The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1920-11-25
Canvass Of 5,154 Editors Shows
4,466 Communities Against
SociaIistic Experiment.
oP PP0SITI0N GROWING
EIghty-seven Per Cont In 1920 ~
Against IS Per Cent In 1919
Think Public 10 Opposed
TO RadlcaIlsn,.

to the newspaper editors of the coun-
try. Out of 5,154 editors replying to
q 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
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 -scurately, that opin.
ion In q 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,-
817, which means, according to the
usual estimated ratio between circula-
ton and readers. 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 unrepresented ed
The estimate Of opinion based on this
thoroughly diffused A per cent Of the
country's population may, therefore,
be considered a fair representation of
the people as q 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 di.
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 il 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 1t Is q 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. per
cent above the averags-in the South.
west, including Arkansas, Louisiana,
Missouri. Kansas, Oklahoma and Tex.
as. Texas, onoe supposed to be much
given to Government regulation ex.
periments, returned 81 per cent Of un.
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 S3 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 q re.
quest for the editors personal opin-
fon OH 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) Clothing7
(c) Automobiles? (d) Farm imple-
ments1 (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
COZ siderable 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)
78; (b) SO; (c) SO; (d) 80; (e) 10.
While the questions were based on
general principles involved I'm the
Government participating IN compsti.
tive business, the so-caled Muscle
used as q concrete example Of a Gov
ernment operation scheme. Under this
bin a Government-owned corporation
would be given broad powers to oper.
ate and develop Government plants
and properties. 1t would produce at
Muscle Shoals various fertilizer prod.
ucts and sell then IN competition with
producers and merchants In the fer
tiliZer business.
Tho strength Of the opposition to
Government operation Is indicated by
the replies from Alabama, where the
Muscle Shoals war plant is and where,
ne G.. Ink
and local pride in getting Its expected
peace lime operation under way at the
earliest possible date. Fifty editors
from taat state replied. OF whom SO
were opposed to Government opera.
hon, IN favor UEd doubtful.