Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1885-08-01
EDWARDS, LAS WHINE.

Two columns OF Wednesdays Fargo
Argus are devoted to a personal explain
alton relative to the late grand jury
farce. The article is signed by A. W..
Edwards, the editor Of the Argus, who,
being satisfied that no one will believe
anything his paper says, adopts the ex.
traordinary method of appending his
signature to his pityful whine, as if his
name would be accepted by any man in
the Territory as a guaranty of the truth
of what he says. The article is simply
a repetition of what he has already said
in an editorial way, and is based wholly
and entirely upon the stories carried
from this city to the Argus Office by Nc
Gee, u town tattler. In fact, from
the superabundance of bad English
sprinkled through it there is reason to
believe that the tattler permitted him
self to be interviewed by Edwards and
the latter signed the interview as his
own production. At any rate. Edwards
shows a willingness to shoulder the re-
sponsibility.
IT'S we'll.
His first "point" is a reference to our
"ante. Dakota training" This is a bad
break for Edwards. He should be the
last man in the Territory to invite o
comparison of personal history ante
dating his arrival in Dakota.
He then states that "there is no such
thing as legal rates for land Office adj
vertising." The land Office records here
and in every other land Office in the
Union refute this statement. The in
struction to land officers is that a news
paper shall not be permitted to make a
charge in zee Of the legal rates al
lowed by territorial or state law. Under
the territorial law u publisher may
charge $3.50 for an ordinary final proof;
the uniform price throughout Dakota is
SIS, and that S all the INrER-OcEAN has
ever charged for q plain final proof.
Here is an extract from Edwards per-
sonal production:
The uniform price for final proof no.
tees throughout the territory is not IS,
but SIS is an average low price; in some
districts Sc is charged, and even $40 is
paid by the pioneer settler on public
lands. l I'm credibly informed that the
INrER-OoEN has charged as high as 81.
1t is downright robbery, and could not
be successful without collision of off.
Gals. The Argus charges SO; never
charged any more.
Here he gives himself the lie in plain
figures, admitting that SIS is a low price
that $6 and even more is charged in
some districts; but it is downright rob
berry, for the INTER OCEAN to charge SIS
And the miserable specimen of Red
River hippopotami has the cheek te
say that the Argus never charges bu,
$3l Does any business man in Fargo
believe that Edwards would take "the
poor settlers" ten dollar bill for a fina.
proof and give him back 81? Will the
records of Cass county or the city o:
Fargo show that Edwards has charged
two-ffths less for printing than the ordi
nary price elsewhere? 1t is enough fol
Edwards to be a villain, but, at this lat,
date, to combine hypocrisy with hi
villainy is asking too much.
Edwards also goes into the history o
Devils Lake journalism, referring to til,
newspaper record of the malodorou
Treadwell. and puts words in tn
mouths of the land officials which n,
sane man would utter. Coming dow
to a later period, he quotes the officer
as saying to n Carruthers that the.
had "made arrangements with MI
Hansbrough by which the INTER-OcEAl
is to have all the notices in the district.
The files of the papers will show that a
the date Of and long prior to Carruth
ers' first connection with q newspape
in this city as publisher, every paper i,
the district, except the sheet known a
the Pioneer Press, was receiving notice
and the publishers were charging s
each for them. When a man will ute
so deliberate a lie as this over his owl
signature, as Edwards has done, W
would advise him to 60 back to hi
other method of falsehood and use tn
editorial "we."
That portion OF Edwards screed allee
ing that the editor of this paper re
} ceived a "cash bonus for proofs givel
to another paper is a lie manufacture
out of whole cloth. That portion alleg
ing that we demanded and receive
cash in advance for proofs is off til
same piece of goods.
One more indisputable proof that Ed
wards cannot tell the truth. He says
And this transaction wa so notoriou
and so commonly understood that it
said the land office officials did not eve
go to the trouble to get Mr.. Hans
brough's checks cashed at the bank, bu
just simply endorsed them over in du
course Of business to pay their privat
, bills.
The facts in the case are these
Last fall Mr.. Creel, of Edwards
8 pals, stated at a political meeting tina
the land officers were in the habit q
paying their board bills in check
drawn by the editor of this paper.
was ono of those remarkable comno;o