The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1925-04-23
ETHICS IN NEWS.

ETHICS IN NEWS.
The News is in receipt of a communication
from valued reader on the subject of its
treatment of the news concerning Sallstead.
The letter is as follows:
/ have just read a conspicuously
placed news" item in your valuable
paper with a great deal of pity for
your evident paucity of Golden Rule
christionity. This item is anent the
possibility of Mr.. Sailstead locating
in our fair little city and working out
his parole The press, as a rule, is
never sparng in ink or space in the
event of notorious crime. That IS
news. When man has an opportun-
ity to atone for past offenses and
build anew on the ashes of a disorder
ed past, he becomes the recipient of
newspaper publicity That is not
news That is brutality of the rank
est kind and indicts the press of pos
sessing lack of soul. 1t is hard job
beating back imagine, without
newspaper putting stumbling block
in his way Cannot the press be a
power for good, instead of power
for evil Need | quote scripture to
support my contention?
This brings up again the subject of sup
preston of news, which we have discussed be-
fore and shall probably have occasion to dis
cuss again We are not responsible for the
fact that Sailstead made news out OF himself.
We regret this, on his account, but not enough
to put our personal opinions in the matter
above or Deyond our duty as newspaper. The
unfortunate alterations from normal conduct
in which Salstead chose to indulge, made him
distinctly news, and news which newspaper
can not suppress without being recreant to
the trust which it has assumed If he came
l. -
value to Kenoshans. We state the fact With
the underlying reasons, we as a Newspaper
have nothing to do. 1t is a condition which
we accept when we become newspaper.
Personally we are in thorough accord with
the correspondent in principle We even go
a little deeper than our friend expresses him
self. The reason that if Sailstead came to
Kenosha, he had to come disguised with an
assumed name, and concealed from the gener-
al knowledge of the public is, to our mind, a
biting criticism of the modern structure of
society. Sailstead forfeited, as part of the
penalty of his offenses the respect of many
people. With that we have nothing to do But
even man we do not respect is entitled to
fair treatment, and we do not think that a
man in Sailstead's position usually gets fair
treatment from any community, Kenosha not
excepted. We do not feel that man in his
position ought to be accepted into full social
fellowship. But there are many people in this
community, and in every community, who are
not accepted into full social fellowship. But
at least such as these are freely given chance
to go their way in the community freely with
out the constant finger of scorn upon their
pathway, and without the constant combat
with public contumely with which men in Sail
stead's position are assailed. This we think is
rot right. We think it is not creditable to the
community. We think, having paid the price
which the state has eXacted, he should have a
fair start on an even keel and that his future
status should be regulated by his future con-
duct. But that is utopian dream of human
brotherhood. Men and women are not made
that way, and we have no time to make them
over and get the paper on the evening mail the
same day. We have to take things as they are
We try to use our influence to lettering things
we think ought to be bettered, and we shall
be glad to give Sailstead, if he is in Kenosha,
the benefit of any moral backing we can give
him in any honest effort to rehabilitate him
self But so far as he is news, he will have
to be treated as news.
As a matter of fact, we may say for the
benefit of our correspondent, we have con-
siderable amount of information on the matter
which we do not regard as news, and which
we therefore have not printed. We shall not
print it unless it becomes news through cir
cumstances which do not now exist The News
feels that no regular reader of it's columns can
fairly consider it sensational, but it also feels
that all its regular readers have every rea-
son to feel that they can depend upon it for
what news there is in Kenosha We intend
to make good ON that confidence.
CFTvTT FMAN AC A lew