St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-07-29
as TO FIIii PLAY.

The GLOBE is surprised to see its
porary, the Albert Lea Standard, give
currency 10 this statement:
IF tue great dailies would give the
facts on both sides of the strike and
labor disorders, the people would better
be able to form a correct judgment,
and thus important lessons might be
Cleaned for future guidance. But they
do not. They give ouly one side, and
that is exaggerated, and news concern
ing The labor side is almost entirely
suppressed, or, if given, is most un-
fairly distorted"
Stung by the popular condemnation
following the reign of lawleSsness, muir
der and general crime resulting from
the strike, the favOrite cry has been
that the daily papers were unfair in
their reports, suppreSsing facts i'll be-
half OF the strikers.
Suppose we analyZe this accusation
for the benefit of men like our cotem-
porary, whom we believe to he fair
There is no paper worthy of being
claSsed as a great daily" which does
not desire ami aim to give fair reports
of all news matters. regardless of the
editorial or political views of the paper :,
Business prosperity for the paper can
be maintained on no other basis; and
putting it on the sordid ground of self
interest, no great daily can or will
afford to distort news. There are few.
If ANY, papers Of the class named who
DO moi feel conscientious duty in their
news relations to the public; but we
waive that for the benefit of the hyper
critical, and only present the selfish
point. f-f,
Believing our critic will admit it Is to
the interest ofthe great daily" to be
fair i'll its news reports, let us see what
WAS actually done, and in SO doing We
take the Gil ODE lis sample.
The workmen at Pullman protested
against the reduction Of their wages to
a Starvation standpoint and struck The
GLOBE recorded this fact, and stated as
we'll that the strike was justifiable and
Mr.. Pullman was i'll the wrong.
Later Mr.. DebS, president of the
A. r. o., called his executive council
together, and sympathetic strike"
was ordered on all roads using Pullman
cars. There was no grievance outside
of Pullman town. As the result, freight
traffic throughout the West was almost
entirely suspended for few days, and
passenger trains ran with great diff
Guilty and irregularity.
Switches were misplaced, trestleS
were burned, spikes were drawn and
other train-wrecking methods resorted
to, resulting i'll the ditching of trains
and serious loss of life. Riots were in
augurated. cars were burned by the
hundred, millions of property was de.
Stroyed or persisted for lack of trans
portation, men were beaten for trying to
earn living for themselves ana FAM
lilies, and a general reign of terror pre-
vailed.
In st. Paul the families of two men
were boycotted, and butchers and grocers
notified not to sell them necessaries of
life. Men were egged and stoned on
their engines; a man who was endeavor-
ing to secure board for workmen was
assaulted, and he shot his assailant i'll
self-defense. A Milwaukee freight was
held up almost within the limits of st.
Paul, aud the engineer and fireman as
saulted, the latter being especially bru-
tally beaten.
All OF these briefly summarized mat
tiers were actual occurrences. ana as
such were printed in the GLOBE as the
current news of the day.
| Meanwhile, the GLOBE was also
printing all the news obtainabie from
the strikers standpoint. and such re-
ports of their secret meetings as they
would give. 1t printed Mr.. Debs' in
| functions against violence" which in
| creased in enthusiasm as the violence
| and loss of life and property increased.
1t announced daily, on the authority of
| he strikers, that the cause WAS "Stroug-
er than ever" that no trains were
| moving, ETC., though each dav official
reports of moving trains were printed.
AS an illustrations: The writer met a
| friend on the street when the strike was
on the top wave, who incidentally re-
] marked that he was at an A. r. u.
meeting the previous night, and the
course Of the daily papers was COM
! planned of. Pinned down for specilica-
tons, it only consisted of the statement
|
| running in the Northwest for days, while
| the papers reported that traffic was
being gradually resumed. Half an hour
| previous to this inter view the GLOBE
had been advised of the arrival OF a
| freight train containing II car of paper
| for its use. And still the GLOBE was
accused OF unfa;rness because 1t chronl
icled the facts regarding the movement
| of trains, while at the same time it gave
space for the A. Il. u. to make state
| ments which were known 10 be untrue
| but they were given specifically as
being OH that unreliable authority
A con nittee wat,t OF tn, GGoBH to
Know IL 1t would print the strikers side
OF the case IL it was furnished. The re-
! quest was a lengthy and formidable
| document. and evidently made with the
| hope and expectation 1t would be re-
III sed. On the contrary. greatly to tn,
discontinue OF the committee, the re-