The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-02-08
he is between the devil and the deep

sea.
1t is no doubt very often a fine point
with the conscientious journalist 10
know when private matters becomes
public. Not all the great interest on
the part of the reading public in the
affairs of other people can be traced
to gossip or to an insolent meddling in
other peoples affairs. Some of the
human interest We take in other peo-
pie is altogether legitimate. There is
nothing SO interesting as the affairs of
human beings. But there must cer-
tainly be some clearly defined region
within which the press has no possible
right to step without being guilty of an
impertinent intrusion. There must be
some chapter in the human lives about
us which is sacred to the life itself
and is not meant for tie general pub
lies gaze or perusal. That the mod
ern newspaper oversteps these bounds
and is guilty of unwarranted handling
of other peoples private affairs is l
believe a fact which cannot be denied
3. Another weak point of the mod.
ern newspaper is its habit of mac
curacy.
Examples of this can be found in
nearly every issue of nearly every
modern newspaper in the country. A
public speaker few weeks ago at a
religious gathering asked the question,
Has Christian Endeavor seen its
day?' That question went all over
the country, was copied in hundreds
of papers with the comment attached
to. it that it had seen its day and on
the very day that this address was
made the statistics reported for the
months of October and November fol-
lowing that $40 new societies had
been formed in these two months An
other speaker about the same time at
a great religious gathering said that
the Christian Endeavor society was a
spent force That statement was also
sent all over the country. Thousands
of readers who read the staten ent hon
estiy think that this great organization
of young people is a spent force. As
a matter of fact after thirty years
existence the year 1910 shows four
thousand new societies in the Endeav-
or ranks with total enrolment of
more that seventy-four thousand So
cieties with a membership of more
than three and three-fourth millions
of young people in every country in the
world
Articles That Misrepresent.
If l may be pardoned for using one
or two personal illustrations to illus
trate this weakness of inaccuracy in
the modern newspaper. In an ADDRESS
made by me few months ago speak
ing of conditions here in Topeka 1
said: Sometimes, perhaps, as much
as forty barrels of liquor is brought into
Topeka in twentyfour hours, that is,
liquor put up in bottles and then put
in barrels, and mostly beer"
I emphasized three different times
the fact that this liquor was put into
and that if it were poured out of the
bottles into the barrels would not
make more than one-third of forty
barrels of liquor But the statement
went out through the press copied not
only by the papers in Kansas but in
Il r.
rels of whisky came into Topeka ev-
cry day. I suppose this statement was
believed by thousands of people who
read it. The astonishing thing to me
about it, however, is that not one edi-
tor among all the editors that pub
lished the statement ever wrote me
asking whether I had said anything of
the kind or not. Another stateme nt
has gone out under the heading of -It
is said'' that I had been offered $25,-
600 to put 'In His Steps in dramatic
ed form on the stage I have never
been offered any such sum by anybody.
have never said 1 was offered any
such sum. No one has ever asked me
whether I ever had such a sum Of
fered. 1t is a pure rumor without any
foundation so far as I am concerned.
cite these two personal Instances be-
cause / know the facts in the case.
think it is safe to say that public
speakers all over the country are con-
tinua1ly misrepresented and misquoted
by the modern newspaper in the same
way. 1t has always been a matter of
great satisfaction to my mind that
of Christ. l honestly believe that if
there had been We should today have
no accurate history of his life. If
there is anything which the modern
newspaper needs to protect itself from
it is this daily habit of inaccurate re-
porting. I would rather have an every
other day paper which took time to
corroborate it's statements so that I
could be sure that what I read was at
least approximately true than a daily
paper which evidently does not have
time in the great rush of its life to
look UP and substantiate what it prints.
The great and never ceasing slogan of
the daily paper should be 1.-The truth,
the truth, the truth AS matter of
fact there is not enough going on in
the world even of what the papers call
news to fill them in the proper way.
On that account insignificant items on
what are called dull DAYS are tremen-
dously padded. Anyone who watches
the columns of the daily paper under
stands that on certain days compare
lively trivial things receive large at
tention because nothing else has hap
pened among humans that seems of
interest and in padding articles there
numberless inaccuracies.
4. Another weakness of the mod
ern newspaper is its publication of
matters out of proportion.
/ mean by this the real things which
make up real human history which are
of actual Importance are dwarfed and
minimized and superficial things and
things of no great Importance are
given the right of way. In looking
over a vast number of newspapers
lately, I find, especially in the eastern
big city dailies and especially in the
Sunday editions which range from all
the way from twenty-four to seventy
four pages, the printed matter may be
arranged something like this in the
matter of Importance so far as the
number of pages printed are con
cerned: Cd Fashion and athletics.
Cd Theatrical and society. (3) Polit-
zeal. Cd General collection of printed
matter which would come under the
head of personals i q writel1nS of