The Connecticut labor news., 1924-01-26
Hope for Future of the Labor
 Press is Outlined in Survey

dS SOOd \OI dS Ddu, WH1CHCVGI you Wish) as they got from the ordinary papers It's headlines were not with out sensational touches, its cartoons were prominent its sporting page was regarded as one of the best in the city. 1t possessed human interest,"" real iSm,'. pep" to quote a few of the newspaperman's shibboleths. Its edi- tor had had previous editorial exper- fence, it's manager was a practical newspaper maker. Ii was a journal istic enterprise, undertaken in busi nesslike way at the behest of a group of unions which needed their own or gan of expression. It's death was not, at least, the slow, insidious one of a journal with poor makeup and tech nique.
 Contrasted with such a publication, we find some official journals, inde pendent papers and trade union or gans, which positively dry up ones thirst for knowledge on sight. With their drab gray covers, and page after page of organization reports, joint board decisions, or minutes of meet exciting as the parlor after the Christ mas decorations have been taken out No tired laborer Is going to spend his precious leisure searching through such officiousness for the crumbs of lively labor news.
 Having hinted the direction of inn provements in the output of labor pap CTS, what responsibilities must the readers assume? Are they simply to 1 sit back and wait for fullfedged edi- ton to appear? By no means. It is a vicious circle of inter-dependence, and neither can make the initial departure without the cooperation of the other. Once an adequate press IS sufficiently desired and thereupon financially es- tablished, it should be considered scabbing to buy any other paper, and what has vastly more potential inhu- ence, it should be considered scabbing to patronize any but the advertisers of that paper. By far the great ma jority responding to the ordinary Ipress advertisements, are working |people. If these agreed to ignore all but the advertisements of labor pa pers, how quickly would the adver- tisers turn to the labor publications. In time, the same principle could be applied equally we'll to goods of union i production.
 Finally we may take a sweeping ,I glance at the labor press in the United T States today and try to evaluate some of it's most marked tendencies. Mere ly an infant yet, with its greatest |, period of growth since the close of the war. the labor press consists of some ,l 300 publications, exclusively of the foreign editors at the head of labor papers, are found innumerable varia ? tions in finances, makeup, contro , and policy. The only unanimit,
 seems to be opposition to the Facist 5 and Ku Klux Klan, and approval o : child labor amendment and restric
 ton of the Supreme Court power!
 There are still many inexperienced , editors at the head of labor papers
 men selected perhaps because of un
 usual interest and activity within tn
 union, but not strictly newspapermen
 With the newer publications, nor
 skilled experts appear, sometimes mel
 outside the unions, but sympathizin'
 with their aims, and able to make
 newspaper Finally, labor new
 services cropping out here and there
 are perhaps the most significant mani +-festation of the newer labor journal
 ism. They make it possible to com
 pete fairly with the ordinary press
 As Norman Angel1, an English jour
 nalist writes:
 "If the present plans of the work 3 CTS struggling towards a new orde
 are to have chance for success, the
 must be preceded by the establish
 ment of a press that will fully stat
 their case and will neutralize tn
 stunts and ramps" started by tn . capitalist press to misrepresent ant
 prejudice their efforts-The new
 service are even nor important thal
 the papers in this undertaking.