The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1911-06-14
THE INVALUABLE PRESS.

The Daily Capital asks the editors
of Iowa to vote on the reciprocity
treaty. We can but recognize the
propriety OF this request The editor
of the average weekly has nothing to
do but study public questions. He has
at his hand all the statistics available.
The cost of production, the expense
for labor, the conditions in the factory
and on the farm, are open books to
him. Doubtless most Of the editors OF
Iowa have given hours of cOnsidera-
ton to- the Reciprocity Treaty. We
have not ourselves, but we are but
the poor exception that proves the
rule. No mere President or United
States SENATOR ought for moment
to place his judgment against that
of the we'll informed editor of a
country newspaper. The pen is
mightier than the sword, but the press
has the pen beaten by as far as from
here to the blacksmith shop. For
gressional Investigations or of the
intricate machinery of the State de-
partment The idea of a general re-
ferendum to the people is absurd.
All that is necessary is for some en-
terprising publisher to elicit the COM
bined wisdom of the editors of the
nation. In this way all the problems
of State, OF finance. of morals, and
OF corporation control, could be set
tied easily and with only slight eX-
pense for postage and printers ink.
The Review has its views, but we are
not so cock-sure of them as we used
to be. Ia some way we have been led
to question the Divine Right of the
press. Doubts as to our own infalla-
bility have crept in through the course
of years, and these have led to horrid
doubt as to the infalliability of our es-
teemed contemporaries. This is high
treason. We know it. We regret it.
We apologize before the fact and
after. We ought to eulogize. We
ought to reaffirm our Interchangeable
opinion as to the omnipotence, the
power, the wisdom, the unfailing pat
riotism, the unselfish devotion of the
galorious press. But it is hot. The
bouyancy of our professional egotism
wits before the torrid blasts of June.
AS before suggested, we have our
opinions, but they have been mellowed
by time and sun. We believe in pro-
lection We believe that the evils of
too high tariff are much less than
the evils of too low tariff We
would like to buy print paper for two
cents a pound +. 0. b. Denison, but, at
the same time, we want our farmers
to receive enough for their corn and
hogs so that they can pay in advance
their subscription to the great and
only (Which, by the way, is the best
all round country newspaper in the
u. S. A. or Canada, this being the time
to subscribe) We would rather pay
$2.67T for print, however, than to
have the farmers get s2.671l for hogs.
Nevertheless, we have come to
the conclusion that President Taft
and the United States Senate
know more about this reciprocity deal
than we do, and while we shall stick
RI tho nrip ciplac of nrntactinn lilSa
a puppy to root, we have schooled
ourselves to await the decision of the
powers that be with something of
patience and with the belief that they |
are actuated by decent motives and
are acting upon their best judgment,
although naturally handicapped by
lot belonging to that noblest and wis
est of all professions, the press.