daily correspondence of two London papers.” And “ it is still, too, in letters to the editor of The Times that one finds the most
important questions discussed by leading men of affairs for which the correspondence columns of no other paper have an equal attraction .” 33
If at one time“ the old rule was to see that the Whig dogs got the worst of it , in letters as well as editorials,” the principle to
day is to consider that these columns “ furnish a kind of forum in which men of diverse views can meet and produce their argu ments.” The press itself often invites letters from prominent men when questions of great moment are brought before the public
and it thus is able to record public opinion that in turn may be interpreted through the editorial columns. Even the so -called “ correspondence dodge” has had its uses, and special papers , like the London Daily Telegraph, have been very successful in
finding a subject that appeals to large numbers of persons, as, “ What shall we do with our boys? ” and opening its columns to those who wish to discuss it. These letters to the editor have
not only proved a happy expedient for arousing interest during the proverbial “ silly season ” of the newspaper, but they become an important record of current opinion as well as of the person ality of the newspaper . The newspaper is fast disappearing that prints only the letters that are agreeable to the editor or that reflect his personal views, since the press realizes that it “ would be striking at its own life if it were to seek to discourage or repress the fullest expression of
opinion ;" by adopting this policy the press has become in a sense undreamed of in its early days a genuine organ of public opinion .34 These letters to the editor have become a regular feature of the American and the English press and hence are one element in
their personality that differentiates the press of these countries from that of France and other Continental countries. 83 London correspondent of the New York Evening Post, January 28, 1911. 34 One of the most marked changes noted in the method of dealing with
these letters has been the change that has taken place in the captions under which
they are printed .
Unfailing good humor now
characterize them ,
even when the letters are most virulent in their attacks on the paper where they are printed . A particularly vitriolic attack on the New York Evening Post was printed by it under the caption “ He Doesn 't Like The Post." Countless illustrations of this change have been n
