Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-02-07
lFrom Texas Joumlli.t.)

rom ltAhs Juuru tltt.l
James Keeley, publisher Of the Chi
eago Herald, said these things recently
TO the editors Of Iowa, assembled at
Iowa City, speaking on the topic, "The
Newspaper P:
No newspaper can do its duty TO the
readers and public alike unless 1t pos
sesses a social conscience. \ news
paper too often has been regarded as
mirror reflecting the pubhc-a mir
ror more or less defective, but still
mOrrOr.
The real newspapers Of today have
OutgTown the looking glass phase OF
existence. A newspaper can more near
ly realize its mission the nearer it
comes to attaining the ideals Of the
elergymen and priest in their ministra-
tions. Their flOcks are numbered by
hundreds. ours BY millions.
With a social conscience on the Job,
the newspaper viii not cOntine its en-
ergies 70 printing the news accurate
ly) and commenting editOrially (also
with accuracy on men and melsurer.
Il viii initiate helpful movements and
a. =
them 10 successful issue. 1t must be
Of service today, not only III politics
and morals, but in aiding in the sOlu-
tion Of the problems that are part Of
the daily life OF the people. 1t must
not only urge the public to swat the
crook. but should plead with them to
swat the flv. II must not only fight
for a clean citv administration, but
mast fight alongside those who are
preaching the doctrine Of clean home.
IL must not only teach patriotism, but
must show the folly of the annual mas
sacre on July IA slaughter doubly
name of patriotism. 1t must not only
decline TO receive the dirty dollars
from living, murderOus medical adver-
tising. but it should teach the people
how TO keep well. It must not only
at annual meetings of newspaper men
and advertising men glorify Truth
as the guiding star Of advertising, but
should 36j DAYS in the year protect
its readers from those to whom Truth is
troublesome Jade.
Average Paper Is Clean.
There has been great forward
movement along these lines in the last
decade. The average newspaper in Am
erica today is a clean paper. There
are not many examples left of Virtue
on the editorial page and Vice in the
advertising columns. Today / could add
100000 yearly to my revenues if |
would accept classes of advertising we
all carried years ago. But it would be
tainted money, and in the long run
would prove a losing investment. The
advertiser of honest goods has devel-
oped, let us say, social aspiratiOns-re-
.prehensible. though such thing may
be to some Spartan minds. He doesn t
like to sit in the .slme pew with the
quack, the loan shark, the mining
swindler. the oil pirate, and the mer-
chandise faker He likes to associate
with clean, decent persons. And in the
long run, he is going to be the broom
that will sweep the few remaining Aug
can stables.
| have little sympathy with the my
opic individuals who believe, or rather
say, that if nothing were printed about
crime it would cease or decrease. They
are wrong, absolutely wrong. Publicity
is the greatest deterrent of crime, and
many man has been held from break
ing the law, not because he breads the
punishment the law would mete out to
him, but because he feared the pub
licity that would result from his wrong
doing. The punishment of public opin-
ion often is more potent and dreadful
than tn imposed by Judge or jury
Scores of times men have come to men
men now in the penitentiary, men
who would have been in the peniten.
tiary were it not for a miscarriage of
iustiee-and pleaded for the suppress
sion of the stories of their crime. And
in nine cases out of ten they have urg-
ed wife, children and the family as
tne reason for eoncealing the record OF
their wrongloing. My answer always
has been 'Why didn't YOU think of
them before yol did this thing?
am thinking at men. women and chill.
dren who have been defrauded by YOU
and Of the otner men, women. aud chill
+ dren who will suffer unless your form
of villainv is stopped. -
Errors Do Creep Into Print.
admit that sometimes things are
printed that should not appear. Some
times the man at the head of the bust