Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-10-15

tUCn ringers Win wv IihSS sun '''N
Ing on them. OF course, this human
hyena was stood up against a wall
and shot
Another yarn shows what the lively
Imagination Of newspaper reporter
can produce in an emergency. II was
published, we are told. in Paris jour
nails under scare headlines, Accord
Ing TO this story. "thc Chinese and
japanese doaizens OF Chinatown i'm
mediately after the earthquake FORM
cd q procession, under the leadership
Of a heather soothsayer, and, carry
ing huge dragon. with great beating
OF tom toms. clangor of cyinbals and
burning Of incense. marched down TO
Portsmouth Square. Meanwhile a
horde Of Mexicans aud Portuguese, in
the Latin quarter. formed similar
procession. rallying behind an image
u ST. Francis, taken from tho church
Of San francisco d. Assist. and pour
~ down Telegraph Hll The two
~ "essions came together head on IN
smouth Square. The Spanish
pet and the heather aoothsayer ac.
'sed each other Of having brought
wn upon them the wrath Of Cod
medlately the two rival factions
gagged IN a fierce battle which wax
- 80 furious that President Roose-
welt had to send the American army
TO take hand IA tho ight.' The re-
suit was. OF course, that the streets
Of the city were soon turned into
rivers Of blood"
The writer In the magazine from
which we have quoted IS very indlg.
nant at the crculators Of falsehoods
concerning San Francisoo's calamity.
He ought 20 be, The facts must have
been sruesome enough without the ad-
dillon Of Embarrassing fiction. Stl,
there may be a natural II not a sum.
Gent justification for many OF the sto-
ries sent out about San Francisco. At
times Of great general excitement, the
testimony Of the outward senses Is
moth always reliable, Events and in
cidenls appear different to what they
are when viewed calmly. In the light
OF reason, People are apt to accept
the distorted pictures Of their own
Imagination for realities. Thus stories
originate and are eagerly believed, as
they seem 10 rest OH evidence. Then,
the interruptions newspaper reporter.
instructed to write something racy, and
eager to earn his salary. helps the
matter along by stating for facts
what is only fiction, and emhellishing
the stories to the very limit Of public
credulity.
There is not even this poor justlfi-
cation for the Infamous falsehoods that
have been circulated concerning the
majority Of the people Of Utah. Here
they have originated with a CLIQUE Of
conspirators, whose aim is, on the one
hand. the overthrow OF the Church OF
Christ, which Is as impossible as to
stay the sun IN its course In the heav-
ems; and on the other hand, the seizure
Of the government machinery OF the
community and the state, for purposes
OF loot and graft. The falsehoods are
all deliberately invented and told for
the purpose Of furnishing a reasonable
pretext for the un-American plots.
Some Of them are made as plausible as
untruth can be made by mixing little
truth with It, but they are none the
less falsehoods--ha truths being
equivalent to Hes. To some Il seems
strange that anyone can be deceived
into believing malicious fiction, crcu-
lated by more or less notorious char
acters, who are known 20 be strangers
to truth, honesty, and honor; or, by
persons who protesting religion, form
an unholy alliance with such charac-
ters But It is no more strange than
the credit given TO the San Francisco
yarns. by people who would know bet
ter, were they TO use a little discrim-
nation. 1t is strange that the human
soul does not revolt at the accept
ance of a lie, when presented to Il,
One would think the divine instinct
should assert Itself, That it does not,
proves the depravlty OF man STILL
there Is no occasion for pessimism.
The prevalence OF falsehood is but tenn
porary. Truth viii come out victorl-
Gus