The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-11-02
|CITZENS URGED TO
EXERCISE FRANCHISE
AT POLLS NEXT WEEK
Rotarians Told Sacredness of
Ballot Should Be Taught
in Nation

Citizens who fail to vote constitute
a menace to the stability and welfare
OF the country, J. p. jackson told
members Of the Bismarck Rotary club
Wednesday noon at a get-out- the
vote rally held preparatory to the
election next Tuesday.
THE stability and perpetuity of
our country depend on an informed
and intelligent electorate that is
loyal to the country and its institu-
tions," Jackson asserted. 1.-THE sacred
ness Of the ballot should be taught in
every home. school and church in
the land and he who esteems it
lightly and unworthily is a traitor
to the flag and not fit to be called an
American citizen
jackson said that in 1928 less than
80 per cent of the eligible voters
actually cast ballots and said an
alarming fact is that many well-edu-
Gated and intelligent citizens are
among those who neglect their right
OF franchise. The ancient Greeks, he
said. deprived the man who did not
vote fhis right to do so and he asked
II America should be less vigilant
than they were.
The slogan for every American, the
speaker said. should be 60 to the
polls on November 8 and vote as your
conceptions Of duty and conscience
dictate"
Discusses Newspapers
In a vocational talk on the news
paper business, l.. F. Bechtold cited
Benjamin Franklin as one of the
earliest American editors and prob
ably the greatest. Certainly" he
said; none has surpassed him il,
grasp OF the nations needs and none
has left a deeper imprint upon the
LIE of cor nation"
Bechte5d reviewed the advance in
mechanical facilities for producing
newspapers and improvements in the
systems for obtaining and distributing
news.
The greatest single advance in news
transmission, he said, was the tele-
graph which still Is used for that pur-
pose, although the old-time brass
FOUNDER" has been supplanted by a
modern machine which typewrites by
means of electrical impulses sent over
wires hundreds of miles long. Such
a machine. he said supplies the Bis
marck Tribune with its news from
points outside its immediate vicinity
Although it is essentially business
the speaker pointed out. the newspa-
per is more than that because it is an
ideal medium for exchanging infor-
nation and ideas. The standards OF
the newspaper profession have ad.
vanced he said and one no longer
hears the expression you can't be-
lieve what you read In the newspa-
pers.' Instead. he said. We have Will
Rogers remarking "All know Is what
I see in the newspapers"
The guarantee of a free press, con.
tanned in the constitution, is the char.
ter of the American newspaper ane
its most precious heritage. Bechtole
said, and because it depends upor
public respect for its own welfare, the
newspaper has learned to fight the
battle of the public interest.
Reviewing the conduct of Ameri.
can newspapers in current circum.
stances, the speaker said that every.
where, as the economic crisis became
more apparent, newspapers took the
lead in an effort to widen employ.
ment. reduce public expenditures and
"avoid or minimize the tragic conse-
quences which bore down SO heavily
upon the people" Never. he said
has the faith OF the founders of this
nation been more gloriously justified
than during the last three trying
years.
Is Good Business
This has been good business for
the newspapers. Betchtold asserted
Tor in no other profession does the
Rotary slogan of "He profits most
who serves best hold SO true. For
that reason, he said, newspaper cir
culations have held up remarkably
well IN the face of current conditions
being reduced only 2.5 per cent from
the peak Of 1929.
Outlining the standards of honest
newspaperdom, Bechtold said the
publisher must have the liability to
make decisions and the courage to
stand behind them, for no one loves
moral imbecile or coward. He
must keep in mind that he. after all.
is not important but that the people
the plain. common people who
work with us and for us-are all-im-
portant. They must have knowledge
II they are to meet the problems fac
ing them"
DR.. II. A. Brandes presided at the
meeting, held at the Grand Pacific
motel. Guests included D. c. Scot
morn. Mandan: E. r. Monson, Bis
marck; Hal Dobler, Warren, ILL.,. for
merry OF Bismarck; julius Skaug
Moorloge, S. D., and Axel Solder,
Wing.