The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-11-05
Canvass of 5.154 Editors Shows
4,466 Communities Against
SociaIistic Experiment.
OPPOSITION GRO W IN G
Eighty seven Per Cent In 1920 az
Against SO Per Cent In 1919
Think Public is Opposed
to Radicalism.

| = OSS
Service Company of New York. 4,466
or SO per cent gave it 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 similar canvass OF editors
on the government operation OF rail-
roads That questionnaire 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 year, considered by commu-
mites. has swung 3 per cent farther
away from sociaistic 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. a constituency of at
| least 44,OOO,OOO 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 a whole.
Another feature of the result is Its
evident lack of partisan bias. The
major political affiliations of the pa
Ders represented are fairly evenly d.
vided, being 1857 Republican and
1850 Democratic There are also 1885
Independent and 1862 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 $3.50 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, 1t Is 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
SO 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 cent Of I'M
favorable replies Out Of the PA edi-
tors replying from that state only
three edited Republican papers. The
50 per cent opposition of the North
west, including Iowa, Minnesota, Mon
tana, Nebraska North Dakota, South
Dakota and Wyoming, and the 80 per
cent veto of the Far West group, in
Guiding Arizona, California, Idaho,
Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Colo
RADIO, Utah and Washington, are sig
nificant of the prevailing conservative
sentiment on this question even 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: (a) Fertilizer? (b) Clothing?
(c) Automobiles? (d) Farm imple-
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 Ell t 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)
70; ~ 80; (c) SO; (d) 80; (e) 70.
While the questions were based on
general principles involved In the
Government participating in COMPETE
tive business, the so-called Muscle
Shoals Bill now before Congress was
used as a concrete example Of 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 at
Muscle Shoals various fertilizer prod
ucts and sell them In competition with
producers and merchants In the fer
tilizer business.
The strength of the opposition to
Government operation Is indicated by
the replies from Alabama, where the
Muscle Shoals war plant is and where,
of course. there is intense interest
and local pride in getting its expected
peace-time operation under way at the
earliest possible date. Fifty editors
from that state replied, Of whom 80
were opposed to Government opera
tlon. 8 In favor and 1 doubtful.
- $500 49, -~'-- -