Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-07-11

New York is conducting public
forum. where every Sunday the pub
lie hear some vital international, ma
tional or civic question discussed An
address by leading authority on the
question under discussion is heard in
the church itself, and then the forum
is held in the parish house, where the
speaker of tie evening submits to ques-
tons - some pertinent and some I'M
pertinent - all of which he cheerfully
answers, says an exchange. DIR: Tai
colt Williams, director of the school
of Journalism at Columbia University,
spoke recently on Publicity as Cure
for Social Ills" In his address he
went further than the title OF the sub
/ iect assigned and said that he was
convinced that publicity was the only
cure for social ills. In answer to a
question as to how far newspapers
were Independent of control by the
Interests" or through their counting
rooms, he said: "The newspaper Is a
human agency. Like all human agen-
cies, it has its Limitations. 1t has It's
relations and affairs that limit it, Just
as men have relations and affairs that
| limit them. 1t is part OF the great Wep
: of social life, and that is why II is val
liable. Every day of the year every
newspaper prints news, opinions ana
appeals of which many men related to
lit in the business world disapproye. IL
ia the readers that count, and after all
a newspaper is what its. readers make
| II. It is the kind of newspaper 1t IS
because that is the kind the people
who buy it like. As the newspapers
grow larger they grow freer, and no
newspapers in the country are SO In
!deuendent of their advertisers as the
great metropolitan dailies AS TO the
views OF, all newspapers Being directed
from the counting rooms and that 1t is
! the material consideration which rules,
/ would say that | have had 1orly
years of experience, as reporter, cor
respondent and editorial writer, ana
have known many newspaper proprle-
tors to make immense sacrifices IN
the cause of truth, and, on the other
hand. have known men who have CIV
en- up their positions rather than 90
the thing asked of them. 1t works
both ways. Of all secular calllngs,
Journalism has had the most mar
fvrs." Someone asked to what per-
centage of truth and Righteousness the
newspaper attained. DR.. Williams an
swered: "The newspaper account is
far more accurate than the average
word that passes from mouth TO
mouth among men. In the maiR the
nc wspaper is far more truthful than
the community it represents, ana as
for righteousness, the newspaper Is
better than the average OF It's commu-
nity." He surveyed the history OF Sc
lerecy in the affairs of the world, from
the closed tribunals of old TO the
secret lists of campaign contrlDuuons'
| and depressed to point out that lam
MANY Hall-he did not name it-oe-
can as a secret society and flourlsheo
TODAY by secret practices. But let
MS not forget" he put in, and to our
shame be il said, that that same or.
eanization owes much OF its power 10
The fact that its leaders have prae-
! ticed those neighborhood virtues ana
extended that aid which should have
!, been given by u.s." It is Mr.. VII
liams,s opinion that society can ad-
vance only to the extent that each
member of it realizes his responslo1-
| ity to every other member, and tnat
society can cleanse itself only by
knowing its evils 1t is only by pub
licity that each member of society
can see the evil and see his duty. 1t
was not so very long ago., he said,
that the worst evil of modern life
was never spoken of, and the public
conscience became so lulled as to
make it possible for writer's to call
this evil necessary. Necessary? Il
| ing is necessary in Gods world except