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- font-size: 100%; - margin-left: 0; - margin-right: 0; - text-indent: 1.75em; - } - -} - -@media handheld -{ - body {margin: 0;} - - hr { - margin-top: .1em; - margin-bottom: .1em; - visibility: hidden; - color: white; - width: .01em; - display: none; - } - - blockquote {margin: 1.5em 3% 1.5em 3%;} - - .transnote { - page-break-inside: avoid; - margin-left: 2%; - margin-right: 2%; - margin-top: 1em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - padding: .5em; - } - - .covernote {visibility: visible; display: block; text-align: center;} -} - </style> - </head> - -<body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's Crystallizing Public Opinion, by Edward L. Bernays - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Crystallizing Public Opinion - -Author: Edward L. Bernays - -Release Date: February 10, 2020 [EBook #61364] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CRYSTALLIZING PUBLIC OPINION *** - - - - -Produced by Tim Lindell, Charlie Howard, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -book was produced from images made available by the -HathiTrust Digital Library.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="transnote covernote"> -<p class="center larger">Transcriber’s Note</p> - -<p class="center">Cover created by Transcriber from the original book’s -Title page, and placed in the Public Domain.</p> -</div> - -<h1><span class="smcap large"><span class="gesperrt1">Crystallizing</span><br /> -Public Opinion</span></h1> - -<p class="p2 center wspace larger">EDWARD L. BERNAYS</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="max-width: 5.1875em;"> -<img src="images/i_logo.png" width="83" height="107" alt="Publisher‘s logo" /> -</div> - -<p class="center"><span class="wspace">LIVERIGHT PUBLISHING CORPORATION</span><br /> -PUBLISHERS <span class="in7">NEW YORK</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="newpage p4 center vspace"> -<i>Copyright, 1923, by</i><br /> -<span class="smcap">Boni and Liveright, Inc.</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">Liveright Publishing Corporation</span></p> -<hr class="narrow" /> -<p class="center smaller">PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="newpage p4 center vspace"> -<span class="smcap">To My Wife</span><br /> -DORIS E. FLEISCHMAN</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_iii">iii</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="PREFACE_TO_NEW_EDITION">PREFACE TO NEW EDITION</h2> -</div> - -<p>In the ten years that have elapsed since this -book was written, events of profound importance -have taken place. During this period, -many of the principles set forth in the book -have been put to the test and have been proven -true.</p> - -<p>The book, for instance, emphasized ten years -ago that industrial organizations dealing with -the public must take public opinion into consideration -in the conduct of their affairs. We -have seen cases in the past decade where the -public has actually stepped in and publicly -supervised industries which refused to recognize -this truth.</p> - -<p>The field of public relations counsel has developed -tremendously in this period. But the -broad basic principles, as originally set forth, -are as valid today as they were then, when the -profession was a comparatively new one. It -seems appropriate that this new edition, for -which the publishers have asked me to write a -new foreword, should appear at a time when -the new partnership of government, labor and -industry has brought public relations and its<span class="pagenum" id="Page_iv">iv</span> -problems to the fore. The old group relationships -that make up our society have undergone -and are undergoing marked changes. The -peaceful harmonizing of all the new conflicting -points of view will be dependent, to a great extent, -upon an understanding and application -by leaders of public relations and its technique.</p> - -<p>In the future, each industry will have to act -with increasing understanding in its relationship -to government, to other industries, to -labor, to stockholders and to the public. Each -industry must be cognizant of new conditions -and modify its conduct to conform to them if -it is to maintain the good-will of those upon -whom it depends for its very life.</p> - -<p>This principle applies not only to industry; -it applies to every kind of organization and institution -that uses special pleading, whether -it be for profit or for any other cause.</p> - -<p>The new social and economic structure in -which we live today demands this new approach -to the public. Public relations has -come to play an important part in our life.</p> - -<p>It is hoped that this book may lead to a -greater recognition and application of sound -public relations principles.</p> - -<p class="sigright">E. L. B.</p> - -<p class="in0"><i>January, 1934</i></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_v">v</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="FOREWORD">FOREWORD</h2> -</div> - -<p>In writing this book I have tried to set down -the broad principles that govern the new profession -of public relations counsel. These principles -I have on the one hand substantiated by the findings -of psychologists, sociologists, and newspapermen—Ray -Stannard Baker, W. G. Bleyer, Richard -Washburn Child, Elmer Davis, John L. -Given, Will Irwin, Francis E. Leupp, Walter -Lippmann, William MacDougall, Everett Dean -Martin, H. L. Mencken, Rollo Ogden, Charles J. -Rosebault, William Trotter, Oswald Garrison -Villard, and others to whom I owe a debt of -gratitude for their clear analyses of the public’s -mind and habits; and on the other hand, I have -illustrated these principles by a number of specific -examples which serve to bear them out. I -have quoted from the men listed here, because -the ground covered by them is part of the field -of activity of the public relations counsel. The -actual cases which I have cited were selected because -they explain the application of the theories -to practice. Most of the illustrative material is -drawn from my personal experience; a few examples -from my observation of events. I have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_vi">vi</span> -preferred to cite facts known to the general public, -in order that I might explain graphically a -profession that has little precedent, and whose -few formulated rules have necessarily a limitless -number and variety of applications.</p> - -<p>This profession in a few years has developed -from the status of circus agent stunts to what -is obviously an important position in the conduct -of the world’s affairs.</p> - -<p>If I shall, by this survey of the field, stimulate -a scientific attitude towards the study of public -relations, I shall feel that this book has fulfilled -my purpose in writing it.</p> - -<p class="sigright">E. L. B.</p> - -<p>December, 1923.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">vii</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table id="toc" summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <td class="tdc chap" colspan="3"><a href="#PART_I">PART I—SCOPE AND FUNCTIONS</a></td></tr> - <tr class="small"> - <td class="tdc">CHAPTER</td> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdr">PAGE</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">I</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Scope of the Public Relations Counsel</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_I_I">11</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">II</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Public Relations Counsel; the Increased and Increasing Importance of the Profession</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_I_II">34</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">III</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Function of a Special Pleader</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_I_III">50</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc chap" colspan="3"><a href="#PART_II">PART II—THE GROUP AND HERD</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">I</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">What Constitutes Public Opinion?</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_II_I">61</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">II</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Is Public Opinion Stubborn or Malleable?</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_II_II">69</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">III</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Interaction of Public Opinion with the Forces That Help to Make It</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_II_III">77</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">IV</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Power of Interacting Forces That Go to Make up Public Opinion</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_II_IV">87</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">V</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">An Understanding of the Fundamentals of Public Motivation Is Necessary to the Work of the Public Relations Counsel</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_II_V">98</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">VI</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Group and Herd Are the Basic Mechanisms of Public Change</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_II_VI">111</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">VII</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Application of These Principles</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_II_VII">118</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc chap" colspan="3"><a href="#PART_III">PART III—TECHNIQUE AND METHOD</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">I</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Public Can Be Reached Only Through Established Mediums of Communication</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_III_I">125</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">II</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Interlapping Group Formations of Society, the Continuous Shifting of Groups, Changing Conditions and the Flexibility of Human Nature Are All Aids to the Counsel on Public Relations</span><span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">viii</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_III_II">139</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">III</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">An Outline of Methods Practicable in Modifying the Point of View of a Group</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_III_III">166</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc chap" colspan="3"><a href="#PART_IV">PART IV—ETHICAL RELATIONS</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">I</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Consideration of the Press and Other Mediums of Communication in Their Relation to the Public Relations Counsel</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV_I">177</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">II</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">His Obligations to the Public as a Special Pleader</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV_II">208</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="PART_I">PART I<br /> -<span class="subhead"><span class="smcap">Scope and Functions</span></span></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span></p> - -<h2 id="CRYSTALLIZING_PUBLIC"><span class="larger">CRYSTALLIZING PUBLIC -OPINION</span></h2> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_I_I" class="nobreak p2 vspace">CHAPTER I<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE SCOPE OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONS COUNSEL</span></h2> - -<p class="drop-cap a"><span class="smcap1">A new</span> phrase has come into the language—counsel -on public relations. What does it -mean?</p> - -<p>As a matter of fact, the actual phrase is completely -understood by only a few, and those only -the people intimately associated with the work -itself. But despite this, the activities of the public -relations counsel affect the daily life of the -entire population in one form or another.</p> - -<p>Because of the recent extraordinary growth of -the profession of public relations counsel and the -lack of available information concerning it, an -air of mystery has surrounded its scope and functions. -To the average person, this profession is -still unexplained, both in its operation and actual -accomplishment. Perhaps the most definite picture -is that of a man who somehow or other produces<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span> -that vaguely defined evil, “propaganda,” -which spreads an impression that colors the mind -of the public concerning actresses, governments, -railroads. And yet, as will be pointed out -shortly, there is probably no single profession -which within the last ten years has extended -its field of usefulness more remarkably and -touched upon intimate and important aspects of -the everyday life of the world more significantly -than the profession of public relations -counsel.</p> - -<p>There is not even any one name by which the -new profession is characterized by others. To -some the public relations counsel is known by -the term “propagandist.” Others still call him -press agent or publicity man. Writing even -within the last few years, John L. Given, the -author of an excellent textbook on journalism, -does not mention the public relations counsel. -He limits his reference to the old-time press -agent. Many organizations simply do not bother -about an individual name and assign to an existing -officer the duties of the public relations -counsel. One bank’s vice-president is its recognized -public relations counsel. Some dismiss -the subject or condemn the entire profession -generally and all its members individually.</p> - -<p>Slight examination into the grounds for this -disapproval readily reveals that it is based on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span> -nothing more substantial than vague impressions.</p> - -<p>Indeed, it is probably true that the very men -who are themselves engaged in the profession -are as little ready or able to define their work -as is the general public itself. Undoubtedly this -is due, in some measure, to the fact that the profession -is a new one. Much more important than -that, however, is the fact that most human activities -are based on experience rather than -analysis.</p> - -<p>Judge Cardozo of the Court of Appeals of the -State of New York finds the same absence of -functional definition in the judicial mind. “The -work of deciding cases,” he says, “goes on every -day in hundreds of courts throughout the land. -Any judge, one might suppose, would find it easy -to describe the process which he had followed -a thousand times and more. Nothing could be -farther from the truth. Let some intelligent layman -ask him to explain. He will not go very -far before taking refuge in the excuse that the -language of craftsmen is unintelligible to those -untutored in the craft. Such an excuse may cover -with a semblance of respectability an otherwise -ignominious retreat. It will hardly serve to still -the prick of curiosity and conscience. In moments -of introspection, when there is no longer -a necessity of putting off with a show of wisdom<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span> -the uninitiated interlocutor, the troublesome problem -will recur and press for a solution: What -is it that I do when I decide a case?”<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">1</a></p> - -<p>From my own records and from current history -still fresh in the public mind, I have selected -a few instances which only in a limited measure -give some idea of the variety of the public relations -counsel’s work and of the type of problem -which he attempts to solve.</p> - -<p>These examples show him in his position as -one who directs and supervises the activities of -his clients wherever they impinge upon the daily -life of the public. He interprets the client to the -public, which he is enabled to do in part because -he interprets the public to the client. His advice -is given on all occasions on which his client appears -before the public, whether it be in concrete -form or as an idea. His advice is given -not only on actions which take place, but also on -the use of mediums which bring these actions -to the public it is desired to reach, no matter -whether these mediums be the printed, the spoken -or the visualized word—that is, advertising, lectures, -the stage, the pulpit, the newspaper, the -photograph, the wireless, the mail or any other -form of thought communication.</p> - -<p>A nationally famous New York hotel found -that its business was falling off at an alarming<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span> -rate because of a rumor that it was shortly going -to close and that the site upon which it was located -would be occupied by a department store. Few -things are more mysterious than the origins of -rumors, or the credence which they manage to -obtain. Reservations at this hotel for weeks and -months ahead were being canceled by persons -who had heard the rumor and accepted it implicitly.</p> - -<p>The problem of meeting this rumor (which like -many rumors had no foundation in fact) was -not only a difficult but a serious one. Mere denial, -of course, no matter how vigorous or how -widely disseminated, would accomplish little.</p> - -<p>The mere statement of the problem made it -clear to the public relations counsel who was retained -by the hotel that the only way to overcome -the rumor was to give the public some positive -evidence of the intention of the hotel to remain -in business. It happened that the <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">maître d’hôtel</i> -was about as well known as the hotel itself. His -contract was about to expire. The public relations -counsel suggested a very simple device.</p> - -<p>“Renew his engagement immediately for a -term of years,” he said. “Then make public announcement -of the fact. Nobody who hears of -the renewal or the amount of money involved -will believe for a moment that you intend to -go out of business.” The <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">maître d’hôtel</i> was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span> -called in and offered a five-year engagement. -His salary was one which many bank presidents -might envy. Public announcement of his engagement -was made. The <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">maître d’hôtel</i> was -himself something of a national figure. The -salary stipulated was not without popular interest -from both points of view. The story was one -which immediately interested the newspapers. A -national press service took up the story and sent -it out to all its subscribers. The cancellation of -reservations stopped and the rumor disappeared.</p> - -<p>A nationally known magazine was ambitious -to increase its prestige among a more influential -group of advertisers. It had never made any -effort to reach this public except through its own -direct circulation. The consultant who was retained -by the magazine quickly discovered that -much valuable editorial material appearing in the -magazine was allowed to go to waste. Features -of interest to thousands of potential readers were -never called to their attention unless they happened -accidentally to be readers of the magazine.</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel showed how to extend -the field of their appeal. He chose for his -first work an extremely interesting article by a -well-known physician, written about the interesting -thesis that “the pace that kills” is the slow, -deadly, dull routine pace and not the pace of life<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span> -under high pressure, based on work which interests -and excites. The consultant arranged to -have the thesis of the article made the basis of -an inquiry among business and professional men -throughout the country by another physician associated -with a medical journal. Hundreds of -members of “the quality public,” as they are -known to advertisers, had their attention focused -on the article, and the magazine which the consultant -was engaged in counseling on its public -relations.