Daily globe., 1883-08-16
Minneapolis Tribune, Aug. Is. |


In its report of the proceedings of the
st. Paul chamber of commerce, at its
meeting of Monday last, the st. Paul
Pioneer Press, under the general heading,
"a Big lie Nailed" says:
'Mr. Driscon rose to a question of privilege
and asked leave of the chamber to reply to
gross personal attack which had recently ap-
peared in the st. Paul Dispatch = x;
''also, referring to the petty falsehood that the
Pioneer Press had suppressed Gen. Sanborn's
annual report to the chamber from its Mime
apohs edition. With few remarks relative to
st. Paul and its interests he sat down amid
applause
The applause was too sudden, so to
speak. The publisher who ''doth protest
too much" is prone to get into trouble
even as the sparks fly upward. The trouble
begins right here and thus: On Monday
June II, 1883, Gen. Sanborn, of st. Paul,
read before the st. Paul chamber of COM
merce an annual report of the growth and
business of that city. 1t was of the most
pronounced "boom" character. To speak
modestly, it did full justice to the pres
ent and future of the state capital. The
Tribune of Tuesday, June u, contained a
AuAA oOoSAOSS OA WIG 4OpOIG3 OOOu duu ALL
The Tribune claims to be a news
paper, and it ,d1d not dream of
hesitating about laying before both
cities and the world the best that
could be said of or by either. In the st.
Paul Pioneer Press of the same date, as
that paper appeared on the table of the
editor of the Tribune, there was nota word
to be found which even intimated that
Con Conhor,, hol
that there was such body as the st, Paul
chamber of commerce. Inquiry de-
veloped the fact that every copy of the
Pioneer Press that could be found in Min
neapolis was equally and amusingly dumb
on the subject of Sanborn and his sanguiue
manifesto. The situation was relieved
and explained when it was learned that
all copies of the Pioneer Press circulated
in st. Paul contained Sanborn
and his report in life size with
'splurge" headlines and the usual
concomitants of good thing. In other
words, an edition of the Pioneer Press
was printed for its circle of readers in
Minneapolis, and possibly for the outside
country, without a reference to Gen. San
born's report in its columns and another
and different edition was printed for cir
culation in st. Paul, possibly in the outside
country, containing that report in full.
Of the facts as here stated there is no more
doubt than there is of the dishonorab!e ma
ture of the transaction, and in view of
such facts, susceptible of overwhelming
proof at moments notice, the apoplectic
denial by Mr. Driscoll is simply astound-
ing. 1t would be charitable to assume
that the whole thing was perpetrated
by subordinates who subsequently
misrepresented the facts to their
employer. If this be so, MIR. Driscou can
readily exonerate himself by denouncing
the wicked subordinate. But if ignorance
of the actual situation shall excuse Mr..
Driscoll, the plea of inadvertence cannot
| excuse the concern of which he is business
manager. The Pioneer Press stereotypes
Its pages. After the paper has once gone
to press nothing but serious emergency,
like the receipt of belated and highly SEN
sational news, will Justify or procure the
stoppage of the machinery and the substi-
tuition of new matter in place of a por-
| ton of that which has been runn1ngthrough
| the press. There was no belated or
| sensational news on the morning of June
| II, 1888. Yet all this mechanical trouble
| was incurred in the press room and com
posing room of the Pioneer Press in the
busy hours of that morning for the exclu-
sive purpose of printing an exaggerated
and emasculated edition for Minneapolis.
and possibly outside circulation. The
Pioneer Press didn't wish to be ''s1multa-
neous" on that particular morning. The
diverting feature is that innocence of du-
plicity which supposed that such Chi
nese device would escape detection, and
that such a policy would, even if
undetected, commend a newspaper to the
honorable and solid business men of two
such cities as Minneapolis and st. Paul.
Hereafter either city, when it is particular
ly well spoken of in the columns of that
versatile sheet, will understand that the
good word is limited to a special edition
circulated among its own citizens who
don't need it.
And now, if the Pioneer Press will be
good enough to call for proofs of any or
all of the foregoing statements, they shall
be forthcoming with uncomfortable sud
denness.