(1) The people of Russia have no voice in the government of their
country.
(2) There is no freedom of pen or speech.
(3) Labor is conscripted.
(4) People accused of offenses against the Soviet laws, which are not
stable but are altered from day to day, are thrown into prison without
trial.
(5) There are no juries.
(6) Trade unions have been abolished.
(7) The right to strike is denied.
(8) There is military conscription.
And, having done so, to say whether or not they desire to bring about
the same conditions in their countries. I don’t think they will. I think
they will agree with me that such a government is impossible. Those
foreigners who have lived in Russia under the Soviet rule are unanimous
in denouncing it as the worst government the world has ever seen.
_Wells Knows Nothing About It_
Mr. Wells, after two weeks’ stay in the country, tells us that the
Soviet power is the only possible form of government for Russia at the
present time. He conveys the impression that inasmuch as he has decided
that “there is now no alternative to that Government possible,” that
that settles the matter and we must do as Mr. Wells advises us. Mr.
Wells ridicules Marx and yet, almost in the same breath, tells us that
the Bolshevist Government, which is a Communistic government, is the
only possible government for Russia.
It would seem to me that we are entitled to judge the value of Mr.
Wells’s advice on these two statements alone and that it is not
necessary to delve further into his impertinent literary gymnastics
except to say that Mr. Wells, despite his boast that he was not
hoodwinked during his stay in Russia, if judged by what he has written,
was fooled up to the hilt.
Mr. Wells states: “Much that the Red Terror did was cruel and frightful;
it was largely controlled by narrow-minded men, and many of its
officials were inspired by social hatred and the fear of counter
revolution, but if it was fanatical, it was honest. Apart from
individual atrocities it did, on the whole, kill for a reason and to an
end.”
Again, I suppose, we must attribute this statement to Mr. Wells’s
ignorance. There has never been in the history of the world a more
corrupt and dishonest organization than the Extraordinary Commission.
There is no greater scoundrel than a Dzherjinsky, the President of it.
But, ignorant and bumptious as you are, Mr. Wells, who are you to tell
the world that the Extraordinary Commission is honest? What do you know
about it? What have you seen of its methods? I venture to say that you
have seen nothing and that you are writing, as you frequently do, of
things you know nothing about.
You live in a free country, free from all persecution, enjoying every
human comfort, under an established Government; and you go to Russia,
spend two weeks there with your bleating, mouthing perversion of
humanity, Maxim Gorky, and come back and tell your countrymen that they
must support a set of blackguards.
A final word with you, Mr. Wells—leave Russia alone. You have done a lot
of harm and you have earned the just resentment of every true friend of
Russia. If you must dabble with poison, write another “Ann Veronica.”
The Russian problem is one which will be solved by men, not by literary
acrobats.
In conclusion, I would like to remind the great American people that
they fought in the great war to make the world safe for democracy. You
helped to destroy German militarism, but remember that German militarism
was nothing as compared with that of Soviet power. Having set out to rid
the world of militarism and make it safe for democracy, have you any
right to leave the task undone? Is there not a moral obligation resting
upon you to crush the militant minority which is exploiting and
terrifying 99 per cent. of the Russian people?
[Illustration]
The World
NEW YORK
ITS ACCOMPLISHMENTS—ITS AIMS AND ITS CLAIMS
THE WORLD as established by
JOSEPH PULITZER, May 10, 1883:
“An institution that should always fight for progress and reform,
never tolerate injustice or corruption, always fight demagogues of all
parties, never belong to any party, always oppose privileged classes
and public plunderers, never lack sympathy with the poor, always
remain devoted to the public welfare, never be satisfied with merely
printing news, always be drastically independent, never be afraid to
attack wrong, whether by predatory plutocracy or predatory poverty.”
More than thirty-seven years have passed since that utterance was made.
During all that time The World has tried mightily to realize the supreme
ideal thus set for it and to that end it is striving with all its power
now.
