Evening star., 1930-12-11
HIGHER WAGES PUT
FIRST AS REMEDY
Shorter Hours Also Urged as
Trade Stimulant-VaIue
of Press Stressed.

NEW YORK, December 11.-A pro-
gram of higher wages, shorter hours
and lower prices was advocated today
by President Glenn Frank of the Uni
versity of Wisconsin as the remedy for
the present depression, which he termed
''the most serious economic crisis In
United States history"
Contrasting success in accelerating
production with failure to develop WIDER
distribution of wealth, he told the Asso-
ciation of Life Insurance Presidents
'our panicky present Is the result ol
our planleSs past"
I've have evolved machine
economy" he said. that can, If we
will but bring a far-sighted statesman
ship to its direction, emancipate the race
from drudgery, lift the standard OF
physical welibeing throughout the
world, and give mankind at last leisure
in which to cultivate values that lie
beyond economies.
Division of Profits.
"But the machine economy will never
do these things unless and until the
leadership of industry sees to 1t that
a larger share of the national income Is
shifted into the pockets of the consum-
ing millions, and until the margin OF
leisure for the millions is markedly
increased.
III we isolate any SSCJlOli VI CSOlAOhAAS
America we find that it has been man
aged admirably, but If we look for
general economic statesmanship, we
look in vain"
The value of the press and life in
surance companies in. producing an m
formed Nation was set forth to the
Convention today by Frank B. Noyes,
president of the Associated Press.
Saving that in normal times the press
e., .aks rNgf firRf
ing explaining to 'andseXhorting readers
more broadly and more admirably than
at any previous period, Mr.. Noyes pro-
ceeded:
To-day. a newspaper may be Demo-
cratic, Republican conservative or radl-
cal in its leanings, but it recognizes its
obligations to its readers, to give them,
as nearly as may be, balanced picture
of the worlds news, generally doing Its
missionary work in its editorial col
umns."
Praises Insurance Firms.
Praising the great life insurance COM
panieS of the country as second only to
the press as informative agencies, Mr..
Moves called attention to their welfare
and research work and the delivery to
policyholders of a mass of publications
contributing greatly to popular in
struction on health matters.
u MONOPOLY of the English-speaking
peoples by Frank l.. Jones, vice presi-
Gent of the Equitable Life Assurance
Society of the United States, before the
association.
The United States, with about per
cent of the earth's population, has 10
per cent of the total insurance in force
throughout the world, while English
speaking countries represent 05 per cent
of the worlds aggregate.
Life insurance in force throughout
the world at the end of 1928 amounted
to S136 900 900 900, a net increase of
$4,000 ,O0o, 900 over 1927.
Power of Press Analysed.
Mr.. Noyes said, in part:
"It seems to me-" Mr.. Noyes said,
shat this particular time is inoppor-
tune to advance very sweeping claims
on behalf of the press as to its power
to influence and secure sane public views.
Il say this for the reason that, in
times of hysteria. advice and informa-
ton are of very limited value.
For the last few years the serious
newspapers of the country have almost
without exception warned their readers
of the inevitable consequences of the
orgy of speculation in which this coun-
try and, indeed, the whole world was
indulging.
"I need not point out to you that UP
to a year ago this advice was not ac-
cepted by the general public and, in
deed, not regarded by men of large
affairs, bankers and others who should
have constituted themselves as balance
wheels to restore some sanity to the
Since the crash of last November" !"
he continued, "the newspapers of the
country have on the other hand sought
to reasSure frightened people by con-
vincing them that just as they were
oyer-optimistic without sound basis
prior to November, 1929, they were pes
sinistic without warrant since that
time.
Confident Of Future.
Neither of these efforts has met, as
you know, with conspicuous success, but
for myself anne serenely confident that
the day VIII come again, and shortly
when the people of this country will
recover their poise and cease to regard
the operation of bulls and bears of Wall
Street as the sole indications of whether
We have waxing or waning pros
perity.
Happily the insurance companies of
this country cannot be charged with
joining in the mad rush to buy stocks
at any price during the boom. think
that insurance executives were gen.
orally in agreement with the admirable
speech made at that time by Mr.. Fred
erick Ecker.
While in times of exceptional ex-
citement or public hysteria the educat-
ing influence of the press is greatly di-
minished, it is, I think, easily demon
strable that in normal times our press
of today is filling its function of in
forming, explaining to and exhorting
the readers of this continent more
broadly and more admirably than at
any previous period"
In his youth, Mr.. Noyes said, most
newspapers had political bias to such a
degree that followers of any particular
party could look only TO organs of that
party for the variety of news they
crayed, and it was a venial sin only for
that organ to minimize or distort the
news OF opposing parties.
Readers Prefer Balance.
My personal opinion he added, "is
that only negligible minority of read
ers prefer editorials that affront those
OF differing opinions and that a still
smaller number would like to see the
olo-Style controversies between editors
with all their vituperations and epithets
revived. Z"
Pew newspapers of the present day
are popularity regarded as personifying
their editors.
"Ofhand, I think of only Mr.. VIII
liam Allen White, Mr. Gene" Howe
and Mr.. William R. Hearst as typifying
In some degree the old-style editors
whose personality stood larger in the
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