost his pnper a monumental story. Anothor noteworthy feature or tho ar-falr ar-falr was the unanimous loyalty or tho omployos or no Call. From tho editors down to tho ,rcssmon, no rower than nrty mon must havo known about tho big scoop, but thero was not ono or the nrty, though every one know ho could have commanded any price ho had named Tor the story, who would sell ins paper. |