Imperial Valley press., 1921-04-26
FUNCTION Of
ASS0. PRESS
IS APTLY
T0L.O
Eloquent Address Made at
Annual Luncheon of Great
Association Held Today in
New York.
(By Associated Press)

NEW YORK, April 26.--The Hon.
John W. Davis, in his address at The
Associated Press luncheon here today,
spoke in part as follows:
Il am flattered by this invitation
to address you. Notwithstanding the
fact that | have received from the
generous hand of your general man
ager your annual reports for the years
from 1900 to 1920 inclusive, two thick
volumes alleged to contain all the law
you have enacted for yourselves or
persuaded others to enact for YOU, and
sundry articles from the pen of the
general manager himself-all of which
for the purposes of the present argu-
ment | ask you to assume that have
read with minute and exhaustive care
Notwithstanding all this, there is
still much concerning your activities
which it will be my pleasure to study
and to laern. And yet one would con-
fess himself ignorant past all hope if
he had not some acquaintance with
The Associated Press and its work
for verify there is no speech nor lam
guage where your voice is not heard; +;
your line has gone through all the
the world. Day unto day you utter
speech, and night unto night you show
knowledge. Yours are the eyes of
Argus, and into your ears are
breathed the secrets of princes and
peasants, of prophets, priests and
kings. Carrying the classical figure
step further, yours is the voice of
Stentor a whose sound the earth itself
trembles. +.
"Manifestly, such an endowment
provides opportunities not enjoyed by
ordinary mortals, and equal and cor
relative responsibility for their pro
per use. 1t is the rubbing of your
lamps that calls out of the void that
great and powerful genie whom we
call Public Opinion, lord and master in
this democratic age Of the lives and
destinies of men. Whether he comes
as benevolent despot or as a blind
and destructive tyrant depends pri-
marily-I had almost said entirely
upon the Press. The newspaper is the
great educative institution before
which even colleges and universities
must bow, and the immesurable cam-
pany of your readers are the voters
whose education is imperative if self
government is to survive. Upon the
information you give us we must order
our lives. Nor does it detract from the
devoted labors of editorial sanctums
to say that their considered comment
great as its influence may be, is stc~
ondary in its influence upon publ,
opinion to the news column. The de-
cisive factor is the kind, quality, GUAM
tity and form Of the facts which ore
fed into the public mind in the guise
of news. To be the purveyor of 50
vital a commodity is very great and
a very solemn responsibility. | con-
gratulate the Associated Press be-
cause, by the general verdict of man
kind, it has performed this duty with
out bias, without prejudice and with
out partisanship, and in an earnest
pursuit of the truth where it might be
found. On this rests the general res
pect and public confidence which The
Associated Press enjoys.
Let me thank you again for this
opportunity to address you and close
with words descriptive of your func-
tion which deserve to be written in
letters of fire:
NO great and lasting wrong saws
the gentleman | am quoting, Can be
inflicted upon the sons of men any
where so long as this fierce blaze of
publicity is beating upon the scene.
For in the end, the world must know,
and when the world knows, justice
must be done. The most absolute and
irresponsible authority must finally
yield to the demands of great public
sentiment
"This language from the pen of