The Paducah evening sun., 1910-05-04

outdbOSc duu tttSluS iOA POI coudl III
jury damage suits, while corpora
tions pay salaries to other legal tai
lent to do things, most people would
hesitate to do.
The free press has grown rank in
this country. The spirit of the viii
lage gossip Is not lacking in city
people. Citizens love to discuss other
peoples private business. II is not
because newspaper men are naturally
inqulsitive, that they pry into what
the subject of their inquiries ceSsid-
ers his private business; II is to sup
ply the great public yearning for gos-
sip. It is not generally known, but
inquisitive people and officious
persons do not make good newspaper
men. The very first lesson a news
paperman has to learn is to keep a
secret and retain confidence. But
compettion is very great in the field;
subscriber is courted more. The re-
porter comes in personal contact
with the people from whom he gets
news; the advertising solicitor comes
in personal contact with the men
who advertise, and the circulation
solicitor comes in personal contact
with the subscribers; so that every
department every day feels the ef-
feet of this personal touch between
the newspaper and its public, and
every department tries to please ev-
ierybody thus personally reached.
The Courier-Journal IL right; the
law cannot regulate the difficulty.
The reform must come from within
the profession. The adoption of a
specific code OF ethics may not fol-
low, but the agitation of the news
papers will eventually bring about
concerted action. The lawyers will
have to take the same steps TO re-
form their profession. We doubt
whether any other profession or
business on earth would as frankly
admit its own faults as the news
papers do. which goes to show that
the newspaper profession is funda-
mentally more sincere and less vain
than other professions.
That the trouble is not so distress
ing as victims of publicity ever COM
plain, goes without saying. Whenever
anybody's private affairs are exposed,
whether justifiably or not, that per-
son will decry against the intrusons
of the press. Every public Official has
felt its initiative. Right here in Pa
ducah a committee of the fiscal court
thought newspapers would be prying
into the private affairs OF John Oil
phant, president of the Vincennes
Bridge company, II reporters listened
to and reported the testimony he pre-
sented before that committee in re
gard to his relations with the county.
The fatuous excuse was given that
the evidence might be used in a
damage suit against him, growing
out Of personal remarks he made
about another gentleman and In no
wise related to the facts under in
vestigation.
An official whose attitude toward
public measures, induces suspicious
ncwspapermen to invade the privacy
of his life outside the halls OF the
legislature. feels that he is being
bounded by the press. The corpora
ton magnate, whose business meth
ods interfere with the rights and lib
critics of the people, dislikes news
paper notoriety; we once heard
Ihalf-drunken labor leader during a
strike curse the newspapers because
they published facts about an at
tempt to poison. strikebreakers.
II Is not the abuse heaped upon
the press by the subjects of its In
vestigations, but criticism of meth
DDS coming from the press itself.
that is significant The press Is not
bad. but has simply gone too far in
its anxiety to furnish all kinds of
reading matter to all kinds of peo-
pie. The press will correct its own
faults without losing any of its eff
cheney as a disseminator of news and
with greatly increased prestige as
moulder of public opinion. Editor
tally the press today Is affected by
the same misguided desire to be on
the popular side: 1t reflects too much
the hysteria OF the moment, and as
sumes too little its rightful preroga-
tive of leading public opinion.
"Marse Henry" Watterson has a
right to lift his voice on this subject.
He Is a moulder with a union card.