The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1924-04-17
LIBELING A TERRITORY

There are more ways of libeling
a territory than telling direct
falsehoofis about it. False impress
sions may be created without the
making of statements which are
themselves false, and if the state
ments are embelliShed with pic
lures carefully chosen and suitably
displayed, the result may be utter
ly false and exceedingly injurious.
The Saturday Evening Post has
libeled that section Of the north
west included in THE states OF North
Dakota, South Dakota and Montana
in the publication OF an article by
Garet Garrett entitled THAT Pain
in Our Northwest In that anticle
Mr.. Garrett discusses the economic
situation in this section, and dealss
with many phases Of the subject,
including the methods employed
in the agricultural industry. eX~
pansion of credit, banking methods
and bank failures, together with
the enterprises, more or less So
cialistic in their nature, which
have been inaugurated, and a large
number of which have failed.
The largest picture used with
the article is a very good one or
the state mill and elevator at
Grand Forks, which Mr.. Garrett
says they" built and left unfinish-
ed. Next comes a picture of the
Inflated Equity packing plant at
Fargo, with a statement OF its loss
OF $1,300,000 in seven months, fol-
lowed by a choice assortment or
pictures OF dilapidated farms,
abandoned or to be abandoned, and
of bank buildings which are most
ly shacks.
1t is assumed that Mr.. Garrett
wished TO convey the truth to his
readers, and he probably had in
mind the fact that the political
regime which started the state mill
and elevator left it unfinished.
The otherwise uniformed reader,
however, will gain the impression
that the plant is still unfinished,
" hereas for year it has been
grinding and selling -four up to its
capacity of 1000 barrels day
The impression left on the reader
is false.
The Saturday Evening Post
| boas SITS of a circulation of more
than two million copies a week
1T is what is known as popular
magazine, that is, its material is
40 selected as to make an appeal
to the widest possible variety Of
readers. 1t is safe to say tina,
willie all of it's articles are reaC
with interest by many persons, few
read them all. Such an article a!
that by Mr. Garrett will be reat
carefully by "a good many people
But an immensely greater humble
will look at the pictures and skin
! hurriedly through the text so as t.
get what they conceive to be thu
gist of it, and then quit.
Because of this the impression
created by the article will in tn
rain be false, and it will be un
, warrantably injurious to tn
northwest. Immense numbers o
: people will accept as typical of tn
three states bankrupt institution:
abandoned farms and banks close
by wholesale.
The trouble does not lie so niue
in the fact that many CT the state
ments made are extreme, nor ca
, it be defended on the ground tina
many Of ny Statements are correc
, The injury and the wrong lies j
l the fact that such spectacular us
is made of certain extreme cOnd
tons that the extreme is accepte
as the usual.
The northwest has suffered eek
nomic adversely, and many of il
= neople have shown political unwi
. dom. Credit has been used tc
) freely. banks have been too nun
orous. and weak banks have faile
5 It is useless to attempt to glo
over those facts. But to emphasii
, these facts in the manner in whft
Y they are emphasized in the Pc
article is to impair the reputatit
r o. great territory in mann
essentially untruthful and utter
unwarrantab!e.-- Forks He
n aid.