</p> - -<p>The answers from these leading men of the -country were collated, analyzed, and the resulting -abstract furnished gratuitously to newspapers, -magazines and class journals, which published -them widely. Organizations of business -and professional men reprinted the symposium -by the thousands and distributed it free of charge, -doing so because the material contained in the -symposium was of great interest. A distinguished -visitor from abroad, Lord Leverhulme, -became interested in the question while in this -country and made the magazine and the article -the basis of an address before a large and influential -conference in England. Nationally and -internationally the magazine was called to the -attention of a public which had, up to that time, -considered it perhaps a publication of no serious -social significance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span> -Still working with the same magazine, the publicity -consultant advised it how to widen its influence -with another public on quite a different -issue. He took as his subject an article by -Sir Philip Gibbs, “The Madonna of the Hungry -Child,” dealing with the famine situation in -Europe and the necessity for its prompt alleviation. -The article was brought to the attention -of Herbert Hoover. Mr. Hoover was so impressed -by the article that he sent the magazine -a letter of commendation for publishing it. He -also sent a copy of the article to members of -his relief committees throughout the country. -The latter, in turn, used the article to obtain support -and contributions for relief work. Thus, -while an important humanitarian project was -being materially assisted, the magazine in question -was adding to its own influence and standing.</p> - -<p>Now, the interesting thing about this work is -that whereas the public relations counsel added -nothing to the contents of the magazine, which -had for years been publishing material of this nature, -he did make its importance felt and appreciated.</p> - -<p>A large packing house was faced with the -problem of increasing the sale of its particular -brand of bacon. It already dominated the market -in its field; the problem was therefore one of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span> -increasing the consumption of bacon generally, -for its dominance of the market would naturally -continue. The public relations counsel, realizing -that hearty breakfasts were dietetically -sound, suggested that a physician undertake a -survey to make this medical truth articulate. -He realized that the demand for bacon as a breakfast -food would naturally be increased by the -wide dissemination of this truth. This is exactly -what happened.</p> - -<p>A hair-net company had to solve the problem -created by the increasing vogue of bobbed -hair. Bobbed hair was eliminating the use of -the hair-net. The public relations counsel, after -investigation, advised that the opinions of club -women as leaders of the women of the country -should be made articulate on the question. Their -expressed opinion, he believed, would definitely -modify the bobbed hair vogue. A leading artist -was interested in the subject and undertook a -survey among the club women leaders of the -country. The resultant responses confirmed the -public relations counsel’s judgment. The opinions -of these women were given to the public -and helped to arouse what had evidently been -a latent opinion on the question. Long hair was -made socially more acceptable than bobbed hair -and the vogue for the latter was thereby partially -checked.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span> -A real estate corporation on Long Island was -interested in selling coöperative apartments to a -high-class clientele. In order to do this, it realized -that it had to impress upon the public the -fact that this community, within easy reach of -Manhattan, was socially, economically, artistically -and morally desirable. On the advice of -its public relations counsel, instead of merely proclaiming -itself as such a community, it proved -its contentions dramatically by making itself an -active center for all kinds of community manifestations.</p> - -<p>When it opened its first post office, for instance, -it made this local event nationally interesting. -The opening was a formal one. National -figures became interested in what might -have been merely a local event.</p> - -<p>The reverses which the Italians suffered on the -Piave in 1918 were dangerous to Italian and Allied -morale. One of the results was the awakening -of a distrust among Italians as to the sincerity -of American promises of military, financial -and moral support for the Italian cause.</p> - -<p>It became imperative vividly to dramatize for -Italy the reality of American coöperation. As -one of the means to this end the Committee on -Public Information decided that the naming of -a recently completed American ship should be -made the occasion for a demonstration of friendship<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span> -which could be reflected in every possible -way to the Italians.</p> - -<p>Prominent Italians in America were invited -by the public relations counsel to participate in -the launching of the <i>Piave</i>. Motion and still -pictures were taken of the event. The news of -the launching and of its significance to Americans -was telegraphed to Italian newspapers. At -the same time a message from Italian-Americans -was transmitted to Italy expressing their confidence -in America’s assistance of the Italian -cause. Enrico Caruso, Gatti-Casazza, director -of the Metropolitan Opera, and others highly -regarded by their countrymen in Italy, sent inspiriting -telegrams which had a decided effect -in raising Italian morale, so far as it depended -upon assurance of American coöperation. Other -means employed to disseminate information of -this event had the same effect.</p> - -<p>The next incident that I have selected is one -which conforms more closely than some of the -others to the popular conception of the work of -the public relations counsel. In the spring and -summer of 1919 the problem of fitting ex-service -men into the ordinary life of America -was serious and difficult. Thousands of men just -back from abroad were having a trying time -finding work. After their experience in the war -it was not surprising that they should be extremely<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span> -ready to feel bitter against the Government -and against those Americans who for one -reason or another had not been in any branch of -the service during the war.</p> - -<p>The War Department under Colonel Arthur -Woods, assistant to the Secretary of War, instituted -a nation-wide campaign to assist those men -to obtain employment, and more than that, to -manifest to them as concretely as it could that -the Government continued its interest in their -welfare. The incident to which I refer occurred -during this campaign.</p> - -<p>In July of 1919 there was such a shortage of -labor in Kansas that it was feared a large proportion -of the wheat crop could not possibly be -harvested. The activities of the War Department -in the reëmployment of ex-service men had -already received wide publicity, and the Chamber -of Commerce of Kansas City appealed directly -to the War Department at Washington, -after its own efforts in many other directions had -failed, for a supply of men who would assist -in the harvesting of the wheat crop. The public -relations counsel prepared a statement of this opportunity -for employment in Kansas and distributed -it to the public through the newspapers -throughout the country. The Associated Press -sent the statement over its wires as a news dispatch. -Within four days the Kansas City Chamber<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span> -of Commerce wired to the War Department -that enough labor had been secured to harvest -the wheat crop, and asked the War Department -to announce that fact as publicly as it had first -announced the need for labor.</p> - -<p>By contrast with this last instance, and as an -illustration of a type of work less well understood -by the public, I cite another incident from -the same campaign for the reëstablishment of ex-service -men to normal economic and social relations. -The problem of reëmployment was, of -course, the crux of the difficulty. Various measures -were adopted to obtain the coöperation of -business men in extending employment opportunities -to ex-members of the Army, Navy and -Marines. One of these devices appealed to the -personal and local pride of American business -men, and stressed their obligation of honor to -reëmploy their former employees upon release -from Government service.</p> - -<p>A citation was prepared, signed by the Secretary -of War, the Secretary of the Navy and the -Assistant to the Secretary of War for display in -the stores and factories of employers who assured -the War and Navy Departments that they would -reëmploy their ex-service men. Simultaneous -display of these citations was arranged for Bastile -Day, July 14, 1919, by members of the Fifth -Avenue Association.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span> -The Fifth Avenue Association of New York -City, an influential group of business men, was -perhaps the first to coöperate as a body in this -important campaign for the reëmployment of ex-service -men. Concerted action on a subject which -was as much in the public mind as the reëmployment -of ex-service men was particularly interesting. -The story of what these leaders in American -business had undertaken to do went out to -the country by mail, by word of mouth, by -newspaper comment. Their example was potent -in obtaining the coöperation of business men -throughout the land. An appeal based on this -action and capitalizing it was sent to thousands of -individual business men and employers throughout -the country. It was effective.</p> - -<p>An illustration which embodies most of the -technical and psychological points of interest in -the preceding incidents may be found in Lithuania’s -campaign in this country in 1919, for popular -sympathy and official recognition. Lithuania -was of considerable political importance in -the reorganization of Europe, but it was a country -little known or understood by the American -public. An added difficulty was the fact that the -independence of Lithuania would interfere seriously -with the plans which France had for the -establishment of a strong Poland. There were -excellent historical, ethnic and economic reasons<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span> -why, if Lithuania broke off from Russia, it should -be allowed to stand on its own feet. On the -other hand there were powerful political influences -which were against such a result. The -American attitude on the question of Lithuanian -independence, it was felt, would play an important -part. The question was how to arouse popular -and official interest in Lithuania’s aspirations.</p> - -<p>A Lithuanian National Council was organized, -composed of prominent American-Lithuanians, -and a Lithuanian Information Bureau established -to act as a clearing house for news about Lithuania -and for special pleading on behalf of Lithuania’s -ambitions. The public relations counsel -who was retained to direct this work recognized -that the first problem to be solved was America’s -indifference to and ignorance about Lithuania -and its desires.</p> - -<p>He had an exhaustive study made of every -conceivable aspect of the problem of Lithuania -from its remote and recent history and ethnic -origins to its present-day marriage customs and -its popular recreations. He divided his material -into its various categories, based primarily on -the public to which it would probably make its -appeal. For the amateur ethnologist he provided -interesting and accurate data of the racial -origins of Lithuania. To the student of languages<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span> -he appealed with authentic and well written -studies of the development of the Lithuanian -language from its origins in the Sanskrit. He -told the “sporting fan” about Lithuanian sports -and told American women about Lithuanian -clothes. He told the jeweler about amber and -provided the music lover with concerts of Lithuanian -music.</p> - -<p>To the senators, he gave facts about Lithuania -which would give them basis for favorable action. -To the members of the House of Representatives -he did likewise. He reflected to those -communities whose crystallized opinion would be -helpful in guiding other opinions, facts which -gave them basis for conclusions favorable to -Lithuania.</p> - -<p>A series of events which would carry with -them the desired implications were planned and -executed. Mass meetings were held in different -cities; petitions were drawn, signed and presented; -pilgrims made calls upon Senate and -House of Representatives Committees. All the -avenues of approach to the public were utilized -to capitalize the public interest and bring public -action. The mails carried statements of Lithuania’s -position to individuals who might be interested. -The lecture platform resounded to -Lithuania’s appeal. Newspaper advertising was -bought and paid for. The radio carried the message<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span> -of speakers to the public. Motion pictures -reached the patrons of moving picture houses.</p> - -<p>Little by little and phase by phase, the public, -the press and Government officials acquired a -knowledge of the customs, the character and the -problems of Lithuania, the small Baltic nation -that was seeking freedom.</p> - -<p>When the Lithuanian Information Bureau -went before the press associations to correct inaccurate -or misleading Polish news about the -Lithuanian situation, it came there as representative -of a group which had figured largely in the -American news for a number of weeks, as a result -of the advice and activities of its public relations -counsel. In the same way, when delegations -of Americans, interested in the Lithuanian -problem, appeared before members of Congress -or officials of the State Department, they came -there as spokesmen for a country which was no -longer unknown. They represented a group -which could no longer be entirely ignored. Somebody -described this campaign, once it had -achieved recognition for the Baltic republic, as -the campaign of “advertising a nation to freedom.”</p> - -<p>What happened with Roumania is another instance. -Roumania wanted to plead its case before -the American people. It wanted to tell -Americans that it was an ancient and established<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span> -country. The original technique was the issuance -of treatises, historically correct and ethnologically -accurate. Their facts were for the -large part ignored. The public relations counsel, -called in on the case of Roumania, advised them -to make these studies into interesting stories -of news value. The public read these stories -with avidity and Roumania became part of -America’s popular knowledge with consequent -valuable results for Roumania.</p> - -<p>The hotels of New York City discovered that -there was a falling off of business and profits. -Fewer visitors came to New York. Fewer travelers -passed through New York on their way to -Europe. The public relations counsel who was -consulted and asked to remedy the situation, made -an extensive analysis. He talked to visitors. He -queried men and women who represented groups, -sections and opinions of main cities and towns -throughout the country. He examined American -literature—books, magazines, newspapers, and -classified attacks made on New York and New -York citizens. He found that the chief cause -for lack of interest in New York was the belief -that New York was “cold and inhospitable.”</p> - -<p>He found animosity and bitterness against -New York’s apparent indifference to strangers -was keeping away a growing number of travelers. -To counteract this damaging wave of resentment,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span> -he called together the leading groups, industrial, -social and civic, of New York, and formed the -Welcome Stranger Committee. The friendly and -hospitable aims of this committee, broadcasted -to the nation, helped to reëstablish New York’s -good repute. Congratulatory editorials were -printed in the rural and city journals of the -country.</p> - -<p>Again, in analyzing the restaurant service of -a prominent hotel, he discovers that its menu -is built on the desires of the average eater and -that a large group of people with children desire -special foods for them. He may then advise -his client to institute a children’s diet service.</p> - -<p>This was done specifically with the Waldorf-Astoria -Hotel, which instituted special menus -for children. This move, which excited wide -comment, was economically and dietetically sound.</p> - -<p>In its campaign to educate the public on the -importance of early radium treatments for incipient -cancer, the United States Radium Corporation -founded the First National Radium -Bank, in order to create and crystallize the impression -that radium is and should be available -to all physicians who treat cancer sufferers.</p> - -<p>An inter-city radio company planned to open -a wireless service between the three cities of New -York, Detroit and Cleveland. This company -might merely have opened its service and waited<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span> -for the public to send its messages, but the -president of the organization realized astutely -that to succeed in any measure at all he must -have immediate public support. He called in a -public relations counsel, who advised an elaborate -inauguration ceremony, in which the mayors -of the three cities thus for the first time connected, -would officiate. The mayor of each city -officially received and sent the first messages -issued on commercial inter-city radio waves. -These openings excited wide interest, not only -in the three cities directly concerned, but throughout -the entire country.</p> - -<p>Shortly after the World War, the King and -Queen of the Belgians visited America. One of -the many desired results of this visit was that -it should be made apparent that America, with -all the foreign elements represented in its body, -was unified in its support of King Albert and -his country. To present a graphic picture of the -affection which the national elements here had -for the Belgian monarch, a performance was -staged at the Metropolitan Opera House in New -York City, at which the many nationalist groups -were represented and gave voice to their approval. -The story of the Metropolitan Opera -House performance was spread in the news columns -and by photographs in the press throughout<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span> -the world. It was evident to all who saw the -pictures or read the story that this king had really -stirred the affectionate interest of the national -elements that make up America.</p> - -<p>An interesting illustration of the broad field -of work of the public relations counsel to-day -is noted in the efforts which were exerted to -secure wide commendation and support among -Americans for the League of Nations. Obviously -a small group of persons, banded together -for the sole purpose of furthering the appeal -of the League, would have no powerful effect. -In order to secure a certain homogeneity among -the members of groups who individually had -widely varied interests and affiliations, it was -decided to form a non-partisan committee for -the League of Nations.</p> - -<p>The public relations consultant, having assisted -in the formation of this committee, called a meeting -of women representing Democratic, Republican, -radical, reactionary, club, society, professional -and industrial groups, and suggested that -they make a united appeal for national support of -the League of Nations. This meeting accurately -and dramatically reflected disinterested and unified -support of the League. The public relations -counsel made articulate what would otherwise -have remained a strong passive sentiment. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span> -still insistent demand for the League of Nations -is undoubtedly due in part to efforts of this nature.