New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-05-03

There are not many literary review
ers in America who have managed to
preserve any trace Of reputation for
independence" writes Upton Sinclair
in THE Appeal to Reason" in an article
| which deals with the newspaper treat
ment Of his novel, "The Brass Check"
In fact" he continues, "you could
count them upon the fingers of one
hand. Two of them would be H. l..
Mencken, and Haywood Broun. Of The
New York Tribune. These two have
proven their spirit by reviewing The
Brass Check"
Naturally, we were pleased at read
ing this, but then we went on and the
rest is not so pleasant. "Why does Mr..
Broun not mention The Associated
Press?" asks Mr.. Sinclair later in the
article. "Not one hint does he give to
his reader that in The Brass Check
there are half-dozen chapters full Of
detailed and specific evidence Of treach-
cry and falsehood committed by that
powerful organization. And how comes
it that Mr.. Broun never once mentions
what The Brass Check has to say
about The New York Tribune, and the
specific case Of Justification of which
that great capitalist organ has been
guilty? Can it be because Mr.. Broun
is the chief literary reviewer Of The
New York Tribune?"
The answer is no. Upton Sinclair's
case against The Associated Pres,
seems to us to be good one in the
particular instance which he cites, but
there is room for argument even in
that instance. I don't think the gener-
alizations which he builds on his one
count are all fair. Or at least they
are not demonstrated as fair. In the
limited space at our disposal it was not
possible to outline the case which Mr..
Sinclair makes against The Associated
Press, as it is long and rather involved.
Most of the comment on The New York
Tr bune which appears in "The Brass
Check" is brief. We received none of
his broadsides, which were reserved for
The Times" "The World" and the
Hearst papers. Still, it was perhaps
unfair for US to make even the impli-
cation possible that Upton Sinclair had
found nothing arniss with The Tribune.
Accordingly, from time to time within
the next week or so--probably next
Sunday-we shall take great pains to
reprint everything in "The Brass Check"
which touches directly on The Tribune.
The most general summary Of this
paper and its policies, VIII, oh appears
on pages SO and "a, Is contained in the
following paragraph:
1.-THE readers will understand that
despise these 'yeilows'; they are ut
terly without honor, they are vulgar
and cruel; and yet, in spite Of all their
vices, 1 count them less dangerous to
society than so-called respectable pa
pers, which pretend to all the virtues.
and set the SNUG and pious tone for
good society--papers like The New
York Tribune and The Boston Evening
Transcript and The Baltimore Sum-
WIN en- are read by rich old gentlemen
and maiden aunts, and can hardly ever
be forced to admit to their columns any
new or vital event or opinion. These
are kept papers. in the strictest sense
OF the term, and do not have to hustle
on the street for money. They serve
the pocketbooks Of the whole proper
tied class-which is the meaning Of thu
term Responsibility in the bourgeois
world"
The paragraph illustrates in a meas.
IRE the insufficiency of Nr. Sinclair's
book. am sorry to find that he thinks
The Tribune review was merely in.
tended to ridicule him. There ought TO
be fine, slashing, tearing. rip-roariue
book about American newspapers. There
can be no question that they are much
more stupid than they ought TO be