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Show The Herald-Republican Scores Still Another Stupendous "Scoop" The Herald-Republican has pulled off. another stupendous "scoop." Thls time tho people of American Fork are the sufferers. The Herald-Republican Is all tho while doing things like thai. Thev're regular devils down there for gel ting scoops. Not long ago tho Herald-Republican scooped Tho Tribune on a story about two "daughters of a wealthy Bingham miner" having fallen into the clutches of bold, daring, bad men In Salt Lake, who robbed them of $1000 worth of diamonds. dia-monds. Those "daughters of a wealthy Bingham minor" wero In Salt Lako fast enough, but it so happened that they were hero because they couldn't go back to Bingham, where the officers wanted them. Moreover, the "daughters" Involved In-volved the Herald-Republican In a hopo-less hopo-less case of mistaken Identity, for It turned out (that they wero not "daughters "daugh-ters of a wealthy Binghnm miner" at all. but persons concerning whoso life and times few words suffice. Then tho Horald-Ropubllcan discovered tho appalling fact that every llfth child of school age In Salt Lake was a truant, a vagabond, and ought to be In tho detention de-tention home or In Jail. This discovery was glaringly set forth with red head-lino head-lino accompaniment, on the first page of tho sheet. In this case. too. it turned out that the Horald-Republlcan had erroneously er-roneously taken tho figures 15 for 4000. TJie lutest exclusive story to appear In tho Herald-Republican was printed Sunday. This weird talc eocb on to say that American Fork is in tho throes of an epidemic of smallpox, the like of which has never been heard toll of bo-foro. bo-foro. llore is what tho Hurald-Rcpubli-can says about the terrlblo situation presented pre-sented In .American Fork: "Another report received from American Ameri-can Fork by Dr. Beatty contains a strong argument for general vaccination. Although Al-though there aro nearly flvo hundred eases of the disease In its mild form reported re-ported In American Fork, practically one case to every live Inhabitants, In no Instance In-stance has a vacclnntcd person been attacked." at-tacked." This startling Information reached the people of American Fork In due time, and tho pooplo were righteously indignant. indig-nant. A Blum like that, they said, was a thing not to be pusscd unchallenged. Thero might be a few people, they thought a very few, perhaps, but a few, still who would see this scurrilous report re-port and Immediately conclude that American Fork was a placo to be given a wide berth. Any community that has one-fifth of its population in the gTip of smallpox Is a community to be avoided. Tho Tribune's correspondent at Amcri-can Amcri-can Fork made diligent effort to find one 1 of the five hundred cnocs of smallpox, but his endeavors wer.c In vain, for there was not one to be found, wlilch is ample reason for his not llndlng It. The correspondent's corre-spondent's research resulted In the following fol-lowing special dlspntch. which reached The Tribune office Sunday nlcht: "American Fork, Dec. 12. In today's to-day's Issue of the Herald-Republican, on page 12, column 1. an article appears wherein It is stated that there are now 500 cases of smallpox In this cltv. In a mild form, or one person afflicted to every five of the, town's Inhabitants. This article has been the cause of considerable considera-ble agitation not only among the people of this city, but with all of the cltv officers, of-ficers, as there is not a single lota of truth In the statement. There Is not now a single case of smallpox In the city, nor lias there been for more than two years. "Dr. II. E. Robinson, the city henlth officer, whose attention was called to tho Item, stated that while the 'Hemorrhage' quoted Dr. T. B. Beatty as the authorltv for tho statement that there were 500 cases of smallpox in this city, ho felt sure that Dr. Beatty did not make anv such statement, and that there, was nothing noth-ing to it but a distortion of facts. He also said that there was not now a single case of smallpox In the city, nor had thero been for more than two years. He. an well as the remainder of the city officers, feels very much aggrieved about tho misstatement of facts, and desires that tho public should know that this city Is free from that contagious disease, as every one feels that It Is a severe blow to tho business Interests of this place." Now. what Dr. Beatty did tell the Her-nld-Ropubllcan reporter was, that since the first appearance of smallpox In Utah, fifteen years ago. thorc had been approximately approxi-mately 500 cases, and that tho record shows that exceedingly few, if. Indeed, any, of theso victims had been vaccinated vac-cinated within a reasonable tlmo prior to the occurrence of tho disease. But what's the use? The Hcrnld-Re-publlcan adheres strictly to the policy pursued by the editor who sent his reporter re-porter out after a story with tho positive instruction, "Don't hamper yourself with facts." The IIcrnld-RepubUcnn has repeatedly misstated tho facts In cases whoroln, did any one pay the remotest attention to Its utterances, much loss would result to the people thus maligned nnd misrepresented. misrep-resented. It Is a serious thing Indeed for American Fork to bo pictured as a town having 500 of its 2500 Inhabitants stricken wltli so droud a disease as smallpox. But these things are never considered by the Herald-Republican. The Horald-Ropubllcan Is, Indeed, never hampered with facts. ' |