</p> - -<p>Cases as diverse as the following are the daily -work of the public relations counsel. One client -is advised to give up a Rolls-Royce car and to -buy a Ford, because the public has definite concepts -of what ownership of each represents—another -man may be given the contrary advice. -One client is advised to withdraw the hat-check -privilege, because it causes unfavorable public -comment. Another is advised to change the -façade of his building to conform to a certain -public taste.</p> - -<p>One client is advised to announce changes of -price policy to the public by telegraph, another -by circular, another by advertising. One client -is advised to publish a Bible, another a book of -French Renaissance tales.</p> - -<p>One department store is advised to use prices -in its advertising, another store not to mention -them.</p> - -<p>A client is advised to make his labor policy, -the hygienic aspect of his factory, his own personality, -part of his sales campaign.</p> - -<p>Another client is advised to exhibit his wares -in a museum and school.</p> - -<p>Still another is urged to found a scholarship -in his subject at a leading university.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span> -Further incidents could be given here, illustrating -different aspects of the ordinary daily -functions of the public relations counsel—how, -for example, the production of “Damaged Goods” -in America became the basis of the first notably -successful move in this country for overcoming -the prudish refusal to appreciate and face the -place of sex in human life; or how, more recently, -the desire of some great corporations to increase -their business was, through the advice of Ivy Lee, -their public relations counsel, made the basis of -popular education on the importance of brass -and copper to civilization. Enough has been -cited, however, to show how little the average -member of the public knows of the real work of -the public relations counsel, and how that work -impinges upon the daily life of the public in an -almost infinite number of ways.</p> - -<p>Popular misunderstanding of the work of the -public relations counsel is easily comprehensible -because of the short period of his development. -Nevertheless, the fact remains that he -has become in recent years too important a figure -in American life for this ignorance to be -safely or profitably continued.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_I_II" class="vspace">CHAPTER II<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE PUBLIC RELATIONS COUNSEL; THE INCREASED -AND INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF THE -PROFESSION</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> rise of the modern public relations counsel -is based on the need for and the value -of his services. Perhaps the most significant -social, political and industrial fact about the -present century is the increased attention which -is paid to public opinion, not only by individuals, -groups or movements that are dependent on public -support for their success, but also by men -and organizations which until very recently stood -aloof from the general public and were able to -say, “The public be damned.”</p> - -<p>The public to-day demands information and -expects also to be accepted as judge and jury -in matters that have a wide public import. The -public, whether it invests its money in subway -or railroad tickets, in hotel rooms or restaurant -fare, in silk or soap, is a highly sophisticated -body. It asks questions, and if the answer in -word or action is not forthcoming or satisfactory, -it turns to other sources for information or relief.</p> - -<p>The willingness to spend thousands of dollars<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span> -in obtaining professional advice on how best to -present one’s views or products to a public is -based on this fact.</p> - -<p>On every side of American life, whether political, -industrial, social, religious or scientific, the -increasing pressure of public judgment has made -itself felt. Generally speaking, the relationship -and interaction of the public and any movement -is rather obvious. The charitable society which -depends upon voluntary contributions for its support -has a clear and direct interest in being favorably -represented before the public. In the same -way, the great corporation which is in danger -of having its profits taxed away or its sales fall -off or its freedom impeded by legislative action -must have recourse to the public to combat successfully -these menaces. Behind these obvious -phenomena, however, lie three recent tendencies -of fundamental importance; first, the tendency -of small organizations to aggregate into groups -of such size and importance that the public -tends to regard them as semi-public services; -second, the increased readiness of the public, -due to the spread of literacy and democratic -forms of government, to feel that it is entitled -to its voice in the conduct of these large aggregations, -political, capitalist or labor, or whatever -they may be; third, the keen competition for public -favor due to modern methods of “selling.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span> -An example of the first tendency—that is, the -tendency toward an increased public interest in -industrial activity, because of the increasing social -importance of industrial aggregations—may -be found in an article on “The Critic and the -Law” by Richard Washburn Child, published in -the <cite>Atlantic Monthly</cite> for May, 1906.</p> - -<p>Mr. Child discusses in that article the right -of the critic to say uncomplimentary things about -matters of public interest. He points out the legal -basis for the right to criticize plays and novels. -Then he adds, “A vastly more important and -interesting theory, and one which must arise from -the present state and tendency of industrial conditions, -is whether the acts of men in commercial -activity may ever become so prominent and -so far reaching in their effect that they compel -a universal public interest and that public comment -is impliedly invited by reason of their conspicuous -and semi-public nature. It may be said -that at no time have private industries become -of such startling interest to the community at -large as at present in the United States.” How -far present-day tendencies have borne out Mr. -Child’s expectation of a growing and accepted -public interest in important industrial enterprises, -the reader can judge for himself.</p> - -<p>With regard to the second tendency—the increased -readiness of the public to expect information<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span> -about and to be heard on matters of political -and social interest—Ray Stannard Baker’s -description of the American journalist at the -Peace Conference of Versailles gives an excellent -picture. Mr. Baker tells what a shock American -newspaper men gave Old World diplomats -because at the Paris conference they “had come, -not begging, but demanding. They sat at every -doorway,” says Mr. Baker. “They looked over -every shoulder. They wanted every resolution -and report and wanted it immediately. I shall -never forget the delegation of American newspaper -men, led by John Nevin, I saw come striding -through that Holy of Holies, the French Foreign -Office, demanding that they be admitted to -the first general session of the Peace Conference. -They horrified the upholders of the old methods, -they desperately offended the ancient conventions, -they were as rough and direct as democracy -itself.”</p> - -<p>And I shall never forget the same feeling -brought home to me, when Herbert Bayard -Swope of the <cite>New York World</cite>, in the press room -at the Crillon Hotel in Paris, led the discussion -of the newspaper representatives who forced the -conference to regard public opinion and admit -newspaper men, and give out communiques daily.</p> - -<p>That the pressure of the public for admittance -to the mysteries of foreign affairs is being felt<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span> -by the nations of the world may be seen from -the following dispatch published in the <cite>New York -Herald</cite> under the date line of the <cite>New York -Herald</cite> Bureau, Paris, January 17, 1922: “The -success of Lord Riddell in getting publicity for -British opinion during the Washington conference, -while the French viewpoint was not stressed, -may result in the appointment by the Poincaré -Government of a real propaganda agent to meet -the foreign newspaper men. The <cite>Eclair</cite> to-day -calls on the new premier to ‘find his own Lord -Riddell in the French diplomatic and parliamentary -world, who can give the world the -French interpretation.’” Walter Lippmann of -the <cite>New York World</cite> in his volume “Public -Opinion” declares that “the significant revolution -of modern times is not industrial or economic or -political, but the revolution which is taking place -in the art of creating consent among the governed.” -He goes on: “Within the life of the new -generation now in control of affairs, persuasion -has become a self-conscious art and a regular organ -of popular government. None of us begins -to understand the consequences, but it is no daring -prophecy to say that the knowledge of how -to create consent will alter every political premise. -Under the impact of propaganda, not necessarily -in the sinister meaning of the word alone, the -only constants of our thinking have become variables.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span> -It is no longer possible, for example, to -believe in the cardinal dogma of democracy, that -the knowledge needed for the management of -human affairs comes up spontaneously from the -human heart. Where we act on that theory we -expose ourselves to self-deception and to forms -of persuasion that we cannot verify. It has been -demonstrated that we cannot rely upon intuition, -conscience, or the accidents of casual opinion if -we are to deal with the world beyond our reach.”<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">2</a></p> - -<p>In domestic affairs the importance of public -opinion not only in political decisions but in the -daily industrial life of the nation may be seen -from numerous incidents. In the <cite>New York -Times</cite> of Friday, May 20, 1922, I find almost a -column article with the heading “Hoover Prescribes -Publicity for Coal.” Among the improvements -in the coal industry generally, which Mr. -Hoover, according to the dispatch, anticipates -from widespread, accurate and informative publicity -about the industry itself, are the stimulation -of industrial consumers to more regular demands, -the ability to forecast more reliably the volume -of demand, the ability of the consumer to “form -some judgment as to the prices he should pay -for coal,” and the tendency to hold down over-expansion -in the industry by publication of the -ratio of production to capacity. Mr. Hoover<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span> -concludes that really informative publicity “would -protect the great majority of operators from the -criticism that can only be properly leveled at the -minority.” Not so many years ago neither the -majority nor the minority in the coal industry -would have concerned itself about public criticism -of the industry.</p> - -<p>From coal to jewelry seems rather a long step, -and yet in <cite>The Jeweler’s Circular</cite>, a trade magazine, -I find much comment upon the National -Jewelers’ Publicity Association. This association -began with the simple commercial ambition of -acquainting the public with “the value of jewelry -merchandise for gift purposes”; now it finds itself -engaged in eliminating from the public mind in -general, and from the minds of legislators in particular, -the impression that “the jewelry business -is absolutely useless and that any money spent -in a jewelry store is thrown away.”</p> - -<p>Not so long ago it would scarcely have occurred -to any one in the jewelry industry that -there was any importance to be attached to the -opinion of the public on the essential or non-essential -character of the jewelry industry. To-day, -on the other hand, jewelers find it a profitable investment -to bring before the people the fact that -table silver is an essential in modern life, and -that without watches “the business and industries -of the nations would be a sad chaos.” With all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span> -the other competing interests in the world to-day, -the question as to whether the public considers -the business of manufacturing and selling jewelry -essential or non-essential is a matter of the -first importance to the industry.</p> - -<p>The best examples, of course, of the increasing -importance of public opinion to industries which -until recently scarcely concerned themselves with -the existence or non-existence of a public opinion -about them, are those industries which are -charged with a public interest.</p> - -<p>In a long article about the attitude of the public -towards the railroads, the <cite>Railway Age</cite> -reaches the conclusion that the most important -problem which American railroads must solve is -“the problem of selling themselves to the public.” -Some public utilities maintain public relations departments, -whose function it is to interpret the organizations -to the public, as much as to interpret -the public to them. The significant thing, however, -is not the accepted importance of public -opinion in this or the other individual industry, -but the fact that public opinion is becoming cumulatively -more and more articulate and therefore -more important to industrial life as a whole.</p> - -<p>The New York Central Railroad, for example, -maintains a Public Relations Department under -Pitt Hand, whose function it is to make it clear -to the public that the railroad is functioning<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span> -efficiently to serve the public in every possible -way. This department studies the public and -tries to discover where the railroad’s service can -be mended or improved, or when wrong or harmful -impressions upon the public mind may be corrected.</p> - -<p>This Public Relations Department finds it -profitable not only to bring to the attention of the -public the salient facts about its trains, its time -tables, and its actual traveling facilities, but also -to build up a broadly coöperative spirit that is -indirectly of great value to itself and benefit to -the public. It coöperates, for example, with such -movements as the Welcome Stranger Committee -of New York City in distributing literature to -travelers to assist them when they reach the city. -It coöperates with conventions, to the extent of -arranging special travel facilities. Such aids as -it affords to the directors of children’s camps at -the Grand Central Station are especially conspicuous -for their dramatic effect on the general -public.</p> - -<p>Even a service which is in a large measure -non-competitive must continually “sell” itself to -the public, as evidenced by the strenuous efforts -of the New York subways and elevated lines to -keep themselves constantly before the people in -the most favorable possible aspect. The subways -strive in this regard to create a feeling of submissiveness<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span> -toward inconveniences which are -more or less unavoidable, and they strive likewise -to fulfill such constructive programs as that of -extending traffic on less frequented lines.</p> - -<p>Let us analyze, for example, the activities -of the health departments of such large cities -as New York. Of recent years, Health Commissioner -Royal S. Copeland and his statements -have formed a fairly regular part of the -day’s news. Publicity is, in fact, one of the -major functions of the Health Department, inasmuch -as its constructive work depends to a -considerable extent upon the public education it -provides in combating evils and in building up a -spirit of individual and group coöperation in all -health matters. When the Health Department -recognizes that such diseases as cancer, tuberculosis -and those following malnutrition are due -generally to ignorance or neglect and that amelioration -or prevention will be the result of knowledge, -it is the next logical step for this department -to devote strenuous efforts to its public -relations campaign. The department accordingly -does exactly this.</p> - -<p>Even governments to-day act upon the principle -that it is not sufficient to govern their own -citizens well and to assure the people that they are -acting whole-heartedly in their behalf. They -understand that the public opinion of the entire<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span> -world is important to their welfare. Thus Lithuania, -already noted, while it had the unbounded -love and support of its own people, was nevertheless -in danger of extinction because it was unknown -outside of the immediate boundaries of -those nations which had a personal interest in it. -Lithuania was wanted by Poland; it was wanted -by Russia. It was ignored by other nations. -Therefore, through the aid of a public relations -expert, Lithuania issued pamphlets, it paraded, -it figured in pictures and motion pictures and -developed a favorable sentiment throughout the -world that in the end gave Lithuania its freedom.</p> - -<p>In industry and business, of course, there is -another consideration of first-rate importance, -besides the danger of interference by the public -in the conduct of the industry—the increasing intensity -of competition. Business and sales are no -longer to be had, if ever they were to be had -for the asking. It must be clear to any one who -has looked through the mass of advertising in -street cars, subways, newspapers and magazines, -and the other avenues of approach to the public, -that products and services press hard upon one -another in the effort to focus public attention on -their offerings and to induce favorable action.</p> - -<p>The keen competition in the selling of products -for public favor makes it imperative that the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span> -seller consider other things than merely his product -in trying to build up a favorable public reaction. -He must either himself appraise the -public mind and his relation to it or he must -engage the services of an expert who can aid -him to do this. He may to-day consider, for -instance, in his sales campaign, not only the -quality of his soap but the working conditions, -the hours of labor, even the living conditions of -the men who make it.</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel must advise him -on these factors as well as on their presentation -to the public most interested in them.</p> - -<p>In this state of affairs it is not at all surprising -that industrial leaders should give the closest -attention to public relations in both the broadest -and the most practical concept of the term.</p> - -<p>Large industrial groups, in their associations, -have assigned a definite place to public relations -bureaus.</p> - -<p>The Trade Association Executives in New -York, an association of individual executives of -state, territorial or national trade associations, -such as the Allied Wall Paper Industry, the -American Hardware Manufacturers’ Association, -the American Protective Tariff League, the -Atlantic Coast Shipbuilders’ Association, the -National Association of Credit Men, the Silk -Association of America and some seventy-four<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span> -others, includes among its associations’ functions -such activities as the following: coöperative advertising; -adjustments and collections; cost accounting; -a credit bureau; distribution and new -markets; educational, standardization and research -work; exhibits; a foreign trade bureau; -house organs; general publicity; an industrial -bureau; legislative work; legal aid; market reports; -statistics; a traffic department; Washington -representation; arbitration. It is noteworthy -that forty of these associations have incorporated -public relations with general publicity as a definite -part of their program in furthering the interests -of their organizations.