Some time ago the CRIMSON commented on the fact that frequently Harvard news was published by newspapers in a garbled and untrue form. There appeared yesterday in a Boston evening paper a startling instance of such distortion of the truth. Fortunately, the journal in question is representative of only a small portion of the American press--a portion that exists on sensation and doctored news.
On the front page of the fifth edition of yesterday's "American" is to be found a story headed "Suppress Harvard Lampoon." The first paragraph is six and one-half lines long, yet it contains two inaccuracies and one absolutely false and untrue statement. The paragraph reads:
"A comic drawing showing Rev. Lyman Abbott and Eva Tanguay, the actress, linked arm in arm and in scanty attire, labelled "Human Affinities," has caused the suppression by President Lowell of this week's issue of the Lampoon, the famous Harvard comic weekly."
Without doubt all of our readers have seen the very humorous drawing to which this refers, and, consequently, are aware that the two characters are not "linked arm in arm" and that the drawing is labelled "Historic" not "Human Affinities." The bald and unqualified statement that the issue was suppressed by President Lowell is a bald and unqualified falsehood. The remainder of the item is a cleverly worded implication that the Lampoon's drawing does not conform to a very rigorous sense of decency. Incidentally, there is no mention of the broad black band that occupies a large portion of the picture.
To the outside public such an article can certainly do Harvard no good. If it were true, the CRIMSON would be the last to object to its publication, but since it is both inaccurate and untrue we wish to protest as vigorously as possible against the story in last evening's "American."
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