The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, November 18, 1918, Page 6

Tonpartisan Teader Official Magazine of the National Nonpartisan League—Every Week Entered as second-class matter September 8, 1915, at the postoffice at St. Paul, Minnesota, under the Act of March 8, 1879. OLIVER 8. MORRIS, Editor A. B. GILBERT, Associate Editor : - B. 0. FO8S, Art Editor % Advertising rates on application. Subscription, one year, in advance, $2.50; six months, $1.50. Please do not make checks, drafts nor money orders payable to indi- viduals. Address all letters and make all remittances to The Nonpartisan Leader, Box 575, St. Paul, Minn. MEMBER OF AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS - THE S. C, BECKWITH SPECIAL AGENCY, Advertising Representatives, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Kansas City. Quack, fraudulent and irresponsible firms are not knowingly advertised, and we will take it as a favor if any readers will advise us promptly should they have occasion to doubt or question the reliability of any firm which patronizes our advertising columns. - THE PRESS CHAINED ITH the development of industrial monopolies and special privileges in America there was established a daily press to protect and defend the political and economic conditions which existed and which best served these monopolies and these beneficiaries of privilege. Long before the people realized what was doing, a big daily press, owned, financed or controlled to op- pose democratic tendencies and men or measures hostile to graft and privilege, was built up in our cities. It rapidly drove out most of the old school of independent editors and publishers, who either quit in.disgust or accepted the pieces of silver of those promoting the new kind of journalism. . v Economic conditions were such that the kept press of the big interests. flourished and developed into a perfect flower. The art of advertising was discovered and promoted, until the daily papers no longer depended on subscribers or the general public for sup- port. The publishers were able to sell their papers for a penny, and spend that penny for promotion work to build up the subsecrip- tion list. So that, in fact, the publishers got little if any revenue “from subscriptions. The papers were supported by advertisers. The effect of this was to commercialize the daily press—to make its primary object money making, and not service to the public. The commercialization of the pzess had another more Sinister effect. It enabled the defenders and beneficiaries of privilege to __control practically the entire daily paper field, without actual pur- 1L 0o ANYTHING | YOU SAvY chase or direct subsidizing of all papers. It was only necessary to own or subsidize a few daily papers in each community. These di- rectly controlled papers were favored by the advertisers, were given advantages by those who controlled money and credit, and hence, with big revenues and most favorable conditions for development, ~ they were able to spend large sums of money for special and ex- clusive news features, pictures, colored supplements and other means to attract and interest read : build up great circulations on the strength of “funny sheets,” freak feature stories, clever chatter by highly paid writers and other light matter. The soundness of the editorial policy, the fairness and ac- curacy of the news reports was:not relied upon to gain cireulation and prestige—in fact, these matters were entirely secondary. When the independent publishers who still placed fair and accurate news and sound editorial policy first discovered that the new kind of journalism was getting the money and rapidly dominat- ing the field, they had 0 yield, in self-defense. They had, of course, to cut their subscription price to meet the new competition. Then they had to seek more advertising revenue, not only to make up for the loss in revenue from readers, but to purchase freak news features and the services of clever artists and writers, who wrote about everything except fundamental political and economic ques- tions, in order to fill the new demand of the public created by the new school of journalism. And when they reached out for this new revenue, the indepg it. They found that th cial privilege—the de: __ mies of progress and e vertising, directly or§ withhel_d vfrou'l, publishérs form—controlled the great bulk of the ad- ers. Hence they were able to- indent publishers had to compromise to get iy e great monopolies and beneficiaries of spe- ders of the existing system and the ene- . directly, and advertising patronage was: S who would not “be good.” ' Thus, with direct ownership and control of a few leading newspapers in each community, and with the economic whip of advertlsmg. control, the enemies of democracy and of progress were able to bring prac- tically the entire daily press under control. : THE PRESS FREED NEW development has commenced in Axperica.n journalism, a development that may yet free the daily press. Whether it does or not will depend on the general public—on the ability of the people to recognize and approve fair and accurate news and sound editorial policy. We refer to the movement in the West for the establishment of daily papers owned by organized groups of the common people—producers and workers. Farmers’ organizations and labor unions have been the leaders in establish- ing this new press. _ At Seattle, Wash., there is a new but already firmly establish- ed and prosperous daily paper owned and controlled by the labor unions. Its stock is held by hundreds of labor organizations in Seattle and the state at large. Its large eirculation among wage- workers with money to spend has compelled a wide advertising patronage by merchants, assuring it a revenue that will enable it to compete with the daily press published in the interests of privi- lege and monopoly. This paper is the Seattle Union Record, t Butte, Mont., where the existing press was owned body and soul by the copper trust and published with the chief object of de- stroying labor unionism, the Daily Bulletin has been established. ' Its stock is owned by the labor unions, and in small blocks by hun- dreds of individuals who see that the only hope of Montana is to lt;hrow off the dominatioh of the copper kings and waterpower arons. . : : "~ Over 1,000 farmers of Grand Forks county, N. D., and adjoin- ing counties in Minnesota, have bought stock in and established the Grand Forks Daily American, to give competition to the existing reactionary and privilege-defending dailies of the locality. This paper, only a few months old, has already become a leader in its field and its success seems to be assured. Its ownership assures a policy free from influence of the beneficiaries of privilege and the wide appeal of such a policy among the people will assure a liberal advertising support from merchants who desire to deal with those who produce the wealth and have money to spend in the vicinity of Grand Forks. & : The leading daily paper in North Dakota—the most widely cir- culated and read—is the morning paper at Fargo, the Courier- News. This paper was purchased nearly two years ago by the forces promoting the. organized farmers’ movement in the state, . and editorially it is devoted to the cause of the Nonpartisan league. It is, however, first of all a real newspaper, carrying the leased wire reports of the Associated Press and the United Pregs. When taken over by the new owners, the Courier-News ranked third or fourth in circulation and prestige among the daily papers of the state, but in less than two years has become, with the support of the liberal-thinking people of the state, the dominating influence in the North Dakota daily field. " The demand for a free daily paper in Minnesota has reached a point where, as soon as the war ends the paper shortage and gov- ernment restrictions, it is safe to say a new paper will be establish- ed, devoted to accurate news and free editorial opinion. ' Of exist- ing Minnesota glalllep in the big cities, none have supported the great democratic political and economic movement of the farmers and labor unions. T e The same demand is écuté in other western states, and it is + safe to say that a new movement in t&foumasnlism is under way, which, n in due time, will give competitio the kept press and eventually will free journalism from the sinister control now exercised over it. THEIR METHODS MARK THEM ; H ' WHEREVER they have taken part in ‘politics the organized - farmers have made a clean fight - Their campaign has ‘simply been one of frank & discussion of awritten and per-