The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-02-20

The above is a list of officers elected
! by the Utah Press association yester-
day to serve for the ensuing year.
The members OF the Utah association
gathered from afar and near yester-
day to attend the annual meeting and
enjoy the jubilation of a banquet which
followed in the evening.
John James was reelected president
of the association. John Meter of the
Richfield Advocate. who was the only
other nominee for the place, fell a sac
rifice to geographical location. For the
other offices in the association the Sc
lections were in almost every case
unanimous.
The meeting of the manipulators of
the pencil was held in the reading room
of the Knutsford, and about 25 scribes
were in attendance.
John James ambled gracefully into
the room, and after briefly welcoming
the members said business might be
proceeded with.
THE ENGLISH SPEAKING PEOPLE.
E. G. Rognon called for the reading
of papers prepared for the occasion,
Fand John Meter was brought forward
to sing the praises of the English
Speaking People" Mr.. Meter eX-
planned that the source of his inspira-
ton en- this subject was in the fact
that he saw so many Lars PetersenS
and Peter Larsens in the section where
his journal is published. He traced the
history of the English through their
various amalgamations, conquests and
subjugations until they reached a final
and triumphant liberty. This race, he
said, represented the composite brains
and sinew of other civilized countries,
and carried the best and most various
blood in the world. THE world" he
concluded, lis passing into the hands
of English speaking people. Soon the
language Will be more widely spoken
than any other. The future of the Eng
lish speaking people will be the future
of the world"
THE PRESS AND THE PEOPLE.
Fred Nelson of the Tintic Miner made
the next effort. His paper strongly
urged the wedding out of the associa-
ton members who have no legitimate
standing in the newspaper fraternity,
and met with warm approval Mr. Mel
sons subject was The Press and Peo-
pie and Their Mutual Relations" He
said he did not believe, as some did,
that the newspaper should be kept dis
tinct from the people, but in his Opin-
ion, the newspaper and the public
should be closely allied.
This association, he continued. will
never be a success as long as it is not
conducted by the legitimate newspaper
men of the state The fact that others
have found their way into the assOcia-
ton and wasted its time and influence,
accounts for the glaring failure the as
ISOLATION has been up to date" He
claimed that Utah did not have read
ing public. and the publication of coun-
try newspapers was not justified by the
These were things for the
association to correct, by securing good
legislation and by other means.
THE object of the association" he
said. should be to elevate the profess
sion and it should have no members
who are not newspaper men. The as
ISOLATION should work upon business
principles"
4 GENERAL DISCUSSION
On motion of Mr. Meter the subject
was opened for informal discussion
E. G. Rognon concurred in the idea
that men directly interested in news +
paper work should conduct the assOcia-
ton. The trouble was that the real
newspaper men had been unwilling TO
work with sufficient energy
e. A. Mcdaniel also supported the
position taken by Mr.. Nelson. News .
paper men did not realize their own
Importance. and as a result were Woe F
fully imposed upon. The people were .
receiving constant free advertising, and
many of them did not sufficiently ap-
oreciate it to pay their subscription.
Newspaper nen. said Mr.. MCDANIEL,
should unite and work together ener-
zetically for their mutual interest.
THE LAW OF LIBEL.
Major E. A. Littlefeld of the ogden
State Journal. read the next paper,
which dealt with the existing libel law.
de condemned IL as n screaming farce,
md said the men who enacted it ought
@ be raising carrots. The law gives
men great license, and all
he stigmatized citizen could get out
# it was a retractiOn, which was at
pest a very unsatisfactory thing. The
aw opened the way to wholesale cal
limitation by slanderous scribblers.
Mr.. Littlefield thought the law, from
professional standpoint, was unnec-
,ssary, as legitimate newspaper men
would never violate it. 1t was only
directed at human hyenas and moral
and, in his opinion, a new
aw should be passed.
y. 3. Dresser thought the law Of
cred as much protection as was nee
.ssary TO libeled citizens. He had
worked hard to have it passed. and it
vas much better than in the form in
which it was first proposed.
). A. Kenner took a hand in the de-
pate, and began by saying the law as j
at first looked like a relic of
he Spanish inquisition. Mr. Kenner