Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-09-28

, average citizen who gives the matter
little or no thought, but it is fact
that the fear of publicity keeps more
people in paths of rectitude than al
most any other influence.
This is we'll known to police report
ers. newspaper men generally, court
officials, police officers willing to look
at the matter in an unbiased light, and
all who in any manner frequently
come in contact with wrongdoers.
Perhaps, among them all, the report
er realizes most clearly what it means
to the average man or woman who
tlanscends the bounds of law or pro-
priety to have the matter kept from
the public. To him the appeal for i'm
munity is made.
Uutil the wrongdoer become the call
lous criminal or habitual jailbi<l, with
all sense of pride and self-esteek gone,
his first concern when caught by the
police is that the matter shall be kept
from the newspapers. He doesn't want
to suffer the humiliation of having his
escapades spread in the public prints,
to be read by his family and friends
who may yet have confidence in him.
matter so much, if only no one found
it out.
No man who has ever served as a
police reporter for any length of time
but who has seen offenders at police
headquarters, or their humilfiated rela-
tives or friends fguratively, and some
times actually, go down on their knees
in plea to have it kept out of the
paper That's where the rub comes
with nine -tenths of those who still
possess self-respect.
Therefore, we say the newspaper, as
the great agency of publicity, the great
reflector of our complex life, does more
than the police and the courts and all
other Observation-Disclosures put together to
restrain a certain class in society. OF
course, publicity has no terrors for the
hardened criminal; he only wishes to
escape prison; when he is caught it
doesn't matter to him what publicity
is given to his misdeeds, save in the
exceptional case where such a one still
has a tender regard for some relative
who must suffer humiliation thru his
conduct But there are lot of first
offenders and people on the verge of
wrongdoing for whom the police re-
porter has more real terror than a
whole regiment Of officers and several
nights in Jail There can be no doubt
of the wholesome effect on this class
of yigilant reportorial work and an i'm
partial publication of the names of
those who fall within the police net
and also the stories of their misdoings.
We cry for publicity to remedy in
dustrial and commercial evils, and we
do so with much reason, as will be
seen by any one minded to give a little
thought to this subject of the effect of
publicity on the morals of COM
munity.
All this is said, too, with a keen
realization of the fact that the exigen-
| cies of police work, in order that the
law best may be served and the wrong
doer brought to bay, often require the
s,,nnression of certain facts for a time
and it is said also wholly without
thought of adverse criticism of the To-
cal police, past or present. That is
another matter entirely. All exper-
fenced police officers appreciate the
noint south to be made, and all faith
fu1 reporters and honest newspapers
rasnect the condolences of the officers
ana aid them very materially in their
| work