The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-11-10
FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 10, 1899.
TWELVE PAGES.
Afraid to Print the Truth.

Miner, on its editorial page, con-
veyed to its readers the informa-
ton that Sin Helena, to-day, will begin
Sone of the most remarkable proceedings
in the history of the commonwealth"
The Miners reference, as was ex-
planned in words added to those we
have quoted, was to the trial of the
welcome case. 1t is, indeed, as the
Miner said, remarkable" case. Four
days of progress in the hearing before
the supreme court have proved that it
is all of that. ~
The case is, in fact, SO remarkabl
that itfinterests all the people of Mon
tana in larger measure than any court
proceeding in which the state has had
Z concern in recent years-to say moth
ing of the fact that it is case in the
outcome of which several million peo-
pie residing beyond Montana's boun-
daries evince deep interest.
This case is proceeding on charges
that were brought against Mr.. Well
come by Mr.. Whiteside who, naturally,
Is a principal witness and whose testi-
mony is presumed by the public to be
! Of much significance. The case being
most remarkable" as the Miner said
last Monday, the reasonable presump-
rion is that the press of the state, to
the limit of each newspapers facilities,
should put before its readers the larg-
est possible report of the testimony
taken in court.
Proceeding in accordance with this
reasonable assumption, the Standard
goes to it's readers day after day with
a report practically verbatim of the
testimony. Thus, the Standard has
given almost precisely three columns
of Whitesides direct testimony and six
columns of the cross-examination of
that witness. In the same way, the
Standard prints, in a seven-column re-
port, essentially every word of the
telling testimony and the rigid cross
examination of State Senator Clark.
Why not? Rather in decency, how
can a newspaper do less? The public is
entitled to hear both sides; it is the
first duty Of a newspaper to print
both sides. You could put in one
sixth of one column all the direct tes-
eimony given by Whiteside and printed
in the Miner. That publication did VEN
ture a little father out with his cross
examination, printing selected samples
of 1t to the extent of about one col
inn. Doing this, the Miners flashing
announcement is that Welcomes law
gers "soon had Whiteside on the run"
Well, the readers of the Miner will
1have to take that newspapers word
for it---they haven't the testimony to
go by: and it is not too much to say
that the readers of Mr. Clark's news
paper will not take the Miners say-so
in a hurry. Whiteside is the man the
Miner was going to blow sky-high
when once it got him into court, yet
up to the present writing Whiteside,
like the star-spangled banner, appears
to be 'tstill there
Everybody can believe that White
sides testimony, sworn to and unshak-
en-, in regard to Welcomes ten-thous-
and-doiiar operations, is pretty hot
stuff for the Miners columns. But to
have flung at whiteside ali the ill-fa-
vored epithets known to the modern
languages, during six months, and then
TO sneak out of printing his testimony
on the test trial, as the Miner has done
homer bright. wouldn't it cork you!