The Emperor Norton's Decree

The name of the city had been subject to linguistic shift and colloquial slang process. Some people began referring to San Francisco as Frisco. Emperor Norton is said to have issued a decree in which he stated, "Whoever after due in proper warning shall be heard to utter the abominable word Frisco" But it appears that Emperor Norton actually never issued this decree. He decided to restrict the channels through which he would issue his decrees. In January of 1871 he selected a single newspaper that he could trust and appointed it his imperial organ. It didn't matter to the Emperor if you were black, white or any other color as we'll see.