Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1920-11-04
PUBLIC OPPOSES
Govt OPERATION
Canvass of 5,154 Editors Shows
4,466 Communities Against
SociaIistic Experiment.
OPPOSITION WING
EIqhty-seven Per Cent In 1920 as
Against 80 Per Cent in 1919
Think Public Is Opposed
to Radlcaiisul.

tensely opposed to Government opera
ton than II was a year ago according
TO the newspaper editors OF the coun-
try. Out OF 5,164 editors replying 10
q questionnaire sent out by the Press
Service Company OF New York, 1865
or SO per cent. gave II as their Judg-
ment that the people OF their commu-
mites were overwhelmingly against
tho Government competing In business
with its own citizens.
In 1919 the Press Servics Company
conducted a similar canvass OF editors
on the government operation OF rail
roads. That questionable showed that
g per cent Of the editors considered
their communities against Govern
ment operation Of public utilities.
Apparently. then. IL editors estimate
public opinion accurately, that opin-
ion In q year, considered by commu-
mites. has swung 3 per cent farther
away from socislistic experiments.
Eleven MlIIisn clreuistisn.
The combined circulation Of the pa
psrs whose editors replied Is ll,42s,-
SIT, which means. according 10 the
usual estimated rattle between circula-
ton and readers. n constituency or at
least 100000 And this constituent
cy Is pretty evenly scattered through
cut the country, no considerable sec
ton Of any state being unrepresented.
The estimate of opinion based on this
thoroughly diffused ~ per cent OF the
country's population may. therefore.
be considered fair representation or
the people as 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 1887 Republican and
1850 Democratic There are also l,4so
independent and 49, 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 80 Republican pa
pers and $50 Democratic the per
centage against Government operation
was .SS; in the Great Lake section,
with conditions reversed, ATS Repub-
Iican and 155 Democratic the oppo-
sition, was 81 per cent
Replies from the West Middle West
and Southwest show that IL is mis-
take 20 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. per
cent above the average-in the South
west, Including Arkansas, Louisiana,
Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Tex
as. Texas. once supposed TO he much
given to Government regulation ex-
periments, returned % per cent Of un-
favorable replies. Out Of The pa edi-
tors replying from that state only
three edited Republican papers. Tho
81 per cent opposition OF the North
west, including Iowa, Minnesota, Mon
tana. Nebras ska. North Dakota, South
Dakota aud 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
nitcant of the prevailing conservative
sentiment on this question even In
the more radical sections.
judgment Apparently Unbiased.
The QUESTIONABLE closes with re-
quest for the editors personal Qpin-
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: CAD Fertilizer 90 Clothing?
(c) Automobiles? I'D Farm nipple
ments? (e) Foodstufsi
Substantially all the editors who
give estimates of their readers opin-
ions also expressed their own by re-
plying 10 this last question. Proof or
considerable effort to avoid personal
bias g found IN the fact that in many
cases the editor differed from the
epinion he credited TO his community.
The percentage OF NOS ran: tD
TO: (b) 90; (c) So: I'D 81; (e) 70.
WINE me Quctllour WoiO 'e'cN 80
general principles involved In the
Government participating in competl-
tive business. the so-cslled Muscle
Shoals Bill now before Congress was
used as "A concrete example OF q Gov
srnm snt operation scheme. Under this
blu a Government-owned corporation
would be given broad powers 10 oper-
ate and develop Government plants
and properties. II would produce nj
Muscle shoals various fertilizer prod
ucts and sell them in competition with
producers and merchants In the fer
tiilzer business.
Tho Strength OF the opposition 10
Goyeromeni operation 10 Indicated by
ths replies from Alabama, where the
AuSc,s Shouts war plant IL and where,
Of course. there IL Intense Interest
and local pride 10 getting It's expected
peace time operation under way at the
snrlicst possible date Fifty editors
FROM thaf STATE replied. Of whoto 80
we're opposed 20 Government opera
uon. s In favor and doubtful
Why He stopped 5 o7in7
George was lmprovislus b"ii' worms