peculiar nature of the appeal. We all know this,—although we don't so often admit it,—that on all public questions the thinking is done by a minority. The majority, the average hand-working men and women. are too much concerned with their own private affairs to carefully analyze any complicated political problem. Because of this it is the peculiar responsibility of the newspaper to interpret, and enlighten, and lead.
APPEAL OF THE K. K. K.
Now, any well-informed person could have seen, just as the Klan promoters saw, that the time was ripe for the establishment of such an organization. In fact, in the first place, Americans am notorious "joiners." In the second place, there was widespread discontent, unrest and dissatisfaction—dissatisfaction with law enforcement, dissatisfaction with politicians, dissatisfaction with high taxes, dissatisfaction with the status quo in general. It was therefore certain that the average person, without the time or the disposition to analyze carefully, or see far ahead, or visualize the inevitable consequences, would be tremendously intrigued by the Klan proposal: "Join a one hundred per cent American organization; clean up your town; get out the grafters; put in some public officials you can depend upon." Sure! And then the mystery, the secrecy, the sense of power, the horrorific oaths! Why, the thing had all the appeal of a ten, twenty, thirty thriller. The wonder is not that there are perhaps twenty thousand klans men in the state, but, considering the attitude of the newspapers, that there are not twice that number.
And so with the compulsory school bill. "Don't you believe in the American public school system; don't you believe in inculcating in all young Americans the same American standards and ideals; aren't you opposed to injecting religion into education: aren't you opposed to manufacturing loafers and snobs in private schools?" Sure! The wonder is not that the school bill passed in Oregon by 10,000 majority, the wonder is that with the half-hearted campaign carried on against it by the press of the state as a whole, the majority was not 50,000.
In both of these instances because of the revolutionary character of the political and educational changes proposed, the people were entitled to all the facts, to a clear and conscientious interpretation of those facts, and the newspaper editors had an inescapable obligation, it seems to me, not only to give them this but to assume the responsibility of leadership in the direction which they, as students of political and social problems, believed to be best for the people and for the slate of Oregon.
But with the school issue, as with the Klan issue, outside of a pitiful minority the newspapers of the state as a whole expressed no opinions at all.
"FEARLESS BUT NOT FOOLISH"
Of course the first explanation one hears for this strange phenomenon is that the newspapers were scared to death; that, in our popular physiological idiom, they "didn't have the guts." That explanation, of course, is comforting to the valiant minority, but, as I see it, it is not the correct one.
It is not that the newspaper editors of Oregon are cowards, that we are not willing to meet any issue which we believe it is our duty to meet, but it is rather the fact that we as a whole have become convinced that no newspaper is under obligation to support any cause if such action clearly involves an injury to business.
Safety first. That, it seems to me, was the watchword of the Oregon press as a whole in the last campaign. Be fearless, of course. All editors must be fearless. But don't be foolish. If you conduct a Republican newspaper, bang the Democrats; if a
(Continued on page 56)
[ 12 ]
