The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-11-05
NEWSPAPER ETHICS

| utdltI6 WHO Itluobu W HdHult ltEtdlS
deer, the slaughter of which you are
responsible for. After reading the
article, can you truthfully tell us that
we lied when we stated that we re.
printed your editorial in question
word for word? Your editorial WAS
reproduced verbatim. Barre Times.
No, no, dear boy! You misappre-
bend the whole matter and fail to
grasp the point. We did not intend
to say anything further on this issue
but owing to the youth and many
other good qualities of Editor Perry
of the Times we will ask our readers
to bear with us while we go over the
question again.
There are some newspapers which
cannot bear to have their own pet
ideas and opinions controverted in
their own columns and so strain every
nerve to convince their readers with
out ever even telling them what the
other side of the case is. This IS
serious mistake. There are two sides
to most public questions and the
newspaper that gives its readers but
one side of a question of local public
interest, in the long run, earns just
contempt from its readers and loses
influence it might otherwise have had.
Moreover it is a lamentabe confess
sion of weakness if you don't dare
risk a comparison of argument
If the young editor of the Times
will look around the state and note
the papers which have weight and in
huence like the St Adams Messen-
ger, the Burlington Free Press, the
Brattleboro Phoenix and Reformer,
( the Mortified News. Randolph Her
aid and News, st. Johnsbury Caledon-
ian and Ludlow Tribune and others
which have outspoken editorial opin
ions of their own. he will observe
that they always print the
other side as we'll and strengthen
their own position thereby, for fear
less argument counts better than
anonymous knocking.
1t is doubtless none of the Banners
business but it has noted with sin
cere regret that the Times has of
late fallen into the habit of printing
only one side of questions Of general
state interest and that side has been
the one that the Times itself en-
dorsed We sought merely to admon-
ish friend and are truly sorry if We
have aroused his resentment, as APP
pears to be the case.
The details of the case are not inn
portant. 1t doesn't matter where You
get the other side of the case as long
as you get it fairly We don't ask
you to take anything from the Ban
ner if you don't care to. In this in
stance under discussion you took
paragraph from the Banner on one
question and then argued another
question altogether and question on
which you have habitually failed TO
print any opinion not similar to your
own. If this were the only case it
would be of little moment, but it is
not. The custom has been growing
on you.
The Banner is only a small paper
compared with the Times. The Bar
ner has a field of only 10000 popula-
ton all told. while the Times has
one of 10000 or more and consequent
ly the opportunities of the Banner arr
much more limited but we believe.
even with our less experience, that
it is better in every way to give both
sides a fair show. We have had to
take some pretty severe medicine
right in our own columns in doing il,
| but the readers of the Banner know
that they don't have to agree with
the editor in order to get their side of
an argument into the paper, and we
have never intentionally espoused
one side of public question of any
local or state Importance without Civ
ing at least the main features of the
argument on the other side.
We believe it would be wise for the
Times to take the advice of the Ban.
ner, it's warmest friend among the
newspapers of Vermont, and get out
of the rut into which it has unthink-
ingly fallen. Leave that rut for
bigots and persons of narrow minds.
There are about 1000 corporations
in Vermont having a capital of $4,000
or over while Maine has over 5000.
The showing is not anything for
Maine to be proud of however. Many
corporations go where they will be
allowed to do business with the least
interference The business of some
corporations chartered in states, with
easy laws, would not stand a very
stlict investigation. They thrive up
on the dollars of people who are fool
ed. The state best serves its citi-
zens when it makes its laws so strin-
'