The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst (52 page)
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Authors: Kenneth Whyte
BOOK: The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst
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Davis had bribed the director of the telegraph bureau to ensure that his story would be transmitted first. It filled the first three pages of the
Journal
the next day, with his own portrait as the main art (pictures of the ceremony awaited shipment by sea). Unfortunately, Davis missed the biggest news of the coronation. A massive feast for a half million Russian commoners was held after the ceremony in a field outside of Moscow. The promise of free food and drink caused a stampede in which hundreds were trampled to death and thousands injured. Davis had already split for Budapest. He was spared great embarrassment, however, by a devastating cyclone that swept St. Louis the very same day; it claimed hundreds of lives and pushed the Russian disaster to inside pages.
Journal
the next day, with his own portrait as the main art (pictures of the ceremony awaited shipment by sea). Unfortunately, Davis missed the biggest news of the coronation. A massive feast for a half million Russian commoners was held after the ceremony in a field outside of Moscow. The promise of free food and drink caused a stampede in which hundreds were trampled to death and thousands injured. Davis had already split for Budapest. He was spared great embarrassment, however, by a devastating cyclone that swept St. Louis the very same day; it claimed hundreds of lives and pushed the Russian disaster to inside pages.
Newspaper Maker
called Davis’s dispatch on the coronation a “fine specimen of special correspondence.”
4
It marveled at the “modern methods” of progressive newspapers, sending famous writers to file long and instantaneous reports on great events when previously a short cable dispatch of half a column would have sufficed. Davis would later complain that the paper was late with funds to cover his telegraph fees and that Hearst’s editors were impudent, but few publications ever treated him to his satisfaction. His association with the
Journal
would continue, and Hearst was about to entrust Davis with the biggest story of them all.
called Davis’s dispatch on the coronation a “fine specimen of special correspondence.”
4
It marveled at the “modern methods” of progressive newspapers, sending famous writers to file long and instantaneous reports on great events when previously a short cable dispatch of half a column would have sufficed. Davis would later complain that the paper was late with funds to cover his telegraph fees and that Hearst’s editors were impudent, but few publications ever treated him to his satisfaction. His association with the
Journal
would continue, and Hearst was about to entrust Davis with the biggest story of them all.
AS SOON AS THE 1896 ELECTION WAS DECIDED, Park Row scampered to catch up with events in Cuba. Fighting on the island had not merely resumed after the summer rains but intensified. Captain-General Weyler was spending more time in the field in pursuit of insurgents, apparently under compulsion from a home government anxious for results. He was unsuccessful, but his determination worried pro-Cuban editors. His treatment of the Cuban people was also living up to Park Row’s dire expectations: stories of atrocities committed against noncombatants were increasingly frequent and credible. Weyler had taken the drastic step of ordering the rural populations of three western provinces moved to “reconcentration camps” on the outskirts of urban centers. His intent was to deprive the insurgents of protection and support in the countryside; the effect was to finish off the island’s reeling economy and to inflict unimaginable suffering on innocent people. The rebels, for their part, vowed to fight to the finish even if Cuba was “drowned in blood and devoured by flames,” and ordered that all emissaries of peace be killed on introduction.
5
A Russian diplomat in Havana sighed that both sides “have sworn to lay waste to this unfortunate country.”
6
5
A Russian diplomat in Havana sighed that both sides “have sworn to lay waste to this unfortunate country.”
6
The popularity of the Cuban cause was meanwhile mushrooming in the United States. Parades and rallies in support of
Cuba Libre
were popping up everywhere: the newspapers reported mass meetings across the country and petitions in support of the rebels with as many as 300,000 signatures.
7
Benefit societies were founded for relief of the wounded and sick. Gun clubs were organized to supply the insurgents with arms (the initiation fee at one such organization was a rifle or one hundred rounds of ammunition).
8
Although humanitarian concerns remained foremost in the popular mind, U.S. economic interests were a significant part of the story. Trade with Cuba had fallen to a quarter of previous levels. Plantations and commercial properties representing millions of dollars in direct American investment lay in ashes. The rebels had done most of the torching, but Spain was supposed to be keeping order on the island. The losses were drawing the United States more directly into the conflict.
