Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1900-03-09
A Vlrulent Critic.

nder the headline oi Spokane's
Misfortune" We axe surprised to find
the P-K joining in the crusade against
the Sp"lesm4aEfrirw waged hy the
citizens "f the inland city, for simply
reporting what it believed to bc the
truth regarding the spread Of a con-
taglOus disease in that community
SMALLPOX. It seems that the manage
ment oil the E,cic,c deemed it duty
10 publish facts, without fear or favor,
and let the people form their own
Judgment from them. 1t called upon
the health officer to report to it, for
publication, every case OF contagious
disease that was discovered in the city
That was the head and front OF its Of
Tending No denial was made of the
existence Of the plague; in fact it was
admitted, at the meeting which threat
ened to boycott the paper, and is con-
ceded by the P.-I, which seeks to de-
fend their action, that returning SOL
diers from the Philippines had scat
tered germs OF the disease on the
Sound, in Montana and Idaho cities,
as we'll as in Spokane. But the same
selfish policy which crops out in every
community when anything which
checks the currents Of trade appears,
impelled some of the business men of
Spokane to demand that the danger
signal be withheld, simply because it
in,erfered with local trade and less
enel the profits that were flowing
into their tills, and they berated the
newspaper for disposition to exercis-
ing its high prerogative of warning the
people OF danger that might be
known to exist after careful official in
vestigation.
Where motive could have existed
for the Spokane paper to make asser.
tions as the P.-I, alleges it has, "with
unwearied pertinacity and incompre-
hensible malignity," that would of ne.
cessity damage itself, as a trade factor,
quite as much as any other business
entity OF the city, does not appear. If
it asserted, as is alleged, that the pub.
lie officers were banded together to
conceal the truth, it was probably no
more nor less than the truth, for we
can see nearer home the result of the
.'elfish policy of concealment of such
dreaded visitations, where it took two
reports, OF specially deputized medical
men, to determine that $50 cases OF
smallpox actually existed in a little
town OF few hundred inhabitants, so
persistent were the people in closing
their eyes to the unwelcome fact.
The P.-I.s assumption that the dis.
ease was of mild form and only two
deaths had resulted from it, when the
crusade against the Spokesman. Reriey
began, might have some force were it
reasonable to infer that "mild cases.
were not contagious and that the death
of but two persons from it carried the
presumption that menace to life was
not materially involved in its presence.
We hold that it was the highest indi-
cation of a conscientious sense of duty
that impelled a journal of the influ.
ence of the Spokane paper to stand
forth as the champion of the commun-
ity despite threats of withdrawal of pa
tronage OF those influenced solely by
a prospect of a temporary prostration
of business from full understanding
OF existing conditions.
1t would be interesting to trace the
the true cause of the Pts scurillous
attack upon the Spokane paper, for an
exercise OF judgment in the perform
ance of duty which was, to a large
degree, question of local policy.
There is cat under the meal, some
where, and in the course of time its
outlines will doubtless be disclosed in
the trend of affairs connected with the
selfish objects of rival politicians.