The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-03-06
CLACKING VS.. CRITICISM.

Golfers Weekly-"The clackers" struck home
The first letter congratuating us on having print
ed Mr. McNutt's article reached us before the
close Of tire day on which the issue of Golfers
containing it appeared. The letters have been
coming in by every mail since; hundreds Of let
ters. Many of these letters furnish US with adj
ditional examples. They tell US of people, other
wise respectable and loyal citizens who take per-
verse satisfaction in spreading utterly unsubstan-
tiated rumors of disease, death, and disaster. A
typical letter recorded that the writer had that
day heard most circumstantial story Of how the
whole Rainbow Division had been wiped out in
France, and heard it from friend and business
associate who could with difficulty be persuaded
that the story was canard. The letter arrived
on the day when the story that Colonel Roosevelt
was in a hospital. There is no question that this
country is full of people who love the thrill of bad
news. ..- ...a..,
But these letters call our attention to another
and even more important matter. Many of them
want to know how we can justify printing and
exposure of clacking in the same issue with crit
cism of the Administration for so mismanaging
the production and transportation of coal that it
could do nothing better than shut down for five
days the industries it had been trying to speed
up. Many Of our readers seem to think that crit
lclsm OF our war management is clacking!
We should like to suggest to these readers that
reporting the actual sinking Of the Tuscania is
one thing and spreading the false rumor that
the Rainbow Division has been wiped out is anoth-
err Complaining about calamities that haven't
happened and aren't likely to happen is silly if
not actually seditious. Calling public attention
to indubitable bad management is not only the
public duty Of all loyal citizens, but public duty
which in the case of newspaper is also private
duty and one which it is under an implied contract
to perform for it's readers.
The press of this country for more than eight
months after war was declared was peculiarly
gentle with the administration at Washington
Almost without exception it did everything in
it's power to help, contributing it's space-and
space is money to newspaper-its good will, and
its best energies to the task before the Govern
ment. And in the meantime it withheld adverse
criticism. We all hoped that the Administration
was going to do US proud And while we hoped
we made allowances, accepted explanations, be-
lieved excuses There never was an administra-
ton which had so much praise, so little adverse
criticism. 1t was probably mistake. It was
probably disservice to the Administration IT.
was probably an unhealthy condition of public
opinion.
The fact that the newspapers of this country
are no longer shutting their eyes to disagreeable
facts is a healthy sigma fighting sign. When a
newspaper takes g9atS pains to find out exactly
what is going on b Ind the scenes and then says
what It thinks abort the situation in certain Ian
.Rpage the 0nhlic may rest assured THAT that
WAR 5s (,n11ier'a ia ~ $kn ,udS