The Newspaper Feud on Columbia Street
The 'Evening Call' has split into two competing factions, with each side claiming the other is a counterfeit, resulting in a lawsuit for damages.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A row in the Populist camp has resulted in a lawsuit for $1,000 in damages and a restraining order. The 'Evening Call,' a newspaper serving as the party organ, has essentially split in two. Last Monday, two distinct issues of the paper were offered for sale on the street. The dispute arose after M. P. Knox, the business manager, reportedly attempted to sell the publication. When four staff members resisted, they were locked out, leading them to seize type and print their own version of the paper. Both sides now claim their version is the 'true' Call, and both are using their columns to attack the other. The matter is currently headed for a court injunction hearing.
“The paper came out in two issues again yesterday evening, each one full of gall and wormwood and breathing threats of dire vengeance against the other.”
Internal organizational meltdowns and disputes over 'official' branding are as old as journalism itself. The fight for control of the 'Evening Call' highlights how fringe political movements of the 1890s often imploded due to localized power struggles and petty rivalries.
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