The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1897-12-15
OUR DAILY PAPERS,

CHICAGO. Nov. 2o.-The Inter Ocean will
tomorrow publish at the head Of it's ed-
tOrial page an announcement Of it's future
policy, political and otherwise, and says:
THE controlling interest in the Inter
Ocean has been purchased by a party of
Chicago gentlemen, prominent among
whom is Mr.. Charles 7. Yerkes and its
immediate mana cement has been instructed
to Mr.. William Penn Nixon and Mr.. George
Wheeler Hinman.'
Yerkes is the great street railroad
magnate, Of Chicago, and an expert in
the management Of legislatures and
courts.
And even that old gold-bug sheet, the
St. Paul Pioneer Press, begins to note
the growth of public sentiment as to
papers like itself, and says:
The country has profound distrust and
dislike Of men of the Yerkes and Spreckels
stripe. They are commonly looked upon
as the personifications of greed
in the popular conception among the
Doodle kings to whom the buying up Of
state legislatures and municipal councils
seems matter CT legitimate enterprise,
and the successful bribilg of jur, men an
instance only Of superior shrewdness.
there would seem to be no bounds to the
corrupt practices used for their self-aG-
granQlZement the OCneTWlSc uH-
paid absorption of public franchises. The
rights Of the community are as nothing
in their eyes. Their only definition of
equity is found in
THAT good old plan
That he may take who has the power
And he may keep who can"
When such men as these buy up and
assume the control of prominent newspa-
pers like the Chicago Inter Ocean and the
San Francisco Call. the minds Of not a
few people are filled with apprehension.
Plainly the purchases are not made as or
binary money making investments. Those
multi millionaires have ether more directly
profitable ways of using their money. They
are not looking for newspaper dividends.
They have gone into the newspaper bust
ness simply for the purpose Of furtherlng
their monopolistic schemes in other direc-
tons-of giving journalistic support and
encouragement to their tools in public Of
flee, of securing the nomination and cleo
ton of other tools, and of yoking SO far
as possible the enginery Of partisan poll
tics to their own schemes of aggrandiZe
ment. Alarmed observers say: IF such
men can buy uD two papers, what is to
hinder their buying another and another,
until all the great daiies shall come I'M
der their control; and the press which
should be the bulwark of our liberties and
sure defense against corruptionists.
shall itself be converted into the servant
of corrupt moneyed oligarchy?'
But these frightened individuals forget
several very important facts in the case,
some of which must have been forgotten,
also by the gentlemen who have gone into
the buying up of newspaper for the ends
described. The most important of these is
that when the control of a newspaper Is
known to have been acquired for such pur-
poses it's influence in the community is
practically destroyed at once People may
for a while continue to buy it for it's news;
but its editorial influence is reduced to zero.
Even the authenticity of its news bearing
upon topics affecting the interest OF its
owners will be questioned. The transfer
Of it's types. presses, subscription list and
franchises is quickly found not to have car
ried with it any moral or political power