The Press: Postman v. Post

Under the late, larruping Publisher Frederick G. Bonfils, the only editorial voice in the Denver Post was a column called “That’s That.” It was written, then and after Bonfils’ death in 1933, by a mild-mannered little man named Bruce Gustin. When Palmer Hoyt took over the

Post in 1946, he started an editorial page, gave Gustin a byline so readers would know that the columnist no longer expressed Post views. Last week Gustin proved that his column is still a potent editorial voice.

Denver citizens were to vote on a new city charter. Almost everybody, apparently, was for it: the Post, the Scripps-Howard Rocky Mountain News (Denver’s only other daily), young Mayor Quigg Newton, the Chamber of Commerce, the unions. The charter’s main opponents: 61year-old Columnist Gustin, the city auditor and a group of political “outs.”

Gustin conducted his campaign with customary gusto. The proposed charter, like everything Bonfils and Gustin had opposed in the old days, was “absurd, ridiculous, asinine, idiotic, and doesn’t make sense.” Gustin ignored Post editorials across the page. Post editorials ignored Gustin—except once, when a political advertisement quoted from a Gustin column. Then the Post once more warned readers that Gustin spoke only for Gustin. But the paper made no attempt to edit or censor Gustin’s columns. Acknowledged Gustin: “A remarkable demonstration of broadmindedness. ..’. .”

The charter lost, 32,571 to 26,652.