The News Machine of 1905
In 1905, news spread across the country by wire, telephone, and the Associated Press. Many mistakes would be made. Assumptions made by news reporters and embellishments change the actual truth of the incident. What we read in the attached articles and family history is all we have to go on. People heard a name and mispronounced it or misspelled it, sending the incorrect information out by wire. By the time news of this explosion reached Montana, Harmon’s name was now “Herbert Lister” or “Herman Tisler.” Facts changed by each news writer’s interpretation. As you can see in the attached news clippings, the further away from Nashville and Knoxville the news traveled, the more it became incorrect. In fact, Nashville and Knoxville were the only two newspapers to get the names somewhat correct. Another inconsistency is the man named Frank Plate. In other news articles his name was listed as Frank P. Tate. After researching Frank P. Tate, I found history on a man who was named Frank Peck Tate who died around that time; but looking further into news of his death, it reports that he died in Washington D.C. and was a politician. For sake of consistency I decided to stick with Frank Plate. One example of an error made in the news was that a railroad was five miles from the site when actually there was one there. A railroad was essential to move the wood out as it was processed. As time goes on and our research continues maybe family members of these said victims can provide more information.
Compiling all the articles it is evident that five men died on that fateful day with 10 to 11 others hanging onto life to surely die – some sooner than others. By the time other men’s fate occurred news moved on and this story was no longer as newsworthy as the power mill explosion in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, or the outcome of the boiler explosion on the gunship Bennington. These injured men's fate from the T.J. Salts Sawmill explosion never got reported again as far as I can tell.
background photo courtesy of Tennessee Historical Society
Tennessee State Library and Archives
