The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1917-07-19

men and women in all walks Of
life. Early in the game he has
learned to distinguish-in a meas
ure-the good from the bad, the
sincere from the hypocritical. the
truthful from the mendacious. He
can see some good in all. Cynical
at times, and sceptical always, ne
is enough a student of human ma
ture to make allowance for those
impulses of life which overwhelm
and wreck so many.
In the small town he is the con-
Meeting link between the merchant
and farmer; he is the fountain
head of local history as we'll as the
historian. The brief notice an
nouncing a birth or death is as i'm
portant to him and to his readers
as the exposure of a munitions
scandal may be to the editor of a
metropolitan daily. He knows his
characters and their aspirations;
the whole life of the village is his
permanent assignment.
Few men can keep a secret con-
corning the lives of others. The
weakness is by no means confined
to the gentIer sex. But the editor
is the repository of all community
doings and upon his fairness and
tolerance may depend the future
of many. When it is for the pub
lie benefit he divulges information
regardless whom the news may af-
feet. He subordinates the comfort
of the individual to the welfare Of
the community. But when the
news would only injure the inno-
cent and not benefit the majority
it is often suppressed, or the names
of the principals disguised. On
one daily paper, during one week
the city editor used four pseudo
nyms to protect persons who we're
involved in various happenings.
And in each case the request was
made by the reporter bringing in
the news. 1t was not done to sat-
isfy a demand, but rather in a
spirit of tolerance. The news
items went to the composing room
and were duly printed, but no
homes were wrecked as result.
1t has been said that editors pub
lish only one-half the information
they CLEAN. This is an exaggerated
estimate. If the editors of the
country printed the unvarnished
truth for just a day or two there
would be an explosion heard from
the Atlantic to the Pacific; a noise
which in comparison would make
the bursting of ten thousand As C..
c. shells sound like Fourth Of
July celebration at the picnic
grounds at Sleepy Hollow. No,
the editor is strictly constructive
force. His mission is to furnish
news-not to destroy human hap
piness.
From a rational point of view
the work of the American editor
is ultra patriotic. And the unique
feature of his patriotism is that he
cheerfully pays for it. The Lib
erty Bond issue, and the hundred
million dollar Red Cross Fund owe
their successful fotation to his I'M
selfshness in contributing his
ability and furnishing free adver-
Using space to the Government.
The vital problems caused by
the world-war are many. Chief
among them is the conservation of
food-stuffs. Practically every ed
itor in the country, regardless of
his individual opinion as to the
justice and feasibility of prohibi-
ton in peace times, is supporting
the Government in its measures to
stop the consumption of grains for
other than the manufacture of
foods. AS Mr.. E. H. Tomlinson,
: president of the National Editorial
, Association forcefully declares en-.
forced sobriety" is an essential to
permanent democracy. Whatever