The Day Book from Chicago, Illinois • Page 26

SJSAMVWS. BUT THE PRESS TJONT WANT REAL TRUTH Pretty soon the truth will leak out of Rock Island, 111., the town of 'mobs and riots and a loose-mouthed mayor. But if the truth ever does leak out, it wont be published in any Chicago newspaper. It is quite evident they don't want the truth. The Chicago newspapers today inform the whole world that "dynamiters from Muscatine, la." are headed for Rock Island.

Their authority for this Statement is a most mysterious "warning" received by the Rock Island police, from some person in Muscatine, whose name the Rock Island police refuse to give out; Some people might question the authenticity of so mysterious, so secret, a warning about so grave a matter. But not the Chicago newspapers! They not only take the "warning" at its face value, they amplify on it From the mysterious warning the. Chicago newspapers work around until they get the "Muscatine dynamiters" connected up with the striking button workers of Muscatine, and finally contrive to give the impression that the striking button workers are a gang of murderous blackguards, whose favorite weapon is dynamite, and who so revel in shedding human blood, that they troop to any point where' there is a chance to commit murder. Which is about as finely work ed up a libel on the working people of the country as ever Big Business tried to put over The striking button workers of Muscatine are neither murderers nor dynamiters. The majority of them are women and girls, who went on strike, after standing for years of oppression and driving, to try and force their employers to pay them a living wage.

The facts suggest that there may have been some cause for the people of RockIsland to get excited last. Tuesday. The central characters in the case are Harry M. Schriver, mayor of Rock Island and leader of what is known as the "white collar faction of the Republican party." John Looney, editor of the Rock Island Weekly News, and bitter opponent of tjie "white collar faction." Harry McCrasktn, leader of tlje "flannel shirt faction" of the Republican in Rock Island, and opponent of Schriver. Looney had' been fighting SchriveY through the columns of his newspaper.

His methods of fighting Schriver do not matter much. Schriver leads the church politicians of Rock 'Island, and perhaps it was coming to him. Anyway, Looney got hold of a "s.fc'ry," which he intended to publish last Saturday. It dealt with the behavior of Mayor Schriver and a certain woman of ill repute in a Rock Isalnd hotel. Schriver heard about the and decided that he.