Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-02
Unfair Criticism
President raft's Advice 20
Publishers Of Magazines
OF the Sensational variety.
Chicago Inter ocean.

1879 ~ AEN w
vice. He counseled the publishers to give
fair play in their dealings with public af-
fairs and public men and warned them Of
the penalties Of playing foul. Among other
things, Mr.. Taft said:
All evidence must be weighed broadly.
IL does no good TO ~denounce a person on
the witness stand II hr e. against
you. The evidence must be Weighed.
When you c~riticise a poor devil exercis-
ing a dittlcuit 4,sYo.~.---
criminal-that of reasonable doubt.
Don't use supplementary expressions
II you can help It, for II you do, and over
load your criticisms with su~perlatives and
with limitations as to his lack Of honor
able motive, In the end you weaken all
your criticisms and nobody pays any at
tention to you.
One of the most Encouraging features Of
American civic life-one Of the great diff
culties Of operating popular government
Is the difficulty Of getting the average
person to think clearly and soberly upon
public questions.
For creating the conditions in the public
mind that increase this difficulty, 1t may
be admitted at once that certain daily
newspapers were primarily to blame. They
began the process of mental debasement.
But, g%rievous as was their fault, the maya
zines-we mean the so-called popular"
magazines-have made it indefinitely more
grievous in its evil consequences
The popular" magazines have been
guilty of a treason to their own traditions
enormously greater than that Of the "yel-
low" daily paper. The magazines, as a
whole, had a tradition of mental rectitude
so much higher than that of the daily
paper from which to decline and fall. And
they-the popular o~nes-have fallen from
it--fallen to the bottom and through it.
The daily newspaper of fifteen and
twenty years ago was, as a rule, a spe-
oial leader for a party cause, did not pre-
tend to be anything else, and was accepted
by the public as subject to that Limitation.
1t was prepared with unavoidable haste.
ana SO, with ali possible care, was subject
to the Inevitable errors of haste and was
accepted by the public with reservations.
But the magazine was supposed to be
exempt from these limitations. Its writing
could be done with more time and care
and study. 1t had at least thirty days
to find the truth and tell It clearly and
fairly, as against the daily papers twelve
hours. 1t had a tradition OF unhurried
exactness and sobriety Of Judgment that
gave 1t authority.
The difference of opinion in the pub
lie mind is illustrated by the fact that,
while only a few specialists preserved
flies of daily papers. hundreds Of thou
sands of families preserved files of one or
more magazines. just as they would pre-
serve books purchased upon due consider
alton and with views beyond the enter
tainment of an hour.
Where is the American magazine of the
popular variety today tina is so pre-
served-accumulated on the bookshelves OF
the family of average culture as are the
books of history, biography, poetry and
fiction that Its members deem worth buy
ing7 I
The popular magazines have brought
about their own degradation by their iml-
tatlon of the yellowest of yellow" daiiiss
In treason to their own traditions. They
have done this largely by q, familiar 'yel-
low" rlck-by gathering exceptional facts
in chosen situations and then, with an eye
to sensationalism, presenting them as II
they were the rule.
Now any truth can be made to seem q
falsehood by the simple process Of accu.
mulating enough exceptions to II. And this
is the method Of the magazine muckraker
especially In treating Of public affairs.
And II is a method that In the end de.
stroys confidence In the magazine as tn,
lady newspaper cannot destroy confidenc,
in itself, If faithful to its most primar,
condition of existence.
This newspaper may give today a one
sided account Of facts, because tina Il
the only side as yet accessible. But to
morrow the other side becomes accessible
and the newspaper must give It or fai
in its necessary duty Of giving the news
The error is corrected as we go along.
But the magazines one-sided presenta
ton canno be corrected for a month
and by that time the subject may hav
ceased to have a general interest. Blu
the poison of the one-sided presentation
is left in the readers mind and color
and hardens it's tissues.
That is why discerning readers are be
ginning to regard magazine exposition
OF controverted questions with suspicion
They wish to keep their minds free 10
judgment when they have heard the othe
side. And when will they hear the othe
side from the average popular maya
Eine?
Just as moral lapse by a minister q
the gospel is more shocking and NOR
destructive to public morality than a lay
mans equal delinquency, so the decadenc
from mental reetitude Of most Of the mag
azines is more shocking and confusing t
public mind than the errors of the dali
press.
Mr.. Taft did we'll to direct a~ttentio
in his diplomatic way, to this serious sit
uation.
COMBINE In MAGAZINEs.