John McCutcheon's Injun Summer first appeared in the Chicago Tribune in 1907, a century ago. It has captured the hearts of generations of readers around the country because the Trib wisely syndicated it. Until recently.
In 2002, the Trib stopped printing "Injun Summer" on the cover of its Sunday magazine supplement. Why? Because the new generation of Tribune editors felt that "Injun Summer" offended Native Americans. Can you believe it!
Now, I was born and raised in Chicago, so quite a few slang expressions came to mind when I first read about this in 2003. I wrote a letter to the Trib complaining about this. To my surprise, I received a reply saying Trib editors felt that "Injun Summer" offended Native Americans.
Give me a break!
Being politically correct is one thing. But being stupid is another.
Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the guiding force behind the Chicago Tribune for the first part of the 20th Century, must have rolled over in his grave at Cantigny! If Colonel McCormick were alive today, he would never have allowed this to happen. Not in a million years! But he had guts, which is a helluva lot more than I can say for the Trib's current editors.
George Spink
Los Angeles
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