The twice-a-week Twin Falls times. (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1916-1918, 1917-03-20

sects and organizations, powerfully
financed and skillfully Differed, whose
mission in life is to legislate people in
to morality and goodness? 1t matters
not, mytfriends whence emanates this
insidious movement. 1t is enough to
know that it really exists, that it is
not a chimera or myth. Such let
ter is an insult to the intelligence and
the integrity OF every publisher in
America, and there is no redress for
the studied affront.
Quoting from one who has made a
long study of this insidious advance up
on the freedom of the press, let these
statements have place in your minds
The fight for censorship of the columns
OF the newspapers viii not stop with at
tacks on liquor ertisements, or, indeed,
with attempts TO control advertisements.
Several states now prohibit the manu-
facture or sale of cigarettes. and it is
inevitable that legislation against news
papers carrying cigarette advertisements
in such states viii be urged.
After the advertising depar tment of
every newspaper and magazine has been
subjected to censorship. how can the news
columns remain free? What of horse
racing reports; stock market quotations;
sunday baseball information-indeed why
not suppression of Sunday pape and OF
Monday papers printed in Whole or in
part on the Sabbath?
But what of editorial liberty? II 1t be
decreed that the of liquor and OF
cigarettes is hurtful alike to the individual
and to society, is it not an act of hostil-
lty TO the state and to the church for
an editor to praise old wine, to
refer indugently to the maxim s" of a
cigarette or to oppose in any way the
cause OF prohibition?
How long will it be. 1 wonder, before
American people are Jared into realiza-
ton that soon they must look for dicta-
ton as to what they may eat drink.
to what lines of business they may
engage in. and to how a newspaper
may be edited, and what forms of ad-
vertising it may carry into the different
states?
And, gentlemen of the Associated
Ohio Dailies, we are to blame We
have created the Frankensteins that
are now turning to rend us limb from
limb. Drunk with power riding a
wave of fanaticism in sea of pater-
nalism, the creatures of our own max
ing seek our destruction The vaunted
power of the press is no more. The
locks of Sampson have been shorn by
the Delilahs. miscalled statesmen, and
the press grovels before officialdom
grateful for a look, kind word or a
less importunate kick than usual
Intolerance of Officialdom.
Two years ago, before this body, /
painted a picture of the growth OF
governmental officiousness which was
more prophetic than l knew. Your
attention was directed at that time to
the increasing insolence and intoler-
ance of oficialdom and the prediction
was. made that, unless checked and re-
pressed with a stern hand, it would
rise up to strike down its creators. 1t
is in no spirit of arrogance or boast
fulness that these facts are recalled,
but in spirit of sorrow and humilia-
ton. Our sins of omission and COM
mission are engulfing us. Instead of
rising like valiant fighting men, true
to conscience to honor, to the spirit of
freedom and progress of civilization,
to strike down our shackles. we sit
like hoary dotards wrapped in the
sackcloth and ashes of lament and re-
pine. How long, o Lordl How long
shall this endure?
Where are the forward looking men
of today? Certainly not in the halls OF
Legislation. Sta legislatures from
the Atlantic to the Pacific are feeble
counterfeits merely of a doddering
congress. Here in Ohio why can we
not have constructive legislation on
the subject of taxation? The answer
is painfully simple: because we lack
constructive statesmen in the general
assembly. Too great a percentage Of
the membership can not lift its ears
/ from the ground to take good,
square, honest look upon the neces-
stiles of sections and taxing divisions
remote from the bailiwicks to which
they look for continued lease on Off
cial life.
A Dartmouth professor is sponsor
for a story that aptly portrays the sit
uation in which we find ourselves
"A householder was dsmayed one night
by the sudden eXtinguishment of the cleo
trio lights in his house. In a little while
1T became apparent that the darkness
would probably continue through the night
unless the break could be located and cor
rected. Unable at that hour to secure
! the services of expert electrician the
householder hit upon the happy scheme of
deta ching the batteries from his doorb lis
and connecting them with his electric
feed wires. But no light resulted. Next
day the experts came to remedy the
trouble. and seeing the hapless expedient
of the owner, remarked:
Don't you know that 1t takes 500 times
more power to produce light than it takes
to produce noise?'
There is the whole situation in a
! nutshell. We are troubled with low
voltage statesmen, the tiny dry cells
of whose brains are just powerful
enough to make unceasing racket
while great dynamic minds that might
food the world with legislative light
and wisdom are disconnected from the
machinery of government.
Two years later at this annual gath
ering, l ventured to scold and to ad-
wise Again l crave your indulgence
to expostulate, to plead with you to