So it is not unbecoming to point out the degree of success which The
World has attained. There can be no boasting in measuring the altitude
this newspaper has reached in its ever soaring flight; no braggadocio in
reiterating its aims, in setting forth its claims.
For the millions of persons who read The World agree that it does big
things in a big way. Else they would not read it. Nor would they crowd
its columns with advertisements, themselves most interesting and
important reading.
Even to enumerate the big things The World has done in the last twelve
months, to rehearse the public services it has rendered, would take too
long here. But consider for a moment the last of these. The World’s
determination to improve the housing conditions of this city resulted in
its discovery and exposure of unprecedented building graft. The inquiry
by the Joint Legislative Committee on Housing, compelled by The World,
has resulted in further amazing revelations. No prophet is needed to
foretell that infinite good may come of it.
Really, it seems not impossible, if the Legislature will do its share,
that a New Yorker of moderate means will be able to house his family
decently and have enough money left to buy food and clothing.
_THE EDITORIAL PAGE_
The newspaper that would obey the precepts laid down by The World’s
founder has need of an editorial page, sound, strong and independent.
That The World’s attitude on public questions is guided by these
instructions of Joseph Pulitzer is generally agreed by the reading
public. Its editorial policy is one of intelligent liberalism. It would
seek for the evils of democracy a cure in more democracy. It would
welcome the widest opportunity for change and experiment in fitting
popular government to new conditions, while setting its face like a
flint against revolution by force and the subversive doctrines of
anarchy. It finds in freedom an assurance of safety alike from reaction
and Bourbonism and from half-baked soap-box theories of “direct action.”
Yet any man or woman who has something really worth while to say and who
can say it briefly and with propriety may find a hearing in The World’s
Editorial Forum.
A cartoon is an editorial—when it is one. The daily cartoons of Rollin
Kirby upon The World’s editorial page are almost as often reproduced in
Europe as in the United States as the finest examples extant of American
public opinion portrayed at a glance in pictorial form. They thus
combine present-day political effect with permanent historic value.
_POLITICAL WRITERS_
The World is particularly fortunate in its political writers. In that
direction, the greatest achievement of the year was Louis Seibold’s
interview with the President of the United States. By the courtesy of
The World the interview was published in newspapers all over the
country. It and the writer were lauded by magazines, reviews and papers
devoted to journalism.
Equally remarkable was the expose, by the same political authority, of
the underwriting of Gen. Leonard Wood’s campaign for the Presidential
nomination.
Charles Michelson heads the admirable staff of the Washington Bureau of
The World. It goes without saying that the White House and all the
departments are visited daily. Mr. Michelson never needs to deny or
amend his accurate despatches.
In Albany, Charles S. Hand reports the open sessions and the “inside”
doings of the Legislature with equal impartiality and fearlessness.
Women in politics, who since the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment
have taken their place in the Parties side by side with the men, serving
as associate leaders in District, County or State organizations, are
closely and accurately followed in their newly authorized activities.
_THE UNITED STATES—By Wire_
The New York World’s telegraphic news service in the United States
extends north and south from Duluth, Minn., to Brownsville, Tex., and
east and west from Eastport, Me., to San Francisco. Any point in the
country can be reached, no matter how small, through arrangement with a
correspondent in the nearest large town. Every city in the United
States, large and small, either has a World representative or has one
within telephone call.
The news queries to The New York World cover every section and every
variety of news, and are on the wires either by telegraph or telephone
at every emergency.
_FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE
and General European News_
Good Americans native born and good Americans of foreign lineage have an
interest equally deep in foreign news. This good American newspaper has
built up a superb organization to gather news from the most
authoritative sources all over the globe and to despatch it by cable,
wireless—by courier, when necessary.
The high standing and reputation of The World’s correspondents abroad
give them easy access to heads of Governments, prelates, diplomats,
scientists, captains of industry and leaders of labor.
James M. Tuohy, the London representative of The World, is the dean of
London correspondents. His knowledge of European affairs is admirable.
