The record-union., 1897-09-18
THE VICTIMS OF FALSE INFOR-
NATION.

The Coffee Creek excitement was en-
gineered by the sensational press of
San Francisco. Every victim of that
excitement who spent his time and his
money should reflect that sensational
journalism must necessarily be untrue,
because it must sacrifice the truth it
self to the sensational phases of its
publication. To illustrate: When the
bodies of Blanche Lamont and Minnie
Williams were found in Emmanuel
Church in San Francisco, a first-class
sensation was supplied to the press.
An arrest was made, the circumstances
pointing to Theodore Durrant as the
murderer. Every circumstance which
tended to fix the guilt upon Durrant
was in the line of a sensation. Hence
circumstances We're not only sought but
manufactured. False interviews were
published
Now, let it be supposed that a slight
chain of circumstances heretofore I'M
discovered should be disclosed exoner-
dLlllS OuAAdIil LIOlll Lie Nll<lA Sc VI 4iAt4-
der The discovery of his innocence
would be a world wide sensation and
the newspaper that could weave fab
ric of evidence establishing such inno-
cence would have employment for its
sensational instincts and matter justi-
flying scare heads in its columns.
The dupes of the Coffee Creek excite
ment held an indignation meeting and
notified the San Francisco reporters to
leave camp Immediately under the
menace of personal harm. A gentle
man, however, who has recently re-
turned from that point declares that a
very large percentage Of those who
were deceived by the sensational stories
published in San Francisco declare that
the railroad company induced the pa
pers to publish these statements in or
der to create a passenger traffic over
the lines of it's road. 1t goes without
saying that this is wholly untrue; that
the Southern Pacific Company did not
in any instance attempt to create the
impression that gold placers available
to everybody had been discovered on
Coffee Creek; but the belief that surh
was the case is predicated upon that
other opinion that the railroad COM
pany controls the columns of the SEN
sational press of San Francisco.
This is the worst indictment that has
ever been brought against yellow
Journalism. for be it known that if the
railroad companies can avail them
selves of the sensational disposition Of
yellow" Journalism to create excite
ment conducive to travel, then that
species of journalism is wholly unrelia-
bic, because it is wholly at the mercy
of some instrumentalfty having sinister
designs upon the public.
Let the man who thinks that the rail
road company used the columns of the
San Francisco press to create a gold
excitement concerning Coffee Creek re-
feet for moment upon the absurdity
of his own position. He believed these
EARS1S ~ NC Sdk5dD4C VI bGAuS lAuS uSEl,
and yet he trusted them and their
statements when he acted upon news
which had no foundation in fact The
man who now says that the railroad
company can use the papers of San
Francisco to get up an excitement any
where is declaring that any false state
ment can secure publication at the
hands of any designing corporation or
person, and yet he himself admits that
ne was fool enough to believe in these
statements sufficiently to induce him
TO spend his time and money N going
TO Coffee Creek. He thus writes him
self down an ass.
In very truth, the railroad company's
agents We're the first to discover and
denounce the fraud being praeticed
upon the public They We're the first
to give out the news that no discover
les had been made beyond a small
pocket in little vein of tale by the
Graves brothers. And it is quite as hui
initiating as it is astounding TO remem-
Der that there were papers to declare
that while this disclosure of the fraud