What of the
loan-shark offers, and the blue-sky stock propositions, and the damnable
promises of the consumption and cancer quacks? You can't turn a page of
The Patriot without stumbling on them. There's a smell of death about
that money."
"Don't all the newspapers publish the same kind of advertisements?"
argued the girl.
"Certainly not. Some won't publish an advertisement without being
satisfied of its good faith. Others discriminate less carefully. But
there are few as bad as The Patriot."
"If Mr. Banneker were your client, would you advise him to resign?" she
asked shrewdly.
Enderby winced and chuckled simultaneously. "Probably not. It is
doubtful whether he could find another rostrum of equal influence. And
his influence is mainly for good. But since you seem to be interested in
newspapers, Io"--he gave her another of his keen glances--"from The
Patriot you can make a diagnosis of the disease from which modern
journalism is suffering. A deep-seated, pervasive insincerity. At its
worst, it is open, shameless hypocrisy. The public feels it, but is too
lacking in analytical sense to comprehend it. Hence the unformulated,
instinctive, universal distrust of the press. 'I never believe anything
I read in the papers.' Of course, that is both false and silly.
Pages:
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597