JOURNALISM OF TO-DAY 439
I can assure those of our friends who are filled with the fear that advertisers and the interests will control the movements, opinions, and news of the prosperous and independent press, that they need not lose any more sleep over The Globe. Advertisers and readers alike know that they will be treated with absolute fan-ness by The Globe, because that is the bed-rock basis on which this newspaper has been conducted for forty years and it is the rule which will guide it in the years to come.
In the few instances where powerful interests, whether through ownership or otherwise, have dictated policies which were against the interests of the common welfare, the newspapers thus con- trolled have lost steadily in circulation and become useless even to their dictators because of lack of influence.
DICTATION OF EDITORIAL POLICY
Another charge frequently brought against the press, some- what similar to the one just discussed, is that outside financial interests frequently dictate the editorial policy. When Bryan was nominated for President on the Democratic ticket in 1896, there was great consternation among bankers lest his election should disrupt existing monetary standards and ruin the coun- try. While there was no concerted action, independent bankers holding notes of newspapers did have several heart to heart talks with editors and proprietors and threatened to demand im- mediate payment of financial obligations if Bryan was supported. Be it said to the credit of editors who conscientiously believed in the silver standard that they told bankers " where to get off," that editorial policies were not subject to mortgage or demand notes and that they would welcome the issue if it were presented. They said that they would publish the facts in the case for their readers and were positive that they could raise enough money through popular subscription to continue publication. In other instances editors informed bankers that a suit to collect notes might cause a reduction in the size of their newspapers, but they still had funds enough to print handbills stating the reason for change in form. No such drastic action, however, was necessary, as bankers soon saw that the chief asset of a newspaper was its independence. The newspapers which did change, to a certain extent, their party affiliations did so of their own free will be-
