Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-06-20
uncLEAN "MEwsPApERlNG."

The Davenport Times, a newspapsl
that has taken no part in the fight be
tween the Blythe and Cummins fac
i tons, reproducing an editorial from tn
Sioux City Journal offers the following
caustic comment:
4 The Times happens to know that the
Sioux City Journal was accurately ad.
| vised of the results of the caucuses
in Ccott county. Evidently suspectins
that all newspaper men are biased il
seems to have preferred to base its ed
itorial opinions upon inaccurate state
ments from Des Moines and elsewhere
than upon the accurate reports from
Scott county direct The Times refers
to this, not in any spirit of partisan
ship, but in the hope that it's protest
will have some effect to bring Iowa
newspapers that have been forgetting
| their missions as newspapers, to see
| the error of their way, and point them
| to the kind of Journalism that is not
afraid to publish the truth whether
| the truth happens to agree with the
| policies of the editorial page or not.
| The truth, and nothing but the truth,
will in the long run do no man an
| injustice.
In another editorial article the Times
refers to the lying reports sent out
! from Davenport by the correspondent
of a Des Moines newspaper, one of
| those correspondents. who, according
| to his own statement sis in newspa-
per work precisely as a lawyer is in
the law The Times says:
However when a newspaper re-
ports such things as county caucuses
there is absolutely no reason what
ever why it should not print approx
imately an accurate statement of the
results. But there are newspapers in
Iowa especially in Cedar Rapids, Bur-
lington and Des Moines, which will
fully misrepresent the results of
the caucuses in Davenport on Thurs
day night, saying. for instance that
Perkins swept Scott county. These
papers asserted that the "Cummins
men counting in their delegations that
had been contested, claimed only five
majority over the Perkins delegates"
They asserted that Cummins had
abotu IS delegates and Perkins S.
They told how Scott county clearly
was in the Perkins column.
Now it happens that these papers
We're represented in Davenport that
night. not by local man. but by an
outside correspondent who came here
for the purpose Of reporting the re-
suit Evidently he sent what he had
been instructed to send. Evidently the
false reports were printed for the
express purpose Of deceiving people in
other parts Of the state. Is that hon
est newspaper work? Is that printing
the news? Rather Is 1t not prostitu
ton Of reporter and publisher to will
fully print falsehoods for the political
effect that such falsehoods may tenn
porarily have In counties where con-
ventions have not yet been held?
Such newspapers disgrace the whole
of newspaperdom. They ought to be
left without support by their readers
who it may be presumed pay their
honestly earned money to those news
papers for the purpose OF getting hon
est reports OF what actually occurs.
A newspaper writer even If the pub
self, ought to refuse point blank to
follow Instructions that make 1t conf
pulsory for him to lie. Any honest re-
porter on receipt Of instructions to
write such untruthful reports ought to
hand in his resignation forthwith.
Their are plenty Of honest newspapers
where honest reporters can find en-
n1Oyn1enf