The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-12-08
CHAPrER XII.
(which might be better; much
hatter-
much

day whether when William Allen l
White gets his hearts fondest politi- |
cal desire and becomes Postmaster
General, he will advocate that which /
Postmaster General Hitchcock de- |
clares today, in the news columns, he
will recommend to Congress within
few days: namely the doubling of the !
rate paid by all newspapers and peri
odicals going through the mails. ad-
vancing the same from one cent to
two cents per pound with view of
readjusting the rates on periodicals |
and newspapers so that Congress may |
be asked to grant one cent rate on
letters.
This writer has no doubt that when
William Allen White becomes postmas- |
ter general he will institute a number
of reforms, for Mr.. White is we'll in
formed upon matters affecting the
passage Of newspapers over the postal
routes.
Now if Mr.. Whites 'Insurgent" po-
liticaI machine, which has been steered
in a rather wobbly manner lately by
the different chauffeurs in charge, par
ticularly as this machine was running
| in the Second and Seventh districts,
should not get too gay, perhaps MT
White may land the job and may show
the country a few things in postal par
lance and practice.
In apologizing for the insurgent itch
for Office as listed at length in one of
these chapters a short time ago, enc in
surgent Republican says, with some
| feeling and insistence: How in the
world can the insurgents run this coun-
try the way in which it should be run
unless they man the offices?" That's
| n ~
/ There's the rub.
When the insurgents undertake to
| separate their desire for office and
| their opinion of their abilities to run
each and every Office. they are truly up
against hard problem. This matter
is respectfully referred to number
! of insurgents who are holding office
and who want to hold other offices.
Without naming any names. we might
! merely mention: W. r. Stubs, now
governor; would be senator; William
Allen White, now regent of the uni
versity; would be postmaster general;
Joseph L. EristOw, now United States
senator, would have more OF the same;
Arthur Copper, now publisher of the
| insurgent organ of the state of Kan
sas, wants to be governor of the same;
etc, etc, too numerous to mention.
Arthur Capper, our esteemed con-
temporary neighbor and ambitious
man who wants to be governor. is be-
coming quite a speech maker Thurs
day at Oak Grange in Mission Center
township, the same township in which
the writer's farm is located. it will be
noted he talked to the -four hundred
of the agricultural community, for the
report in another part of this paper
says there were 400 baskets con-
sumed by the large crowd present"
Mr.. Capper, it is stated, talked of
''the relations between the newspaper
publisher and the farmer The
speaker set forth his ideas of the ideal
newspaper, and the standard was a
high one. He used a large number of
words and said a number of good
things. but there is one thing this
commentator noted with some degree
of surprise that Mr.. Capper neglected
in picturing his ideal newspaper, that
is to say, that in his opinion the ideal
newspaper should above all things
stand for the truth.
Mr. Capper did say this which is
good, so far as it goes: Behind the
journalism of the country. and partic-
ularly in Kansas, there stands an ex-
allied regard for anything that rings
genuine and true"
It seems to this writer that our
, fellow publisher does not go far
enough, for above all things the ideal
r newspaper should not only have an
, exalted regard for the truth, but
| should stand for it, and stand square
: " and unequivocally for it.
The ideal newspaper strives harder
for the truth than it strives for any
thing else. If it does not tell the truth
it lacks the confidence of its readers
3 and it ought to. No reporter should be
forgiven for saving that there was an
) audience of 5000 people which listened
to the speech of the favorite candidate
of its own newspaper. if he knew that
that audience contained only 500 peo-
pie.
! The state Journal is wondering if
c Mr.. Capper is living up to his ideal
: newspaper when he publishes certain
e advertisements which have appeared
in his Topeka Capital and other peri
odicals this week and this month. Il
: is hard for any man to live UP to his
IDEALS but the writer has been won
: dering a great deal of late about GER
tain advertisements which have ap-
: peared in his rivals daily newspaper
or in the other periodicals of his 81
r varieties" At the same time he il
: wondering, he has thanked his owl
i good fortune that the same advertise
e ments were not offered for publication
S in his own columns.
There is nothing 1 welcome NOR
gladly than fair criticism of the Dali!
r Capital by the farmers of Kansas.
r, wish we might get more of sucl
i criticisms" said the speaker.