The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1910. THE POWELKA SCARE.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 16 April 1910, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1910. THE POWELKA SCARE.

In it reference to some recent events in connection with the Powelka- man-hunting expeditions, the " Manaiwatu Dail.y Times" editor remarks; — " Perhaps the most entertaining of all the items was the agreement of my evening contemporary with tho Levin 'Chronicle' that our headlines had 'done a good deal to work up the feelings of Manawatu settlers to a pitch of dangerous apprehension,' and that ' the spirit of fear a.nd funk' had been engendered; by this pap»r. That was a most decided compliment to tli? circulation and influence of this paper, and though certainly it has been leaving all previous West Coast records in the matter of cirulation for behind it didn't quite realise that Mr Powelka was its own special creation, and tho 'Powelka. Scare' a result of its chronicle, of events. Presently we will be ,told that '-there aint no such person' as Powelka ■at all, a.nd the whole .business is an emanation from this 'certain print.' The insouciance with which the editor of "The Manawatu Times" accepts the foregoing condemnation sp-jaks more for his irresponsibility than for the quality cf his judgment, though we must adm.it that lu has be"'!i showing better judgment during the present Week than ha did in the seven days immediately pr.L>:'c'. l iu<r. Lately we have baeio reading in the "ALrnawatu Times" ttnt Powelka is "r.llegert" to have doire certain things; not the former unqualified statements t':at he "had" done them; and in a rcooiit Iss.iii ilia "Times" sanely pnr.te'l out that llvjre had b?en Kjveral young men shooti"g in Oie I'oxton locality, in. which a railway c-.igi-.w wa- dbgelly hit by a bullet f-.'om :: nr.dvpr. ThccD reasonable utterances make sonie amends for f..rn:er L:;;::ercli.;;.-3; but 'tho pity J in that the "Manawat-u Times" <3k: nob show this good judgment, in th? earlier stages of the local excitement. An impetuous man runs witb

the crowd, but the wise man tra-i to calm its uproar. l Palmerston will now become bracketed with Auckland as one of the places wherein one newspaper ha.s fomented small troubles until the mobs wx're persuaded of their grea.tiiess. Can any cool observer imagine the recent Knyvett troubh emanating from Duiudin or Christchurch ; or the Powelka I'nry-cum-flink episodes happening at Wellington or Invercargill? The chief •reason why they could never happen there li(\s in the soundness of the guidance given by the newspapers in those centres—and not only in their leading columns, but in the nature of the printed- news and thequality of its dressing. To lie more 'local in the illustration, we may say that a sensational report reached us from a Horowhenua centre, four or five days before Powelka was hoard of from Palmerston; but after a little enquiry, and some en.ssovamiiKitiou, we found that something akin to hysteria was behind the story, and conseqiumtly it was not printed.' Had this journal chosen to work up a scare, it could have been done with extreme "success;" but as things went, Powelka passed through this district without ■any serious happenings following on his presence here. Three days ago. a Levin housewife had her safe- rob- j bed of meat and a living nan. and ! another estimable citizen lest his i roan horse, but the events caused ; no .alarm, because they were record- j ' ed in the ordinary channels: one in I an advertisement, ami the other in I an ordinary way. Hut, consider j the possibilities (and pence) that ; were- latent in these topics: — WHO STOLE HKATII'S HORSE? AND WMEBE TS MIDDLETON'S MEAT? I WAS IT POLKA-.MAZFHKA? i A CITIZEN'S ADYEYITRK. j STUNNED BV A BLOW FROM A ! FRY PAN! j These headings, followed by some j facts and fictions that would have been available next day from van'- ! mis excited witnesses and dreameis, j would have helped very materially I to make an interesting, if unre- i liable newspaper. Rut there is | something more in journalism than j mere sensationalism, and wo are : pleased, to know that there still is ! a considerable, section of the public I which appreciates truth and detesix ! false leading. The interests of this j , considerable section are the tine in- I tcrests of the whole community: ! and " The Chronicle " will take that. \ line of guidance to the best of its | ability. Though we cannot follow '■ , a Wellington newspaper's example, in giving silver spoons to ad vert is- > ers, we will continue to furnish g.d.leu ti nth--: to our readers. I