The Green Forest tribune., 1900-11-24
A GREAT INJUSICE.
This Country Slandered in the
 Kansas City Star.

In a recent issue of the Kansas City Star appeared an illustrated article from the pen of Mr. Oliver Guinand, mention of whom was made in THE TRIBUNE some weeks ago. MT. Guinand is a brother in- law of Col. Skinner, the popu- lar railroad contractor who is now camped at the Heard spring, out northwest of Green Forest.
 The article was perused with much astonishment by THE TRIB- UNE editor, since we had formed, from personal acquaintance with MT. Guinand, a better opinion of him than to believe that he would endeavor to heap a lot of ridicule and misrepresentations upon this country for mere pass time. The article is not only misleading in it's nature, but it is slanderous, because it describes conditions that do not exist. It is not un- reasonable to suppose that the ways of the people in the rural districts of this country would be interesting to man who scarcely ever sees outside of the city lim- it's, but it is hard to imagine what MT. Guinand feels he has gained by placing this country and it's people before the readers of the Star in the rediculous light in which he has shown them.
 Instead of even mentioning the broad field for capital here, and the chances offered of homes for the homeless in this comparative ly undeveloped region, MT. Gui- hand paraphrases a job-lot of old gags that have been in vogue since the days of the "Arkansas Traveller and applies them to his own surroundings, telling of the boy who went to mill on horseback with corn in one end of the sack and stone in the other, and a lot of other such stuff that was enough to insult the in telligence of his readers.
 The Eureka Springs Times Echo makes the following mention of Guinand's article which we take pleasure in reproducing:
 "An article in the Kansas City Star of last Sunday, dated from the railroad camp and signed o. Guinand,' affords an example of laborious and pitiful attempt at humor. The writer seeks to make his contribution readable by re- beating stale old islanders on Ar kansas and in the end he suc- ceeds in fully establishing his own asininity. So long has Arkansas been used as by-word for illit- eracy and natural disadvantages that every squab who breaks into outside print thinks he makes himself entertaining by rehashing lot of old garbage that has done service for the past seventy live years. Just why reputable news papers allow such animals to drag their weary way across white pa per is not easy to understand. There is certainly nothing either entertaining, intellectual or truth full about such articles, and their mission is open to a very serious question, from newspaper standpoint.
 "The species of coarse islander which is represented by 'Guin- and,' whoever he may be, is be- ginning to make the people Of Arkansas very tired, to use slang expression. There might be some consolation in being libeled by an intellectual superior or even an equal; but to be maligned by every simian who has attained sufficient mental eminence to caraciture the Eng fish language is a humiliation which the people of Arkansas have done nothing to merit. It is true that Arkansas is subject to the possibility of improvement. This is also true of other states, and especially of the commun- ities that are afflicted with the responsibility of having turned out such literary deformities as O. Guinand. Slandering Ark ansas is worn -out passtime that I. l-~~. |,