Joseph Pulitzer appointed him as head of the European clearing house for
news for The World and Mr. Tuohy has appointed correspondents for The
World in all the capitals of Europe, being personally acquainted with
each man and woman he selected. No one knows more than Tuohy about
politics in Ireland and British rule in Ireland, subjects in which tens
of thousands of The World’s readers are engrossed.
Every reader of The World is familiar with the names of its staff
correspondents abroad, for they, being certain of the facts they state
are only too glad to accept public responsibility for them. Lincoln
Eyre, in Paris; Arno Dosch-Fleurot, who has a roving commission at the
moment; Cyril Brown, in Berlin; Miss Beatrice Baskerville, in Rome, have
become the friends, even the guides, of the thoughtful who support this
newspaper—whenever and wherever the interest of mankind is focused,
there and then a staff correspondent of The World is present; at the
front headquarters of battling armies, at all important conferences of
diplomats, at discussions of bankers, at congresses of labor—in Moscow,
Constantinople, Vienna, Spa, Versailles and Geneva—anywhere. And the
lines of immediate communication stretch from London to the remotest
corners of the earth.
_THE CITY NEWS GATHERING DEPARTMENT_
The editorial and reportorial staffs of The World are composed of highly
trained, intelligent, quick-witted men, peculiarly gifted as writers.
They have broad human sympathies, which make them swift to see news and
stories of interest to humanity. These writers and news collectors have
been drawn from all parts of the country and from many countries. Each
one of them has some specialty, some unique gift of understanding, so
that when a story “breaks” the City Editor can select from his staff the
one man peculiarly fitted by nature to understand, unravel and write it.
As matters of great moment in business, finance and commerce, and court
trials, sporting stories, crime and detective stories, social affairs,
political intrigues, adventures, accidents, sea and shipping yarns, war
stories, hunting escapades, stories of nature, music, art and the
theatre are constantly “breaking,” it is necessary to have on the staff
of a great metropolitan journal men who can instantly “jump out” on the
story and grasp it, gather its many strands and come back in a few
minutes, or few hours, ready to write not only an entertaining but a
truthful and accurate story.
Through long experience—many of the men have been on the paper almost
from boyhood and others were trained in the best editorial rooms in the
country—these men have acquired professional skill, great reverence for
their work and a decent regard for the rights of the reading public. The
World, because of its complete local staff organization, has knowledge
of practically every news event in New York and prints everything that
is of interest to the public.
_FINANCIAL_
Forecasts made in the columns of The World as to the operation of
underlying of economic factors in finance have proved so accurate during
the upheaval attending the Great War, as to give the Wall Street
Department, conducted by Samuel S. Fontaine, an enviable reputation both
at home and abroad. Some of these predictions have been as startling in
the fulfilment as in their conception. Here is one notable illustration:
In the fall of 1914, when British bankers demanding almost hysterically
that the United States ship unlimited quantities in liquidation of
current liabilities and sterling was quoted at $7 a pound, the financial
editor predicted that, before the end of the Great War this country
would not only have purchased all United States securities held abroad,
but that the debit balance of England in this country would grow to such
startling proportions that the pound sterling would be driven below $4
in New York. English economists were aghast at such financial
iconoclasm. They dismissed it as a bit of Yankee ignorance and
insolence. Every high school boy knows how abundantly this prediction
has been fulfilled.
When the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at the suggestion of the
Federal Reserve Bank, first began its campaign to force deflation by
means of high interest rates imposed on borrowers on stock collateral,
the Financial Editor of The World called the attention of the Washington
authorities of the fact that the necessity for liquidation was not
confined to stocks, but that it extended to all quarters of the country
and that the profiteering that was causing most discomfort to the people
was centred very largely in the South, where the banks had loaned
enormous sums on cotton at fictitious prices, and in the West, where
unwarranted credit was being extended grain and food orders.