9
So, too, were filibusters.
Cuba Libre
were popping up everywhere: the newspapers reported mass meetings across the country and petitions in support of the rebels with as many as 300,000 signatures.
7
Benefit societies were founded for relief of the wounded and sick. Gun clubs were organized to supply the insurgents with arms (the initiation fee at one such organization was a rifle or one hundred rounds of ammunition).
8
Although humanitarian concerns remained foremost in the popular mind, U.S. economic interests were a significant part of the story. Trade with Cuba had fallen to a quarter of previous levels. Plantations and commercial properties representing millions of dollars in direct American investment lay in ashes. The rebels had done most of the torching, but Spain was supposed to be keeping order on the island. The losses were drawing the United States more directly into the conflict.
9
So, too, were filibusters.
Filibusters were private oceangoing expeditions carrying arms and recruits to the insurgents, most often from ports in Florida. They sailed in violation of the U.S. Neutrality Act, which allowed only medical supplies and nonmilitary aid to leave the country for the island. Some of the boats arrived safely in Cuba and disgorged their cargo. More sank or turned back in rough seas, or were intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard or, worse, by Spanish gunboats. Spain’s efforts to prosecute captured gunrunners generated angry headlines in the United States, while Madrid accused Washington of doing too little to prevent the expeditions. President Cleveland, anxious to calm relations, issued a special proclamation against filibustering, much to the chagrin of pro-Cuban editors like Hearst, Pulitzer, and Dana, who continued to complain that the president’s cold-blooded insistence on strict neutrality was sustaining Spanish despotism and starving the rebels of arms and recruits. Cleveland’s special proclamation had little effect, however. As the
Commercial Advertiser
noted, filibusters were impossible to stop when all of Florida was a Cuban refuge.
10
The expeditions continued, and international disputes kept bobbing up in their wake.
Commercial Advertiser
noted, filibusters were impossible to stop when all of Florida was a Cuban refuge.
10
The expeditions continued, and international disputes kept bobbing up in their wake.
Impatience with Cleveland’s strict neutrality was hardly limited to Park Row. All manner of community organizations petitioned Washington to protect Cuba (the Youngstown Chamber of Commerce distinguished itself by boycotting the Spanish onion). Governments of every level in every part of the country made declarations in support of the insurgents. In the first few months of 1896, senators and congressmen lined up to denounce Spain’s cruel and inept management of the island and a deluge of resolutions and amendments hit both chambers. Sympathy for the insurgents was near unanimous, but there was little agreement on anything else. Was Spain fighting a war or putting down an insurrection? Should the United States express concern for the Cuban people or intervene to end the conflict? What form of intervention would be appropriate? Should the United States recognize Cuba as a belligerent, or as an independent nation, or should it encourage Spain to submit to arbitration, or present her with an ultimatum to end the fighting?
11
11
Importantly, Republicans and not yellow newspapers were the jingoes at this point in the crisis, the most eager to send warships to Cuba and the first to talk of annexing the island. Republicans were the aggressors, writes the historian Walter Millis, in part because of their political opposition to the ruling Cleveland Democrats, but also because of their philosophical embrace of an expansionist foreign policy—territorial aggrandizement was seen as good for American business. The
Literary Digest
listed all the new bills drawn up in the name of preparedness, including one calling for $100 million in new armaments, another for six battleships at $4 million a piece and twenty-five torpedo boats at $175,000 each, another for $87 million in coastal defenses, another for reorganizing the army, another for refurbishing the naval reserve, another for issuing Springfield rifles to the National guard, and another proposing $100 million in new fortifications—all but one brought by Republicans. Teddy Roosevelt might have believed “this country needs a war” to bolster its character but no similar sentiment was ever uttered by Hearst. Rather, writes Millis, the yellow press and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party were “more deeply impressed with our Christian duty to right the wrongs of suffering in Cuba.” But whatever their motives, both sides often came across as bellicose and anxious for Washington to take action.
