Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-02-22 | Page 6 | Foolish Charges

FOOLISH CHARGES. About as silly a thing as has h''in said in congress in recent years was the assertion of Representative Moore of j Pennsylvania that the leading newspapers news-papers of the United States had been subsidized to preach war. Moore recently re-cently introduced a resolution of inquiry in-quiry regarding the press which the house refused to consider, very properly proper-ly we think, because the very idea that the great newspapers of the laud, all of them in strong financial hands, could be subsidized is so supremely ridiculous that congress would look foolish in dignifying dig-nifying such charges as those made by Representative Moore by passing a resolution reso-lution of inquiry. Some of these newspapers news-papers that favor calling Germany to account are Republican in politics-, some Democratic and some independent. But there are some largo papers which arc decidedly pro-German and many others absolutely neutral which favor keeping keep-ing out of the war if possible. This subsidized press howl, coming from a man of Representative Moore's standing and experience in public life, is wearisome. The labor leaders sometimes refer to the larger newspapers as the "capitalistic "capital-istic pres'' because the editors do not get in behind all the measure advocated by the socialistic element in the country, ; but the agitators have never convinced any unbiased observer that the opinions advanced in the columns of these papers arc anvthing more or less than the hnn- ' est views of the editors, and we do not believe that J. .Hampton Moore 's wild-eyed wild-eyed assertions will have any other effect ef-fect than to make him an object of scorn and derision and earn him the contempt of all intelligent men and women. There does not appear to be any intention in-tention upon the part of the administration adminis-tration to take part in the war unless it is absolutely impossible to avoid it. If the time finally arrives when congress is called upon to make the all-important declaration the people of the country coun-try will back it up with their blood and treasure. Iu the meantime it is folly for Representatives Moore of Pennsylvania, Pennsyl-vania, Calloway of Texas and others to go up and down the country spreading the poison of disloyalty at one of the most critical times in the history of the United States.