The truth of this was immediately conceded by the national banking
authorities. Rediscount rates were made uniform at all regional
institutions, and the great price readjustment movement, which has led
to a universal decline in the cost of living resulted.
The World through its financial columns began nearly a year ago to call
public attention to the usurious rates charged by some of the
profiteering banks of Wall Street, which, it declared, amounted to the
proportions of a public scandal. These charges were taken up by
Comptroller of the Currency Williams, and confirmed in every particular.
In denouncing these factors the Comptroller took occasion, in an
interview given the Washington Correspondent, to pay a high tribute to
the Financial Editor of The World;
Mr. Fontaine has not only rendered a public service but he has shown all
along a remarkable grasp of the situation.
Some notable articles pointing out the necessity for economy at the
hearthstone, if the country is to return to the thrift of pre-war days,
have appeared in The World’s financial columns and have been widely
copied by the press of this country. They have met not only with
widespread approval, but they have been real factors in promoting a
wholesome spirit of economy of the land.
_THE DRAMA_
No other city in the world contains so many theatres as New York, or is
the centre of so great activity in every branch of the stage’s art. The
entertaining articles on plays and acting by Louis V. De Foe, for more
than twenty years The World’s dramatic critic, are everywhere recognized
as a dependable guide to the theatregoer—this, because of his
fearlessness and fairness and the authority of his opinions and
impressions gained from more than a quarter of a century of constant
observation and study of the most popular and generously patronized of
all the arts.
_ART_
Art affairs are covered by reviews of important exhibitions in the
museums and galleries, news mention of other exhibitions, reports of
sales of major interest and summaries of art activities in other cities
where museums are maintained.
Special attention has been given for years to projects for the physical
beauty of cities and to the movement for industrial art education
whereby American craftsmanship may win and hold distinctive place in the
world’s esteem. This movement, to which the leading museums and many
manufacturers have committed themselves, looks beyond the art courses in
the public schools to the establishment of schools of design, aided if
not wholly supported by public funds, in which the talented young may be
assured training as thorough as is given in any of the schools of Europe
of that type, to the end that an industrial art worthily American may
become a real national asset.
_MUSIC_
The World’s music department is in charge of one of America’s most
competent critics, James Gibbons Huneker. His daily observations on
operatic and concert doings are eagerly looked for, not only because of
their immediate analytical value but also because of their informing
spirit. The critic’s comprehensive knowledge and wide experience enable
him to discuss music in its relation to all its sister arts.
Mr. Huneker’s opinions are authoritative because he is primarily a
musician. From the time he first stirred his readers as a raconteur, his
enthusiastic followers have kept step with him on his progress through
the whole seven arts.
His last book “Steeple Jack” has attracted attention.
_BOOKS AND LITERATURE_
“_What You Want to Know About Books You Want to Know About_”
Once a week, in The World, a page under the editorship of E. W. Osborn
is devoted to “Views and the News in the World of Books.” Here the
latest offerings of the publishers, in books of history, of essays, of
poetry, of general facts and of fiction, are treated in the simplest
fashion as matters of the current news. The department has no interests
to serve save those of its readers, to whom it aims to furnish exact
information, with a measure of entertainment as generous as the books
may afford and the editorial intent may achieve. The Book Page under its
present policy has been a feature of The World practically for the last
twenty years. Within that period it is believed to have established
something of credit for timeliness and for fairness of judgment. While
recognizing the diverse tastes and desires of a great body of readers—as
a newspaper book department must do—this page has no helping word for a
volume deemed in any way unworthy of any reader’s attention.
Robert C. Benchley’s column, “Books and Other Things” is concerned more
with books than with other things. But he writes so entertainingly about
a book that, if you do not read the book, you surely will read Benchley
again.
_SOCIETY_
The World publishes the latest news about the women and men who are
prominent in New York and in all social centres. It tells not only of
the entertainments the fashionable and wealthy give for their own
amusement, but of those they hold to aid the charities they maintain.
