The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 6, 1918, Page 10

A shoe clerks and their wives, and the other middle- men and their wives? They would see in this an opening wedge for Socialism or something worse. Public opinion would be rent asunder. The mid- dlemen are the advertisers, and support the news- papers. The advertising ear is the one in which the editor hears best. None of us has seen such an editorial printed, although public opinion, once having its attention called to the plan, might readily indorse it. THE POWER OF THE DEPARTMENT STORES It is not fair here to condemn the press alone, since the advertiser is equally guilty. Since when has it been worse to take a bribe than to give one? On the Pacific coast, citizens who had chafed under the inefficient meth- ods of the street railway corporations, welcomed the advent of passenger- carrying automobiles, which they called jitneys. These motor cars, running along regular routes, cut deeply into the income of the traction interests. The only way in which the new system of transportation could be killed was by influencing legisla- tion as to licensing, taxation and regu- lation. The leading newspaper of one city ran daily articles praising the jitney busses and the aldermen were afraid to legislate against them. Then one day passed without any news- paper reference to the contest. Grad- ually the editor changed sides until he began finding fault with the jitney system. The chauffeurs had been unionized, and so a delegation of union men called on the editor to learn the reason for the new policy. Wearily he swung around in his chair, and said in a burst of frankness: “Gentlemen, this paper is run from the department stores downtown. If you want the reason for anything we do, ask them.” Do you think the department stores rule public opinion? If they do not, then the newspaper doesn’t either. For any policy that the heavy adver- tisers dislike must be changed to hold their ads. As things now stand, the successful editor has to be a trimmer. Running a paper is a series of compromises. Often a newspaper corporation has other investments of its owners to protect. . WHO OWNS YOUR NEWSPAPER? A few years ago congress passed a law in re- sponse to the universal demand that the papers should be fair to the public. This provides for the publication four times a year of the names of stock- holders and the names of those holding 1 per cent or more of the mortgages or other securities of the companies. You will find these sworn state- ments hidden in small type in out-of-the-way cor- ners of the want ad pages. ; That the law does not go far enough is the belief of -.one independent paper, the Capital Times of Madison, Wis. In a recent editorial it remarked: “The law should be so changed as to compel every newspaper to print the source of all the money received in its organization. If a newspaper takes the street railway side of controversies in its editorial columns the public ought to know it if the newspaper is taking money from that source; if a newspaper takes money from Germans and the nmoney so received is reflected in editorial opinion of the paper the public ought to know the full transaction; if newspapers that are tender of the profiteers have obtained money through channels NEW! sAY THaT JUNK'S S0 oLD SOME SENSE TO THAT EDITORIAL, SOME SENSE THIS EOITOR'S ALWAYS PULLING SOMETHING NEW SAME STUFF FOR WEERS| t HOPE HE'S ADVOCATING FREE BONES FER DORGS. placed at their disposal by the profiteers the public ought to know that. “We know of one paper in this state that a few years ago was one of the strongest progressive organs in the state. About two years ago its policy suddenly changed. Its standpat contemporaries seized upon the change with glee—the fact that this paper had finally broken away from the pro- gressive movement was widely exploited. What were the facts? The paper started to expand. The publisher lost his head in his eagerness for suc- cess and plunged deeper than he should have. He placed himself under obligations to the bankers of his city. Bankers as a class do not look with favor upon progressive fads. And progressiveism began to disappear from that editorial page.” IT'S GoT WHISKERS ALL OVER IT_ |'VE BEEN TRINKING THE BELIEVE Think back over the progressive legislation that has been enacted in this country in the last 20 years. Can you say that in any case the news- papers were on the side of right? Or, rather, did they not hang back until success for the movement was assured ? p ‘ THE LAST HOPE OF THE PROFITEERS The most mournful fact of American life is that our newspapers will be the last institution to be democratized. Until privilege is driven from its last trenches, the editors will cling to the flag of autocracy. I hope I am not prejudiced when I still say that the newspapers are as essential to social welfare as medicine or engineering. It is main- ly by the news columns that the public is