The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-08-15
REF0R MING BUSINESS
EVERYBODY IS ENGAGED IN IT
 NOWADAYS.
One Clear-headed, Sarcastic Editor POkes Fun at the Whole Round and Draws
 Moral,

hOun0 ana Dr0Wb
 Moral.
 At the recent convention of the Ma tional Editorial Association in Okla l homa, William Allen White, who owns
 and edits The Emporia (Kan) Gazette. and famous man since he wrote an editorial Whats the Matter With
 Kansas?' nine years ago. delivered an
 address in his characteristic style on Newspapers and Reform" He said:
 This is a day Of reform. Every body is engaged in reforming someone
 else. The preachers are reforming the newspapers: the newspapers are TO- forming the politicians; the politicians
 are reforming the tariff magnates; the tariff magnates are reforming Standard
 oil, and Standard Oil is reforming the
 preachers--so the happy circle of re-
 form Is completed. and when the bull dog of reform finally does catch his tall and swallows 1t and turns himself Inside out, we shall have a fine coun- try. Generally speaking, most reform CTS are carrying their reform as side line. They make their travelling ex- penses out of it. It doesn't cost the preachers anything to reform the news papers. In fact. the preachers get good deal of top of column next to reading matter space out of 1t that they would hardly get if they devoted themselves to the perseverance of the saints and higher criticism. It doesn't
 cost the politicians anything to reform the railroads--not that any one knows of The politicians keep right on rid ing on transportation from the law department of the railroads. while
 whooping it up for railroad reform, and 1t doesn't cost the railroad presidents
 anything to be for tariff reform, and
 what's more, 1t does not seem to hurt
 the tariff. If the railroad magnates
 were as serious about tariff reform as
 they are to see the trusts get their re-
 bates, there would be no tariff reform. And the beneficiaries of the tariff aren't
 losing much by reforming Standard oil. Anyone can reform Standard oil.
 It is the punching bag In the national
 reformatory that we all try our mus
 cle on.
 'The only place in this bright and
 more or less beautiful world where re-
 form takes the hair and the hide, and the title thereunto appertaining, is in
 a newspaper office. It costs a newspa-
 per to go into the reform business. If
 you tackle the beef trust, brother edi-
 tors. you will hear from it when you
 make a contract for vigoral and the
 beef extracts. If you tackle the rail-
 roads you will get chance to see more
 scenery to the square mile when you
 travel then you have been used to ob- serving. If you tackle the politicians
 they will start another paper which
 won't hurt you particularly. except as
 1t Is a disgrace to the honorable pro
 fession In which you are shining. If
 you whack away at Standard Oil there
 is danger of losing your Mica Axle Grease and parafine candles advertis-
 ing. and If you are for Sunday closing
 you are in danger of losing your to-
 bacco and cigar and Malt Murine ad- vertising. You must roform some- thing. The people demand reform. And If they don't get 1t they will stop taking the paper. After a long ses-
 zette has come to the conclusion that
 the only safe thing to reform is the Russian navy It needs the reform and
 the Czar only gets our valuable papers through clipping bureau, and If he should decide to blister the varnish off
 several clipping bureaus. no one would
 care much. The thing for all true re-
 formers to do, therefore, is to go after
 the Czar.
 The President Is successful re-
 former. what'do you suppose Roose- welt would do if he were running the
 Oyster Bay Tribune? Would he go right after the gamblers and saloon
 keepers and violators of the law who lived in his town? Would be print the
 item which showed how the local bank
 was gouging In his interest account? Would he dare to go to the courthouse
 and get the personal property tax list and run it-or would he consider the larger good and take his typewriter | in hand and blaze away at the prac- | tise of polygamy in Utah, the iniquity | of the fruit trust in California or the violation of the game laws in Maine.
 It Is one thing to be a President with | $50,000 a year raining on the tin roof whether you work or not, and quite an other thing to be the editor of a coun- | try paper in a board sidewalk town, dependent upon retaining the good
 graces of the people for your board and keep. There is something inspir- ing in the sweetly solemn thought | that you don't fear Saturday night, that gives a President courage in busting
 the trusts. He can preach the simple | life and have pie for breakfast in his present high estate. but If he were
 running country paper there would be 5000 considerate critics in oyster Bay and vicinity who would read the files of his paper and paste things In
 the scrap-books and throw them up to
 him every time he changed his mind. And now all this brings up the question-what are we here for, and if | so, at how much a line? Here we are. 1 American editors, grunting our collar buttons off on the lever that moves the
 world, with the old handle flying up
 every few days knocking out our I teeth, taking 50 per cent. of the legal
 rate for printing, while statesmen are | taking 150 per cent. of their pay; here
 we are. galloping up and down the
 earth, carrying other peoples burdens,
 bearing other peoples sorrow. and | taking our pay in due bills on, St Pe- | ter-and all for what? For the fun of
 getting the smell of news ink in our