The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1920-11-20
PUBLIC OPPOSES
Govt OPERATION
Canvass of 5,154 Editors Shows
4,466 Communities Against
SoCiaIistiC Experiment.
GROW ING
Elghty-seven Per Cent In 1920 as
Against 80 Per Cent In 1919
Think Public Is Opposed
to RadlcaIism.
GROW IN G

" liz OQllO VI IN NO0i
try. Out of 5,154 editors replying to
a QUESTIONABLE sent out by the Press
Service Company of New York. 4,466,
or Sc per cent, gave 1t as their judg-
ment that the people of their commu-
mites were overwhelmingly against
the Government competing in business
with its W citizens.
In 1919 the Press Service Company
conducted a similar canvass of editors
on the government operation of rail-
roads. That questionable showed that
SO 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 a year, considered by commu-
mites, has swung 3 per cent farther
away from socialistic experiments.
Eleven Million Circulation.
The combined circulation of the pa
pers whose editors replied Is 11,429,-
SIT, which means, according to the
usual estimated ratio between circula-
ton and readers, a constituency Of at
least $4,000, 900. And this constituent
cy Is pretty evenly scattered through
out the country, M 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 a fair representation of
the people as a whole.
Another featisre 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
1850 Democratic. There are also 1,485
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-
-ceptage against Government operation
was SO; in the Great Lake section,
with conditions reversed, Ats Repub-
lican and 1876 Democratic. the opDo-
sition was 81 per cent.
Replies from the West, Middle West
and Southwest show that 1t Is a 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
50 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 be much
given to Government regulation ex-
periments, returned 90 per cen of I'M
favorable replies. Out of the 244 edi-
tors replying from that state only
three edited Republican papers. The
81 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
niflcant of the prevailing conservative
sentiment on this question eve 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: ta) Fertilizer2 (b) Clothing7
(c) Automobiles2 (d) Farm nipple
ments? (e) Foodstuffs?
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 RAM: (a)
rs; (b) 80 (c) SO; (d) 81; te) 70.
While the questions were based on
general principles involved In the
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 AFOREMENTIONED corporation
would be given broad powers to oper
ate and develop Government plants
and properties 1t would produce al
Muscle Shoals various fertilizer prod
ucts and sell them In competition witt
producers and merchants In the fer
tiliZer business.
Tho strength Of the opposition Il
Government operation is indicated By
tho replies from Alabama. where tht
Muscle Shoals wal plant Is and where
of course. there Is intense interes'
and local pride In getting its expected
peace-time operation under way al thu
earliest possible date. Fifty editor
from that state replied, of whom 81
we're opposed to Government opera
ton, 8 In favor and 4 doubtful.