Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-11-12
BUSY CASTIN' UP.
The Union and Its Observance
Of Journalistic Enterprise.
POLITICS AND STANDING on MERIT.

This journalistic controversy is
becoming edyfying to the public, it
must be Confessed. and The Argos
feels constrained to apologize for en-
tering into q discussion of the busi-
ness affairs of its Off &c, in which
there is, of course, no general inter-
est, but this m orning's Uaion goes 60
far out of the customary procedure
in public discussions between repu-
table papers that self defense COM
pels further departure than would
otherwise have been imagined. much
less INDUCED in. In its last issue,
The ARGUS referred to the relative
merits, as viewed by the pubic eve,
Of its Sunday edition the day fol-
lowing the visit OF W. J. Bryan to
Rock Island, and the issue of the
paper whose custom it is to cover
the morning field appearing stimuli
taneously with the one in question.
Now the Union has been guilty Of
"csstin' up" as "Chimmie Fadden"
would express it. For instance. wit
ness these gallant words from this
mornings edition:
1.-THE ARGUS last evening referred
boastingly to its Bryan edition-au
extraordinary effort in honor Of the
visit Of the democratic candidate for
president. That was the time The
ARGUS hired a republican stenog-
raPher to report the speech in full,
and accompanied the report with .
brave portrait which the Harper syn
dictate offered for 81 So payable
whea Bryan is elected. It was
great spirit Of enterprise for The
ARGUS"
AS to the first allegation. The Ar
GUS pleads guilty. 1t engaged q
stenographer. but it did not question
his politics, nor. would it with full
knowledge Of his sentiments have
suspected their Interference with
mer:torious work-as long as he had
not been accustomed to working on
the Union. And the yer batim re-
port furnished did not in the least
afford basis for such iutimution or
conclusion. The fact was therefore
established. it may be said for the
Unions information, that q court re-
porter is capable Of doing uobias ed
and creditable service-if he is q re-
pu blican.
Now as to the silly remark. apro-
pos of the cut of W. j. Bryan ap-
pearing in the Sunday issue. the Union
has got its dates mixed. 1t has per-
haps got the conditions under which
it received that victory elephant
used the morning after the election.
confused with the customary meth
DDS Of wideawake newspaper Of
which its knowledge is pain
fully limited. However, THE ARGUS
is not inquiring into the business
practices Of its ambitious contempo
AIRY. but for its own part no cut has
ever appeared in the columns Of
THE ARGUS that has not been paid
for, and there was no condition what
ever attached to the large one of MIR.
Bryan other than that of an abso-
Lutte cash transaction. Proof OF this
was made in the form Of an affidavit
subscribed to before James r. Reidv,
notary public, this morning. and
which the Union is at liberty to have
and publish in the further discus
zion Uf the business transactions Of
THE ARGUS. And this, nothwithstand-
ing the fact that the cut is still the IN
disputed property OF TIE ARGUS as
sufficient proof of the Unions fal-ity.
| Az to Cuts In General.
1t has not been the disposition Of
The ARGUS to charge candidates,
either for cuts pu blished in its col.
umns. OF for the good words it has
said Of them. Nor has it limited it,
practice to politicians. All classes of
people have been so favored by The
ARGUS. and where i, has been done
1t has been gratis. Quite in con-
trast with this course with the atti-
tude ofthe morning paper, in charging
the cuts to candidates so favored, and
further than that The ARGUS has in
mind now an instance where the
lyoung men OF religious organize
ton were obliged to chip in to bear
the expense OF an enterprise Of this
kind before the Union would adopt it.
Aud while we are on the cut subject,
it may not be the most inopportune
occasion to say that one Of the first
duties that Coroner-el Ech hart will
devote himself TO, will be 10 hold q in.
Iquest on the engraving which the
Union published about election time
with his name attached, with a view
to establishing its identity.
Oh, this ''castin up" business could
be carried to an endless extent in
discussing the queer ways Of the
Union. where the disposition existed
to presume on the patience of the
rsader. But enough OF it.
Yet the comparison on the part OF
the Union does not end here. 1t
goes into q further discussion OF the
methods OF the two journals and in
Inmates that each serves its own
party best. One reminder seems
necessary as far as The Argus is
concerned, and that is that when it
made that modest allusion to its
Sunday edition it had no particular
thought of the political features in
mind, but the general all-around
character Of the two papers, and par
ticularly the four distinct scoops"
of legitimate current news which