132 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[December 1, 1912. 



dividual effort, they hardly will be able to by any con- 

 certed effort: as agreements of this cliaracter, entered 

 into by competitors in any line of work, are never likely to 

 be permanently satisfactory or efficient. 



The second contingency — the levying of prohibitive du- 

 ties on low-priced American cars is hardly likely to appeal 

 to the Government, in a country like England, that has so 

 long prided itself on its freedom of trade. 



COMPELLING THE PRESS TO SHOW ITS HAND. 



'"T'lIERE seems to be some opposition to the Federal 

 ■*■ regulations that recently became operative, requir- 

 ing publicity in regard to the ownership of newspapers 

 and other periodicals. The act went into effect last Au- 

 gust and specj|fies. that a sworn statement shall be made 

 twice a year.'filed with the Post-Office Department, and 

 also printed in the publication itself, giving the names and 

 addresses of all the officers, the name or names of the 

 owners, and — -where the publishing company is a corpora- 

 tion — a list of all stockholders holding over one per cent, 

 of the stock ; together with the names of all those who 

 hold mortgages or other liens upon the publication. 



At a convention of the Illinois Daily Newspaper As- 

 sociation, held late in November, in Chicago, the follow- 

 ing resolution was unanimously adopted : 



"Resolved, That this association views with disapproval 

 the growing tendency of the United States Government 

 toward paternalism in matters pertaining to the press, 

 and condemns the new law requiring publicity in matters 

 in no wise concerning the general public." 



But, is the association right about this matter? Is it 

 a fact that the general public is in no wise concerned with 

 the ownership and control of the daily press and other 

 publications? The daily press in particular exerts an in- 

 calculable influence in this country. Is it not eminently 

 proper that the public should know who is back of this 

 influence? The press constitutes the greatest power exist- 

 ing in this country today. Is it not wise and salutary that 

 the public should know who is exercising this power? 

 If a man owns an automobile he is compelled to register 

 that ownership and mark the car in such a way that this 

 ownership can be easily identified. That is because the 

 automobile, while a very useful device, is recognized as 

 possessing a certain capacity for doing harm. Should 

 the press, which possesses a power for doing evil (it is 

 conceded, of course, that this great power is usually ex- 

 ercised for good) which is immeasurably greater, be al- 

 lowed to hide under the cloak of anonymity ? 



There should be no diminution of the power of the 

 press. Its freedom of expression is one of the safeguards 



of a republic ; but freedom of expression should not mean 

 freedom from responsibility. Those who control the press 

 and direct its activities should stand in the open. The 

 Illinois Association is wrong when it says that these mat- 

 ters in no wise concern the general public. There is 

 nothing that concerns the general public more. 



RESTRICTING GENERAL EXPOSITIONS. 



AT the Exposition Congress recently held in Berlin, 

 an international agreement was signed restricting 

 in future general expositions — usually referred to as 

 "World's Fairs" — to intervals of three years, and estab- 

 lishing an interval of ten years between two general 

 expositions in the same country. 



These regulations seem sane and reasonable, for too 

 great frequency in the holding of world's fairs must, al- 

 most inevitably, mean improper preparation for these 

 events, with disappointing results ; and even where the re- 

 sults are not disappointing, too many expositions are 

 likely to pall upon public appreciation. The great world's 

 fair to be held in San Francisco in celebration of the 

 opening of the Panama Canal has substantial warrant. 

 In the first place, more than ten years will have elapsed 

 since the fair at St. Louis, and in addition to that fact this 

 will be the first great international exposition ever held 

 in the western half of the United States, and the occasion 

 which it will celebrate is one of the epochal events in the 

 world's history. 



The strictures that properly are brought against fre- 

 quent general expositions do not apply to trade exposi- 

 tions, where in some industries it is found, not only inter- 

 esting, but highly profitable to have an exhibition every 

 year ; in fact, to hold several of them each season in dif- 

 ferent parts of the country, as in the automobile trade. 

 In England it has been found conducive to the welfare 

 of the trade to have rubber expositions once in three 

 years. It is quite possible that such a plan would prove 

 beneficial to the trade in this country also. In any event, 

 not a few of the exhibitors who took part in tlic recent 

 New York show expressed a desire to try it over again. 



It is .\n .\nxiext s.wixg in the rubber footwear trade 

 that "one early snow-storm is worth two late ones" ; and 

 experience has shown this to be quite true. When snow 

 appears in noticeable volume in November, people say 

 "We are in for a hard winter," and they start for the 

 shoe store to get rubber boots and arctics. When snow 

 holds off until February, these same people remark 

 "Winter is about over, we will make our old rubbers do." 

 Therefore the rubber footwear men were particularly 

 fervent this year on Thanksgiving Day — with much of 

 the country under a foot of snow. 



