Salt Lake Tribune | 1910-03-14 | Page 4 | A Curious Arraignment

I A CURIOUS ARRAIGNMENT. The accuracy of newspapers is often the subject of attack, but wo think that tho limit is about reached in a recent article appearing in the Grand Valley Times, printed at Moab, Utah. The Times arraigns tho papers in Salt Lako City for printing a statement that a post card-received by the United States Marshal hero from his chief deputy from Moab, notos tho heaviest fall of snowfall recalled in that region, and that with the snow lying about two and one-half feet on ,tho level, Moab is practically prac-tically snowbound. For printing the contents of this post card, tho Times under the heading "Shame on you gen-; tlemen! " accuses Tho Tribune, with other oth-er Salt Lako papers, of printing a villainous vil-lainous lie about Moab, as the Times claims that nothing of the kind over occurred at Moab, and that no inoro than six inches of snow was there ac that ti-.no, 0 during tiio month of February Feb-ruary not a particle of snow foil. Now. of course. Thr Tribune said nothing about sicw at Moab; it riimrly stated the fact that a post card was received re-ceived makjng the statement; and we do not know why wc should bo arraigned for inaccuracy, and that shamo should be called down upon our heads, is sonic-thing sonic-thing not easy to comprohend. How-erf, How-erf, it serves to call attontion to the fact that it is tho inaccuralo information received by newspapers that is invariably invar-iably at fault, and not any innccurar.e statement, intended; that is, in a reputable rep-utable newspaper. All of the Salt Lake newspapers printed the fact that, the post card was received; they are not responsible for the statement containod in that card; and it is curious that a newspaper that ought to know that what a newspaper says and what somebody else says in its columns is quito a difforent mntter. A newspaper that would vouch for ovcrything that people say, even if it prints somo of it, would havo littlo chance for anything but denials and defense.