The Hamilton Spectator had
first announced the news in Hamilton that the Great War which started four
years previously was over. A bulletin to
that effect had been posted in a first floor window of the Spectator during the
noon hour of November 7, 1918.
The news had set off a wild
celebration that grew and grew as the hours. The Spectator rushed out an extra
edition of the paper with the banner headline, ‘It Is Finished!’
That same headline continued
to appear in the last edition of the paper for that day, although within the
paper itself the following short article was printed, under the headline, ‘An
Explanation,’
“In connection with the breaking of the news
to the world that the armistice had been signed by the Germans, it should be
stated that this information came to the people of this country through the
medium of the United Press, and carried with the signature of its president,
Roy W. Howard, regarded as one of the cleverest and most reliable newspapermen
in the profession.
“The United Press has on
many former occasion scooped its rival, the associated Press, in the breaking
of big news items, and in this instance, it is significant that at 3 o’clock
this afternoon, the Associated Press was throwing doubt upon the statement sent
out by Mr. Howard that an armistice had been signed.
“The latest news that the
Spectator has on the subject comes from Brest, France, which relates that the
populace of that city is celebrating the news of the signing of the armistice
with great abandon.”1
1 “An
Explanation”
Hamilton Spectator. November 07, 1918.
The Hamilton Herald was
quick to point out the Spectator’s mistake, and in a late edition called the
Spectator’s “breaking’ of the big news a hoax.
The next day, the following
was published, with the Spectator that it was ‘exclusive to the Spectator,’
although it may well have been ‘exclusive’ to every newspaper that relied on
the United Press for its international news:
“Exclusive to the Spectator
Brest, France, Nov. 8. –
Rear Admiral Henry B. Wilson, U.S.N., commander of the American forces in
French waters, today made the following statement :
‘The statement of the United
Press relative to the signing of the armistice was made public from my office
on the basis of what appeared to be official and authoritative information.
‘I am in a position to know
that the United Press and its representatives acted in perfectly good faith,
and that the premature announcement was the result of an error, for which the
agency was in nowise responsible.’2
2 “Origin
of Story”
Hamilton Spectator. November 08, 1918.
The Spectator was also fully
prepared to punch back at the Herald for its ‘hoax’ aspersion:
“Perhaps no newspaper published in Canada
exemplifies more inefficiency, inaccuracy, ingratitude and effrontery than the
Hamilton Herald. If you don’t think so, get the Herald to explain why it doesn’t
publish its circulation figures.
“Here is an instance of its
ability in the line of downright cheek and impudence : Yesterday the Herald
carried a front page story holding up to ridicule this Great Family Journal for
publishing the United Press story of the signing of the armistice terms.
“In very large type, a
heading referred to us as follows :
‘Spectator Scoop Proved to
Be Hoax’
“Just to show our thousands
of readers who never see that scurrilous sheet, just what the Herald carried
about that same story, the Spectator publishes herewith a photo reproduction of
the Herald of November 7 and the headlines it carried to announce the same
story as the Spectator. What do you think of this?”3
3 As
to Hoaxing”
Hamilton Spectator. November
8, 1918
Finally, during the predawn hours of
November11, 1918, the news, the confirmed news, that an armistice had been
signed formally bring a cessation of hostilities, reached Hamilton.
Although wild celebrations
broke out, but some readers of the Spectator’s rival daily, the Hamilton Herald
were unkind enough to ask if the story was real this time, or just another
Spectator hoax?
The Spectator had an extra
edition prepared and it hit the streets, carrying the headline, ‘Armistice
Signed’ long before the Herald’s managed to get an extra edition sent out.
Still sensitive about the situation of November 7, the Spectator carried a
lengthy boast to how it was the first to announce the news of November 11, and
to get an extra edition out of the streets that morning:
“It was left to the Spectator to give the
first information to the people of this city of the signing of the armistice
and the announcement of the cessation of hostilities.
“In Washington, at 2:45 this
morning, this information was given to representatives of all the news agencies
of the continent, and in turn was immediately flashed by their representatives
to their clients all over the country.
“The Spectator has a direct
United Press leased wire to Washington, and the flash was received here at
2:45, eleven minutes before the arrival of the same news over the Canadian
Press wire.
“Preparations had been made
to distribute an early morning extra, and this was on the street at five
minutes after five o’clock, and contained
nearly thirty columns of the most important war news since the war broke
out four years ago.
“In spite of the early hour,
there were thousands waiting to receive the Spectator extra, and the demand was
unprecedented in this history of this newspaper.
“The Spectator was on the
street thirty minutes before any of its local competitors, and a comparison of
the extras tells the tale. We invite criticism.
“The three Toronto morning
papers that serve Hamilton did not carry a single line of the news of the
signing of the armistice.
“Another best for the
Spectator. Rely on this Great Family Journal and you will be served with the
latest and most complete news.”
4 “Spec
Scores Again”
Hamilton Spectator. November 11, 1918
Even in the midst of the
raucous, noisy celebrations of the confirmed signing of the armistice, the
Spectator printers could not resist making a visit up King street west and make
a stop in front of the Herald office :
“Humorous – from one point of view only – was the serenade
of the Herald office by the Spectator printers and the posting of a bulletin on
the Herald window that the Spectator had beaten the competitors ten minutes on
the ‘flash.’
“ ‘Sharpen your scissors and
wait for the Spec to come out!’ they shouted, flags waving in the breeze and a
discordant flute band struggled with the Dead March. It was ample revenge for
the scurrilous attack in the King street sheet on Friday – and how the printers
did enjoy themselves!”5
5“All
Hamilton Joins in Wild Celebration : High Carnival Reigned When Momentous Flash
Circulated – City Rocked With Frantic Joy : Whistles Shrieked, Bells Clanged,
Thousands Paraded Streets in Lid-Lifting Celebration”
Hamilton Spectator. November 11, 1918.
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