Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-08
nv FORCiy/EC SPiRjT.

Standard has demonstrated a fact which
has long been suspected by the Montana
public, namely. that it is willfully dis
honest. in the treatment of matters under
discussion. and that it does not really
merit the charity which it's supposed ig-
norance seemed to invite.
In it's analyses of statements made in
the Inter Mountain it is guilty of care
fully planned distortions of ideas pre-
scented. giving them a coloring wholly in
: consistent with the text, with the self
evident intention Of weakening their force
by giving a false Interpretation of their
meaning.
This would call for a criticism of the
! journalism practiced by our contempo-
rary, if it knew what journalism meant;
but, under the circumstances. it is prof
liable only to apply the logic of the old
adage-"you cannot make a musician
! out of a sow's ear"-and refrain from a
| useless waste of space.
If it had the courtesy to quote from
the columns of the Inter Mountain para
graphs in support of it's statements as to
the claims made by his paper. it would
attract to itself more reputation for hon
esty and fair play, even if it's arguments
suffered from closer contact with the
truth.
It appears to be the supreme end of the
| ST. nj WI ~ Tho Il, nocc;h;lik,v - n ~
independent position on the part of any
Montanian, while the democratic feud is
playing an engagement before the public.
AS this feud has existed for years,
belching forth with volcanic fervor from
time to time, whenever one side wanted
something in a political way which the
other side also wanted, there are some
persons so narrow between the eyes as
to imagine that everybody in this state is
necessarily 'lined up under one stand
ard or the other of these contending fac
tons.
The poland kettle fight in which the
democracy of this state has INDUCED
for years-and the noise hat has been
made by the contending factions-does
not necessarily imply that everybody has
taken sides.
On the contrary, the growth Of a
healthy disgust has largely increased the
crop of independent thinkers year by
year, until now yer democrats, here and
there, are beginning to threaten an indie
pendent party movement that will elimi.
nate both factions from political consid'
Grafton.
For purposes of it's own, however, thu
, Standard endeavors to make 1t appear
that no feud really exists, but that II
the present exhibit before the senate J.
is the Montana public versus Senator
Clark.
: Self-interest inspires the Butte Miner
on the other hand, to assume that tn,
Montana public, through it's representa-
{ tive now on trial before the senate com
mittee, is trying to protect itself from
the "other wing" of the democratic party
While neither wing of the demo
cratic party represents the Montan:
. public, which, as a matter of fact, woult
gladly protect itself from both factions
the Miner has not pretended to say tina
: no feud exists in the democratic party IL
this state.
The work of trying to prove that har
mony reigns in the democracy. and tina
Il nobody ever heard of a feud. has beel
I undertaken by the Standard for the pur
r pose of producing an effect upon the out
= side public and incidentally upon tn
= senate.
The fact brought out by ex-Senato
Faulkner that all the witnesses for tn
prosecution. without an exception, be
long to what is distinctively known Il
this state as the DAILY wing of the demo
cratic party, does not seem to discourag
the Standard is trying to prove tina
o the rough-and-tumble, knock-down-and
d drag-out hair-pulling bees of the pas
few years are nothing but political hal
g lucinations born in the feverish brain G
the Inter Mountain!
Il Neither will the Standard suffer an
y encouragement when it is called upon t
o note the further fact that the witnesse