Omaha daily bee., 1897-06-27
NOT dER,yD 10 FACE ITS RECORD.

NDf AFhs1fb ~ ff'h IIo hFttNifs
Newspapers are mada by men and DO
man or set Of men can be infallible.
! Looking backward over a career of more
than a quarter Of a century, covering
virtually the entire period of Nebraska's
statehood. The Bee has no reason to
feel ashamed or afraid to face its rec.
ord. With n consistency that has few
parallels It has from its birth to the
present day fearlcssly and ~courageously
fought the battles of the people for
honest government. In season and out
Of season The Bee has kept the search
light Of publicity turned upon men in
public places aud never faltcred in its
sclf.impoScd mission to expose corrup-
ton and dcnouncc bctrnynle of trust by
whomsocver committed.
In this constant conflict with public
plunderers and roGues il has had ar
raycd against itself not merely tho dis
honest NOR who occupied official post
tons of responsibility and trust. but
also the horde Of venal camp-followers,
cappers and ~ewSpapers that prostitute
themselves for money as defenders and
apologiStS OF public thieves and boodling
contractors. It requires 20 moral stamina
for a partisan organ TO support the can
didatcs of it's own party through thick
and thin. right or wrong, and to ham
mer down the men ON the opposition
ticket. But It takes the most unseltiSh
courage for n party paper to point out
dishonesty in the ranks OF its own party
and to repudiatc It's own party candi-
dates who nave proved themselves rec
rcant to the trust reposed in them.
The record of The Bee has been an al
most continuous sacrifice of its private
interests to what II believed to be de-
mandcd for the public welfare.
The first battles fought by The Bee
and the first victories won by it for the
people were waged against a rotten
federal ring that had fastened its fangs
upon Nebraska and whose head be-
rueathed a half a million Of tic I'M
earned dollars that have been suuan-
dcred by Il conSciencclCss heir in n deS-
pcrate but vain cndeavor to build up 4
| newspaper OH the ruins Of The Bee.
| Those who were enlisted with The Bee
in the battle of 1876 cannot forget the
| tremendous odds with which they were
confronted. including MS 1t did not
| merely all the federal and state office
holders, surveying contractors, rip-rip-
| pcrS, the oil room gang and fabricated
press. but also Jay Gould's Pacific rail
road anaconda. That conflict against
the cohorts Of corruption and corporate
domination had to be fought over again
and again III succeeding campaigns, but
The Bee never wavcred in bearing at
the front the banner of popular gov
eminent and honesty in office.
1t is true that in these twenty-five and
more years The Bee has supported for
office n number Of men who on trial
proved themselves unworthy of public
confidence. Such, for example, We're
Secretary of State Allen and his assO-
ciatcs on the state board that were dur
ing their second terms implicated in Job,
berry and cOnnivance with boOdling con-
tractors. Such also was Auditor Eugene
Moore, who stood high in the popular
esteem up to the very day of his exit
from office. But the record shows that
The Bee was the first to call Cor the i'm
parchment of Allen and his associates
and TO demand n strict accounting on
the part of Moore when his shor age was
disclosed.
The record also shows that The Bee
has never knowingly aided or allotted
official d~elinQuents, but on the contrary
has always been the first TO sound the
alarm and TO insist upon publicity of all
transactions which concern the public.
The first intimatiOn Of a probable treas
ury defalcation under Barley came
from The Bee. Had its warnings bceI
needed and its advice to compel BARLEY
to make a full exhibit of funds been
acted on, the shortage could not have
reached half its present dimensions.
True to its record, The Bee was also
the first to unearth and expose the
Casey-Bartley deal. Even wien this
scandal was made public 1t was dis
credited by the great mass of the PEG
pie, who in common with The Bee had
believed Mr.. Casey to be an exemplary
business man and absolutely reliable in
money matters.
In the face of The Bees unimpeach-
able record what a commentary upon
decency that n newspaper like the
Omaha World-Herald, whose career has
been that of the political harlot serving
as the fence for the political burglars,
D~ickDocketS and confidence sharDs of all
parties, should try to hide it's own
shameless betrayal OF the public by mis-,
representing the position which The Bee
has occupied with relation to public
men and measures.