Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1895-08-23
Much Ado About Nothing"

~ pun Hllic OiyMptuH seell5 10
be quite touchy" about its ability to
deal with the exacting duties imposed
upon 1t as local news reporter, and
simply because the STANDARD noted
the fact that its list of taxpayers in
the county who were rated on the as
sessment roll at over 5000 was no.
toriously incomplete, it snaps and
snarls like an enraged iiste, and ac-
cuses us OF appropriating" its local
news without any compensation on
our part. The injustice OF such an
accusation is apparent at a glance.
Unless local happenings are copy
righted simply by publication, We see
no reason why they do not belong as
much to one paper as another, and
that the Olympian enjoys a privilege
OF first publication is simply because
it puts out daily edition in addition
to its weekly. The only articles that
have been copied have been reports of
routine work Of public officers which
are open to everybody, and are quite
as often clipped from the Oregonian,
or the Post-InteHigencer, or the Ledger,
for the simple reason that they appear
first in those papers and are generally
much iuller than the Olympiam can
print, if it would.
There must, OF necessity, be SINH
larity in several accounts of the same
events, if correctly reported, and it is
an implied compliment to the accu-
racy OF the Olympian, inasmuch ss
subsequent accounts of the same
transaction agree with its own version,
but we deny appropriation" OF its
local news items, without corrobora-
ton, or without clothing the transac-
ton in our own language. That jour-
nal cannot say as much. In the very
issue that it makes this accusation
were several local items it cribbed"
from the STANDARD, without scarcely
a pretense of different phraseology,
and this frequently happens. Some
times, to demonstrate this, we set a
trap for our esteemed contemporary,
and it is seldom that it fails to work
when loaded for bear" For instance,
our astronomical reporter stated last
March that an eclipse of the moon
would take place at a certain hour A.
NJ. instead OF P. NJ, which was duly ap-
propriated, mistatement and all, by the
Olympian, and it is said that one OF its
subscribers sat up all night to view
the celestial phenomenon, which it
had affirmed would occur in the
morning!
The Olympian says it will not at.
tempt to amend the list OF heavy tax
payers; that it will not abe drawn
into any further labor on that item;
that if the STANDARD will complete
the work it will reproduce it " so that
all the people can read it," the call"
embracing about one of q hundred
reading the Olympiam who does not
read the STANDARD.
The most measly" thing done by
our contemporary in this matter has
been 10 lay the blame on Tom Prath-
er. 1t says: "The fact is Tom
Prather prepared the list for us, and if
there are any errors in it, go for him.
He is the guilty man." This is indeed
the most unkindest cut of ALL" After
accepting of the friendly services of an
outsider. appropriating his labors as is
admitted, saving shoe-leather" and
the exercise of its great thinker"
the Olympian hides its little head be-
hind Tom and shouts eco for himl"
Verify, it is q thankless task to en-
tighten our captious neighbor.