The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, January 6, 1919, Page 6

OOt —~ { MDY b 2, o ook Onct DI 4 /////% ‘ zfg% %:% ‘ | Nonpartisén Teader Official Magazine of the National Nonpartisan League—Every Week ———— e T 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, Associat: Ed“;) B.<0. FOSS, Art Editor oo 3 : Advertising rates on application. Subscription, one year, in advance, $2.50; six months, $1.50. Please do not make checks;” drafts nor money' orders payfible to 'in:li- viduals. Address all letters and make all remittances to ; Box 575, St. Paul, Minn. MEMBER OF AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS 1 $ n f n The Nonpartisan Leader, . THE S. C. BECKWITH SPECIAL A i € i York, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Kansas Cig’FNCY' Advertising | Revrcaentatives, New —_— NS R e e s A Quack, fraudulent and irresponsible firms are not knowingly adverti: will take it as a favor if any readers will advise us promptly :hgu}idatzsy ‘f::‘i:e‘;‘gca:viin to doubt or question the reliability of any firm which patronizes our advertising columns." HYLAN ON NEWSPAPERS SRR OHN F. HYLAN, mayor of New York, had the courage recently to tell the newspapers of the country what he thought of them. The occasion was the meeting in Mr. Hylan’s city of the Na- tional Association of City Editors, and an invitation of that body to the mayor for a speech. For a public man whose political future is dependent to a large extent on the good will of the news- papers it took considerable “nerve” to be brutally outspoken. But the mayor’s courage is no more interesting than his actual words, which in part were as follows: <t .. The daily readers have assumed that the pdpers they read are independent, unbiased, ‘truthful and fair in their ;articles and/edi- torials. However, their confidence has been shaken by misrepre- sentation, biased and untruthful news and editorials which have been and are at intervals appearing in the press. They .believe that the policy of the paper is controlled and influenced: by certain inter- [ I ) = PULLING THE STRINGS. PUBLISHER, ests and are more interested in the special privilege: seeker than in - the people. In many instances this is true, brought about, no doubt, by the financial condition of a particular paper, whose owners are unable to secure sufficient’revenue from their paper to make a profit, and who are compelled to rely upon the subsidy furnished in one form or another by certain interests who are profiteering upon the people. This makes the paper:a pliant tool of the interests and is used to mislead the people. : E ! The management of the paper, with this policy in mind, sends out the news gatherér on a mission with instructions. The facts gathered are distorted and the articles colored in accordance with in- structions and in accordance with the prejudices of the individual news gatherer, thereby getting away from the purpose of disseminating fair and unbiased news. The editorial writer likewise colors his edi- torial to suit the interests of the paper and his employer. The people in a small community discover the gossip monger and the tale bearer, and such a person is discredited and has no standing in the community. The people have discovered, particularly in New York, that prac- tically all of the large newspapers are controlled by the special privilege seeking interests, and have as little regard and little respect for the truthfulness and fairness of such paper as they have for the gossip monger and trouble maker in a small community. This shaken confidence and the belief that the press is controlled to a great extent by those who are profiteering in the necessities of life, is causing great and most serious unrest among the people. i The policy of every paper in the country should be to present the facts as they find them, and not to attempt to bias and prejudice the minds of the people with untruthful and unfair editorials and news articles: : In order for the press to regain the confidence of the people, they must first of all adopt a policy which will make their papers.honest, fearless and independent in the presentation of inews. I sincerely hope that the great men who are connected with the papers of the United States will appreciate the necessity of regaining the confidence of the people, and use their influence against the profiteering interests that - are controlling the necessities of life and exploiting the ‘people. . Mr. Hylan was speaking to a gfoup of men as well infoymed on the issues and events of the day as any in the world—to a body i DT RO e O et b O O T T LA o SRR L B S R message féll on ears that already knew its truth. No one knows better how a crooked press works than the city editor, and if the city editors of Ameri TR A R T 4 A3 T P A I e s b S L2 R _fect flower was industrial monopoly—the trusts. It says that now " of workers with keen perceptions and wide vision. The mayor’s . and the other men who make the mews- . N O g”% W 7 20 % ® A ® papers could RUN THEM ALSO, Mayor Hylan’s advice wopld not be needed. But newspaper workers—even the big ones with im- 3 portant positions and big salaries—under pres'ent.cor}dltlons are mere hirelings who must obey a publisher who remains in the back- N ground and is too often a tool or a stool of special privilege and e special interests. ; PRk ; Regardless-of their personal beliefs and prejudices; newspaper A men as a whole believe in a fair press, one that would not misrepre- i ~ sent even a bitter opponent. But the safety of special privilege _ { X and big corrupt interests demands that opponents be misrepre- b sented and lied about, and it is not within the power of city editors - . i S A at present to make a fair press. Newspaper men have at various - @ times suggested a newspaper men’s organization with a code of \gd! & ethics, which would prohibit members from selling their abilities to publishers except on a hasis of fair dealing with the public. But = -7 who would start such an organization? The first newspaper worker & who did would be blacklisted by every publisher in the country and -~ would have to get into some other business. i ARGUMENTS AGAINST LEAGUE OF NATIONS THE proposition for a league of nations to enforce peace is P now receiving opposition from. extreme radicals as well as , from - extreme reactionaries. We have already. answered the extreme reactionaries and it would be foolish to ignofe the position of the ultra-radicals or to deny the force of their argu- ments. They see in a league of nations an international “capitalist” organization, representing the ruling classes of the various coun- < “§/° tries, dominated by the big commercial interests. - . )i For instance, the Liberator (formerly the Masses, suppressed during the war) points out that a league of nations is just as log- / ical an international “capitalist” development as the American trusts are a logical national “capitalist” development.- The Liber- ator says that American capitalists, destroying one another by competition, devised a plan of “capitalist co-operation” whose per- capitalists of various countries see the need of composing their international disputes and substituting international co-operation and monopoly for destructive international competition and rivalry. To clinch their argument these radicals assert that a league of nations at this time would not be in control of the peoples of the various countries, but would become an instrument to fasten capitalistic’ exploitation more firmly on the various peoples and to crush out revolt against economic conditions which might break out in the territory of any member of the league. - - Even conceding all these arguments of the extreme radicals, which the Leader by no means does, we believe a league of nations is necessary. The league of nations which the Leader has advo- cated is one that would accomplish disarmament-and abolition of universal military service in all countries. This would go a long IT's FoR VISIONARIES AND \DEALISTS ways toward preventing war, and whether accomplished by the capitalistic interests of the world or not, in our opinion it is right and necessary. ' : S S ; It is true that there is danger of a league of nations that will attempt to throttle revolt against political abuses and economic evils in all countries, much as the “Holy Allianee” did last century. - For this reason the league of nations the Leader is advocating is. one that would recognize the principle of self-determination of na- tions, as insisted upon by Wilson. The rulers of the world may be bold enough to form a league without incorporating that principle, but. isn’t it worth while for liberals and radicals to back the move § for a league and fight for self-determination of peoples as a fun-§ damental, principle of its comstitution? =~ - st ~ - We desire to point out also to these radicals who are opposing a league of nations that, unless all reason and logic and common sense are thrown by the board, the league will number among its ho\se.natmvnfls'now- : cont 1, “ . - -members: the governments of t in radical