</p> - -<p>The American Telephone and Telegraph Company -devotes effort to studying its public relations -problems, not only to increase its volume of -business, but also to create a coöperative spirit -between itself and the public. The work of the -telephone company’s operators, statistics, calls, -lineage, installations are given to the public in -various forms. During the war and for a period -afterwards its main problem was that of satisfying -the public that its service was necessarily -below standard because of the peculiar national -conditions. The public, in response to the efforts -of the company, which were analogous to a gracious -personal apology, accepted more or less irksome -conditions as a matter of course. Had the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span> -company not cared about the public, the public -would undoubtedly have been unpleasantly insistent -upon a maintenance of the pre-war standards -of service.</p> - -<p>Americans were once wont to jest about the -dependence of France and Switzerland upon the -tourist trade. To-day we see American cities -competing, as part of their public relations programs, -for conventions, fairs and conferences. -The <cite>New York Times</cite> printed some time ago an -address by the governor of Nebraska, in which -he told a group of advertising men that publicity -had made Nebraska prosper.</p> - -<p>The <cite>New York Herald</cite> carried an editorial -recently, entitled, “It pays a state to advertise,” -centering about the campaign of the state of -Vermont to present itself favorably to public -attention. According to the editorial, the state -publishes a magazine, <cite>The Vermonter</cite>, an attractive -publication filled with interesting illustrations -and well-written text. It is devoted exclusively -to revealing in detail the industrial and -agricultural resources of the state and to presenting -Vermont’s strikingly beautiful scenic -attractions for the summer visitor. Similar instances -of elaborate efforts, taking the form of -action or the printed word, either to obtain public -attention or to obtain a favorable attitude from -the public for individual industries and groups<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span> -of industries, will come readily to the reader’s -mind.</p> - -<p>Without attempting to take too seriously an -amusing story printed in a recent issue of a New -York newspaper, leaders in movements and industries -of modern life will be inclined to agree -with the protagonist of publicity spoken of. According -to the story, a man set out to prove to -another that it was not so much what a man -did as the way it was heralded which insures -his place in history. He cited Barbara Frietchie, -Evangeline, John Smith and a half dozen others -as instances to prove that they are remembered -not for what they did, but because they had excellent -counsel on their public relations.</p> - -<p>“‘Very good,’ agreed the friend. ‘But show -me a case where a person who has really done a -big thing has been overlooked.’</p> - -<p>“‘You know Paul Revere, of course,’ he -said. ‘But tell me the names of the two other -fellows who rode that night to rouse the countryside -with the news that the British were coming.’</p> - -<p>“‘Never heard of them,’ was the answer.</p> - -<p>“‘There were three waiting to see the signal -hung in the tower of the Old North Church,’ he -said. ‘Every one of them was mounted and -spurred, just as Mr. Longfellow described Paul -Revere. They all got the signal. They all rode<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span> -and waked the farmers, spreading the warning. -Afterward one of them was an officer in Washington’s -army, another became governor of one -of the States. Not one in twenty thousand Americans -ever heard the names of the other two, and -there is hardly a person in America who does not -know all about Revere.’</p> - -<p>“‘Did Revere make history or did Longfellow?’”</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_I_III" class="vspace">CHAPTER III<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE FUNCTION OF A SPECIAL PLEADER</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Public</span> opinion has entered life at many -points as a decisive factor. Men and movements -whose interests will be affected by the -attitude of the public are taking pains to have -themselves represented in the court of public -opinion by the most skillful counselors they can -obtain. The business of the public relations -counsel is somewhat like the business of the -attorney—to advise his client and to litigate his -causes for him.</p> - -<p>While the special pleader in law, the lawyer -for the defense, has always been accorded a -formal hearing by judge and jury, this has not -been the case before the court of public opinion. -Here mob psychology, the intolerance of human -society for a dissenting point of view, have made -it difficult and often dangerous for a man to plead -for a new or unpopular cause.</p> - -<p><cite>The Fourth Estate</cite>, a newspaper for the -makers of newspapers, says: “‘Counsel on public -relations’ and ‘director of public relations’ are -two terms that are being encountered more often<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span> -every day. There is a familiar tinge to them, -in a way, but in justice to the men who bear these -titles and to the concerns which employ them, it -should be said that they are—or can be—dissociated -from the old idea of ‘publicity man.’ The -very fact that many of the largest corporations -in the country are recognizing the need of maintaining -right relationships with the public is alone -important enough to assure a fair and even favorable -hearing for their public relations departments.</p> - -<p>“Whether a man is really entitled to the appellation -‘counsel on public relations’ or whether he -should merely be called ‘publicity man’ rests entirely -with the individual and the firm that employs -him. As we see it, a man who is really -counsel or director of public relations has one -of the most important jobs on the roster of any -concern; but a man who merely represents the -old idea of getting something for nothing from -publishers is about <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">passé</i>....</p> - -<p>“So there is made plain the difference between -two terms, the old and the new, both of which -have occasioned much natural curiosity among -newspaper men. When Napoleon said, ‘Circumstance? -I make circumstance,’ he expressed very -nearly the spirit of the public relations counsel’s -work. So long as this new professional branch -live up to the possibilities that their title suggests,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span> -they are bound to accomplish general constructive -good. Maybe they, at last, will make -us forget that ingratiating though insidious individual, -the publicity man.”</p> - -<p>As indicative perhaps of the growing importance -of the profession, an article by Mary Swain -Routzahn, in charge of the Department of Surveys -and Exhibits of the Russell Sage Foundation, -on “Woman’s Chance as Publicity Specialist” -published in the <cite>New York Globe</cite> of August -2nd, 1921, discusses the profession as one of recent -development, but of such importance as to -deserve the serious consideration of women who -are interested in making a professional career for -themselves.</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel is first of all a -student. His field of study is the public mind. -His text books for this study are the facts of -life; the articles printed in newspapers and magazines, -the advertisements that are inserted in -publications, the billboards that line the streets, -the railroads and the highways, the speeches that -are delivered in legislative chambers, the sermons -issuing from pulpits, anecdotes related in smoking -rooms, the gossip of Wall Street, the patter -of the theater and the conversation of other men -who, like him, are interpreters and must listen -for the clear or obscure enunciations of the -public.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span> -He brings the talent of his intuitive understanding -to the aid of his practical and psychological -tests and surveys. But he is not only a -student. He is a practitioner with a wide range -of instruments and a definite technique for their -use.</p> - -<p>First of all, there are the circumstances and -events he helps to create. After that there are -the instruments by which he broadcasts facts and -ideas to the public; advertising, motion pictures, -circular letters, booklets, handbills, speeches, -meetings, parades, news articles, magazine articles -and whatever other mediums there are -through which public attention is reached and -influenced.</p> - -<p>Now sensitiveness to the state of mind of the -public is a difficult thing to achieve or maintain. -Any man can tell you with more or less accuracy -and clearness his own reactions on any particular -issue. But few men have the time or the interest -or the training to develop a sense of what other -persons think or feel about the same issue. In -his own profession the skilled practitioner is sensitive -and understanding. The lawyer can tell -what argument will appeal to court or jury. The -salesman can tell what points to stress to his -prospective buyers. The politician can tell what -to emphasize to his audience, but the ability to -estimate group reactions on a large scale over<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span> -a wide geographic and psychological area is a -specialized ability which must be developed with -the same painstaking self-criticism and with the -same dependence on experience that are required -for the development of the clinical sense in the -doctor or surgeon.</p> - -<p>Of course, the public relations counsel employs -all those practical means of gauging the public -mind which modern advertising has developed -and uses. He employs the research campaign, -the symposium, the survey of a particular group -or of a particular state of mind as a further aid, -and confirmation or modification of his own appraisals -and judgments.</p> - -<p>Charles J. Rosebault, the author of an article -in the <cite>New York Times</cite> recently, headed “Men -Who Wield the Spotlight,” remarks that the -competent public relations counsel has generally -had some newspaper training and that the value -of this training “is a keen sense of the likes and -dislikes of what we call the public—that is, the -average of men and women. The needle of the -compass is no more sensitive to direction, nor -the mercury in the thermometer to variations of -heat and cold than is this expert to the influence -of publicity upon the mind and emotions of the -man in the street.”</p> - -<p>It is not surprising that the growing interest -of the public in men and movements should have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span> -led to the spontaneous creation of the new profession.</p> - -<p>We have presented here, in very broad outline, -a picture of the fundamental work of the public -relations counsel and of the fundamental conditions -which have produced him. On the one -hand, a complex environment of which only small, -disconnected portions are available to different -persons; on the other hand, the great and increasing -importance either of making one’s case accessible -to the public mind or of determining whether -that case will impinge favorably or unfavorably -upon the public mind—these two conditions, taken -together, have resulted inevitably in the public -relations counsel. Mr. Lippmann finds in these -facts the underlying reason for the existence of -what he calls the “press agent.” “The enormous -discretion,” he says, “as to what facts and what -impressions shall be reported is steadily convincing -every organized group of people that, whether -it wishes to secure publicity or to avoid it, the -exercise of discretion cannot be left to the -reporter. It is safer to hire a press agent -who stands between the group and the newspapers.”<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">3</a></p> - -<p>It is clear that the popular impression of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span> -scope and functions of the counsel on public relations -must be radically revised if any accurate -picture of the profession is to be looked for. The -public relations counsel is the lineal descendant, -to be sure, of the circus advance-man and of -the semi-journalist promoter of small-part actresses. -The economic conditions which have -produced him, however, and made his profession -the important one it is to-day, have in themselves -materially changed the character of his work.</p> - -<p>His primary function now is not to bring his -clients by chance to the public’s attention, nor to -extricate them from difficulties into which they -have already drifted, but to advise his clients -how positive results can be accomplished in the -field of public relations and to keep them from -drifting inadvertently into unfortunate or harmful -situations. The public relations counsel will -find that the conditions under which his client -operates, be it a government, a manufacturer of -food products or a railroad system, are constantly -changing and that he must advise modifications -in policy in accordance with such changes in the -public point of view. As such, the public relations -counsel must be alive to the events of the -day—not only the events that are printed but -the events which are forming hour by hour, as -reported in the words that are spoken on the -street, in the smoking cars, in the school room, -or expressed in any of the other forms of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span> -thought communication that make up public -opinion.</p> - -<p>So long as the press remains the greatest single -medium for reaching the public mind, the work -of the public relations counsel will necessarily -have close contacts with the work of the journalist. -He transmits his ideas, however, through -all those mediums which help to build public -opinion—the radio, the lecture platform, advertising, -the stage, the motion picture, the mails. -On the other hand, he is becoming to-day as much -of an adviser on actions as he is the communicator -of these actions to the public.</p> - -<p>The public relations consultant is ideally a constructive -force in the community. The results -of his work are often accelerated interest in matters -of value and importance to the social, economic -or political life of the community.</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel is the pleader to -the public of a point of view. He acts in this -capacity as a consultant both in interpreting the -public to his client and in helping to interpret his -client to the public. He helps to mould the action -of his client as well as to mould public opinion.</p> - -<p>His profession is in a state of evolution. His -future must depend as much upon the growing -realization by the public of the responsibility to -the public of individuals, institutions and organizations -as upon the public relations counsel’s own -realization of the importance of his work.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="PART_II">PART II<br /> -<span class="subhead"><span class="smcap">The Group and Herd</span></span></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_II_I" class="vspace">CHAPTER I<br /> - -<span class="subhead">WHAT CONSTITUTES PUBLIC OPINION?</span></h2> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> character and origins of public opinion, -the factors that make up the individual -mind and the group mind must be understood if -the profession of public relations counsel is to -be intelligently practiced and its functions and -possibilities accurately estimated. Society must -understand the fundamental character of the -work he is doing, if for no other reason than its -own welfare.</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel works with that -vague, little-understood, indefinite material called -public opinion.</p> - -<p>Public opinion is a term describing an ill-defined, -mercurial and changeable group of individual -judgments. Public opinion is the aggregate -result of individual opinions—now uniform, -now conflicting—of the men and women who -make up society or any group of society. In -order to understand public opinion, one must go -back to the individual who makes up the group.</p> - -<p>The mental equipment of the average individual -consists of a mass of judgments on most of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span> -the subjects which touch his daily physical or -mental life. These judgments are the tools of -his daily being and yet they are his judgments, -not on a basis of research and logical deduction, -but for the most part dogmatic expressions accepted -on the authority of his parents, his teachers, -his church, and of his social, his economic -and other leaders.</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel must understand -the social implications of an individual’s thoughts -and actions. Is it, for example, purely an accident -that a man belongs to one church rather than -another or to any church at all? Is it an accident -that makes Boston women prefer brown -eggs and New York women white eggs? What -are the factors that work in favor of conversion -of a man from one political party to another -or from one type of food to another?</p> - -<p>Why do certain communities resist the prohibition -law—why do others abide by it? Why -is it difficult to start a new party movement—or -to fight cancer? Why is it difficult to fight -for sex education? Why does the free trader -denounce protectionism, and vice versa?</p> - -<p>If we had to form our own judgments on every -matter, we should all have to find out many things -for ourselves which we now take for granted. -We should not cook our food or live in houses—in -fact, we should revert to primitive living.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span> -The public relations counsel must deal with the -fact that persons who have little knowledge of -a subject almost invariably form definite and -positive judgments upon that subject.</p> - -<p>“If we examine the mental furniture of the -average man,” says William Trotter, the author -of a comprehensive study of the social psychology -of the individual,<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">4</a> “we shall find it made up of -a vast number of judgments of a very precise -kind upon subjects of very great variety, complexity, -and difficulty. He will have fairly settled -views upon the origin and nature of the universe, -and upon what he will probably call its meaning; -he will have conclusions as to what is to happen -to him at death and after, as to what is and what -should be the basis of conduct. He will know -how the country should be governed, and why -it is going to the dogs, why this piece of legislation -is good and that bad. He will have strong -views upon military and naval strategy, the principles -of taxation, the use of alcohol and vaccination, -the treatment of influenza, the prevention -of hydrophobia, upon municipal trading, the -teaching of Greek, upon what is permissible in -art, satisfactory in literature, and hopeful in science.</p> - -<p>“The bulk of such opinions must necessarily<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span> -be without rational basis, since many of them -are concerned with problems admitted by the expert -to be still unsolved, while as to the rest it -is clear that the training and experience of no -average man can qualify him to have any opinion -upon them at all. The rational method adequately -used would have told him that on the -great majority of these questions there could be -for him but one attitude—that of suspended -judgment.”</p> - -<p>The reader will recall from his own experience -an almost infinite number of instances in which -the amateur has been fully prepared to deliver -expert advice and to give final judgment in matters -upon which his ignorance is patent to every -one except himself.</p> - -<p>In the Middle Ages, society was convinced that -there were witches. People were so positive that -they burned people whom they suspected of witchcraft. -To-day there is an equal number of people -who believe just as firmly, one way or the -other, about spiritualism and spirits. They do -not burn mediums. But people who have made -no research of the subject pass strong denunciatory -judgments. Others, no better informed, consider -mediums divinely inspired. Not so long -ago every intelligent man knew that the world -was flat. To-day the average man has a belief -just as firm and unknowing in the mysterious<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span> -force which he has heard called atomic energy.