The Price of Silence: How Big Rail Controlled the Press
When the Northern Pacific Railroad forced a Spokane newspaper to drop its investigation into timber fraud, it exposed the industry's grip on the territory's news.
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 short time ago the Spokane Falls Chronicle published an interview with Special Agent Hailey in regard to the gigantic timber frauds perpetrated by the Montana Improvement Company between the Cascade and the Rocky Mountains. The connection between the Montana Improvement Company and the Northern Pacific Railroad Company was referred to, and the questionable transactions of both companies were attacked. This interview called forth a letter from A. B. Charlton, of Portland, General Agent of the Northern Pacific, in which he states: 'My contract with you is that you will not unjustly criticise this company. We do not object to fair criticism, but the article in notation is malicious and unjust. In consequence of this, it is necessary for me to request you to withdraw this company’s ad now listed in your paper and to return to this office transportation furnished you.'
This will give the public a faint idea of the system of bribing the press which has been adopted by the Northern Pacific Railroad. It is impossible at all times to faithfully serve both the public and a railroad corporation. Wherever the interests of the public and those of the company conflict, and a newspaper begins to speak in defense of the public rights, the company points grimly to its contract, and the newspaper at once becomes dumb, thus violating its honor and neglecting its duty to the people. In the case in question, the Chronicle published nothing more than an interview showing the relations between the Northern Pacific Company and the Montana Improvement Company. That the statements published were not groundless is attested by the fact that they have been deemed sufficient for the beginning of suits against the Montana Improvement Company by the Government.
“Wherever the interests of the public and those of the company conflict, and a newspaper begins to speak in defense of the public rights, the company points grimly to its contract, and the newspaper at once becomes dumb.”
This 1885 editorial highlights the tension between media independence and corporate influence that remains a hallmark of modern discourse. Just as the Northern Pacific used advertising and travel passes to stifle criticism, modern local news outlets struggle with the pressures of economic reliance on the very industries they are tasked to hold accountable.
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