Weddings, the first appearance of debutantes, theatre parties, all the
diversions of those who are worthy of mention, are described precisely
and picturesquely in the columns of this newspaper. So are receptions to
official personages—in a word, all the functions where culture and good
taste are displayed.
_WOMEN IN NATIONAL REFORMS_
The World, since the inception of the woman’s movement, has chronicled
the advance of women in organization from the small individual club
working for development along conventional lines to the great federated
bodies who throw the influence of educated and enlightened womanhood on
the side of national reforms. The germ of practically all philanthropic
endeavor has either sprung from or been promoted by organized women, and
the columns of The World bear ample testimony to the detailed care with
which these ambitions have been aided by publicity.
_AVIATION_
As a forward-looking newspaper The World was prompt to see the
possibilities of aviation. The earliest experiments of the Wright
brothers at Killdevil Hill were reported by a staff correspondent, and
The World’s interest in the science of flying has been unflaggingly
demonstrated ever since. Glenn Curtiss’s historic flight from Albany to
New York, the longest accomplished up to that time, was stimulated and
rewarded by $10,000, the gift of The World.
When the war broke out in 1914 The World was promoting in all possible
ways the cause of civilian aviation, notably by lending its columns and
aid generously to the projected transatlantic flight for which Mr.
Curtiss was building a machine. Since the armistice it has continued to
display its faith in the future of flying. The Pulitzer Trophy, one of
the handsomest ever designed for a flying event, attracted to Mitchel
Field, Mineola, this year an unprecedentedly large field of fast
aviators. As a consequence of this meet American interest in the speed
possibilities of the airplane will undoubtedly be greatly enhanced.
_THE BUREAU OF ACCURACY AND FAIR PLAY_
A Bureau of Accuracy and Fair Play has been maintained by The World
since July 7, 1913. Its objects, as stated by Ralph Pulitzer in the
order creating it, are:
“To promote accuracy and fair play, to correct carelessness and to
stamp out fakes and fakers.”
In establishing the Bureau and sending official notice of the
organization to its correspondents, inviting their co-operation, The
World not only insured better and more conscientious service in its own
columns, but it spread the gospel of accuracy and fair play in
journalism throughout the newspaper world. Every notice sent out by the
Bureau to correspondents was prefaced by the following declaration:
“The World aims to be accurate. It aims to be fair and just to every
person who reads it and to every person whose name it prints.
“Accuracy and fair play are inseparable in journalism. Inaccuracy
often means injury to innocent persons. A newspaper’s influence is
measured by the number of people who read it AND BELIEVE IN IT.
“The words ‘accuracy and fair play’ sum up the law of libel. If what
is published is true and fair the writer need not worry about the
libel law, civil or criminal.”
On the reverse side of the notice sent to correspondents, in order that
all might be impressed with the very decided views on accuracy and
fairness entertained by Ralph Pulitzer, and by his father before him,
were printed extracts from their public utterances on the subject.
All complaints involving the question of accuracy or fair play received
in any department of The World are turned over to the bureau. These
complaints include libel actions, letters from attorneys and others, and
complaints made in person at The World office. The bureau makes careful
inquiry and determines whether or not these complaints are well founded,
and, if they are, who is responsible for the matter complained of.
Having determined that a complaint is well founded, the necessary
correction is prepared and turned over for publication to the managing
editor of whichever edition of The World published the particular matter
complained of.
A card-index record is kept showing who are responsible for inaccuracies
and unfair publications, and this record indicates who are habitually
inaccurate or unfair. Deliberate faking, which, happily, is extremely
rare, is invariably punishable by dismissal. Carelessness or unfairness
may be punished by reprimand, suspension or dismissal. Chronic
carelessness results in dismissal.
* * * * *
Such is The New York World. Such is its manner of obeying the precepts
of its founder—of doing its duty to itself—and of fulfilling its
obligation to the multitude of readers who maintain it so generously,
and who have raised it to the supremacy it enjoys.
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