Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-01-10
OMISSION N cOMMISSl0N

~ AoAAS III WHICH IIS HSAS3&S " 1VsS &c
zier to the Sixteenth General, Assembly was treated by
made the basis OF some interesting speculatons, The
&c was delivered at a joint session Of the two houses
on Wednesday afternoon. Its full and exact text was
published only in The Grand Forks Herald and the Far
so Forum. The Herald published the message in full in
its afternoon and evening editions of Wednesday, and in
the morning edition Of Thursday. The Forum published
it in its Wednesday afternoon and evening editions. The
Forum has no morning edition. hence. these two papers
gave publicity to the message i'll all of their editions i'm
mediately succeeding its delivery.
The Fargo Courier News published. not the. text, but
its own synopsis of the message. quoting from it here
and there, as the editor saw fit. and emitting such quo
tations as the editor saw Fit to omit. The Grand Forks
American went its fellow Socialist organ one better by
giving its readers none Of the message at all-until the
afternoon of the following day. l
The reason for these remarkable omissions on the
part Of the two chief Townley organs Of the state is not
apparent. The Townley combination is represented at
Bismarck by SO, many correspondents who are in the
confidence of the powers that they could not we'll fail to
get a piece of the important news unless there are so
many of them that they got in each others way. The
theory that the political managers were ashamed of the
message and ordered the text suppressed will scarcely
hold, because if the managers had not approved of the
message they would have had the governor deliver a
different one. Other reasons may be advanced for the
remarkable omission, but none of them appears quite
satisfactory.
The fact remains, however. that the people of North
Dakota who wished to know what the governor said in
his message were not given that information in either
of the two principal state organs of the Townlcy brand
OF Socialism, but were obliged to rely for that informa-
ton on Independent newspapers which have no use ror
either Townley or Socialism.
And now, to pass to a separate, and perhaps unre-
lated, matter. which it is desired to include in this ar
tice:
For reasons which are entirely satisfactory to itself,
The Herald has not seen fit to trouble its readers with
frequent comments on and criticisms Of what has been
inserted in or omitted from the columns of its recently
established %neighbor, the Grand Forks American. The
present seems an appropriate time for an exception to
the rule.
On Wednesday afternoon the American published
a cartoon labelled The End of the Trail" in which it
used the general design of a rather well known piece OF
sculpture, showing a mounted cowboy, lost, freezing and
helpless, almost in the act of riding over a precipice
which he is unable to see.
In the cartoon the cowboy is drawn in the caricature
of Roosevelt. and, that there may be no mistake, the fig
ure itself is labeled Theodore Roosevelt"
In the minds Of how many Americans is this con-
ception of the departed leader entertained? Is it true that
this man. whose life was so wonderfully filled, approach.
cd his end lost and alone, with no friend in sight, with
no hand which he might reach forth and grasp, with the
record Of his deeds blotted from remembrance as the
drifting snow blots out the tracks Of the traveller? Is it
true that when he answered the call which came to him
IN the silent watches Of the night he plunged into obliv-
ion,~ as a lost traveller plunges into the darkness over the
precipice?
What a false and dshonorable conception of the
closing days of a man whose passing has called forth
words of highest appreciation from the whole world.
and who will be remembered as one Of the worlds great.
est men when the world has long forgotten the stupid
malovelence Of those who can see even in death oaly an
opportunity for the emission of venom.