Evening star., 1923-04-29

etnlcs sometimes In the omission OF
I think that there are often times
when the news ought to be sup
pressed There certainly are times
when news OF international impor-
lance can not be given to the public;
have only rambled along. not touch
Ing this very important and very ex-
cellent code in all It's details. have
alluded to the concentration or merg-
country. You have been told until
you are weary of II of the great in
f1uence OF the press. But you have
not stopped to think Of the critical
l liked what Mr.. Davis said about
the securities Of the Constitution.
II like everything that is said that
tends to rivet our belief in a preserv-
ed civilization. 1t has been my for
tune within the week to have had at
visitors from the old world. l can
not tell you all the story they told
me. but tell you, fellow editors of
America. 1t Is an astounding story
have our own feet on the ground and
an anchor that will preserve US the
world is in pretty bad way. ! do
not think the social order can be
overturned. 1t would be only momen-
tary If it would. You can revise
perience and judgment OF forty CEN
turies OF progressive civilization back
or it, But nevertheless civilization is
in very critical stage. We are more
fortunate in America than elsewhere
in the world. 1t is 80 essential TO do
the things which you can do toward
making our position more firm and
stable. so that we may be great and
helpful example to the world. Don't
you see how important 1t is to tell
things when there is a simple, COM
forthng truth? And don't you see how
important 1t is to omit the things
when tend to destroy the faith in So
ciety? Don't you see how essential
IT is that you preach faith in the Jus
tfce Of the republic rather than
suspicion that justice can not abide
under our present social system?
oh. my countrymen. We have done
SO well in America. We have wrought
so much in the democracy Of this new
world. We have made such a record
for ourselves and such a contribution
TO human progress that l want to go
on and here in America we have done
more than elsewhere in the world for
the development of a free press. And
I want free press in America to re-
pay it's debt in the preservation OF
this republic of ours.
Gives Early Experience.
At the start of his address the
President reminisced about his boy
hood days and his early experience
as a young publisher. The President
said:
Mr.. President. fellow editors: My
mind ran back while the chairman
was reading the code of ethics on the
small town paper with which / have
been connected so long. to one of the
things which led to adoption of the
code.
81 wonder if any of you ever have
moments of retrospection when there
comes to you. in the recollection of
your lives. events which you regret
more than others? l have lot of
them to regret. but there are two
particular instances which apply to
this code Of ethics.
The first was when I was a boy
eight years old. 1t was my fortune
every summer to go to the home of
my grandfather on the farm. One of
my chores was to bring in the COWS
at milking time, and one evening 1
got my orders TO go for the cows and
was unwillingly complying, but as /
skipped along. boy-like. / picked up
stone that we called 'sailor'-a thin
stone, you will remember, that you
throw and IT sails in the air-and /
let II go without any responsibility
or design at a flock of geese. And,
by some misfortune of fate, the sharp
edge OF this stone struck q fine, big
Eander right in the side Of the head,
and he wnirled a half dozen times
and fell dead Well. in my excess of
sorrow that had killed the gander
and my sense OF injury to my grand
father, 1 rushed after the cows with
out making q word OF explanation.
And when 1 came back l then found
my grandmother plucking the gander
was Grating. He had examined the
dead bird and had concluded that il
had been killed by a very ill-behaved
turkey gobbler, and he had reasoned
it out that the gobbler had struck him
in the side Of the head and had killed
him. and thereupon decreed the COB
bier should die. And there I stood. a
boyish culprit and liar through omis-
sion. saying nothing in the gobbler's
defense. and he went to the block
innocent gobbler had never lived and
died.
Incident Recurs.
1t may seem strange. but that in
cident has recurred to me a thousand
times in my life and is ever impell-
ing fair statement
And the other one was a sillier
one still. In the very early days of
my newspape rdom-it takes me back
so long it will be amusing to you
II l tell You that I rolled my first
Iofm 1orty-siX years ago next month
Within week after that / had stack
ed my first stick of type. as an
eleven-year-old boy. I don't say it
TO boast. ] say it because the at
mosphere of this occasion suggests
1t, L have done everything in the
newspaper office that anybody ever
did: including taking a licking.
We'll, in the early days Of the
newspaper business, we thought an
ooigation. and IT was quite the Gus
tom in the small towns to have the
editor specially invited for the ALL
important events, social or other
wise, and there was a very promi-
nent wedding in my town and 1 was
not invited. I took 1t very much to