Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-16
EDITORS INVITED
TO GENEVA FARLEY
Americans Asked to Attend
World Press Conference
Next September.

| Geneva. Switzerla nd. next September
IA to 49, was extended to the mem
+ bers of the American Society OF News
! paper Editors today in session Al the
| Willard Hotel The invitation was
| given by Fred NJ. SNYDER. who rep
| resented Dean Walter Williams of the
| University of Missouri. who Ia presi-
| dent Of the Congress.
The Geneva congress is to promote
a better understanding OF The prob
| lens of Europe and their relation to
| the newSpa pers Of the world.
An address on the modern reaction
| to the modern newspaper was de
! livered At the morning session by
DR. George Barton Cutten. preside nj
! of colgate University. who gave q
| compre he nsive outline OF the adva noes
made by modern newspapers in the
| presentation Of news.
Hits Crime News.
: Or. cutten added his protest to
| those delivered ST yesterday after
! Moons forum against the large
! amount Of crime news that is found
/ in American newspa pers. He said:
! Men generally are good and law
! abiding. and. as Josh Billings said.
/ being good amt news because 1t is
usual. | believe people are interested
in good deeds as well as In bad ones.
/ in virtue As well as in vice There
! is no req son why paper should APP
! pea 10 the worst class or Ia the worst
! characteristics of any ella IS. A modern
! newspa per must have honor as well
/ as enterprise. conviCtions we'll as
| courage and willingness to make
! financial sacrifice for the right rather
| than profit through the wrong. People
! are looking to their leaders TODAY and
! are responding to the right kind of
! leadership, and no other institution
( has the opportunity VouchSafed to the
modern newspaper.
! A technical ADDRESS on wire prob
lens or the newSpa DerS was given nv
| Stuart II. Perry. editor OF the Adrian
! Telegram. George r. Armst cad. man
aging editor of the Hartford Coura mt .
| spoke on Covering the CITY and The
State, and Walter NJ. Harrison. man
! aging editor Of the Daily Oklahoman
spoke on The Editorial advertising
Space Problem
The annual election of officers and
! other business will come before the
editors this afternoon. and the annual
| banquet will he held at The Villa rd
, this evening.
Treatment Of Offiriais
! William Hard Washington political
! writer, speaking AT Yesterday alter
! Moons session on the political ioh Of
! the American newspap e,s. ASA lied in
! a frank and vigorous manner the
/ practices OF some newspapers OF the
country in tearing down the charac-
ters OF public officials and eechins
| the public to despise them. and urged
! the editors TO exercise more cOnserva-
| tive and just treatment of the Ma
| tons public servants
| 1T ia our duty to expose their
| wickedness when il exists he So id
but 1t In also our duty to preserve
their good regulations when they de
! serve 1t.
1T is our duty to hold up before the
, Young vision OF government OF
! politics. OF public life. which will al
| tract our noblest and ablest men and
women into the political arena and the
direct service of their country.
/ DO we do 1t" All of us fall far
! short. We pour out upon political ms
! not only walls OF needed wrath. but
! also whole torrents Of totally unnec-
! essary invective and contempt. We
! teach the young TO despise political ms
and politics and to fear to plunge int
a. work we loathingly describe
Foreign Writer Speaks.
/ WiImott Harsant Lewis. Washing
! ton correspondent OF the London
!
of the continental newspapers, protest
ed against the ''da ngerous tendency in
/ English newspa pers to fall into the
: hands OF few capitalists-men who
/ lack n sense Of public responsibility
/ md who use their power to support
ends more personal than public
! The proprietor OF great group Of
! newspapers tends to become poll
! tician. he said, pointing to NorthclifYe,
the great English newspape owner
| a nd director, as an offender in this re-
gard, adding that he once publicly pro
! tested against the passing Of papers
into the hands of mere millions"
| This danger is heing minimized to
some extent. Mr.. Lewis said, by the
| steady growth OF economic independ,
ence OF the news writer's through bet
ter payment for their services
| David Lawrence. head of the Con
soIdated Press spoke briefly on the
purpose of the American Associa ton
Of Newspaper Syndicates. Of which he
is president
Crime Routine News.
Crime news was discussed at the
afternoon session In an open forum
| which followed an address by Harvey
lngham. editor of the Des Moines
Register-Tribune. which recently ex.
perimented with the publication OF
news of crimes. placing it on an inside
page. We have wearied our read
ers." he said. by putting crime on the
front page, on the theory that 1t was
the most important. The front page
should be for the unexpected news
crime certainly Is expected and much
OF it should be treated ~ routine ma
. terial, not made seDsa lion OF"
! Other editors present. however
voiced vigorous objection. Edmund
W. Booth editor OF the Ora nd Ra pids
Press and proprietor Of the Booth pa
pers Of Michigan. declared: "A real
CORY murder, with lots OF blood and
! mystery in it. is a first class story for
any pa per. and it Is one that Will do
little DANA &c to the public. even in
Guiding the child readers. Much more
harm Is done in the handling of scan
dial news. such as the RhinelanC1er
case
r. c. Hopwood. editor Of the Cleve-
land Plain Dealer. pointed out that
the Rhinela nder story. the imprison-
ment of Floyd Collins in the Kentucky
cave and the race of the dog team to
Nome. Alaska. with diptheria serum
! were great stories. because Of the ele-
ment of contest in them.
= Criminals as Heroes.
j. r. Villa ms. jr., editor of the Bos-
| ton Evening Jouiildl. deIen0ed the
| publicat ton of crime news on the
| theory that crime Is q potential threa t
to every home, every individual, and
that the public had a right to know
| and had n interest in knowing IL the
| police were on the job. Grove Patter.
son of the Toledo Blade quoted mr.
; ures to show that American newsps
pers publish less detail Of crime tina n
do the so-called conservative English
papers.
Merton F. Burke former Washipe.