Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1913-11-20
How Newspaper Men Aid The
President.
Bring In The Thouuht Of tn. Country.
Keeping Him In Touch With It's
Various Sections.

Various Sections
This is part Of what President Wilson
said to the newspaper men when he
met them in March. the first of those
weekly meeting at the White House:
II feel that a large part of the sue
cess of public affairs depends on the
newspaper men. Unless you get
the right setting to affairs-disperse
the right impression things go wrong.
The United States is just now at very
critical turning point in respect to pub
lie opinion; not in respect Of parties, for
that is not the part that is most inter-
esting. They may go to pieces or they
may hold together. So far as the
United States is concerned, it does not
make much difference whether they do
or not, because partv has no vitality
whatever, unless 1t is an embodiment
of something real in the way of public
opinion and public purpose / am not
interested in party that is not an en-
bodied program based upon a set of
principles; and our present job is to get
the people who believe in principles to
stand shoulder to shoulder to do things
from one side of this continent to the
other.
II do not mean in the least to imply
that any of you gentlemen are inter-
ested IN making trouble. That is not
the point. / would be mighty proud
man If ] could get it into your imagina-
tions that you can oblige people, almost
to get together by the atmosphere with
which you surround them in the daily
news. And the atmosphere has got to
come, not from Washington but from
the country You have got to write
from the country in, and not from
Washington cut. The only way | can
succeed is by not having my mind live
in Washington. My body has got to
live there. but my mind has got to live
in the United States, or else will fail.
Now, you fellows can help me and help
everybody else by just swathing my
mind end other peoples. minds in the
atmosphere of the United States. The
great advantage that you enjoy is that
! you represent papers all over the coun-
try, and therefore YOU can import-the
opinion and the impulses of the coun-
try into Washington. and import it af-
ter fashion that nobody else can en-
ploy.
7 sent for you, therefore, to ask
that you go into partnership with me-
that you lend me YOUR assistance as
nobody else can, ard then after you
have brought this precious freight of
! opinion into Washington. let us try
and make true gold here that will go
out from Washington. Becsuse moth
ing better. will go out than comes in
| 1t is the old law of compensation, the
law of equivalence, In proportion that
Washington is enriched, SO viii the
fruition in Washington itself be rich
Now, all this is obvious enough to you
gentlemen. am not telling you any
thing that you did not know before
but Ibid want you to feel that I was
=; depending upon you, and from what l
can learn of you. think have area
son to depend with confidence on you
to do this thing. notfor me tut for the
United States. for the people of the
Unitec States, and 80 bring about day
which will be little better than the
/ daysthat have gone bafcre US. think
we can cooperate with enthusiasm
!; along that line, and if you agree with
me- shall be yer, happy.