Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-31
Some Things You Want to Know
The English ElectiOns-HOw the Newgpapers Fight..

Auo ALlSllSu
The English newspapers In a political
campaign go quite as wild as the public
speakers or their friends, the hecklers. The
Independent journal Is ell but unknown.
every newspaper is a party organ, and
every one goes it's full length in praise OF
its candidates and in ~derogation Of those
OF the other party. Tho liberal newspapers
refer to their conservative contemporaries
as the yellow press, always with capital
letters. The tories retort by calling the
radical papers ''socialistic rags But
neither ever admits defects in its own
party or sees virtue in the opposition. 1t
may be said that many American news
papers are quite the same during political
campaigns. and It is true in many In
stances. so far rs the editorial columns are
concerned. But no daily newspaper in the
United States, however partisan on its edi-
torial page. would dare to use its new
columns rs do the British papers.
The British press for so many years has
congratulated itself upon its superiority
above American Journalism that even
Americans are ircllned to credit the Eng
lish boasts. 1t is true that big headlines
are not used in the English papers, and
therefore the outward and visible signs so
often associated with yellow journalism
are not in evidence In England. But It is
possible to be yellow in small type, and
even under small headlines which give no
hint whatever of the nature or character
of the article which follows. The methods
Of the British press in campaign time
leave no doubt on that score.
In the first place. nearly every English
newspaper occupies the relation Of organ"
to one of the two principal parties, and
nearly every one is further Identified with
some particular clique or following. The
party organs are slavishly devoted to par
tisan interests as American newspapers
we're forty years ago.
During this parliamentary campaign one
CT the London evening papers published an
article on the sensational press in the
United States, declaring that the ''authori-
Ties in America recognized that some
thing must be done to correct the evils
of the utter and absolute untrustworthiness
OF the American press. In the same article
it was charged that thoughtful Americans
fear that the United States is about to
come under the domination Of a newspaper
cligarchy, representing the worst and most
sensational section of the American press.
The article concluded with an Indictment
of the American newspapers for the i'm
rropriety" of each newspaper having It's
own policy with respect to public affairs.
At that time the campaign was in its
cllmacteric week and the newspapers were
flooded with election news-vastly more
space being devoted to politics than is
given by American newspapers. One news
paper had a review, by constituencies, Of
~ - =
each and every case the special CORE
spondent pointed out that the fright man"
could not possibly fail Of election. An OPP
position newspaper on the same day. in
the news columns. claimed every one Of
these seats for its party, each paper de-
plored the indecent tactics of the opposi-
ton party in each constituency, and each
accused the other OF all sorts of outrages
and misdemeanors
Mr.. Lloyd-George in a speech about the
merchant marine referred to the British
tonnage of eleven millions. The telegraph
wires got twisted and In many newspa-
pers he was made to say L1OO,O 0O, 200. The
error was palpable, but the conservative
press gave great space and prominent
headlines to what was called another ex-
ample of the chancollor's lnexactitude. I'm
fa9 AAA1NSN - NSAA1Sf
but many Of the papers did not print it.
One Of the principal morning papers
printed the correction, but placed 1t with
out a headline as a two-line note under a
letter from a contributor gently calling
Mr.. Lloyd-George a liar. Over the whole
was a prominent headline "The Chancel-
lor's Error"
The principal newspapers, instead of de-
voting space to an exposition of the issues
they represented, printed long accounts Of
the heckling of peers and stories of the
unpopularity Of the Tory leaders. They
made no effort to refute the arguments
of the other party by publishing news ar
ticles giving the facts in the controversy,
but contented themselves with long and
heavy editorials about the constitutional
questions involved, The news columns
were devoted entirely to the smallest items
OF inconsequentlal news from the various
local fights-not one IN a thousand of
which could get by the desk Of an Amer
lean news editor.
The conservative newspapers were much
more effective In their style of campaign
ing, although they laid themselves open to
the charge of representing the yellowest Of
all yellow Journalism. To read a stout
tory paper during the campaign one would
lave believed that the German invasion