El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-06-10
URGES JAIL FOR
NEWSPAPER LIARS
Chicago Publisher Declares
Lack Of Honesty is Curse
of Advertising.

Baltimore, Nd, June 10.-James Kee-'
ley, Of the Chicago Tribune speak
ing before the convention Of the Asso-
ciated Advertising Clubs of America
here today declared that the troubles
that exist between advertiser and pub
Usher. the handicGps that prevent har-
monious dealings between the man who
publishes and the man who adVeruSeS,
are based on what might euphOnlouSly
be called one standard Tor editorial
nonOr ana anOIner Tor business
Stripped of pOliteneSs Of phraSeOlOgy,
the trouble or problem, he said, was
really based on lying"
Ued. plain and affidavit lying and
with the lie there goes necessarily.
hand in hand, secrecy, subterfuEe; lack
or cOoper2 alton and trOuDle-rrOuDle Tor
the honest publisher. and trouble for
the advertiser who cannot distinguish
between the statement of the honest
publisher and the statement of the dis
honest publisher
1T is a strange cOmmentary-ye an
astonishing commentary on the ethics
Of one Of the greatest industries In
the WOrld-that its business integrity
is at so low an ebb that newspapers.
before they can market their MERIDIAN
gree to have established which. If any
of them, are telling the truth about
what they have to sell
What would your tailor say. If when
YOU purchase a suit Of clothes YOU
should insist on submitting to chem
zeal analysis the cloth of which the
suit is TO be constructed2 What would
a jeweler think, a reputable jeweler, if
customer insisted on testing with
acid and file the article that he was
buying What would any reputable
lyzed- tested and otherwise inspected
before they were purchaser
And yet, this is the situation in the
publication field today, and this situa-
ton, humiliating IS il is to the honest
publisher. and distressing and trouble
some to the advertiser. is due largely.
yes wholly, to the newspapers them
selves The circulation liar is not quite
as old as Gutenberg types, but he is
not much younger He is not, 1 am
glad TO say, as numerous as he was
years ago, but he is just as perniciOus-
" active as ever, and his influence is
more devastating than at any time
not cOndOned as generally as they were
in the days gone by You know, and I
know, that Tor years a circulation
statement was generally regarded as
entitled to the place of honor in any
Joke book. There were men. the soul
Of honor in the editorial conduct Of
their papers, who would not hesitate
to make a sport Of veracity when il
came to circulation.
'As time rolled on. advertisers began
to insist on knowing what they were
buying. If they paid for all wool
they did not want shOddy. As a result
various schemes and methods were de-
B
man who IS supposed to act as leader
Of public thought guardian Of public
eXpOSer OF CrOOkedneSS, and
prophet Of reform. was telling the
alton And when J. think Of IL. I do
not blame the advertiser for accepting
with a grain OF salt any publishers
statement and also have a certain
amount Of sympathy for the advertiser .
who reSentS editorial criticism Of the I
veracity of his statements when he I
n ion .THr1 D
over the knuckles contains in its ranks ]
some of the finest long and short dis {
lance falsifiers on earth
These men who lie bout their cir I
who defraud the advertiser. I
are just IS guilty of obtaining money [
lnder false pretenses, as is the cheap I
IN a farmer under the pretension that /
{ IS gold One of these days I hope |
20 see this guilt made equal under the |
aW. If an advertiser can be prose- |
,uted and sent to Jail for sWindlinE the /
public the publisher who defrauds the [
ADVERTISER should occupy an adjoining I
at the time I am preparing this ad-
lress the supreme court has not passed /
IN the conSUtuuonality of the new pos
al law. I hope that the government I
ury every publisher. be he big or little. /
Who makes a false statement regard I
ne. circulation hope that the law
VIII be so amended that II Will be
made obligatory on the editor pub
Usher or owner. to sign the circula-
ion affidavit personally.
AT the present time. one IN su-
'Ordinate position can sign the state
nent. In Germany each newspaper has
libel editor When a libel is pub
ished and the paper is brought into
curt the libel editor assumes re-
possibility and goes to Jail That is
lis Job. that is what he is paid for.
We do not want I'm this country circu- /
alton editors who. for a salary COM
nensurate with the risks they run. viii I
axe a chance. commit perjury. and
hen act as scapegoat for the real
riminal
"Once the real circulation liar sees
he penitentiary doors opening. the sit
iatiOn viii be clarified The honest, I
ruthtellinE publisher win have the [
nenace-and it is a menace-Of un-
crupulOus competition removed from Z
lis path. All publications will be on |
III tours. and the maker of good Z
lewspaper will reap the reward Of his
industry, genius or whatever YOU want Z
O call Il. and the maker of a poor /
newspaper Will suffer for his incOmpe-
ency."
The Roof Garden