Omaha daily bee., 1899-06-26
AN rNCALLED-FoR ArrAcK.

The attack made upon The Bee in the
shape of a letter bazoned in black
type on the front page of the Omaha
World.Herald over an apparently start
ling array of names of citizens of the
afflicted town of Herman Is both I'M.
called-for and unworthy of the people
who have been the beneficiaries I'm their
need Of philanthropic assistance from
the people of Nebraska, including The
Bee.
The meat and inspiration OF the
whole arraignment are contained in the
following threat of n boycott on The
Bee in favor of its popocratic cOntem-
porary:
1nasmuch as we have been liberal pa
irons OF The Bee we are at a loss to com
prehend it's motives and. therefore, we have
pledged ourselves to patronize the Words
Herald
In this free country every person able
to read has a perfect right to patronize
any newspaper he wishes, but lest
wrong impression may be given, 1t is
fair to state that the last report OF
newspaper circulation at Herman was
as follows:
Herman. Neb,-Population, 35O railroad,
NJ. & o.; Bee subscribers, total, 2l; World
Herald. total. 10; State Journal, total, 9.
While The Bee would regret to lose
on any account its patrons, either at
Herman or elsewhere, IL will continue
to publish the only fearless metrop0li-
tan, up-to-date newspaper in these
parts, giving every subscriber the fun
worth of his money. While on the sub
ject of the Herman affair, however, it
may be pertinent to touch upon some
of the other aspects in language little
palmer than has heretofore been used.
In the first place, The Bee is above all
newspaper and not n brass band
charity bazar working free advertising
by distributing other peoples donations
to stricken unfortunates. In the mat
| ter of the Herman tornado, The Bee
was first in giving the public prompt,
| accurate and complete news of the dis
| aster, eXaggerating nothing and dis.
torting nothing. The Bee did not stig
lnatiZe the good people of Herman and
their neighbors as vandals and outlaws
or call upon the governor to summon
the state militia to keep them from
| rObbing one another. That terrible and
| unfoundcd charge was made by the
| Omaha fakcry, which in it's sensation
seeking frenzy did not hesitate to brand
the whole community as hot-hole OF
| crime. If any paper has misrepra-
sented the condition of affairs at Her
man it is not The Bee.
In the second place, when The Bee
| said that $50 far as the immediate bod
| lily wants are concerned the community
| is taking care of its own and supplies
sent from distant points are not
| needed it did so upon the authority
of members of the local relief commit
tees, who We're presumed to KNOW the
situation. The demands after the sec
Ond day were not to supply immediate
| bodily wants, but to restore the wreck
age and enable the people to resume
their accustomed avOcations with the
least delay.
In the third place, word as to the
relief work. In this case, as in all
other worthy cases, The Bee has been
W 'hS iloht nol ohiy III dDDllSlDS lIe
charitably inclined of the occasion and
| necessity for their assistance, but also
in material contributions of its own
The Bee contributed $50 in cash to the
Commercial club relief fund and free
advertising space, for which hundreds
of dollars would ordinarily have been
charged, to the various benefit entertain
NyhpSn nrnaaoIS In Iyhn ,, in,
part were to be devoted to the Herman
sufferers. The Bee moreover transmit
ted to the local relief committee the con-
tributions of Hastings, Neb. and Clarks,
Neb, amounting to nearly $50, which
were sent to its editor to be applied to
the proper purpose, All this was done
without brag or buster.
Has any one heard of any one con-
nected with the proprietorship of the
World-Herald going down into his
pockets for single dollar to be con-
tributed to the various relief funds? Is
it not true that the only offer of cash
emanating from that paper was the
harmless offer of $50 reward for the
arrest and conviction of the parties
said to have removed the sign from the
World-EIerald relief bureau and thereby
to have deprived that paper of some of
the self-advertisement it was making at
the expense of sympathetic donors?
The defeated popocratic candidate for
congress of last year, who in his anxi-
ETY. to try again is frantically endeavor-
ing to acquire favor for his paper and
votes for himself with the charity con
tributions of others, may have sue
ceeded in fooling some of the good peo-
pie of Herman, but in attaching their
signatures to document attacking The
Bee, prepared at popocratic instigation,
they have allowed themselves to be
used as catspaws for political and mer-
cenary ends. No one should misunder-
stand the motives of The Bee. Neither
should they misunderstood the motives
of the popocratic fakery.