The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-09-23
II : IIIER EDITORS SEE IT
10 lace fcs CEilicisla.

& 81 - B40S9 1O4 49,
Tiaf criticisms, whefhsr Justified
or not,sAre entirely ont OF place in
: work Of reference Is tho opinion
Of the nation's editors who discuss
the stDictures which the Encyclo-
pedia, Brfttanica places upon the
work Of Newton d. Baker, secretary
.ofwar under President Wilson. For
the most part, also, the editors.
without regard to their political af-
'liliations, resent the slurs upon
Bakers. Official acts and point to
the fact that he had the loyal COM
-mendation" Of men like General
John ]. Pershing as completely re-
futing them. Only one or two pa
pers endorse the paragraph while
the great majority insist that II
should be revised in later editions.
among his own people, those Of
different political faith and unsym-
pathetic toward many Of Mr.. Bak-
er's views, Join with his friends in
denouncing the article which is alb
surd enough to appear malicious"
says the Newark News. "Mr. Baker
needs no testimonials. The record
OF the war is his vindication and
his monument No war was ever
conducted with greater efficiency
and less scandal" The article is
not alone unfair but inexcusable, in
the view of the Cleveland Plain
Dea)kr, which suggests that ut NAV
or may not be significant that the
authorship of the brief Baker biog-
raphy is concealed. That kind of
history writing lends itself to
Anonymity. 1t reads like q 1890
Republican campaign book, rather
than the deliberate judgment Of mel
who would be chosen to edit
great publication like the Britain
lea. Such an attack will not hurt
Mr.. Baker nor influence the place
he will finally occupy in the his
tory of the war. 1t is, however. a
serious reflection on the .encyc!o-
pedia and an injustice to everyone
who reads the article uncriticallyi"
This is the view of the Knoxville
Sentinel which also points out that
this cheap performance will not
do Former Secretary Baker any
harm. 1t will only serve to bring
out strongly and publicly the real
character of his services to the
country and the world in the great
war and can only rebound to the
discredit of the Encyclopedia Brit
tanica."
The Cincinnati Times Star, own
ed by Chief Justice Taft's brother,
points out that "Mr. Baker was a
pacifist, and too tender to so-called
conscientious directors, and must
share. with his chief, former Presi-
dent Wilson, and certain of his
cabinet colleagues, the blame for
not having the nation better armed
when war came although public
policy and tradition was the chief
culprit. But when America drew
the sword Newton D. Baker was a
real war secretary. The vast mobi-
lization Of the nations forces and
the flinging of two million armed
men upon European soil in time to
decide the issue, showed his quail
ity and that of the chief whose
plans he executed. 1t was great
work. The man who performed it
may be a politician, but is he not
also statesman" Authorship of
the attack should be known, the
Petersburg Progress & Index An
peal thinks, believing that should
the identity be made public event.
uaily it will be found that he is a
; bitter political partisan, opposed to
Woodrow Wilson and to all of Mr..
Wilson's friends and to all he stood
Tor and stands for. In the mean
while we probably shall see a great
falling of in the sales of the Brit
tanica in America" The sketch
was silly" the Washington Star
holds, and the action of the editors
IN standing by it will do the publi-
/, cation "a more serious harm than
that OF stimulating doubt as to their
individual ability as Judges" be-
cause the value of the Brittanica
must repose in the confidence of
the public that its contents repre-
sent an accurate, unbiased and
complete statement of fact on the
various subjects treated" But the
veteran Springfield Republican is
inclined to hold that possibly in
competence rather than prejudice
Is responsible for this and other in
/ stances of injustice"
The manner in which Mr.. Baker
dismissed the incident is praise
worthy and will make him many
friends, the Norfolk Ledger Dis
patch argues as had he been a
valn-glorious individual he would
have. hurled angry words at the
J. publishers but being wise man he
refrained and spoke only of the
World war as an American who
/. TOOK no credit to himself, but placed
1t where it belonged-to the people