</p> - -<p>It is axiomatic that men who know little are -often intolerant of a point of view that is contrary -to their own. The bitterness that has been -brought about by arguments on public questions -is proverbial. Lovers have been parted by bitter -quarrels on theories of pacificism or militarism; -and when an argument upon an abstract question -engages opponents they often desert the main line -of argument in order to abuse each other.</p> - -<p>How often this is true can be seen from the -congressional records of controversies in which -the personal attack supersedes logic. In a recent -fight against the proposed tariff measures, a -protagonist of protection published long vindictive -statements, in which he tried to confound -the character and the disinterestedness of his -opponents. Logically his discussion should have -been based only upon the sound economic, social -and political value of the bill as presented.</p> - -<p>A hundred leading American bankers, business -men, professional men and economists united in -public disapproval of this plan. They stated their -opinion that the “American” Valuation Plan, as -it was called, would endanger the prosperity of -the country, that it would be inimical to our -foreign relations and that it would injure the -welfare of every country with whom our commercial -and industrial ties were at all close.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span> -This group was a broadly representative group -of men and women, yet the chairman of the -Ways and Means Committee accused all these -people of acting upon motives of personal gain -and lack of patriotism. Prejudice superseded -logic.</p> - -<p>Intolerance is almost inevitably accompanied -by a natural and true inability to comprehend or -make allowance for opposite points of view. The -skilled scientist who may be receptive to any -promising suggestion in his own field may outside -of his own field be found quite unwilling -to make any attempt at understanding a point -of view contrary to his own. In politics, for -example, his understanding of the problem may -be fragmentary, yet he will enter excitedly into -discussions on bonus and ship subsidy, of which -he has made no study. We find here with significant -uniformity what one psychologist has -called “logic-proof compartments.”</p> - -<p>The logic-proof compartment has always been -with us. Scientists have lost their lives through -refusing to see flaws in their theories. Intelligent -mothers give food to their babies that they -would manifestly forbid other mothers to give -their children. Especially significant is the tendency -of races to maintain religious beliefs and -customs long after these have lost their meaning. -Dietary laws, hygienic laws, even laws based<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span> -upon geographical conditions that have been -changed for more than a thousand years are still -maintained in the logic-proof compartment of -dogmatic adherence. There is a story that certain -missionaries give money to heathen at the -time of conversion and that the heathen, having -got their money, bathe away their conversion in -sacred streams.</p> - -<p>The characteristic of the human mind to adhere -to its beliefs is excellently summarized in -the volume by Mr. Trotter to which reference has -been made before. “It is clear,” says Mr. Trotter,<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">5</a> -“at the outset that these beliefs are invariably -regarded as rational and defended as such, -while the position of one who holds contrary -views is held to be obviously unreasonable.</p> - -<p>“The religious man accuses the atheist of being -shallow and irrational, and is met by a similar -reply. To the Conservative the amazing -thing about the Liberal is his incapacity to see -reason and accept the only possible solution of -public problems. Examination reveals the fact -that the differences are not due to the commission -of the mere mechanical fallacies of logic, since -these are easily avoided, even by the politician, -and since there is no reason to believe that one -party in such controversies is less logical than<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span> -the other. The difference is due rather to the -fundamental assumptions of the antagonists being -hostile, and these assumptions are derived -from herd-suggestions; to the Liberal certain -basal conceptions have acquired the quality of instinctive -truth, have become <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">a priori</i> syntheses, -because of the accumulated suggestions to which -he has been exposed; and a similar explanation -applies to the atheist, the Christian, and the Conservative. -Each, it is important to remember, -finds in consequence the rationality of his position -flawless and is quite incapable of detecting -in it the fallacies which are obvious to his opponent, -to whom that particular series of assumptions -has not been rendered acceptable by herd -suggestion.”</p> - -<p>Thus the public relations counsel has to consider -the <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">a priori</i> judgment of any public he deals -with before counseling any step that would modify -those things in which the public has an established -belief.</p> - -<p>It is seldom effective to call names or to attempt -to discredit the beliefs themselves. The -counsel on public relations, after examination of -the sources of established beliefs, must either discredit -the old authorities or create new authorities -by making articulate a mass opinion against -the old belief or in favor of the new.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_II_II" class="vspace">CHAPTER II<br /> - -<span class="subhead">IS PUBLIC OPINION STUBBORN OR MALLEABLE?</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">There</span> is a divergence of opinion as to -whether the public mind is malleable or -stubborn—whether it is a passive or an active -element. On the one hand is the profound belief -that “you can’t change human nature.” On -the other hand is the equally firm assurance that -certain well-defined institutions modify and alter -public opinion.</p> - -<p>There is a uniformity of opinion in this country -upon many issues. When this uniformity -accords with our own beliefs we call it an expression -of the public conscience. When, however, -it runs contrary to our beliefs we call it -the regimentation of the public mind and are inclined -to ascribe it to insidious propaganda.</p> - -<p>Uniformity is, in fact, largely natural and only -partly artificial. Public opinion may be as much -the producer of “insidious propaganda” as its -product. Naturally enough, where broad ideas -are involved, criticisms of the state of the public’s -mind and of its origin come most frequently from -groups that are out of sympathy with the accepted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span> -point of view. They find the public unreceptive -to their point of view, and justly or -unjustly they attribute this to the influence of antagonistic -interests upon the public mind.</p> - -<p>These groups see the press, the lecture platform, -the schools, the advertisements, the -churches, the radio, the motion picture screen, -the magazines daily reaching millions. They see -that the preponderant point of view in most, if -not all, these institutions conforms to the preponderant -state of mind of the public.</p> - -<p>They argue from the one to the other and -reach their conclusions without much difficulty. -They do not stop to think that agreement in point -of view between the public and these institutions -may often be the result of the control exercised -by the public mind over these institutions.</p> - -<p>Many outside forces, however, do go to influence -public opinion. The most obvious of these -forces are parental influence, the school room, -the press, motion pictures, advertising, magazines, -lectures, the church, the radio.</p> - -<p>To answer the question as to the stubbornness -or malleability of the public, let us analyze the -press in its relation to public opinion, since the -press stands preëminent among the various institutions -which are commonly designated as -leaders or moulders of the public mind. By -the press, in this instance, I mean the daily<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span> -press. Americans are a newspaper-reading public. -They have become accustomed to look to -their morning and evening papers for the news -of the world and for the opinions of their leaders. -And while the individual newspaper reader does -not give a very considerable portion of his day -to this occupation, many persons find time to read -more than one newspaper every day.</p> - -<p>It is not surprising that the man who is outside -the current of prevailing public opinion -should regard the daily press as a coercive force.</p> - -<p>Discussions of the public’s reaction to the press -are two-sided, just as are discussions of the influence -of the pulpit or other forces. Some -authorities hold that the public mind is stubborn -in regard to the press and that the press has little -influence upon it. There are graphic instances of -the stubbornness of the public point of view. A -most interesting example is the reëlection of -Mayor Hylan of New York by an overwhelming -majority in the face of the opposition of all but -two of the metropolitan dailies. It is also noteworthy -that in 1909, Gaynor was elected Mayor -of New York with every paper except one opposing -his candidacy. Likewise, Mayor Mitchel of -New York was defeated for reëlection in 1917, -although all the New York papers except two -Hearst papers and the <cite>New York Call</cite> supported -him. In Boston, in a recent election, a man was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span> -elected as mayor who had been convicted of a -penal offense, and elected in the face of the practically -united opposition of all the newspapers of -that city. How would such authors as Everett -Dean Martin, Walter Lippmann and Upton Sinclair -explain these incidents? How, on the theory -of the regimentation of the public mind by -the daily press, can such thinkers explain the -sharpness with which the public sometimes rejects -the advocacies of a united press? These instances -are not frequent; but they show that -other influences beside the press enter into the -making of a public opinion and that these forces -must never be disregarded in the estimate of the -quality and stability of a prevalent public opinion.</p> - -<p>Francis E. Leupp, writing in the <cite>Atlantic -Monthly</cite> for February, 1910, on “The Waning -Power of the Press,” remarks that Mayor Gaynor’s -comments shortly after his election in 1909 -“led up to the conclusion that in our common sense -generation nobody cares what the newspapers -say.” Mr. Leupp continues: “Unflattering as -such a verdict may be, probably the majority of -a community if polled as a jury would concur -in it. The airy dismissal of some proposition -as ‘mere newspaper talk’ is heard at every social -gathering until one who is brought up to regard -the press as a mighty factor in modern civilization<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span> -is tempted to wonder whether it has actually -lost the power it used to wield among us.”</p> - -<p>And H. L. Mencken, writing in the same -magazine for March, 1914, declares that “one -of the principal marks of an educated man, indeed, -is the fact that he does <em>not</em> take his opinions -from newspapers—not, at any rate, from the militant, -crusading newspapers. On the contrary, -his attitude toward them is almost always one of -frank cynicism, with indifference as its mildest -form and contempt as its commonest. He knows -that they are constantly falling into false reasoning -about the things within his personal knowledge,—that -is, within the narrow circle of his -special education,—and so he assumes that they -make the same, or even worse, errors about other -things, whether intellectual or moral. This assumption, -it may be said at once, is quite justified -by the facts.”</p> - -<p>The second point of view holds that the daily -press and the other leading forces merely accept, -reflect and intensify established public opinion -and are, therefore, responsible for the uniformity -of public reaction. A vivid statement of the point -of view of the man who typifies this group is -found in Everett Dean Martin’s volume on -“The Behavior of Crowds.” He says:<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">6</a> “The -modern man has in the printing press a wonderfully<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span> -effective means for perpetuating crowd-movements -and keeping great masses of people -constantly under the sway of certain crowd-ideas. -Every crowd-group has its magazines, -press agents, and special ‘literature’ with which -it continually harangues its members and possible -converts. Many books, and especially certain -works of fiction of the ‘best seller’ type, are -clearly reading mob phenomena.”</p> - -<p>There is a third group which perhaps comes -nearer the truth, which holds that the press, just -as other mediums of education or dissemination, -brings about a very definite change in public -opinion. A most graphic illustration of what -such mediums can do to change opinions upon -fundamental and important matters is the woman -suffrage question and its victory over established -points of view. The press, the pulpit, the lecture -platform, the motion pictures and the other mediums -for reaching the public brought about a -complete popular conversion. Other examples of -the change that may be brought about in public -opinion in this way, by such institutions of -authority, is the present attitude towards birth -control and towards health education.</p> - -<p>Naturally the press, like other institutions -which present facts or opinions, is restricted, -often unconsciously, sometimes consciously, by -various controlling conditions. Certain people<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span> -talk of the censorship enacted by the prejudices -and predispositions of the public itself. Some, -such as Upton Sinclair, ascribe to the advertisers -a conscious and powerful control of publications. -Others, like Walter Lippmann, find that an effective -barrier between the public and the event exists -in the powerful influence which, he says, is -exerted in certain cases on the press by the so-called -quality public which the newspapers’ advertisers -wish to reach and among whom the -newspapers must circulate if the advertising is -to be successful. Mr. Lippmann observes that -although such a restriction may exist, much of -what may be attributed to censorship in the newspaper, -often is actually inadequate presentation -of the events it seeks to describe.</p> - -<p>On this point he says:<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">7</a> “It follows that in -the reporting of strikes, the easiest way is to let -the news be uncovered by the overt act, and to -describe the event as the story of interference -with the reader’s life. This is where his attention -is first aroused and his interest most easily enlisted. -A great deal, I think myself, of the crucial -part of what looks to the worker and the reformer -as deliberate misrepresentation on the part of -newspapers, is the direct outcome of a practical -difficulty in uncovering the news, and the emotional -difficulty of making distinct facts interesting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span> -unless, as Emerson says, we can ‘perceive’ -(them) and can ‘set about translating (them) -at once into parallel facts.’”</p> - -<p>In view then of the possibility of a malleable -public opinion the counsel on public relations, desiring -to obtain a hearing for any given cause, -simply utilizes existent channels to obtain expression -for the point of view he represents. How -this is done will be considered later.</p> - -<p>Because of the importance of channels of -thought communication, it is vital for the public -relations counsel to study carefully the relationship -between public opinion and the organs that -maintain it or that influence it to change. We -shall look into this interaction and its effect in -the next chapter.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_II_III" class="vspace">CHAPTER III<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE INTERACTION OF PUBLIC OPINION WITH THE -FORCES THAT HELP TO MAKE IT</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> public and the press, or for that matter, -the public and any force that modifies public -opinion, interact. Action and interaction are -continually going on between the forces projected -out to the public and the public itself. -The public relations counsel must understand this -fact in its broadest and most detailed implications. -He must understand not only what these various -forces are, but he must be able to evaluate their -relative powers with fair accuracy. Let us consider -again the case of a newspaper, as representative -of other mediums of communication.</p> - -<p>“We print,” says the <cite>New York Times</cite>, “all the -news that’s fit to print.” Immediately the question -arises (as Elmer Davis, the historian of the -<cite>Times</cite> tells us that it did when the motto was -first adopted) what news <em>is</em> fit to print? By what -standard is the editorial decision reached which -includes one kind of news and excludes another -kind? The <cite>Times</cite> itself has not been, in its long<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">78</span> -and conspicuously successful career, entirely free -from difficulties on this point.</p> - -<p>Thus in “The History of The <cite>New York -Times</cite>,” Mr. Davis feels the need for justifying -the extent to which that paper featured Theodore -Tilton’s action against the Rev. Henry -Ward Beecher for alienation of Mrs. Tilton’s -affections and his conduct with her. Mr. Davis -says (pages 124-125): “No doubt a good many -readers of the <cite>Times</cite> thought that the paper -was giving an undue amount of space to this -chronicle of sin and suffering. Those complaints -come in often enough even in these days from -readers who appreciate the paper’s general reluctance -to display news of this sort, and wonder -why a good general rule should occasionally be -violated. But there was a reason in the Beecher -case, as there has usually been a reason in similar -affairs since. Dr. Beecher was one of the most -prominent clergymen in the country; there was a -natural curiosity as to whether he was practicing -what he preached. One of the counsel at the -trial declared that ‘all Christendom was hanging -on its outcome.’ Full reporting of its course was -not a mere pandering to vulgar curiosity, but a -recognition of the value of the case as news.”</p> - -<p>The simple fact that such a slogan can exist -and be accepted is for our purpose an important -point. Somewhere there must be a standard to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span> -which the editors of the <cite>Times</cite> can conform, as -well as a large clientele of constant readers to -whom that standard is satisfactory. “Fit” must -be defined by the editors of the <cite>Times</cite> in a way -which meets with the approval of enough persons -to enable the paper to maintain its reading public. -As soon, however, as the definition is attempted, -difficulties arise.</p> - -<p>Professor W. G. Bleyer, in an article in his -book on journalism, first stresses the importance -of completeness in the news columns of a paper, -then goes on to say that “the only important -limitations to completeness are those imposed by -the commonly accepted ideas of decency embodied -in the words, ‘All the news that’s fit to print’ -and by the rights of privacy. Carefully edited -newspapers discriminate between what the public -is entitled to know and what an individual has -a right to keep private.”</p> - -<p>On the other hand, when Professor Bleyer -attempts to define what news is fit to print and -what the public is entitled to know, he discusses -generalizations capable of wide and frequently -inconsistent interpretation. “News,” says he, “is -anything timely which is significant to newspaper -readers in their relations to the community, the -state and the nation.”