Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-08-04

I important news dispatches sent forth
to the country When It is recalled
that the Associated Press depends to
a large extent upon it's members for
reports of events in the localities of
chose members, the vital Importance or
establishing a censorship over the
newspapers individually should be ap-
parent to those who advance the gov
eminent regulatiolo idea. We shall
not labor this point, but we are con-
vinced that direct government super
vision of the publishing of the news
papers themselves is as crying need
as government supervision of an
agency like the Associated Press. For
the worst abuses chargeable to the
press are to be seen in their rankest
growth on particular journals often
very widely circulated and rich
enough to gather their own news from
the ends of the earth Independently Of
all other agencies.
Even if government regulation OF
the press were in the least consistent
with the constitutional guarantees of
freedom of speaking and printing, the
vicious absurdity of the suggested gov
eminent censorship over news would
be demonstrated. What is unfair"
news? Who can be presumed to be
an infallible arbiter of such a ques-
ton? a military censorship in time
of war is permissible and often desir
able, for obvious reasons. The mill
tary censor of news dispatches cuts
out anything that might aid the enc
my. But in the civil life of democ-
racy, no possible analogy to military
system exists. A government censor
ship of news is as repugnant TO a
free and democratic society as is a
government censorship of editorial
opinions. For, under no circumstances
could there ever be a fixed standard |
of what is the truth, or what the facts
may be, in relation to any happening
of human concern and interest. All |
incidents and events of whatever ma |
ture must be reported through hui |
man medium, and, IN view of the I'M |
avodable imperfection of all human |
mediums, it is nonsense to set up |
government supervisor as a judge of |
the truth in the news of the day. The |
historic vice of official censorship, as |
every one knows, is that the govern
ment censor has a government bias |
Socialists occa sionally complain of the |
Associated Press. Would they submit |
to the press censorship of a govern
ment official representing a capitalist
administration? Would capitalists or
employers be satisfied with the news
that had filtered through the censor
ship of labor union or social govern
ment?
1t seems ridiculous to discuss such
a question in this generation. The
news of the day is history, while it is
hot, just out of the bowl of chaos; and
the truthful presentation of it is infin-
itely difficult for the most conscien-
rious Oobservers. The historians perpet-
ually wrangle over the news even when
it is in cold storage. No Protestant
and Catholic writer's could ever agree
upon the history of Martin Luther's
rupture with the papacy. Republicans
and progressives are never likely to
agree as to the simple facts of the di-
vision of 1912 in the republican party. /
In view of these incontestable facts,
freedom to gather, distribute and prin1
news should be unrestrained by an Of
ficialdom itself as sure to be biased or
selfishly interested as any or all of us
concerned in these affairs. There are
as many news aspects to an event as