The menace. [volume] (Aurora, Mo.) 1911-1920, 1918-12-07

first wire up after disasters like the
Galveston food or the San Francisco
fire. II has always been humanity
perfect; it Is less in need Of atten-
tion or improvement than any me-
chanical service in the country.
Therefore, one need not be sur
prised when he finds the allegation
made that this bringing Of the news
service under the control Of the
postmaster-genera and the political
interests he represents means a CEN
sorship of all news; not by the
frank method of the blue pencil, but
by the devious method of official de-
lay, holding it up until its news value
is lost. Correspondents handling
material obnoxious to Mr.. Burleson
and his associates may expect at any
time to hear the plea that pressure
of official business" is requiring the
full capacity of news wires. One
need not be unduly imaginative to
see how the mechanical control of
the wire service by such potentate
may hamper, enbarrass, and even
pafalyze news, however legitimate,
however vital to the safe conduct Of
public opinion 1t may be.
There Is another form OF control
exercised over newspapers which de-
nAs all but in official inquiry. Its
character may Be only inferentially
kivth. I q,scts the editor Of d daily
Iii Portland, Maine, who said to me
1.-TWO editors Of my acquaintance
have been called to the phone re.
Gently by local government officials
who notified them that If further ma
terial of the nature mentioned was
published their papers would be sup
pressed" This occurred just pre-
viously to the Maine election early ir
September. The matter referred II
was solely republican political propa'
ganda. Its only bearing on the wal
lay in the fact that it aimed to pre-
vent the election of democrats in tht
place Of republicans Of sound wal
records.
Reports of similar episodes have
come from other parts Of the coun
try. The obvious reply is: "Why
do these editors stand for it; DOM
they know their rights?" The un
fortunate fact remains that mos
newspapers wish to avoid trouble anC
complications, especially with thu
government, and many would rather
err on the side of saying nothing
than to take the chance of meeting
the. adverse criticism that woulC
surely come if any governmental ac
tion, just or unjust, were leveled a
them.
The Easy Road
Because of this human desire II
take the easy road which animatei
most newspapers, just as it ami
mates most persons and most insti
tutions of all kinds, the broad ave
nue. is open for the great flood O
printed matter that pours from of
fetal Washington. For the frs
time in its history, the United State
has press agents, but the committe
on public information is not the onl.
one. Every important department u
Washington has it's press agent
Each Of them is pouring out ream
of "copy." AS Representative Jo
seph Walsh of Massachusetts, sal
recently on the floor of the house;
EVERY little bureau has a bulle
tin of It's own. The departments o
the government seem to have an On
appeased appetite for pitiless pub
licity. One Of the chief results of tn
enormous additional expenditure re
quired for 1t is to bring into regula
use waste baskets heretofore pei
mitted to repose undisturbed. Th
, increase in the governments print
ing bill for this year will be over So
900, 900, and this does not include tn
large expenditure for the corps Q
publicity experts, editors, specit
writers, artists, and other imped
ments. While calling for conserve
tion and economy on the part of tn
newspapers of the country, the fer
eral government has been and
practicing the most wasteful metf
ods in the use and consumption {
print paper.
"The United States government
through its officials and department
should set an example Of econom
and conservation, but, on the COZ
trary, we have deluge of bulletin
reports, surveys and various otht
publications choking the governmer
printing Office, clogging the mai
and cluttering up many an office {
accounting room in business house
and numerous parlors and sittin
rooms in quiet, happy homes.
''If some of these psychological et
itors or editorial psychologists al
I paid at space rates, at the gait "
! are travelling the recent expenditul
J for airplares that we did not get wi
pale into nsignifcance.
at hAs been stated on good al
} thority that it takes more than OF
pound Of coal to supply power suf
cient to produce one pound Of pape
I but much less quantity of brain
sufficient to waste tons Of the san
S print paper after it has been pr
duced.
"The joint committee on printir
last winter recommended certa
: economies in the use of print pap,
and effected saving Of nearly
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