influenced. There,- if anywhere, may the uncolored facts be found. I know people who take all the news- papers of their city and average up the stories to find out what is going on. The personal element,of course, always enters into news writing. It is hard to suppress the reporter’s individuality, either of style or of manner of look- ing at a question. Then there are times when a man is assigned to play up certain angles of a situation. In the days of the Spanish-American war, for instance, a correspondent was sent to one of the fronts with instruc- tions to make a hero for Kansas. The editorial columns, I should say, exert little influence. W. R. Nelson, editor and publisher of the Kansas City Star for so many years, often said that he wished to abolish the editorial page, and did cut down the editorial column. He believed that people today did not wish to read another man’s opinion, but fo be left to make up their own minds from the facts. { On the other hand, most editors either strive to lead public opinion through the editorial column, or to hold it back. The ideal editorial, of course, is one which attempts to find the truth and interpret it. But, one must remember, the first duty of the editorial writer is to write what his employer thinks, or is forced, by press of circumstances, to think he thinks. - A So there are few, if any, papers that intelligent people rely on for guidance, politically, socially, economically. The influence that remains is gained, not through the rumble bumble of cam- paign arguments, or suddenly conceived crusades against this or that evil practice. the people toward the vital issues of society is based on the more dispassionate and unbiased news reports stretching over a period of years. This, then, is the American press as I see it. I pray for it. DO Y'VU How the Farmer Can Triple His Income Increased Efficiency Hasn’t Brought Larger Income Because Selling Price Is Fixed by Middlemen—Can Go Bankrupt on Bumper Crops run as well as the business of the manufacturer, the farmer product. y That statement is based on facts and figures prepared by the United States government. J_ If the farmer dee;ns it worth while to increase his income at least 300 per cent it would be well for {i him to consider the following facts: In the first place, the farmer undoubtedly per-- forms the most important job in the world. He feeds us all and in addition he supplies the manu- facturers with the bulk of their raw material. This { job.is worth more to the world than any of the .| following cardinal activities: mining, manufactur- ' ing, trading, transporting. By all the rules of justice and reason he ought to get more out of ; “it than the workers and operators in any of the . above branches. Does he? The manufacturers alone with less than half the capital got nearly four times as much in gross value in 1909! ; 7 What’s: the matter? The farmer’s output bulks stupendously ‘each year as. the most valuable na- - F THE farmer’s business were. would receive over three times % as much as he now does for his~ tional asset. Why does not so much wealth coming from his hands leave him wealthy? BECAUSE PRICES ARE FIXED BY OTHERS Simply this: The amofint, of products the fal;mer When men work together in organized society for the common economic good of all the members, the basis of democ- . racy has been found, and the solution of social problems will be much easier: This article shows that farmers have been primarily interested in the pro- duction of crops and livestock rather than in their business relations. The passing of agriculture into an intense commereialism is bringing the realiza- tion of the need of organization-for dealing effectively with the system of organization that prevails every- . where in the world. =~ A b et A e e raises has nothing to do with what he retains, .be- cause he specializes on certain crops and can not hve.on what he produces, but has to sell it in order to live. Therefore, he is wholly dependent on the PRICE of what he sells and the:PRICE of what" he buys. Between the two he loses the vast bulk of wealth he produces because he has lost control of PRICE FIXING. LS The other fellow fixes the price and incidentally fixes the farmer. Through the neat little trick we call PRICE the farmer’s enormous wealth is taken over bodily each year by the fellow who con- trols the price and the farmer is left with an in- come smaller even than the wage laborer’s. MANUFACTURER CONTROLS HIS SELLING In 1910, 6,631,502 farmers and their help, an industrial army of more than 12,000,000 workers, ™ of capital, produced an" output that kept the nation alive and in comfort: for a year, but was incidentally PRICED by the other fellow at $5,487,000,000 as it came from the - ll;‘and‘:f o:urt‘l:xe tarmlers. At the same time ‘the " anufacturers, employing 7,6 1 nd $18.- 428,270,000 worth of e sud g18, employing $40,991,449,090 capital, produced an output The attitude of -