The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1924-02-05
Manufactured Opinion.

! Becoming wrathful over organized efforts OF
various interests to food congress with manu-
featured kilograms. letters and petitions in OPP
position to or in support OF pending measures
a committee has been appointed by the senate
to make a searching investigation OF lobbyists
and their propaganda. There is every reason
to believe that in most instances the sentiment
is artificial and doctored and prepared by cen
tralized organizations. In proof Of this tele-
grams and petitions are received by congress
from all sections of the country expressed in
the same language. Everyone knows 1t IS i'm
possible for people in a score Of states to eX-
press opposition to or approval OF a public
measure in identical language at the same time,
except when such kilograms and petitions are
furnished them in blank with the stipulation
that they be filed in a specified time Promot-
ers of these campaigns for artificial sentiment
making have an idea that food Of kilograms
and petitions pouring into congress at one
time will impress the members with the wide
spread and urgent demands for action in &C
cordance with the wishes OF the senders. Such
policy shows woeful lack OF intelligence on
the part of those who direct them, or low
estimate of the members Of congress. The
shallow pretense of such a nationwide cam
paign is so obvious that a mental mediocre
is able to fathom it.
Congress is to be commended for ignor-
ing false declarations of sentiment. To
yield to such propaganda is to suffer itself
to be dictated to by a cotere of unscrup-
ulous men. But by ignoring all petitions
and protests injustice might be done those
who seek to influence congress because of
their convictions 1t is difficult to draw
the line between expression of public opin-
ion which comes involuntarily from the peo-
PIE and that which is manufactured TO order
by the few who are interested
The right of petition is sacred to all free
people The ignoring OF this right by the
king OF England is one of the indictments in
the Declaration of Independence. 1t stands
on par with the writ of habeaus corpus. But
the right of petition assumes that the express
sion is the spontaneous protest or request of
those who petition To such communica-
tons congress should give a patient ear and
towards the things asked keep an open mind.
But there is no obligation on the representa-
t'ves OF the people to do otherwise than ignore
petitions which are collected as patent med
icne testimonials are gathered.
If congress possessed the will to kill the eff
forts of artificial petitioners it would not be
long until they would cease. If, for in
stance the senate would sort the artificial from
tie sincere protests or requests and would
adopt resolution excluding those which are
artificial from consideration and would ex
punge all reference to them from it's journal
and change the absurd rule permitting any
member to have whatever he wants printed
in the Congressional Record at the public eX
pense it would teach those who manufacture
and direct the spread of propaganda a lesson.
The very Stiffness of the methods used should
make those who foster them the national
laughing stock. But so long as the perpetra-
tors escape censure and contumely they will
repeat the folly that others have committed.