Denver labor bulletin., 1917-02-10

ance today is the press. The
newspapers and magazines
for it is to them that the term press"
| is applied in the present case-have
a most remarkable influence on the
minds of the masses of the people.
That this influence is of a conspiring
and damaging nature is my purpose
here to show.
The press would have you believe
that it is an independent press; that
the newspapers and magazines are
free; and that the truth and nothing
but the truth is printed.
AS for being an independent press
| just read what John Swinton some
time ago said at a banquet of news
papermen in New York city, in re
sponse to a toast on 1.-THE Independ-
ent Press" "There is no such thing
in America as an independent press,
unless it is in the country towns.
"You know it and know it. There
is not one of you who dares to write
| his honest opinion, and, if you did,
you know beforehand that it would
never appear in print.
81 am paid $3.50 week for keeping
my honest opinions out of the paper
am connected with-others of you
are paid similar salaries for similar
things = any one of you who would
De SO looilSn as W WrlIe MS HoheSI
opinions would be out on the streets
looking for another job.
"The business of the New York
journalist is to destroy the truth, to
lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to
fawn at the feet of Mammon, and to
sell his race and country for his daily
bread.
"You know this and l know it, and
what folly is this to be toasting an
independent press
Eve are tools and vassals of rich
men behind the scenes. We are the
jumping jacks; they pull the strings
and we dance. Our talents, our pos
sibilities and our lives are all the
property of other men. We are intel
lectual prostitutes" So far it looks
like an Independent press!
Outside of the Socialist, labor and
radical press there is no such thing
in America today as free press. Nor
in Europe either for that matter.
controlled directly by the moneyed
powers by outright ownership or in
directly thru the advertising. If they
are capitalist-owned they of course
are not going to print anything harm
full to capitalism or its exponents and
agents. If they are controlled indi-
rectly thru the advertising they will
be just as much the lackeys of Nam
mon as if they were owned outright.
Advertising is vital necessity to
newspapers and magazines which are
illustrated and which pay high salar-
les and high prices for news and spe-
cial articles. The revenue derived from
the sale of the journal does not pay
for the cost of production. Hence the
necessity of selling advertising space.
Papers are anxious for increased cir
culation SO that they may charge
more for their advertising space. For
advertising is the thing that counts
with the modern journal.
nothing but the truth? Well, you have
seen what one journalist has con-
fessed: "The business of the New
York journalist is to destroy the
truth, to lie outright, to pervert, etc"
And this destroying of the truth is
not confined to New York journalism;
the same story is true for all the met
ropolitan press especially from the
Atlantic to the Pacific. The kept
press is the agent of capitalism and to
expect it to tell the truth and nothing
but the truth is to expect something
that would soon cause it to lose its
job. For truth and capitalism won't
mix.
Aside from the editorials and spe-
cial articles, which are written by
jumping jacks of the financial pow
ers, even the news is garbled and
faxed. And the suppression of news
of dangerous" character-danger-
GUS to the powers that be-has be-
come quite a fine art with the news
papers. Ask almost any reporter
how many times he has had his writ
lngs censored by the editor and you
Will no doubt find that the censorship
is common and important" adjunct
of the kept press. AS for an instance
of garbled news the following is in
teresting: "That they CLOS Angeles
Ilmes) knew their news was garbled
know personally. My newspaper,
the Fresno Republican, subscribes for
news from the Times News bureau.
They frequently supply US with accu-
rate political news which they garble
or suppress in their own paper, show
ing that they know what the truth is
and will tell it to their business asso-
ciates, but will not tell it to the peo-
ple." This is an excerpt from let
ter written by Chester H. Rowell to
the New York Times, re last presiden-
tial election squabble in the California
Republican party.
Then again, the big news bureaus,
which gather news and send it to the
different newspapers, are little more
than tools of the financial powers.
When workers are on strike how often
have the facts of the case been faxed
and misrepresented, and even sup
pressed by these vassals of the powers
that be? Ludlow, West Virginia,
Mesaba range, and other strikes too
numerous to mention, are instances.
And how often have they misled the
I DFN1l IL