Newspaper Page Text
T HE M A ROON TIGER
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what will his attitude be after his eyes have been
opened and he knows and understands us? Will he crush
us or will he send forth a protecting and supporting
hand? Will he smite us or feed us? What is the an
swer?
It seems that the answer comes in the love and respect
of personality. I think that the white man’s attitude
toward the Negro after he has received this understand
ing of his black brother, will be determined in the main
by the sense of respect and love for personality which
the Negro has been able in some way to inject into the
white man while giving him an understanding of himself.
However, I don't feel that charity is the fullest expres
sion or truest indication of love. Charity may mean
self interest or personal gain and may exclude love al
together. And when I use the term love I do not mean
pity; for pity is only disguised contempt. Then the ques
tion comes, is it possible that the white man can love
the Negro? It is, I believe. But I do not think he
can arrive at this love through an understanding of the
Negro alone. For I fear that intellectual scrutiny alone
would give the white man such a pessimism as would
make him declare in no uncertain terms the Negro a
damned and unredeemable failure.
I repeat that I believe that it is possible for the white
man to love the Negro after he understands him. And
the respect of the personality and a love of his person
age will come as a result of the growth of faith in the
white man in the possibilities of the Negro. If the Negro
can so impress his neighbor that his neighbor develops
a faith in him and his future, then his personality will
become sacred. His neighbor will love him then and will
not slay him for fear he be guilty of killing a genera
tion and depriving the future of a worthy soul. But
he will beckon the struggling spirit on to higher heights
and a more noble destiny.
SOME TRICKS OF THE PRESS
A. Russell Brooks
| EWSPAPERS have a two-fold influence in the
OK\OJ American public—thev are a menace, they are a
CeStPSli good. The great newspapers of the country thrive
on advertisements. Therefore most of them cater
to the moneyed interests whence come their advertise
ments. The moneyed interests thus hold the instrument
of moulding the public to their ends by dictating to the
newspaper what to print. Last summer the Federal Trade
Commission made an investigation into the public util
ities. The public utilities all over the country had been
working together to propagate the idea that private own
ership of public utilities was better than state ownership
—that state ownership was bolshevistic. They were ac
cused of financing teachers and professors to teach this
idea in the schools and to write text books favorable to
it. Thev placed advertisements in newspapers, explain
ing to the editors that to oppose this principle would
entail the loss of public utility advertisements. They
had editorials run in the papers under the guise of dis
interested journalists who were convinced of the infalli
bility of private operation. The public got the bad break.
They didn’t know that they were being influence surrep
titiously.
In June one of America’s most reputable papers ran
a series of articles recounting increditable tales of a
prominent minister, who for the sake of stealing a peep
into the inside life of a great city (and for publicity),
disguised himself as a taxi driver, and rode about the
city witnessing unutterable scenes of misery, drunken
ness, wantonness, gaiety and love. It is generally be
lieved that he made the trips, however, few believe the
tales. Fewer believe that he did more than sign his
name to the articles, any man knows that he received,
besides the desired publicity, many rebukes. Thousands
know that he shamelessly presented alleged exhibitions
of vulgarity on the part of colored women and men, who
he said, used such phrases as “white trash,” “passing
for white,” and “jig chaser.”
It is superfluous to mention the good that is done by
newspapers. Their good, by far, outweighs the bad.
Not only is the newspaper a compendium of affairs, but
a champion of ideals. Outstanding in the latter phase
of journalism is the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Until out
raged public opinion forced a change, the Post-Dispatch
was almost alone in supporting the demands of the late
Senator LaFollette for investigation into the naval oil
leases. It headed a campaign for the release of war-time
prisoners still in the Federal Penitentiary. It championed
a bond issue for $85,000,000 for municipal improvements
of St. Louis which culminated in a new era of develop
ment. All of this is nothing but the same story of other
newspapers told in different words. The average news
paper is indispensable in the work of apprehending
criminals.
How do we get our news? Besides the straight re
porters, and star reporters, there are men on the staffs
of some papers who are political authorities. Everyone
knows of such men as David Lawrence, Mark Sullivan
and Frank R. Kent of the United States Daily, Herald
Tribune, and Baltimore Sun, respectively. They write
interpretive articles on current events, taking their ma
terial from the actual current events as written by the
regular reporter. Their grasp of intricate political situ
ations is amazing, and their predictions almost invaria
bly well founded. Walter Lippman, to the writer’s mind,
is better than any of them. He probably writes the best
editorials in the world. In fact (to take advantage here
of the opportunity for a pun), he writes editorially for
the IForld—New York World.
Newspapers furnish other amusements in addition to
the comic strips and humorous articles. This kind of
amusements is usually at some one’s expense. For in
stance, movie stars like a little publicity when no one
has been raving over them in a long time. Bebe Daniels
flew from Hollywood to New Brunswick, New Jersey
At every stop the daily papers wrote her up big. After
she had left the taxicab which took her from New Bruns
wick to Manhattan, a purse containg $168 was found
and returned to her. Whether or not the screen idol
left the purse deliberately, the publicity was worth many
times $168.
IS THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION IN HAITI
JUSTIFIABLE?
John W. Leathers, ’30
N JULY, 1915, American Marines were landed
on the island of Haiti. For several years con
ditions had been growing steadily worse. Riots
and rebellions were constantly occurring. The
Government was heavily indebted to French, German
and British bondholders. On two occasions foreign