LAND AND WATER. 
February 24, 1916. 
tlie German brewers while the latter in their clubs and 
elsewhere dealt with the merchants and bankers. Their 
publirations included a German daily, a (ierman weekly, 
u purported American weekly, and an " Irish " weekly. 
An Amusing Incident. 
An amusing incident occurred in connection with 
the last-named. The President of a bank, with many 
Irish depositors, a loj-al Canadian with numerous rela- 
tiv-es at the front, was asked to advertise, without charge, 
in the first number of the Irish Times, which was repre- 
sented to be a denominational organ dealing with local 
affairs. He rather thoughtlessly consented. To his 
horror when the first mmiber appeared (from the press 
of the local German daily), it was devoted exclusively to 
the most violent abuse of the Allies and panegyrics on 
ticrman Kultur, while he himself was depicted as a warm 
supporter of the venture. 
It is plain, however, that only a very small section 
of the American public could be reached by such publica- 
tions as these. The real business was to control the 
sentiments of the established American daily papers 
wherever that could be done. Such papers were too 
expensive to buy outright nor could their owners or 
editors be bribed directly, except in a few cases. They 
could, however, be reached in another and a very simple 
v/ay. A representative of the influential Germans of the 
town waited upon the newspaper owner and said in effect, 
" Discover an immediate sympathy for the German 
cause or we will take our advertising out of your paper." 
And as there was no one to perform a like office for the 
AUies, it immediately became plain to the newspaper 
owner that he had everything to gain and nothing to lose 
by complying with their request. 
Successful and well-established papers could not, of 
course, be reached in this way or, in fact, in any way 
Several Eastern papers with which the \vriter is familiar 
were offered ten thousand dollars if they would print six 
" inspired " editorials, and all refused. But many 
struggling papers and papers with venal editors succumbed 
and commenced to " root," as the baseballers say, for the 
Germans. Thus in one Western city of nearly 600,000 
inhabitants, at least eighty per cent, of which arc pro- 
Ally in sympathy, all six of the daily papers arj pro- 
German. In one case a sum of over fourteen thousand 
dollars was subscribed by the German brewers to the 
campaign fund of a candidate of the paper in question, 
part of the consideration being that the paper should 
))rint a series of articles by or rather furnished by the 
("lorman authorities to the notorious " Jimmy " Archi- 
bald. 
Advertising as a Bludgeon. 
In this way, that is to say by using their advertising 
as a bludgeon in some cases, by the direct payment of 
money or the promise of political support in others, the 
Germans in America have been able to command a 
ridiculously large volume of newspaper support for their 
cause. It has had little effect on the opinions of the mass 
of the people, however, for the reason that most people 
road the daily papers for news only and the news, dealing 
largely as it has done with the exploits of Papen, Boy-Ed 
and tiieir subordinate bombsters and arsoneers, passport 
forgers, purvej'ors of fraudulent manifests and affidavits, 
suborners of congressmen and bank officials, etc., to say 
nothing, of such trifles as the Lusitania and Persia 
massacres, has had anything but the desired effect. 
Besides which the weekly papers which are widely 
and thoroughly read, like Life, Harper's Weekly, Collier's 
Weekly, The Saturday Evening Post, The Outlook and the 
New Republic, have never wearied of the task of showing 
the Germans up in their true light. 
More subtle and therefore somewhat more have 
been the efforts of Mr. Hearst. When the Germans 
" secured " his support, the Kolnischc Zeitung en- 
thusiastically observed that it was worth three army 
corps. Hearst owns directly about a score of papers, all 
of the " yellow " variety, including one printed in (ierman. 
It was in this paper that a cut appeared entitled " This 
is how the German soldiers make the British run," or 
words to that effect, the same cut having previously 
been printed in one of his other organs under the in- 
scription "British Infantry pursuing a retreating German 
Column." 
These papers being known as Hearst papers cannot 
do much lirfrm except among the poor foreign element in 
New York and Chicago, where they are most widely circu- 
lated. But in addition to these Hearst .controls the 
policies of many papers with which to all outward appear- 
ances he has nothing to do. In some cases as, for example, 
that of the Washiii'^ton Post, he simply threatened to 
start a rival paper m the City if he were not allowed to 
control the policy of the incumbent journal. In other 
cases struggling papers who bought his news service 
have got into his debt and have to do his bidding or be 
put out of business. These papers controlled by Hearst 
arc much more violently pro-German as a rule than the 
papers he owns outright. 
Hearst's News Service. 
Hcarsfs International News Service is really his most 
insidious weapon, for not onlj- does it serve many hundreds 
of papers, many of them journals of the highest standing 
that cannot get the Associated Press franchise, which is 
limited to one paper in most large towns, but it ser\'es out 
pro-German campaign material in the guise of news. 
For example, the average daily paper getting this serv^icc 
would not have time to stop and wonder why it received 
thirteen pages of telegraphic matter on the Baralong 
incident, an amount out of all proportion to its news 
value. The editor would not sec it and the telegraphic 
editor would pass it as news. They would not realise 
that it was really German campaign material. In the 
same way a statement purported to have been made by 
Miss Boardman, head of the American Red Cross, that 
Britain had held up Red Cross supplies destined for 
Germany, and referring to it as the " most inhumane 
act of the war," was given tremendous emphasis. But 
the denial of the fact by the British Ambassador and of 
both the fact and the alleged statement by Miss Board- 
man herself were never sent out. 
These few incidents must suffice to give English 
readers an idea of what Germany has done to control the 
American Press and influence the American people 
through it. The results have been trifling as far as 
Americans are concerned, but have, of .^course, conveyed 
the impression abroad that innumerable American papers 
are pro-German because they reflect public sentiment, 
whereas they are simply hired or coerced into a vain 
endeavour to control it. The real fact is that newspapers 
or no newspapers, ninety per cent, of the American people 
are and will remain, whatever the British Government 
may do or fail to do, whole -hearted supporters of the 
Allies' cause. 
TO FRANCE. 
Go forward soul of France that when aroused 
Art pulsed with chivalry's intensest thrills ; 
In perils greatest need the greatness housed 
Within thee to its passion's fulness fills : . 
Foe of humanity's relentless foe, 
Blood thirsting power with its unholy chains. 
Oh champion of the weak, that dost not know 
The weakling's mood which palters and refrains- 
Go forward : to subdue that power malign — 
Its fury fails before the native steel 
Of that great attitude, that temper fine, 
Its stern endurance and its lofty zeal — 
(}o forward soul ! The Sacrificial might 
Of offered Self ensures triumphant Right. 
F. W. Ragg. 
The .^nglo-Ru-sian Hospital is now working in close con- 
junction with the Russian Flag Day Committee who last year 
raised ^50,000. There are to be no dual collections in the future. 
A shilling book on The Art of Driving a Motorcycle 
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machines and sidecar outfits. Gear changing, brakes, corner- 
ing and skidding are fully dealt with, and the reader will find 
himself fully grounded in"the road management of his machine. 
