The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1920-10-22
PUBLIC OPPOSES
GOVT OPERATION
Canvass of 5,154 Editors Shows
4,466 Communities Against
SociaIiStic Experiment.
OPP POSITION GRO WING
.Elohty.seven Per Cent In 1920 a.
Against 50 Per Cent In 1919
Think Public 10 Opposed
10 Radicallsm.


tensely opposed to Government opera
ton than 1t was q year ago. according
to the newspaper editors OF the coun-
try. Out Of 5,154 editors replying TO
questionnGire sent out by the Press
Service Company OF New York, 4,466,
or So per cent, gave II 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 q similar canvass Of editors
on the government operation of rail-
roads. That Questionnaire showed that
SO per cent OF tho editors considered
their communities against Govern
ment operation Of public utilities.
Apparently, then, II editors estimate
public opinion accurately. that Opin-
lon in q year, considered by commu-
mites, has swung 8 per cent farther
away from socialistic experiments.
Eleven Million Circulation.
The combined circulation Of the pa
pers whose editors replied Is ll,42S,'
SIT, which means. according TO the
usual estimated ratio between circula'
ton and readers, q constituency OF al
least 44,OGo, 900. And this constituent
cy Is pretty evenly scattered through
out the country. no considerable Sec
ton Of any state being unrepresented
The estimate Of opinion based on this
thoroughly diffused A per cent OF the
country's population may. therefore,
be considered fair representation OF
the people as whole.
Another feature Of the result Is It's
evident lack OF partisan bias. The
major political affiliations OF the pa
pers represented are fairly evenly di
vided, being 1857 Republican and
1850 Democratic. There are also l,4S5
independent and 462 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, AIS Repub'
lican and 155 Democratic, the oppO-
sitiOn was 81 per cent.
Replies from the West, Middle West
and Southwest show that il Is q mis-
take 10 consider those sections vastly
more favorable 10 radical Government
experiments than the East The rad
icals can get little comfort out OF the
50 per cent of thumbs down. per
cent above the avcrage-in the South
west, including Arkansas, Louisiana
Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Tex
as Texas. once supposed to be much
given 10 Government regulation Ak
periments, returned 90 per cent Of un
favorable replies. Out OF the 244 edi
tors replying from that state only
three edited Republican papers. The
So 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
nticant OF the prevailing conservative
sentiment on this question even In
the more radical sections.
Judorsnt Apparently Unblsssd.
The questionable closes with q 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) Fertilizeri (b) Clothing
(c) Automobiles I'D Farm nipple.
mentsl (e) Foodstuffsl
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 IL found In the fact that In many
eases the editor differed from the
opinion he credited 10 his community
The percentage OF mos" ran: W
5000 81; tc) SO; cd 80. (s) TO.
While the questions were based on
general principles involved In the
Government participating IN compei'