| Show UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION newspaper for thousands of dollars just because it tells the truth about them And libel suits were not uncommon in those early days perhaps because editors tended to write in terms that inlater time would be termed telling it like it is In those frontier days though not everyone who felt libelled took recourse through the courts It wasntoo unusual for the offended party to seek justice at the business end ofColt 45 pointed at the editormidriff Attacks with horse whips were less frequent but did happen and challenges to duels with weapons ranging from fists to knives were recorded If more than one person was angry about the printed word there were those editors who were tarred-and-feathered and ridden out of town onrail Or escaped the city limits just ahead of the vigilantes bent on doing that Libel was only one of USPAinitial objectives An important link in the preservation of Utahheritage the Utah Historical Society was also discussed at the earliest meetings The proposal of MantiShomaker and Brigham CityThomson at the January 22 1895 conclave was that such an organization be created immediately It didnbecomereality however until 1899 and thereafter newsmen were frequently members of its Board Attention of the membership was focussed on myriad topics during the formative years In 1899 committee on legislature was named consisting of William Buys Wasatch Wave William Glasmann Ogden Standard McDaniel Clear Lake Review Murray Ephraim Enterprise and George Crosby Jr Loa Advice Crosby not long thereafter sold his printing equipment to Camp and becamepartner in the Richfield Reaper Camp used the press and type to found the short-lived Kanab Clipper It didntake long for the newsmen to conclude that while lobbying the legislators was one way to make the associationfeelings heard it would be even more productive to have publishers sitting at legislative desks Not simply to promote newspaper-related thinking of course but to be active and knowledgeable members of the lawmaking body After all who knew more about community thinking than the newspaper 244 Digital image 2005 Marriott Library University of Utah Al rights reserved |
