The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-08-31

| would rarely take the trouble to go
to the records to see which one was
| right. Many people objected to the
charges and counter charges and the
newspaper fight in general, and quit
| taking any of the papers. If an
editor remained silent while he was
abused by another thru the press, the
public said he must be guilty or he
would deny it. II he denied it and
published the proof they would con-
denim him for keeping up the news
paper fight. Again it was proposed
that one man buy up all the news
papers and try to build up one strong
and efficient newspaper organization,
but if any one had money enough to
accomplish such an undertaking he
knew enough to leave it alone. Once
more the decision was reached that
the solution of the trouble would
have to come thru somebody showing
superior ability and thru cooperation
of the public who, after all, have the
control of the patronage in their
hands. If the public found man
who had enough money and was cap
able of making success of CEN
tralized county paper, and If he
would agree to put all of his profits
back into the business to make it
better and to give them better SER
vice, and if he would stake all he
had on the project as evidence of
good faith, the public would probably
hesitate about cooperating for fear
it would not last forever or after his
death and burial.
XVII.
A daily paper that was operating
in Blackfoot, and making pretensions
of being modern and up to the min
ute, laid considerable stress on their
wonderful telegraph service. They
took the cheapest and poorest tele-
graph service there was and labeled
all dispatches "By United Press"
The grade of service they were using
consisted of only few lines on each
subject, and it was unsatisfactory
In their process of make believe they
would take the morning papers from
Salt Lake and Butte and reprint i'm
portant news from them, labelling it |
as their own press dispatches of the
same day, altho they would be day
late. Correspondence coming in from
country districts in the county were |
labeled as special dispatches of hap !
penings of the same day, altho they
were often several days old. They
kept up the claim that it was today's
news in today's paper. If they learn
ed today that serious accident hap
pened to some Aberdeen farmer late
ly, it would be played up as having
just now happened.
One day they learned that the Rig
by bank had been robbed the even
ing before, at o'clock. They print
ed their paper in the afternoon for
delivery to the country people by the
rural carriers. The bank in
cident was played up as today's
event, happening at 6 p. M, and
their paper went to press in the aft
ernoon before it happened. The
papers going to the local population
in the town told of the event from
one to three hours before it happen
ed. 1t gave details about which way
the robbers went and where they
might be expected to appear by GER
,ain times, all, of course, one day out
If step. All of this deception and
ying, bluffing and pretense on the
part of the newspaper management,
making fools of the people if they
attempted to act upon the informa-
ion purchased! The management
pretended to serve the public, but
is energies were keeping them dup !
ID. Long after the paper failed and
when the lawyers had given up ever :
the hopeless mass of
Lebts they had left on the town, bust {
less men of the county seat were :,
aging it was too bad they did not
,eep the fellow and his paper operat
ng in town as that was what Black :
DOT needed.