The Republican journal., 1920-11-04
PUBLIC OPPOSES
GOVT OPERATION
Canvass Of 5,154 Editors Shows
4.466 Communities Against
SocialiStiC Experiment.
OPPOSITION WING
Eighty seven Per Cent In 1920 az
Against 80 Per Cent in 1919
Think Public Is Opposed
to Radicalism.

The American public Is more in
tensely opposed to Government opera
ton than it was year ago, according
to the newspaper editors of the coun-
try. Out Of 5,154 editors replying to
QUESTIONABLE sent out by the Press
Service Company of New York, 4,466,
or S6 per cent, gave it as their judg-
ment that the people of their commu-
mites were Overwhelmingly against
the Government competing in business
with its own citizens.
In 1919 the Press Service Company
conducted a similar canvass of editors
on the government operation of rail-
roads. That QUESTIONABLE showed that
81 per cent of the editors considered
their communities against Govern
ment operation of public utilities.
Apparently, then. if editors estimate
public opinion accurately, that opin-
ion in year, considered by commu-
mites, has swung 8 per cent farther
away from socialistic experiments.
Eleven Million Circulation.
The combined circulation of the pa.
SIT, which means. according to the
usual estimated ratio between circula
ton and readers, a constituency of at
least 100000. And this constituent.
cy is pretty evenly scattered through
out the country, no considerable sec
ton Of any state being unreprssented
The estimate of opinion based on thk
= A ,,f he
country's population may, therefore,
be considered a fair representation OF
the people as a whole
Another feature Of the result Is its
evident lack of partisan bias. The
major political affiliations of the pa
pers represented are fairly evenly d.
vided, being 1857 Republican and
independent and 1852 miscellaneous
including labor organs, etc.
How little the results are affected
by the politics Of the papers is shown
in an analysis by sections. In the
Southern section, for instance, where
replies came from 65 Republican pa
pers and $50 Democratic, the per
centage against Government operation
was So; in the Great Lake section
with conditions reversed, 47S Repub
lican and 155 Democratic. the oppo
sition was 81 per cent
Replies from the West Middle West
and Southwest show that it is mis-
take to consider those sections vastly
more favorable to radical Government
experiments than the East. The rad
icals can get little comfort out of the
80 per cent of thumbs down. pei
cent above the average-in the South
west, including Arkansas, Louisiana
Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Tex
as. Texas once supposed to be much
given to Government regulation eX.
periments, returned 90 per cent Of I'M
favorable replies. Out Of the pa edi.
tors replying from that state only
three edited Republican papers. This
50 per cent opposition of the North
west, including Iowa, Minnesota, Mon,
tana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South
Dakota and Wyoming, and the SO per
cent veto of the Far West group, in
Guiding Arizona, California, Idaho
Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Colo
RADIO, Utah and Washington, are sig
nifcant of the prevailing conservative
sentiment on this question even in
the more radical sections.
Judgment Apparently Unbiased.
The QUESTIONABLE closes with a re.
quest for the editors personal opin-
ion on certain concrete cases as fol.
lows:
do you personally believe that the
Federal Government should own and
operate competitive industries to pro-
vide: (a) Fertilizer? (b) Clothing?
(c) Automobiles? (d) Farm nipple
ments? (e) Foodstuffs2
Substantially all the editors who
gave estimates Of their readers opin-
ions also expressed their own by re-
plying to this last question. Proof Of
considerable effort to avoid personal
bias is found in the fact that in many
cases the editor differed from the
opinion he credited to his community.
The percentage Of mos" ran: (a)
76; (b) 50; (c) SO; (d) 80; (e) 70.
While the questions were based on
Government participating in competi-
tive business, the so-called Muscle
Shoals Bill now before Congress was
used as a concrete example of a Gov
eminent operation scheme. Under this
bill a Government-owned corporation
would be given broad powers to oper-
ate ard develop Government plants
and properties. 1t WOULD produce at
Muscle Shoals various fertilizer prod
ucts and sell them in competition with
producers and merchants In the fer
tilizer business
The strength of the opposition to
Government operation is indicated by
the replies from Alabama, where the
Muscle Shoals war plant is and where,
of course. there is intense interest
and local pride in getting its expected
peace-time operation under way at the
earliest possible date Fifty editors
from that state replied, Of whom 3S
we're opposed to Government opera
tion. s in favor and 4 doubtful -AU