The daily progressive-miner., 1917-03-14
Public Hard To Please

One day the editor is an amiable angel and .he next 8 clammy toad. 10 ta spu71st with loathing- It all de bends whether he is viewed with the -esy spac.acleS ot snug complacency o- .he bale.ul vision Of one who rises from his couch suffering from liver trouble and with 8 bad taste in his mouth. The fate Of the newspaper
 nan is that ot the neutral nation or the private peacemaker. In the one case he is buEe,ed on all his border, and II -haother he is kicked in the sla-s 6y both husband and wife, says Eugene Brown ia the Los Angeles Tines
 The fraiItiss CT excesses of the edi- TOT are given 10 the whole world in t.ack ink on white paper. His short co-i1gs and long goings are public property More often he is abused for nha. he does not rather than for vaa, he does.
 The tayorite passion Of the ire spo1si6,s layman is to own a news paper long enough to rip somebody Up -ae back Yer if the editor does happen 10 tread on the tail of a coat -ae rssul. is either libel suit fight Or Q lost subscriber, Editorial praise ls seldom appreciated. but editorial criticism !s always strongly and hot ' resented Speak kind words about Smith for 2 whole lifetime and he wIl co1-=n.edly accept them as his 3ua. buc le- 2 dinky little item creep ia that places him in an unpleasant position and all the good things that have gone before are forgotten. He never tried 70 do the paper any good before. 1u- now he takes up club and ax= and does all the damage pos zl5le- He raves and rages like wild ca-
 r through friendship or sympathy a paper @i-hholds the publication Of some unhappy bit Of news concerning z hitherto respected citizen tha. per son will carelessly express a gratitude Ae does lo- feel But if the public l=a-n Of the suppression the roar may be heard for miles. To the or dinary reader the greatest newspaper crime il ne world is the suppression ot salacious news. And yet the pa per is merely The editors show win dow ia which he may rightfully place s1ch Of his wares as he elects.
 h time when there is Q great war, 2 po.iticsl campaign. prohibition. suffrage, baseball taxation, dancing, Mexico. Japan. tunnel boring and c few other disturbing fac -ors in the public mind the editor who can keep his bark from the shoals is some pilo-. h mental makeup he would be mixtlre Of Machiavelli and Sir Galahad.
 If the newspaper contains unusual reporrz Of German victories if there $ criticism Of British methods. CT if he editor surreptitiously nibbles q pregzel he is promptly accused Of be ing spy of the kaiser and one Of he right 5oEers Of the German chan csllor. r z paper puts glaring head lines oyer dispatch about the Ger nan lines being swept back at Yer dun or the editor takes to playing cricket instead Of pinocle. Karl Hof- meister, will call him up On the phone and accuse him Of making shells for tae allies
 If the newspaper prints the state n1ert Of q grape grower that the pro bibition amendment would destroy his vineyard, Rer. Dr. Nasty ~ill write 2 letter telling ho- il grieves him sore Y 10 have 10 denounce him from the pulpit as hireIing of me liquor inter ests. If the paper gives an interview with . celebrated scientist showing that if three fingers Of alcohol are shot into the hind leg Of grown man his children will go mad, the bartender at the Blue Moon -iil pause in his work long enough 10 order his paper stopped and declare the editor is narro=@miu- ded Puritan.
 h politics nobody can be pleased.