over the headlines himself, and if he discovered Herrin's name, would insist on its being lifted out of the paper, but even with this interference I managed to keep up the fight.
Finally, he told me flatly that he wanted the attacks on Herrin stopped, the criticism of Herrin to cease. I replied frankly that it was impossible for me to do that, that the entire reportorial force was under full headway in the fight, and they were writing, all of them, from the angle of the paper's policy as it appeared to them, and I could not go to each man and tell him that he must not criticise Herrin.
"I can't do it, Mr. Crothers, because I am ashamed for you. If it's to be done, you'll have to do it yourself. I can not."
He did not have the courage to do it, and it was never done. However, all the time our opponents were trying to reach into the office. They succeeded in getting the business manager at that time to undertake to break me down, but I resisted all his efforts. The fight became more burdensome, because it extended into the very building in which I worked.
The political campaign waxed warmer, and Crothers
demanded that Older should support Herrin's candidate; but
Older refused.
He replied that he owned the "Bulletin," and that it would support
whomever he chose. I grew very angry and excited and replied, "Yes,
what you say is perfectly true. You do own the 'Bulletin,' but you
don't own me, and I won't stand for Crocker."
I walked out of the room, very angry, determined never to return. I went to my wife and told her that I was through with the "Bulletin." She wanted to know the reason and I told her that Crothers had gone back to his old methods. He was determined to get behind the candidate who represented the men we had been fighting, and I could not bring myself to continue in my position.
Or take St. Paul, Minnesota. Here is the grain country,
entirely possessed by the milling interests, with their allied
railroads and banks. Until the Farmer's Nonpartisan movement
arose, the politics and journalism of Minnesota were
exclusively in the hands of these interests. In the "Non-*partisan
Leader" for May 27, June 3 and June 10, 1918,
appeared a series of articles by Walter W. Liggett, formerly
exchange editor of the "St. Paul Pioneer Press" and its evening
edition, the "St. Paul Dispatch." Mr. Liggett made a
great number of damaging charges against these newspapers,
and in order to make sure of the facts, I address their
managing editor, inquiring if he has ever published any denial
of the charges, or if he cares to deny them to me. His
answer is:
We never made any reply at all to them. . . . Nor do I care,