12
Literary Digest
listed all the new bills drawn up in the name of preparedness, including one calling for $100 million in new armaments, another for six battleships at $4 million a piece and twenty-five torpedo boats at $175,000 each, another for $87 million in coastal defenses, another for reorganizing the army, another for refurbishing the naval reserve, another for issuing Springfield rifles to the National guard, and another proposing $100 million in new fortifications—all but one brought by Republicans. Teddy Roosevelt might have believed “this country needs a war” to bolster its character but no similar sentiment was ever uttered by Hearst. Rather, writes Millis, the yellow press and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party were “more deeply impressed with our Christian duty to right the wrongs of suffering in Cuba.” But whatever their motives, both sides often came across as bellicose and anxious for Washington to take action.
12
After several months of closely reported debate, Congress determined that a state of war existed in Cuba, that the insurgents should be accorded the rights of belligerents, and that the United States should use its friendly offices to encourage Spain to recognize the independence of the Cuban people. Cleveland, however, remained firm in his neutrality with the result that Congress, the press, and the American public now began to look beyond him. The Democratic and Republican parties both emerged from their summer conventions waving staunchly pro-Cuban policies. The Republicans went furthest, vowing immediate recognition of Cuban independence.
13
13
In the wake of the congressional debates, Park Row papers sharpened their positions. It was not until the summer of 1896 that Hearst moved beyond his initial demand to extend belligerent status to the Cubans and began calling for Washington to ensure the restoration of peace and order in Cuba. Particularly, he wanted protection for American citizens and investment in Cuba, aid to alleviate the suffering of the Cuban people, and a halt to Spain’s brutal suppression of the rebellion. Ultimately, he wanted a free Cuba. “We have given Spain every opportunity and she has shown that she can do nothing,” the
Journal
declared. “ . . . The truest kindness we can do to Spain would be to cut once and for all the bond that fastens her to the putrefying corpse of her American colonial empire, and give her a chance to develop her domestic resources in health and peace.”
14
Journal
declared. “ . . . The truest kindness we can do to Spain would be to cut once and for all the bond that fastens her to the putrefying corpse of her American colonial empire, and give her a chance to develop her domestic resources in health and peace.”
14
Hearst believed these goals were best accomplished through an ultimatum. The United States would choose the appropriate moment to tell Spain the war must end, and it should be prepared to force its will if necessary (how exactly Washington might do this was left unsaid). This position put Hearst at the leading edge of pro-Cuban commentary, but Pulitzer’s
World
and Dana’s
Sun
adopted similar lines. None of the New York papers was yet advocating direct military intervention, although the Republican
Tribune
had come out in favor of spending tens of millions, even billions, to make the United States the strongest military power on the planet. If Spain insists on fighting the United States, it said, “the feeling here is that it can be accommodated.”
15
World
and Dana’s
Sun
adopted similar lines. None of the New York papers was yet advocating direct military intervention, although the Republican
Tribune
had come out in favor of spending tens of millions, even billions, to make the United States the strongest military power on the planet. If Spain insists on fighting the United States, it said, “the feeling here is that it can be accommodated.”
15
As 1896 wound down and McKinley won the presidency on a platform that included an aggressively pro-Cuban plank, America succumbed to a case of war jitters. Credible voices in both the United States and Spain suggested conflict was imminent. The stock market plunged. Volunteer militia groups sprang up from New York to Nebraska to California, attracting thousands of recruits in preparation for service in Cuba. Stories appeared in all of the dailies on the relative military preparedness of the United States and Spain, along with analyses of how the war might be fought and who would win. The
Journal
picked up an extensive comparison of the Spanish and American fleets undertaken by French experts (who predicted a U.S. defeat). The war panic lasted several weeks, and it spurred the New York press to make even greater investments in the Cuban story. Reporters and commentators who had recently been following Bryan and silver were redeployed in Havana and Florida. Acres of space recently committed to election news were now dedicated to stories and opinion on Cuban affairs.
16
Journal
picked up an extensive comparison of the Spanish and American fleets undertaken by French experts (who predicted a U.S. defeat). The war panic lasted several weeks, and it spurred the New York press to make even greater investments in the Cuban story. Reporters and commentators who had recently been following Bryan and silver were redeployed in Havana and Florida. Acres of space recently committed to election news were now dedicated to stories and opinion on Cuban affairs.