</p> - -<p>Who is to determine what is significant and -what is not? Who is to decide which of the individual’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span> -relations to the community are safeguarded -by his right of privacy and which are -not? Such a definition tells us nothing more -definite than does the slogan which it attempts -to define. We must look further for a standard -by which these definitions are applied. There -must be a consensus of public opinion on which -the newspaper falls back for its standards.</p> - -<p>The truth is that while it appears to be forming -the public opinion on fundamental matters, -the press is often conforming to it.</p> - -<p>It is the office of the public relations counsel -to determine the interaction between the public, -and the press and the other mediums affecting -public opinion. It is as important to conform -to the standards of the organ which projects -ideas as it is to present to this organ such ideas -as will conform to the fundamental understanding -and appreciation of the public to which they -are ultimately to appeal. There is as much truth -in the proposition that the public leads institutions -as in the contrary proposition that the institutions -lead the public.</p> - -<p>As an illustration of the manner in which -newspapers are inclined to accept the judgments -of their readers in presenting material to them, -we have this anecdote which Rollo Ogden tells -in the <cite>Atlantic Monthly</cite> for July, 1906, about a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span> -letter which Wendell Phillips wished to have published -in a Boston paper.</p> - -<p>“The editor read it over, and said, ‘Mr. Phillips, -that is a very good and interesting letter, -and I shall be glad to publish it; but I wish you -would consent to strike out the last paragraph.’</p> - -<p>“‘Why,’ said Phillips, ‘that paragraph is the -precise thing for which I wrote the whole letter. -Without that it would be pointless.’</p> - -<p>“‘Oh, I see that,’ replied the editor; ‘and what -you say is perfectly true! I fully agree with it -all myself. Yet it is one of those things which -it will not do to say publicly. However, if you -insist upon it, I will publish it as it stands.’</p> - -<p>“It was published the next morning, and along -with it a short editorial reference to it, saying -that a letter from Mr. Phillips would be found -in another column, and that it was extraordinary -that so keen a mind as his should have fallen into -the palpable absurdity contained in the last paragraph.”</p> - -<p>Recognition of this fact comes from a number -of different sources. H. L. Mencken recognizes -that the public runs the press as much as the press -runs the public.</p> - -<p>“The primary aim of all of them,” says -Mr. Mencken,<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">8</a> “not less when they play the secular<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span> -Iokanaan than when they play the mere newsmonger, -was to please the crowd, and to give a -good show; and the way they set about giving -that good show was by first selecting a deserving -victim, and then putting him magnificently to the -torture.</p> - -<p>“This was their method when they were performing -for their own profit only, when their -one motive was to make the public read their -paper; but it was still their motive when they -were battling bravely and unselfishly for the public -good, and so discharging the highest duty of -their profession.”</p> - -<p>There are interesting, if somewhat obscure, -examples of the complementary working of various -forces. In the field of the motion pictures, -for example, the producers, the actors and the -press, in their support, have continually waged -a battle against censorship. Undoubtedly censorship -of the motion pictures is in its practical workings -an economic and artistic handicap. Censorship, -however, will continue in spite of the producers -as long as there is a willingness on the -part of the public to accept this censorship. The -public, on the whole, has refused to join the fight -against censorship, because there is a more or less -articulate belief that children, if not women, -should be protected from seeing shocking sights, -such as murders visibly enacted, the taking of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span> -drugs, immoralities and other acts which might -offend or suggest harmful imitation.</p> - -<p>“Damaged Goods,” before its presentation to -America in 1913, was analyzed by the public relations -counsel, who helped to produce the play. -He recognized that unless that part of the public -sentiment which believed in education and truth -could be lifted from that part of public opinion -which condemned the mentioning of sex matters, -“Damaged Goods” would fail. The producers, -therefore, did not try to educate the public by -presenting this play as such, but allowed group -leaders and groups interested in education to -come to the support of Brieux’s drama and, in a -sense, to sponsor the production.</p> - -<p>Proof that the public and the institutions that -make public opinion interact is shown in instances -in which books were stifled because of popular -disapproval at one time and then brought forward -by popular demand at a later time when public -opinion had altered. Religious and very early -scientific works are among such books.</p> - -<p>A more recent instance is the announcement -made by <cite>Judge</cite>, a weekly magazine, that it would -support the fight for light wine and beer. <cite>Judge</cite> -took this stand because it believed in the principle -of personal freedom and also because it -deemed that public sentiment was in favor of -light wine and beer as a substitute for absolute<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">84</span> -prohibition. <cite>Judge</cite> believed its stand would please -its readers.</p> - -<p>Presumably writing of newspaper morality, -Mr. Mencken, in his article just quoted, finds at -the end of it that he has “written of popular -morality very copiously, and of newspaper morality -very little.</p> - -<p>“But,” says Mr. Mencken, “as I have said before, -the one is the other. The newspaper must -adapt its pleading to its clients’ moral limitation -just as the trial lawyer also must adapt <em>his</em> pleading -to the jury’s limitations. Neither may like -the job, but both must face it to gain the larger -end.”</p> - -<p>Writing on the other hand from the point -of view of the man who feels that the public taste -requires no justification, Ralph Pulitzer nevertheless -agrees with Mr. Mencken that the opinion -of the press is set by the public; and he justifies -“muckraking”<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">9</a> by finding it neither “extraordinary -nor culpable that people and press -should be more interested in the polemical than -in the platitudinous; in blame than in painting -the lily; in attack than in sending laudatory coals -to Newcastle.”</p> - -<p>Even Mr. Leupp<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">10</a> concludes that “whatever<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">85</span> -we may say of the modern press on its less commendable -side, we are bound to admit that newspapers, -like governments, fairly reflect the people -they serve. Charles Dudley Warner once went -so far as to say that no matter how objectionable -the character of a paper may be, it is always -a trifle better than the patrons on whom it relies -for its support.”</p> - -<p>Similarly, from an unusually wide experience -on a paper as highly considered, perhaps, as any -in America, Rollo Ogden claims this give and -take between the public and the press is vital to a -just conception of American journalism.</p> - -<p>“The editor does not nonchalantly project his -thoughts into the void. He listens for the echo -of his words. His relation to his supporters is -not unlike Gladstone’s definition of the intimate -connection between the orator and his audience. -As the speaker gets from his hearers in mist what -he gives back in shower, so the newspaper receives -from the public as well as gives to it. Too -often it gets as dust what it gives back as mud; -but that does not alter the relation. Action and -reaction are all the while going on between the -press and its patrons. Hence it follows that the -responsibility for the more crying evils of journalism -must be divided.”<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">11</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">86</span> -The same interaction goes on in connection -with all the other forces that mould public opinion. -The preacher upholds the ideals of society. -He leads his flock whither they indicate a willingness -to be led. Ibsen creates a revolution when -society is ripe for it. The public responds to -finer music and better motion pictures and demands -improvements. “Give the people what -they want” is only half sound. What they want -and what they get are fused by some mysterious -alchemy. The press, the lecturer, the screen and -the public lead and are led by each other.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">87</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_II_IV" class="vspace">CHAPTER IV<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE POWER OF INTERACTING FORCES THAT GO TO -MAKE UP PUBLIC OPINION</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> influence of any force which attempts -to modify public opinion depends upon the -success with which it is able to enlist established -points of view. A middle ground exists between -the hypothesis that the public is stubborn and -the hypothesis that it is malleable. To a large -degree the press, the schools, the churches, motion -pictures, advertising, the lecture platform -and radio all conform to the demands of the public. -But to an equally large degree the public -responds to the influence of these very same -mediums of communication.</p> - -<p>Some analysts believe that the public has no -opinions except those which various institutions -provide ready made for it. From Mr. Mencken -and others it would almost seem to follow that -newspapers and other mediums have no standards -except those which the public provides, and that -therefore they are substantially without influence -upon the public mind. The truth of the matter,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">88</span> -as I have pointed out, lies somewhere between -these two extreme positions.</p> - -<p>In other words, the public relations counsel -who thinks clearly on the problem of public opinion -and public relations will credit the two factors -of public opinion respectively with their influence -and effectiveness in mutual interaction.</p> - -<p>Ray Stannard Baker says<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">12</a> that “while there -was a gesture of unconcern, of don’t care what -they say, on the part of the leaders (of the Versailles -conference), no aspect of the conference -in reality worried them more than the news, -opinions, guesses that went out by scores of thousands -of words every night, and the reactions -which came back so promptly from them. The -problem of publicity consumed an astonishing -amount of time, anxiety and discussion among -the leaders of the conference. It influenced the -entire procedure, it was partly instrumental in -driving the four heads of States finally into -small secret conferences. The full achievement -of publicity on one occasion—Wilson’s Italian -note—nearly broke up the conference and overturned -a government. The bare threat of it, -upon other occasions, changed the course of the -discussion. Nothing concerned the conference -more than what democracy was going to do with -diplomacy.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">89</span> -For like causes we find great industries—motion -pictures being one and organized baseball -another—appointing as directors of their activities -men prominent in public life, doing this to -assure the public of the honest and social-minded -conduct of their members. The Franklin Roosevelts -are in this class, the Will Hayses and the -Landises.</p> - -<p>A striking example of this interaction is illustrated -in what occurred at the Hague Conference -a few years ago. The effect of the Hague Conference’s -conduct upon the public was such that -officials were forced to open the Conference doors -to the representatives of newspapers. On June -16th, 1922, a note came from The Hague by -the Associated Press that Foreign Minister Van -Karnebeek of Holland capitulated to the world’s -desire to be informed of what was going on -by admitting correspondents. Early announcement -that “the press cannot be admitted” was, -according to the report, followed by anxious -emissaries begging the journalists to have patience. -Editorials printed in Holland pointed out -that the best way to insure public coöperation -was to take the public into its confidence. Minister -van Karnebeek, who had been at Washington, -was thoroughly awake to the invaluable service -the press of the world rendered there. One -editorial here pointed out that public statements<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">90</span> -“were used by the diplomats themselves as a -happy means of testing popular opinion upon the -various projects offered in council. How many -‘trial balloons’ were sent up in this fashion, nobody -can recall. Nevertheless each delegation -maintained clipping bureaus, which were brought -up to date every morning and which gave the -delegates accurate information as to the state of -mind at home. Thus it came about that world -opinion was ready and anxious to receive the -finished work of the conference and that it was -prompt to bring individual recalcitrant groups -into line.”</p> - -<p>Let me quote from the <cite>New York Evening -Post</cite> of July, 1922, as to the important interaction -of these forces: “The importance of the press -in guiding public opinion and the coöperation between -the members of the press and the men who -express public opinion in action, which has grown -up since the Peace Conference at Paris, were -stressed by Lionel Curtis, who arrived on the -<i>Adriatic</i> yesterday to attend the Institute of Politics, -which opens on July 27 at Williamstown. -‘Perhaps for the first time in history,’ he said, -‘the men whose business it is to make public -opinion were collected for some months under -the same roof with the officials whose task in life -is the actual conduct of foreign affairs. In the -long run, foreign policy is determined by public<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">91</span> -opinion. It was impossible in Paris not to be -impressed by the immense advantage of bringing -into close contact the writers who, through the -press, are making public opinion and the men -who have to express their opinion in actual -policy.’”</p> - -<p>Harvard University, likewise, appreciating the -power of public opinion over its own activities, -has recently appointed a counsel on public relations -to make its aims clear to the public.</p> - -<p>The institutions which make public opinion -conform to the demands of the public. The -public responds to an equally large degree to -these institutions. Such fights as that made by -<cite>Collier’s Weekly</cite> for pure food control show this.</p> - -<p>The Safety First movement, by its use of every -form of appeal, from poster to circular, from -lecture to law enforcement, from motion pictures -to “safety weeks,” is bringing about a -gradual change in the attitude of a safety-deserving -public towards the taking of unnecessary -risks.</p> - -<p>The Rockefeller Foundation, confronted with -the serious problem of the hookworm in the South -and in other localities, has brought about a -change in the habits of large sections of rural -populations by analysis, investigation, applied -medical principles, and public education.</p> - -<p>The moulder of public opinion must enlist the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">92</span> -established point of view. This is true of the -press as well as of other forces. Mr. Mencken -mixes cynicism and truth when he declares that -the chief difficulty confronting a newspaper which -tries to carry out independent and thoughtful -policies “does not lie in the direction of the board -of directors, but in the direction of the public -which buys the paper.”<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">13</a></p> - -<p>The <cite>New York Tribune</cite>, as an example of editorial -bravery, points out in an advertisement published -May 23, 1922, that though “news knows -no order in the making” and though “a newspaper -must carry the news, both pleasant and -unpleasant,” nevertheless, it is the duty of any -newspaper to realize that there is a possibility -of selective action, and that “in times of stress -and bleak despair a newspaper has a hard and -fast duty to perform in keeping up the morale -of the community.”</p> - -<p>Indeed, the instances are frequent and accessible -to the recollection of any reader in which -newspapers have consciously maintained a point -of view toward which the public is either hostile -or cold.</p> - -<p>Occasionally, of course, even the established -point of view is alterable. The two Baltimore -Suns do brave their public and have been braving<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">93</span> -their public for some time, not entirely without -success. As severe a critic as Oswald Garrison -Villard points out that though modern Baltimore -is a difficult city to serve, yet the two <cite>Suns</cite> have -courageously and consistently stood for the policies -of their editors and have refused to yield -to pressure from any source. To the public relations -counsel this is a striking illustration of -the give and take between the public and the -institutions which attempt to mould public opinion. -The two interact upon each other, so that -it is sometimes difficult to tell which is one and -which is the other.</p> - -<p>The <cite>World</cite> and the <cite>Evening World</cite> of New -York, pride themselves upon the following campaigns -which are listed in <cite>The World Almanac</cite> -of 1922. They illustrate this interaction.</p> - -<div class="tb">* * * * *</div> - -<p class="p1 b1 center">“<i>Conference on Limitation of Armament -Grew from ‘World’s’ Plea</i></p> - -<p>“Bearing in mind in 1921 the injunction of -its founder, Joseph Pulitzer, to fight always for -progress and reform, and having led the campaign -for disarmament in advance of any other -demand therefor, the <cite>World</cite> covered the Washington -Conference on Limitation of Armament -in a comprehensive way....</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">94</span></p> - -<div class="tb">* * * * *</div> - -<p class="p1 b1 center">“<i>Measures Advocated by ‘World’ Made Law</i></p> - -<p>“During the 1921 session of the New York -Legislature many measures advocated by the -<cite>World</cite> were enacted. One of this paper’s chief -achievements was the passage of a resolution -broadening the power of the Lockwood Housing -Committee, enabling it to inquire into high finance -as related to the building trades situation.</p> - -<p>“The <cite>World</cite> was instrumental in obtaining -the Anti-Theater Ticket Speculator Law. It also -brought about a change in bills to abolish the -Daylight-Saving Law so that municipalities might -enact their own daylight-saving ordinances. It -was successful in its campaign against the search-and-seizure -and other drastic features of the -State Prohibition Enforcement Law.</p> - -<div class="tb">* * * * *</div> - -<p class="p1 b1 center">“<i>The ‘World’ Told Facts About Ku Klux Klan</i></p> - -<p>“The <cite>World</cite> on September 6 commenced the -publication of a series of articles telling the truth -about the Ku Klux Klan. Twenty-six newspapers, -in widely separated sections of the United -States, joined the <cite>World</cite> in the publication; some -had been invited to participate, others requested -the <cite>World</cite> to let them use the articles. All these -newspapers realized that the only motive back -of the <cite>World’s</cite> publication was public service.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">95</span> -It was their desire to share in this service, and -the <cite>World</cite> is proud that they asked only assurance -of its traditional accuracy and fairness before -they saw their way clear to coöperation.