The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-01-23
THE KEPT PRESS" THE
SUPPORTED PRESS

Last week the state federation of
labor held its convention at Pocatello
and there was scramble to see
whether the federation would ap-
point as its official organ of publicity
the Non-partisan Leader, published
at Boise, or the Herald, one of the
new papers published at Pocatello.
: The Herald was endorsed and the
federation took upon itself the task
of selling capital stock in the cor
pOration publishing it's official organ.
AS an evidence of it's generosity or
good will or something of the kind,
The Herald management made out a
stock certificate for one share of it's
capital stock, of the par value Of
$1,000 and sent it over, gift to the
state federation of labor.
In the same convention there was
seated at the press table, a repre-
sentative of The, Pocatello Tribune,
writing up the report of the acts of
the convention, which it published
from day to day and correctly so. In
the course of their proceedings an
effort was made to exclude the Tri-
bune reporter from the meetings be-
cause he was reporting for So
called capitalistic or kept press.
There were level heads in the con-
vention whose counsel prevailed and
The Tribune reporter was allowed to
remain and go on with his work 1t
was often remarked on the street
that The Tribune published more
real news of the labor convention
than did their own paper, but this
may not have been true in the aver
age. Certain it is that it was openly
advocated in the labor convention
that the officers and members should
get squarely behind the stock-selling
campaign to sell capital stock in
their newspaper, and to use their
best efforts to get everybody in labor
unions to subscribe for the paper.
If this conduct. donating their
time and pouring their money into
the official organ and doing work for
it free that any other paper would
pay men $500 or $1,000 day to do,
if this does not constitute keeping"
press, then we should like to know
what it meant by that expression,
so much used by the agitators in
labor movements, the kept press"
Also, we should like to know the
significance of the act of sending to
the labor convention for presentation
in open meeting, the stock certificate
giving free that one lone share of
stock valued at $1,000. Suppose
the officers of the Pocatello Tribune
the so-called capitalistic press that
hires its own helpers and pays them
wages or salaries for their work. had
sent over to the labor convention a
certificate for one share or any other
amount of its capital stock as a free
Offering to labor, what kind of a
storm would it have aroused! If
they had sent SO small gift as one
share, we fancy the labor men would
have spat upon it in contempt be
cause 1t was so small. If larger
gift had been made, of say $500 or
S1000, something worth while and
bearing evidence of sincerity in wish
ing to give real help and benefit to
the federation, we believe they
would have unanimously charged
that 1t was done for some wicked
motive and it would have been re-
fused and scorned and would ha We
been the subject of much abuse ard /
charges of corruption
A Delegates Strong
Union Sentiments
The editor of the Idaho Republi.
can attended a number Of the SEES
slnpSr or the federation of labor
spoken of above. and on one occasion
was distributing hand bills calling
attention to the great aqueducts of
the world and the possibility of
building one in the Snake river
valley.
One delegate who accepted hand