As year after year has passed since the inception of The Christian Science Monitor, Mrs. Eddy's wisdom and foresight in establishing this example of clean journalism are more fully appreciated.
The world needs always, but especially does it need to-day, newspapers that stand fearlessly for truth and justice. Humanity cannot afford to have issues that affect its welfare passed through that fine and convenient sieve called sometimes "the business office," sometimes "the paper's policy," sometimes "the advertisers," until all matter objectionable to these interests is left out; or to have the information as given to the public so colored as to induce in the reader an apathy or indifference to the real issues at stake. The truth must be given, no matter how it may act; for truth, though sometimes it may be bitter to the taste, is salutary. The people look to their newspapers to give them this truth of the world's activities in all its various fields. They do not want the reading matter, from the editorials to the fashion articles, from the news items to the sporting page, trimmed off or lengthened out upon the Procrustean bed of money or influence.
Upon an occasion of important national legislation regarding proposed war time prohibition, a reader of a well-known and prosperous newspaper in one of our large cities was more or less concerned as its pages were scanned and it was noted how the subject was presented. The insidious influence of money, the liquor interests, or corrupt politics was plainly visible to all accustomed to reading between the lines. No less than three half columns in various parts of the paper were given to the matter, one handling it as news, another as legislation, and another from the standpoint of personal comment. In all three the enormous expense of the proposed prohibition was harped upon, also the mistake made in obstructing legislation by such argument; tentative suggestions hinting that, taken altogether, war prohibition was perhaps unnecessary and unwise, were also offered.
