Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-11-19
PROPAGANDA CAN'T RlPEN
APPLES OUT OF DUE TIME
The World Is Moving Forward Accord
ing 10 Program IN Spite OF EHorts
TO Hasten or Eetard It

The World Is Moving FORWARD SSeoTo-
ing 10 Program IN Spite Of EHorts
to Hasten or Tetard It
'I'HE friends Of the peace treaty, the
L men who have been trying to bring
about better understanding between the
workers and those who pay their wages,
aud the advocates Of all kinds Of social
and political reform have been handi-
capped in their efforts by denunciation ot
theul rs propagandiata 10y those who dig
agree with tbcm.
Since 1911 tue word propaganda has
had a sinister meaning. The world was
filed with German aganda-that IS,
with a concerted effort TO conceal the
truth and to msead men and women
into support Of an iudefensible cause
Propaganda /. 81 perfectly Innocent
word. Il was originally used to dcs'g
nat society Of cardinals instituted In
Eomc IL, l622 to have tbr care and over
light Of foreign missions. The iurrtoo
/ Of the propaganda was to propagate the
gospel or to cause the gospel to multi
ply and spread. The word was later used
TO describe any institution or Systematic
! plan for propagating & doctrine or sys-
tenn. III time it Was extended from the
institution to the systematic effort to-
ward securing support Of an opinion, and
finally it was used to describe the princi
pies AL ocated by i propaganda.
Wendell Phillips and William Lloyd
Garrison were propagandists.
When William Jennings Bryan. wa
| advocating the free coinage Of silver at
80 l.,
! propagandist.
Every clergy man Is propaganIist'
The propagandists Of the artI-slaNcry
! movement, of the free-,ilycr era and of
! the church were and are engaged in
legitimate effort to spread doctrines
which they honestly believed and believe
would OF will benefit the world at large.
! They had and have 10 selfish interest to
| serve. They were and are not trying TO
J put over anything or an unsuapectng
/ public
Germany, a. already indicated, Was
| seeking by her propaganda to persuade
| the world to believe about her what she
wished it 10 believe, just as for years she
| had been engaged in persuaIing the Ger
man people to believe What the military
caste wished them to think was true.
! The German press was controlled. 1t
! printed only what the government wished
it 10 print aud it refrained from print
! ing what the government was unwilling
that the people should know
We are nov IN America the Witnesses
s r,t.tr.C,aI,rl.. tIa bI ii
sense Agents Of special interests arc
active in Washington trying TO convince
! the congressman that what they advo-
| cate should be supported and doing their
! best to debauch the newspaper corre-
| spondents so that they can be used for
| the same sinister ends. Capital has its
propagandists and so has labor. And
each thinks thai it can fool the public.
But as George Ade " oulJ say, the pub
lie is wise to them. 1t reads between
the lines of that which gets printed and
discounts by about 90 per cent every
statement made.
MANY of Judge Gary's statements
about the steel strike did not convince
anv one save those who wished to be
convinced.
Fosters reply to Gary was equally
futile.
We all knew that both were vitiated
by special pleading and that neither was
seeking for fair and equitable settle
ment of the dispute. Each was fighting
for his special interests.
The comparative futility Of it, how
ever, will not prevent q continuance OF
this sort of thing, because the occasional
guccegs Of an effort TO fool the people
leads each propaganda to hope that lie
may be able to put his schemes acros.
before he is found out.
Experience has proved that selfish
propaganda can have only temporary
success, when 1t succeeds at all, in I
country where there is free speech and [
free press. 1t succeeded III Germany
where the government dictated what tht
newspapers should print, but it tool
more than forty years to put the thing
across within the confines of the Ger
man empire. When the attempt wa
made to put it over by force upon the res
of the world the whole thing tumbled t,
the ground like house of cards.
Even unseltisn propaganda does not &C
e complish very much. One has only t
, | -. ., casual GLANCE over the course O