</p> - -<p>“The <cite>World</cite> is proud that the completed record -shows no evidence either that it was terrified by -threats or was goaded by abuse into departures -from its object of presenting the facts honestly -and without exaggeration.</p> - -<div class="tb">* * * * *</div> - -<p class="p1 b1 center">“<i>Changes in Motor Vehicle Laws</i></p> - -<p>“As a result of a crusade to lessen automobile -fatalities in New York City and State, the <cite>World</cite> -won a victory when changes in the motor vehicle -laws were made. The paper printed exclusive -stories giving the motor and license numbers of -cars stolen daily in this city, and started a campaign -against outlaw taxicabs and financially -irresponsible drivers and owners.</p> - -<div class="tb">* * * * *</div> - -<p class="p1 b1 center">“<i>‘Evening World’s’ Achievements</i></p> - -<p>“The <cite>Evening World</cite> continued its campaign -against the coal monopoly and the high coal prices -charged in New York City—a state of affairs that -has been constantly and vigorously exposed in -<cite>Evening World</cite> columns. After consultation -with leading Senators at Washington, several<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">96</span> -bills were introduced in Congress to alleviate the -conditions.”</p> - -<p>I am letting the <cite>World</cite> speak for itself merely -as an example of what many splendid newspapers -have accomplished as leaders in public movements. -The <cite>New York Evening Post</cite> is another -example, it having long led popular demand for -vocational guidance and control.</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel cannot base his -work merely upon the acceptance of the principle -that the public and its authorities interact. He -must go deeper than that and discover why it is -that a public opinion exists independently of -church, school, press, lecture platform and motion -picture screen—how far this public opinion -affects these institutions and how far these institutions -affect public opinion. He must discover -what the stimuli are to which public opinion -responds most readily.</p> - -<p>Study of the mirrors of the public mind—the -press, the motion pictures, the lecture platform -and the others—reveal to him what their standards -are and those of the groups they reach. -This is not enough, however. To his understanding -of what he actually can measure he must add -a thorough knowledge of the principles which -govern individual and group action. A fundamental -study of group and individual psychology -is required before the public relations counsel can<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">97</span> -determine how readily individuals or groups will -accept modifications of viewpoints or policies, -which they have already imposed upon their respective -mediums.</p> - -<p>No idea or opinion is an isolated factor. It -is surrounded and influenced by precedent, -authority, habit and all the other human motivations.</p> - -<p>For a lucid conception of the functions, power -and social utility of the public relations counsel -it is vitally important to have a clear grasp of -the fundamentals with which he must work.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">98</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_II_V" class="vspace">CHAPTER V<br /> - -<span class="subhead">AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF -PUBLIC MOTIVATION IS NECESSARY TO THE -WORK OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONS -COUNSEL</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Before</span> defining the fundamental motivations -of society, let me mention those outward -signs on which psychologists base their -study of conditions.</p> - -<p>Psychological habits, or as Mr. Lippmann calls -them, “stereotypes,” are shorthand by which -human effort is minimized. They are so clearly -and commonly understood that every one will -immediately respond to the mention of a stereotype -within his personal experience. The words -“capitalist” or “boy scout” bring out definite images -to the hearer. These images are more comprehensible -than detailed descriptions. Chorus -girl, woman lawyer, politician, detective, financier -are clean-cut concepts and capable of definition. -We all have stereotypes which minimize -not only our thinking habits but also the ordinary -routine of life.</p> - -<p>Mr. Lippmann finds that the stereotypes at the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">99</span> -center of the code by which various sections of -the public live “largely determine what group of -facts we shall see and in what light we shall see -them.” That is why, he says, “with the best will -in the world, the news policy of a journal tends -to support its editorial policy, why a capitalist -sees one set of facts and certain aspects of human -nature—literally sees them; his socialist opponent -another set and other aspects, and why each regards -the other as unreasonable or perverse, when -the real difference between them is a difference -of perception. That difference is imposed by the -difference between the capitalist and socialist pattern -of stereotypes. ‘There are no classes in -America,’ writes an American editor. ‘The history -of all hitherto existing society is the history -of class struggles,’ says the Communist Manifesto. -If you have the editor’s pattern in your -mind, you will see vividly the facts that confirm -it, vaguely and ineffectively those that contradict. -If you have the communist pattern, you will not -only look for different things, but you will see -with a totally different emphasis what you and -the editor happen to see in common.”</p> - -<p>The stereotype is the basis of a large part of -the work of the public relations counsel. Let -us try to inquire where the stereotype originates—why -it is so influential and why from a practical -standpoint it is so tremendously difficult to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">100</span> -affect or change stereotypes or to attempt to substitute -one set of stereotypes for another.</p> - -<p>Mr. Martin attempts to answer questions such -as these in his volume on “The Behavior of -Crowds.” By “crowds” Mr. Martin does not -mean merely a physical aggregation of a number -of persons. To Mr. Martin the crowd is rather -a state of mind, “the peculiar mental condition -which sometimes occurs when people think and -act together, either immediately where the members -of the group are present and in close contact, -or remotely, as when they affect one another -in a certain way through the medium of an organization, -a party or sect, the press, etc.”</p> - -<p>Motives of social behavior are based on individual -instincts. Individual instincts, on the -other hand, must yield to group needs. Mr. -Martin pictures society as an aggregation of -people who have sacrificed individual freedom in -order to remain within the group. This sacrifice -of freedom on the part of individuals in the -groups leads its members to resist all efforts at -fundamental changes in the group code. Because -all have made certain sacrifices, reasons are developed -why such sacrifices must be insisted upon -at all times. The “logic-proof” compartment is -the result of this unwillingness to accept changes.</p> - -<p>“What has been so painstakingly built up is -not to be lightly destroyed. Each group, therefore,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">101</span> -within itself, considers its own standards -ultimate and indisputable, and tends to dismiss -all contrary or different standards as indefensible.</p> - -<p>“Even an honest, critical understanding of the -demands of the opposing crowd is discouraged, -possibly because it is rightly felt that the critical -habit of mind is as destructive of one crowd-complex -as the other, and the old crowd prefers -to remain intact and die in the last ditch rather -than risk dissolution, even with the promise of -averting a revolution. Hence the Romans were -willing to believe that the Christians worshiped -the head of an ass. The medieval Catholics, even -at Leo’s court, failed to grasp the meaning of -the outbreak in North Germany. Thousands -saw in the reformation only the alleged fact that -the monk Luther wanted to marry a wife....”<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">14</a></p> - -<p>The main satisfaction, Mr. Martin thinks, -which the individual derives from his group association -is the satisfaction of his vanity through -the creation of an enlarged self-importance.</p> - -<p>The Freudian theories upon which Mr. Martin -relies very largely for his argument lead to -the conclusion that what Mr. Henry Watterson -has said of the suppression of news applies -equally to the suppression of individual desire. -Neither will suppress. With the normal person,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">102</span> -the result of this social suppression is to produce -an individual who conforms with sufficient closeness -to the standards of his group to enable him -to remain comfortably within it.</p> - -<p>The tendency, however, of the instincts and -desires which are thus ruled out of conduct is -somehow or other, when the conditions are favorable, -to seek some avenue of release and satisfaction. -To the individual most of these avenues -of release are closed. He cannot, for example, -indulge his instinct of pugnacity without running -foul of the law. The only release which the individual -can have is one which commands, however -briefly, the approval of his fellows. That -is why Mr. Martin calls crowd psychology and -crowd activity “the result of forces hidden in a -personal and unconscious psyche of the members -of the crowd, forces which are merely released -by social gatherings of a certain sort.” The -crowd enables the individual to express himself -according to his desire and without restraint.</p> - -<p>He says further, “Every crowd ‘boosts for’ -itself, gives itself airs, speaks with oracular -finality, regards itself as morally superior, and -will, so far as it has the power, lord it over every -one. Notice how each group and section in society, -so far as it permits itself to think as crowd, -claims to be ‘the people.’”</p> - -<p>As an illustration of the boosting principle Mr.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">103</span> -Martin points out the readiness of most groups -to enter upon conflict of one kind or another with -opposing groups. “Nothing so easily catches -general attention and grips a crowd as a contest -of any kind,” he says. “The crowd unconsciously -identifies its members with one or the other competitor. -Success enables the winning crowd to -‘crow over’ the losers. Such an action becomes -symbolical, and is utilized by the ego to enhance -its feeling of importance. In society this egoism -tends to take the form of the desire for dominance.” -According to Mr. Martin, that is why -“... whenever any attempt is being made to -secure recruits for a movement or a point of view -the leaders intuitively assume and reiterate the -certainty of ultimate victory.”</p> - -<p>Two points which Mr. Martin makes seem to -me most important. In the first place, Mr. Martin -points out with absolute justice that the -crowd-mind is by no means limited to the ignorant. -“Any class,” he says, “may behave and -think as a crowd—in fact, it usually does so in -so far as its class interests are concerned.” -Neither is the crowd-mind to be found only when -there is a physical agglomeration of people. -This fact is important to an understanding of -the problems of the public relations counsel, because -he must bear in mind always that the readers -of advertisements, the recipients of letters,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">104</span> -the solitary listener at a radio speech, the reader -of the morning newspapers are mysteriously part -of the crowd-mind.</p> - -<p>When Bergson came to America about a decade -ago, men and women flocked to his classes, -both the French and the English sessions. It -was obvious to the observer that numbers of disciples -who conscientiously attended the full -course of lectures understood almost nothing of -what was being said. Their behavior was an -instance of the crowd-mind.</p> - -<p>Everybody read “Main Street.” Each reader -in his own study tried to react as a crowd-mind. -They felt as they thought they ought to.</p> - -<p>Initiation scandals, where the crowd-mind has -created a brutality not possible to individuals, -take place not only in brotherhoods among -what Mr. Martin calls “the lower classes,” but -also among well-bred college youths and the fraternal -orders of successful business and professional -men. A more specific instance is the football -game, with its manifestations of the crowd-mind -among a selected group of individuals. -The Ku Klux Klan has numbered among its violent -supporters some of the “best” families of -the affected localities.</p> - -<p>The crowd is a state of mind which permeates -society and its individuals at almost all times. -What becomes articulate in times of stress under<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">105</span> -great excitement is present in the mind of the individual -at most times and explains in part why -popular opinion is so positive and so intolerant -of contrary points of view. The college professor -in his study on a peaceful summer day is -just as likely to be reacting as a unit of a crowd-mind, -as any member of a lynching party in -Texas or Georgia.</p> - -<p>Mr. Trotter in his book, “Instincts of the Herd -in Peace and War,”<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">15</a> gives us further material -for study. He discusses the underlying causes -and results of “herd” tendencies, stressing the -herd’s cohesiveness.</p> - -<p>The tendency the group has to standardize the -habits of individuals and to assign logical reasons -for them is an important factor in the work of the -public relations counsel. The predominant point -of view, according to Mr. Trotter, which translates -a rationalized point of view into an axiomatic -truth, arises and derives its strength from -the fact that it enlists herd support for the point -of view of the individual. This explains why it is -so easy to popularize many ideas.</p> - -<p>“The cardinal quality of the herd is homogeneity.”<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">16</a> -The biological significance of homogeneity<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">106</span> -lies in its survival value. The wolf pack -is many times as strong as the combined strength -of each of its individual members. These results -of homogeneity have created the “herd” -point of view.</p> - -<p>One of the psychological results of homogeneity -is the fact that physical loneliness is a real terror -to the gregarious animal, and that association -with the herd causes a feeling of security. In -man this fear of loneliness creates a desire for -identification with the herd in matters of opinion. -It is here, says Mr. Trotter,<a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">17</a> that we find “the -ineradicable impulse mankind has always displayed -towards segregation into classes. Each -one of us in his opinions and his conduct, in matters -of amusement, religion, and politics, is compelled -to obtain the support of a class, of a herd -within the herd.”</p> - -<p>Says Mr. Trotter:<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">18</a> “The effect of it will -clearly be to make acceptable those suggestions -which come from the herd, and those only. It is -of especial importance to note that this suggestibility -is not general, and it is only herd suggestions -which are rendered acceptable by the action -of instinct, and man is, for example, notoriously -insensitive to the suggestions of experience. The -history of what is rather grandiosely called human<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">107</span> -progress everywhere illustrates this. If we -look back upon the developments of some such -thing as the steam engine, we cannot fail to be -struck by the extreme obviousness of each advance, -and how obstinately it was refused assimilation -until the machine almost invented itself.”</p> - -<p>The workings of the gregarious instinct in -man result frequently in conduct of the most -remarkable complexity, but it is characterized by -all of the qualities of instinctive action. Such -conduct is usually rationalized, but this does not -conceal its real character.</p> - -<p>We may sincerely think that we vote the Republican -ticket because we have thought out the -issues of the political campaign and reached our -decision in the cold-blooded exercise of judgment. -The fact remains that it is just as likely that we -voted the Republican ticket because we did so -the year before or because the Republican platform -contains a declaration of principle, no matter -how vague, which awakens profound emotional -response in us, or because our neighbor -whom we do not like happens to be a Democrat.</p> - -<p>Mr. Lippmann remarks:<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">19</a> “For the most part -we do not first see and then define, we define first -and then see. In the great booming, buzzing confusion -of the outer world we pick out of the -clutter what is already defined for us, and we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">108</span> -tend to perceive that which we have picked out -in the form stereotyped for us by our culture.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Trotter cites as a few of the examples of -rationalization the mechanism which “enables the -European lady who wears rings in her ears to -smile at the barbarism of the colored lady who -wears her rings in her nose”<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">20</a> and the process -which enables the Englishman “who is amused -by the African chieftain’s regard for the top hat -as an essential piece of the furniture of state to -ignore the identity of his own behavior when -he goes to church beneath the same tremendous -ensign.”</p> - -<p>The gregarious tendency in man, according to -Mr. Trotter, results in five characteristics which -he displays in common with all gregarious animals.</p> - -<p>1. “<i>He is intolerant and fearful of solitude, -physical or mental.</i>”<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">21</a> The same urge which -drives the buffalo into the herd and man into the -city requires on the part of the latter a sense of -spiritual identification with the herd. Man is -never so much at home as when on the band -wagon.</p> - -<p>2. “<i>He is more sensitive to the voice of the -herd than to any other influence.</i>” Mr. Trotter -illustrates this characteristic in a paragraph which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">109</span> -is worth quoting in its entirety. He says: “It -(the voice of the herd) can inhibit or stimulate -his thought and conduct. It is the source of his -moral codes, of the sanctions of his ethics and -philosophy. It can endow him with energy, courage, -and endurance, and can as easily take these -away. It can make him acquiesce in his own punishment -and embrace his executioner, submit to -poverty, bow to tyranny, and sink without complaint -under starvation. Not merely can it make -him accept hardship and suffering unresistingly, -but it can make him accept as truth the explanation -that his perfectly preventable afflictions are -sublimely just and gentle. It is this acme of the -power of herd suggestion that is perhaps the -most absolutely incontestable proof of the profoundly -gregarious nature of man.”</p> - -<p>3. “<i>He is subject to the passions of the pack -in his mob violence and the passions of the herd -in his panics.</i>”</p> - -<p>4. “<i>He is remarkably susceptible to leadership.</i>” -Mr. Trotter points out that the need for -leadership is often satisfied by leadership of a -quality which cannot stand analysis, and which -must therefore satisfy some impulse rather than -the demands of reason.</p> - -<p>5. “<i>His relations with his fellows are dependent -upon the recognition of him as a member -of the herd.</i>”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">110</span> -The gregarious tendency, Mr. Trotter believes, -is biologically fundamental. He finds therefore -that the herd reaction is not confined to outbreaks -such as panics and mob violence, but that it is a -constant factor in all human thinking and feeling. -Discussing the results of the sensitiveness of the -individual to the herd point of view, Mr. Trotter -says in part, “To believe must be an ineradicable -natural bias of man, or in other words, an affirmation, -positive or negative, is more readily accepted -than rejected, unless its source is definitely disassociated -from the herd. <em>Man is not, therefore, -suggestible by fits and starts, not merely in panics -and mobs, under hypnosis, and so forth, but always, -everywhere, and under any circumstances.