Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 September 1910 — REPUBLICAN CORRECTS A MISTAKE [ARTICLE]

REPUBLICAN CORRECTS A MISTAKE

When the Offended Party Writes aid Demands a Retraction. A UTILE DILATORY, HOWEVER, As Their Attention Was Called To the Error Three Days After It Appeared, But Correction Was Not Made. Until Fourteen Days Later.—The Sort of “Dope” Sent Out By the Republican Press Bureau. The Rensselaer Republican in its issue of August 12 published the following false statement regarding Mayor Lawrence Becker of Hammond: Mayor Laurence Becker, of Hammond, one of Senator Shively’s staunch boosters has been disbarred by thfe highest Indiana court, and is planning a migration to Seattle.

The Democrat is reliably informed that the attention of one of the editors of the Republican was called to the falsehood only three days after its appearance, or on August 15, but no attempt was made to correct the item until .the issue of August 26, and then only after Mayor Becker had had his attention called to the article by friends from different parts of this section of the state and had written to the Republican and demanded a retraction p. d. q. Then a retraction was published away back on the rear page of the Republican. On August 24 one of the editors of the Republican wrote Mr. Becker, jn reply to his demand for a retraction, and apologized for the libel, saying:

Hon. Lawrence Becker, Hammond, Ind. Dear Sir: “I wish to reply to your letter of Aug. 23d and to make personal apology lor the very shameful article that appeared in this paper as quoted in your letter. It seems that one day when copy was short and I was not in the office some one grabbed up a sheet of copy sent out by the republican state committee and cut out a number of the paragraphs and put them in type. I did not notice the article either in the proof or the paper and regret that I did nbt do so, as I keep personally weir enough acquainted with the politics and the people of this section of Indiana to have known the statement altogether false and consequently to have kept it out of the paper. . . “I shall be pleased to make the correction and trust that it will correct; any harm dong by the ■. false publication. I shall give especial care in the future to matters supplied by the state committee.” GEORGE H. HEALEY.

Now we recognize that mistakes of* this nature might easily occur in any newspaper office, but when they do the editor is usually only too glad to publish a correction as soon as his attention has been called to it, and in this case attention was called to the falsity of the article within three days after it appeared, yet apparently the writer of the letter to Mr. Becker who was so closely in touch with the politic cal affairs of this state and district as to know at once when his attention was called to it that the statement was absolutely untrue, was willing to let the matter go uncorrected and let it injure Mayor Becker and the democrats generally ..all it could, until Mr. Betker demanded a retraction.. He knew it was false at once his attention was called to it, according to his letter to Becker, yet he was apparently willing to 'tier it go.” He says.the item was clipped from a press sheet sent out by the (republican state committee for use of republican editors. If so, is this a fair criterion of the reliability of the “dope” sent out to bamboozle the voters of Indiana by the republicans? If the state committee bureau deliberately lied about Mayor Becker—and t its editors are unfit to be in charge of such a bureau if they are so little ac-

quainted with the politics of the state to not know that the statement was wholly false and was purposely sent out to injure both Mayor Becker and Senator Shivley—has it not lied about many other prominent democrats solely for political effect as well? Republican “news,” like, republican platforms—as also admitted by the Rensselaer Kenublican—seems to be thoroughly unreliable and .is gotten up for the sole purpose of fooling the voters and allow the politicians of that party to ride into power on. Beware of both.