New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1920-10-23
Canvass of 5,154 Editors Shows
4,466 Communities Against
&, SociaIiStic Experiment.
OPPOSITION WING
ElphtH-seVen Per Cent In 1920 az
Against 80 Per Cent In 1919
Think Public Is Opposed
! to RadIcaIlsm.

tensely opposed to Government opera
ton than 1t was year ago, according
to the newspaper editors of the coun-
try. Out of 5,154 editors replying to
a QUESTIONABLE sent out by the Press
Service Company of New York, 4,466,
or SO 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 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
80 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 per cent farther
away from socialistic experiments.
Eleven Million Circulation.
The combined circulation of the pa
pers whose editors replied is 11,42S,-
BIT, which means, according to the
usual estimated ratio between circula-
ton and readers constituency of at
least 44,0o0,000. 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 difrused a per cent Of the
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
1850 Democratic, There are also 1,4S5
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-
centags against Government operation
was So; In the Great Lake section,
with conditions reversed, 47S Repub-
llican and 1856 Democratic, the oppo-
sltion was 81 per cent.
Replies from the West, Middle West
and Southwest show that 1t Is mis-
take to consider those sections vastly
more favorable to radical Government
experiments than the East. The rad
licals can get little comfort out Of the
le9 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-
lperiments, returned 90 per cent of UNI
Favorable replies. Out of the 244 edl-
tors replying from that state only
three edited Republican papers. The
81 per cent opposition of the North |
west, including Iowa, Minnesota, Mon |
ltana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South |
Dakota and Wyoming, and the SO per |
cent veto OF the Ear West group, in
GLIDING Arizona, California, Idaho,
New Mexico, Oregon. Colo
rado. Utah and Washington, are sig
nlficant Of ths prevailing conservative
sentiment on this question even in
the more radical sections
q Judgment Apparently Unbiased.
The ssestiennsArs closes with a re-
guest for the editors personal opin-
ion ON certain concrete cases ~ fol-
lows:
"Do yca personally believe that the
Federal Government should own and
operate competitive industries to pro
vide: (a) Fertilissr1 (b) Cething7
(c) AutemobIlesf Cd Farm maple
ments7 (s) Foodstuffsi
Substantially all the editors who
gave estimates Of their readers cpin-
ions also expressed their ewp by re-
plying 10 this last question. Proof Of
effort &c 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) SO; (c) So; (d) 81: ts) 10.
WAltiS lHS QuGcttNbS WOA0 baEHO Vn |
general principles involved In the
Government participating in COMPETE
tive business, the so-caIled Muscle
Shoals Bin now before Congress was
used as a concrete example Of Gov
srnment operation scheme. Under this
bill a Government-owned corporation
would he given broad powers to oper.
ate and develop Government plants
and properties. 1t would produce at
Muscle Shoals various fertilizer prod
bets and sell them In competition with
producers and merchants In the fer
.ilizer business.
Tho strength OF the opposition to
Government operation Is indicated by
he replies from Alabama. where the
Muscle Shosls war plant is and where.
II course. there Is intense interest
md local pride in getting its expected
,sace-tsme operation under way at the
EARLIEST possible date. Fifty editors
rom that state replied, Of whom 30
we're oppcssds TO Government opera
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