The Irish standard., 1908-12-05
A NEWSPAPER APOLOGY


A NEWSPAPER APOLOGY,
u IS rarely that an American daily
newspaper apologies for its utter
'nces. no matter how atrocious they
may De III their nature. The only time
daily newspaper makes an apologv
Ior what appears in its columns ia
When it is threatened with a libel suit
for damages: and then it is not from
sense OF justice and fair play, but from
lear OF being punished, that it makes;
amends by retraction. Sometimes the
edltor OF a newspaper gets cowhided
or shot, as in the South, for personal
attacks on individuals; but many edit
crs escape punishment of any kind;
and their victims suffer in the esti-
nation of the public in their character
and reputation without ever receiving
airy redress. Many unsophisticated
persons take for granted that what ia
printed in newspaper is the truth,
and they believe everything they read
in their favorite journal. Mr.. Doo,ev
ii: speaking to Hennessy, brings out
this fact and confirms his philosophical
statements by telling Hennessy that II
read it in the :pa7apers.''
We all read in the papers last week
that the alleged interview of Kaiser
William which was suppressed by the
Century Magazine, got into the New
York World, by hook or by crook, and
that DR.. William Bayard Hale had oro
nounced 1t substantially correct. The
New York Journal, owned by the un-
speakable Hearst, was not to be
"scooped' by its enterprising contem-
porary and procured another version
of the Kaiser's suppressed interview i'm
which it dragged in the name of Arch
bishop Ireland to the annoyance Of that
great prelate. And then what hap
pened? The World discovered that the
Interview was bogus and Immediately
sent the following cablegram to Cham
cellor Won Buelow of the German en-
pfre at Berlin:
After a painstaking investigation
the New York World finds no convinc-
ing basis Of fact for it's published SYM
opsis of the Hale interview with his
majesty. the German emperor. It ac-
cepts your verdict of the alleged inter-
view ascribed to- the emperor as stu
ni61xr 81
have uttered. As "A matter of simple
Justice to the German emperor and the
German people the World will print an
editorial Monday morning expressing
its sincere regret at. the publication of
synopsis which it regards as mislead-
ing and mischievous. 1t was an honest
mistake. committed merely through
overhead, without the knowledge of
the proprietor Or chief editor. and so
late at night that the article did not
appear in the first edition. Proofs Of
the synopsis sent to the author of the
interview had been corrected in his
own handwriting and this was natural
~ oNNEPSSu oo CIV luVlASC SAAoL lie al IL
Gle as printed was personally approved
by him. e
Vt appears that DIR. Hale is the lit
erary editor Of the New York Times
and man of high standing in his pro-
fession. On Monday the World editor
tally apologized to the Kaiser and the
German people. and placed the rsspon-
sihility on DR.. Hale; but that gentle
man says that prior to the publication
nf the interview in the World he had
warned its representative that 'tha
pretended synopsis was a fake from
beginning to end" And there you
are as Dooley says.
Of course, the Hearst paper made no
apology to anyone for it's synopsis of
the interview. It's proprietor has no
regard for emperor or archbishop, and
publishes the most sensational news
that comes tosjland. whether true or
false. His papers are utterly unreli-
able in their news columns. and any
items found in them cannot be believed
until they are verified. Nothing would
please Hearst better than a war be-
tween foreign nations, for then he
would sell more papers than now, when
there is universal peace.
WATTERsoN DEFENDS BRYAN.