New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-02
Discomfort WITH PRESS
Prevails Throughout Country,
Editor Tells Republican Club.
PLAN TO CURB ITS POWER
Higher Sense of Responsibility
Observation-Disclosures from
Buenos Ayres Talks.

The present discomfort with the press is
only one aspect Of the prevailing discon-
tent with all existing institutions. accord
ing 10 John Mcknight, editor of The
World" who spoke on THE Liberty Of the
Press" at the luncheon of the Republican
Club yesterday afternoon. but this discon'
tent has become so acute. he said. that In
some states the liberty of the press was
in danger. Arkansas was considering a
law for state supervision of all dailies, ne
declared. and an effort to curb freedom
of publication was on foot in Massachu-
sets.
"A newspaper consists Of three distinct
lines of endeavor." said Mr. Mcknight,
(which are held together by an economic
law-advertising, editorials and news.
The only reason they are combined in the
daily paper is that il is cheaper to print
them together than to print them alone.
Any discussion of the liberty of the press
must consider each of these departments
on its own merits and alone. The adver-
Using should be run on purely business
basis and should be subject to no other
supervision than that of the law of fraud.
The editorial is intended to lead men
into doing or terrify them into not doing
what you will. You say this is wrong,
but the same method is used in the courts,
where the lawyers vilify each others CHI
ents This may not be the ideal way. but
il is certainly the only way to get men 10
do what you want. The news part of the
paper is subject only to the laws OF his
tory News. said Dana, is anything God
bo, httt iC
those who say il is only what the public
wants to read.
This second group is contradcted by
2 third, which maintains that the public Is
chiefly interested in filth and nonsense and
that news is not all that happens, or all
that the public wants to have happen, but
al that ought TO happen. I would like
20 ask some of these people # thev would
appoint policeman or a commissioner 10
regulate the news: one would know as
much about II as the other. Popular dis
content with the press is really demand
for n higher sense of responsibility on the
iart of the press in dealing with facts"
Albert +. Wilson, professor in the School
of Journalism at Columbia University.
said the best way to stimulate an inde-
pendent press was 10 SHOW HI'Te JUS
lnent in The penny you throw to the news
boy. "You can test the independence or
Il paper by putting your ear TO the edi-
torial page and listening to the olank OF
the chains" he said.
Allan Dawson. editor of THE Globe
said there was another class Of editors
who had not been mentioned in the dis
clssion. These fellows think that no
news is any good unless II has to do with
divorces and the like. or is supposed TO
have human interest he asserted.
Newspapers were formerly the luxury IL
the few: to-day they reflect the character
,f the masses The faults Of the press
are those OF democracy; the only cure for
these faults Is more democracy
Louis Wiley. business manager Of The
New York Times" said the liberty OF the
press was the foundation of all our liber-
ties. NJ. Santa Marina, Of the Buenos
Ayres La Prensa," one Of the most sue
cessful papers in South America, said jour
nalism was full of unscruplous men. who
garbled news for private ends. Journal
ism, he maintained. was one OF the great
est of public institutions and its purity a
matter Of public importance.