16
No paper pulled out more stops than the
Journal.
Hearst launched a series of editorials on Cuba, expressing hope that McKinley would wipe out “the standing disgrace” of U.S. inaction.
17
He dispatched senator-elect Hernando De Soto Money of Mississippi to Havana as another “special commissioner.” He assigned the Yale rowing hero and upstart Philadelphia journalist Ralph Paine to join a filibuster and make his way to the insurgents. He scored a major competitive coup by poaching James Creelman, Pulitzer’s celebrated but estranged reporter. Hearst paid Creelman $8,000 a year (a figure soon to escalate) and installed him in Madrid to report on the Spanish government and its diplomacy and to keep an eye on public sentiment—there had been a series of anti-American riots in Spain in 1896 and a student-led attack on the U.S. consulate in Cadiz.
18
George Eugene Bryson and Charles Michelson remained in Havana and Florida, respectively, for the
Journal.
Journal.
Hearst launched a series of editorials on Cuba, expressing hope that McKinley would wipe out “the standing disgrace” of U.S. inaction.
17
He dispatched senator-elect Hernando De Soto Money of Mississippi to Havana as another “special commissioner.” He assigned the Yale rowing hero and upstart Philadelphia journalist Ralph Paine to join a filibuster and make his way to the insurgents. He scored a major competitive coup by poaching James Creelman, Pulitzer’s celebrated but estranged reporter. Hearst paid Creelman $8,000 a year (a figure soon to escalate) and installed him in Madrid to report on the Spanish government and its diplomacy and to keep an eye on public sentiment—there had been a series of anti-American riots in Spain in 1896 and a student-led attack on the U.S. consulate in Cadiz.
18
George Eugene Bryson and Charles Michelson remained in Havana and Florida, respectively, for the
Journal.
Hearst also moved to address a great logistical obstacle to his Cuban coverage: how to evade Spanish censors and ferry copy from Cuba to Key West in a timely fashion. On November 24, the
Journal
announced the acquisition of a new dispatch boat, none other than the 109-foot custom-built wonder of the yachting world, the “fastest craft that ever left a trail of foam up on the waters of New York,”the
Vamoose.
Hearst had arranged to lease the vessel from its new owner and it now headed south to Florida, attracting admiring crowds at every stop along the route.
19
Journal
announced the acquisition of a new dispatch boat, none other than the 109-foot custom-built wonder of the yachting world, the “fastest craft that ever left a trail of foam up on the waters of New York,”the
Vamoose.
Hearst had arranged to lease the vessel from its new owner and it now headed south to Florida, attracting admiring crowds at every stop along the route.
19
Pulitzer reacted to Hearst’s onslaught as he had during the election campaign, with boasting of his own and by building his coverage around one inimitable reporter—in this instance, Sylvester Scovel. Thanks to his exclusive interviews with insurgent generals and his catalog of atrocities against noncombatants, Scovel was becoming one of the most famous journalists in America. The paper promoted him as a man possessing “all the great and high qualities of the war correspondent—devotion to duty, accuracy, graphic descriptive power, absolute courage and skill.”
20
20
Pulitzer also kept pace with Hearst in the unofficial contest for the title of Cuba’s best friend. Both editors cultivated close ties to the insurgents, and both ran letters from the Junta congratulating them on their enterprise and conveying the gratitude of the Cuban people (they both ran correspondence and official documents from the other side, as well). When a Spanish newspaper in Havana denounced Scovel’s work as an attempt to deceive the American public, the
World
exulted in having been singled out for criticism. When Weyler blamed U.S. newspapers for fueling a rebellion that otherwise would have been easily suppressed, the
Journal
was quick to accept his “tribute” and “grateful compliment.”
21
World
exulted in having been singled out for criticism. When Weyler blamed U.S. newspapers for fueling a rebellion that otherwise would have been easily suppressed, the
Journal
was quick to accept his “tribute” and “grateful compliment.”
21
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