</em>”</p> - -<p>The suggestibility of people to ideas which are -part of the standards of their groups could not -be more succinctly expressed than in the old command, -“When in Rome do as the Romans.”</p> - -<p>Psychologists have defined for the public relations -counsel the fundamental equipment of -the individual mind and its relation to group reactions. -We have seen the motivations of the -individual mind—the motivations of the group -mind. We have seen the characteristics in -thought and action of the individual and the -group. All these things we have touched on, -though briefly, since they form the ground-work -of knowledge for the public relations counsel. -Their application will be discussed later.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">111</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_II_VI" class="vspace">CHAPTER VI<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE GROUP AND HERD ARE THE BASIC MECHANISMS -OF PUBLIC CHANGE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> institutions that make public opinion -carry on against a background which is in -itself a controlling factor. The real character of -this controlling background we shall take up -later. Let us first consider some examples that -prove its existence—then we can look into its -origin and its standards.</p> - -<p>Powerful standards control the very institutions -which are supposed to help form public opinion. -It is necessary to understand the origin, -the working and the strength of these institutions -in order to understand the institutions themselves -and their effect upon the public.</p> - -<p>In tracing the interaction of institution upon -public and public upon institution, one finds a -circle of obedience and leadership. The press, the -school and other leaders of thought are themselves -working in a background which they cannot -entirely control.</p> - -<p>Let us turn to the press again for a text.</p> - -<p>That the press is so frequently unable to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">112</span> -achieve a result on which its combined members -are unanimously set makes it evident that the -press itself is working in a medium which it -cannot entirely control. The <cite>New York Times</cite> -motto, “All the news that’s fit to print,” drives -this point home. The standards of fitness created -in the minds of the publishers express the point -of view of a mass of readers, and this enables the -newspapers to achieve and maintain circulation -and financial success.</p> - -<p>The very fact that newspapers must sell to -the public is an evidence that they must please -the public and in a measure obey it. In the press -there is a very human tendency to compromise -between giving the public what it wants and giving -the public what it <em>should</em> want. This is -equally true in music, where artists like McCormack -or Rachmaninoff popularize their programs. -It is true in the drama, where managers, producers -and authors combine to adjust plots, situations -and endings to what the public will be -willing to pay to see. It is true in art, in architecture, -in motion pictures. It is true of the lecture -platform and of the pulpit.</p> - -<p>So-called radical preachers, for example, usually -succeed in broadcasting their radical ideas -only when their following is prepared to accept -their views. The Rev. Percy Stickney Grant was -a great problem to the upholders of the accepted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">113</span> -order, only because there was so large a body of -parishioners eager to hear and accept his <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">dicta</i>. -The Rev. Billy Sunday, evangelist, derived his -following from among people who were awaiting -a faith-stirring appeal.</p> - -<p>Another evidence of the fact that a powerful -outside influence helps make the forces that mould -public opinion is shown by the newspapers in -the actual selection of news. The public actually -demands that certain types of facts be omitted. -The standing problem of every newspaper office—the -winnowing of the day’s news from the mass -of material that reaches the editorial desks—illustrates -pointedly the need there is to examine the -reasons which prompt the editors in selection.</p> - -<p>In an exceedingly interesting advertisement -published by the <cite>New York Tribune</cite>, on April -19, 1922, the <cite>Tribune’s</cite> editors state the problem -most graphically. The advertisement is headed, -“What Else Happened That Day?” and it reads -as follows:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“Madame Caillaux was on trial in Paris for -killing Gaston Calmette.</p> - -<p>“In Long Island a woman was mysteriously -shot in a doctor’s office while on a night visit.</p> - -<p>“Forty-five stage coaches were held up in Yellowstone -Park by two masked bandits who took -all the cash of 165 tourists.</p> - -<p>“Romantic crime, mystery crime, adventurous<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">114</span> -crime, a public eagerly interested—and they suddenly -dropped from the newspapers. The public -forgot them. As news, these events became as -if they had never happened. Something else had -happened.</p> - -<p>“The day of Madame Caillaux’s acquittal Austria -declared war on Serbia. Russia mobilized -fourteen army corps on the German border and -the price of wheat in this country soared.</p> - -<p>“All the news that a newspaper prints is affected -by what else happened that day. If an -earthquake occurs the day you announce your -daughter’s engagement her picture may be left -out of the newspaper.</p> - -<p>“The man who made a golf hole in one the -day of the Dempsey-Carpentiér fight was out of -luck so far as an item on the sporting page was -concerned.</p> - -<p>“When real news breaks, semi-news must go. -When real news is scarce, semi-news returns to -the front page. A very great man picked out -Sunday night to dine at a Bowery mission. Monday -is usually a dull day for news, although some -big events, notably the sinking of the <i>Titanic</i>, -came over the wires Sunday night.</p> - -<p>“All papers feature big news. When there is -no big news, real editing is needed to select the -real news from the semi-news.</p> - -<p>“What you read on dull news days is what fixes -your opinions of your country and of your compatriots. -It is from the non-sensational news -that you see the world and assess, rightly or -wrongly, the true value of persons and events.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">115</span> -“The relative importance your newspaper gives -to an occurrence affects your thought, your character, -and your children’s thought and character. -For few daily habits are as firmly established as -the habit of reading the newspaper.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>Now each of the items mentioned in the -<cite>Tribune’s</cite> advertisement was news. Comparison -of the newspapers of that day will undoubtedly -show a wide divergence in the manner in which -these items were treated and in the relative importance -assigned to each. The basis of the selection -was clearly the general standard of the -clientele of each individual paper.</p> - -<p>And this selection of ideas for presentation -goes on in every medium of thought communication.</p> - -<p>This basis of selection has long been recognized. -Thus in an article in the <cite>Atlantic -Monthly</cite> for February, 1911, Professor Hargar, -formerly head of the Department of Journalism -at the University of Kansas, draws attention to -it in regard to newspapers, and points out that -“the province of the city paper is one of news -selection.<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">22</a> Out of the vast skein of the day’s happenings -what shall it select? More ‘copy’ is -thrown away than is used. The <cite>New York Sun</cite> -is written as definitely for a given constituency<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">116</span> -as is a technical journal. Out of the day’s news -it gives prominence to that which fits into its -scheme of treatment, and there is so much news -that it can fill its columns with interesting materials, -yet leave untouched a myriad of events. -The <cite>New York Evening Post</cite> appeals to another -constituency, and is made accordingly. The -<cite>World</cite> and the <cite>Journal</cite> have a far different plan, -and ‘play up’ stories that are mentioned briefly, -or ignored, by some of their contemporaries. So -the writer on the metropolitan paper is trained -to sift news, to choose from his wealth of material -that which the paper’s traditions demand -shall receive attention; and so abundant is the -supply that he can easily set a feast without exhausting -the market’s offering. Unconsciously -he becomes an epicure, and knows no day will -dawn without bringing him his opportunity.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Lippmann makes the same observation. -He says:<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">23</a> “Every newspaper when it reaches -the reader is the result of a whole series of -selections as to what items shall be printed, in -what position they shall be printed, how much -space each shall occupy, what emphasis each shall -have. There are no objective standards here. -There are conventions. Take two newspapers -published in the same city on the same morning. -The headline of one reads: ‘Britain pledges aid<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">117</span> -to Berlin against French Aggression. France -Openly Backs Poles.’ The headline of the second -is: ‘Mrs. Stillman’s Other Love.’ Which you -prefer is a matter of taste, but <em>not entirely a -matter of the editor’s taste</em>. It is a matter of -his <em>judgment as to what will absorb the half -hour’s attention a certain set of readers will give -to his newspaper</em>.”</p> - -<p>The American stage continually bows to public -demand and consciously ascribes to the public -the changes it undergoes. The character of advertising -has definitely yielded to public demand -and fake advertising has been to a great extent -eliminated. Motion pictures have responded, too, -to public taste and public pressure, both as to the -kind of picture presented and, in isolated instances, -to the type of action permitted to -appear.</p> - -<p>It is therefore apparent that these and the -other institutions which modify public opinion -carry on against a background which is also in -itself a controlling factor. What the real character -of this controlling background is we shall -now consider.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">118</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_II_VII" class="vspace">CHAPTER VII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE APPLICATION OF THESE PRINCIPLES</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Both</span> Trotter, Martin and the other writers -we have quoted confirm what the actual -experience of the public relations counsel shows—that -the cause he represents must have some -group reaction and tradition in common with the -public he is trying to reach. This must exist -before they can react sympathetically upon one -another. Given these common fundamentals, -much can be done to capitalize or destroy them. -It is as untrue to contend that public opinion is -manufactured as it is to contend that public -opinion governs the agencies which mould it.</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel must continually -realize that there are always these limitations to -his effectiveness.</p> - -<p>The very “leaders,” men who have been -selected from the mass to “lead the nation,” live -with their ears to the ground for every slight -rumbling of public sentiment. Preachers, acknowledged -to be the ethical leaders of their -flocks, express obedience to public opinion.</p> - -<p>The critics who hold these extreme points of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">119</span> -view about public opinion have too easily confused -cause and effect. The sympathy between -the orator and his audience is not one which the -orator can create. He can intensify it, or by -tactless speaking he can dissipate it, but he cannot -manufacture it from thin air.</p> - -<p>Margaret Sanger, a leader in the fight for -education on birth control, will evoke enthusiasm -when she addresses an audience that approves -of her sentiments. When, however, she injects -her point of view into groups that have a preconceived -aversion to them, she is in danger of abuse, -if not of actual physical violence. Likewise, a -man who would talk of prison reform at a time -when the public is aroused by an unwonted crime -wave will find little response. On the other hand, -when Madam Curie, co-discoverer of radium, -came to America, she found a country that was -prepared to meet her because of intensive effort -on the part of a large radium corporation and -a committee of women formed by Marie B. -Meloney, to apprise the public of the importance -of her visit. Had she come two years sooner, -she might have been ignored save by a few -scientists.</p> - -<p>A historic incident illustrative of the interaction -between a leader and a public is that of the -sudden turn in the affairs of Rear Admiral -Dewey. The idol of the Spanish American War,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">120</span> -he nevertheless alienated popular affection by -giving to his wife a house which had been presented -to him by an admiring public. For some -reason the public failed to sympathize with -Admiral Dewey’s own undoubtedly sound and -worthy reasons.</p> - -<p>To say, therefore, as some persons have said -at great length and with considerable vehemence, -that the public relations counsel is responsible -for public opinion, is not true. The public relations -counsel is not needed to persuade people -to standardize their points of view or to persist -in their established beliefs. The established point -of view becomes established by satisfying some -real or assumed human need.</p> - -<p>In common with the scenario writer, the -preacher, the statesman, the dramatist, the public -relations counsel, has his share in making up the -mind of the public. The public quite as truly -makes up the mind of the journalist, the pamphleteer, -the scenario writer, the preacher and the -statesman. The main direction of the public -mind is often irrevocably set for its leaders.</p> - -<p>Hendrik Van Loon, in his “Story of Mankind,” -paints a picture of the action and interaction -between Napoleon the Great and his public -in a way that might well have been made -to illustrate our point. When Napoleon led the -public truly in the direction towards which it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">121</span> -was headed, that is, towards democracy and -equality, he was its successful leader and its -idol, says Van Loon. When in the latter part of -his career he turned back to a goal which the -public had discarded and was eager to forget, -that is, Bourbonism, Napoleon met with irresistible -defeat.</p> - -<p>“Damaged Goods” was able to make the American -public accept the word “syphilis” because the -counsel on public relations projected the doctrine -of sex hygiene through those groups and sections -of the public which were prepared to work -with him.</p> - -<p>Public opinion is the resultant of the interaction -between two forces.</p> - -<p>This may help us to see with greater clarity -the position the public relations counsel holds in -relation to the world at large, and what the factors -are with which he is concerned and by which -he accomplishes his work.</p> - -<p>We have gone somewhat elaborately into the -fundamental equipment of the individual mind -and its relation to the group mind because the -public relations counsel in his work in these fields -must constantly call upon his knowledge of individual -and group psychology. The public relations -counsel can come forward, first, as the -representative of established things when their -security is shaken, or when they desire greater<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">122</span> -power; and second, as the representative of the -group which is struggling to establish itself.</p> - -<p>Mr. Lippmann says propaganda is dependent -upon censorship. From my point of view the -precise reverse is more nearly true. Propaganda -is a purposeful, directed effort to overcome censorship—the -censorship of the group mind and -the herd reaction.</p> - -<p>The average citizen is the world’s most efficient -censor. His own mind is the greatest barrier -between him and the facts. His own “logic-proof -compartments,” his own absolutism are the -obstacles which prevent him from seeing in terms -of experience and thought rather than in terms -of group reaction.</p> - -<p>The training of the public relations counsel -permits him to step out of his own group to look -at a particular problem with the eyes of an impartial -observer and to utilize his knowledge of -the individual and the group mind to project his -clients’ point of view.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="PART_III">PART III<br /> - -<span class="subhead"><span class="smcap">Technique and Method</span></span></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">125</span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_III_I" class="vspace">CHAPTER I<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE PUBLIC CAN BE REACHED ONLY THROUGH -ESTABLISHED MEDIUMS OF COMMUNICATION</span></h2> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">When</span> the United States was made up of -small social units with common traditions -and a small geographic and social area, it was -comparatively simple for the proponent of a point -of view to address his public directly. If he -represented a social or a political idea, he could, -at no very great expense and with no very great -difficulty in the early Eighteenth Century, cover -New England with his pamphlets. He could -arouse the thirteen colonies with his journals and -brochures. That was because the heritage of -these groups made them sensitive to the same -stimuli. One man, remarks Mr. Lippmann, then -was able single-handed to crystallize the common -will of his country in his day and generation. -To-day the greatest superman as yet developed -by humanity could not accomplish the same result -with the United States.</p> - -<p>Populations have increased. In this country -geographical areas have increased. Heterogeneity<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">126</span> -has also increased. A group living in any -given area is now extremely likely to have no common -ancestry, no common tradition, as such, and -no cohesive intelligence. All these elements make -it necessary to-day for the proponent of a point -of view to engage an expert to represent him -before society, an expert who must know how to -reach groups totally dissimilar as to ideals, customs -and even language. It is this necessity -which has resulted in the development of the -counsel on public relations.</p> - -<p>Now it must be understood that the proponent -of a point of view, whether acting alone or under -the guidance of a public relations counsel, must -utilize existing avenues of approach. Modern -conditions are such that it is not feasible to build -up independent organs. Innovators and innovations -cannot create their own channels of communication. -They must for a great part work -through the existing daily press, the existing -magazine, the existing lecture circuit, existing advertising -mediums, the existing motion picture -channels and other means for the communication -of ideas. The public relations counsel, on -behalf of the groups he represents, must reach -majorities and minorities through their respective -approaches.</p> - -<p>If the public relations counsel can succeed in -presenting ideas and facts to the public in spite<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">127</span> -of the heterogeneity of society, in spite of the -vast psychological and geographic problems, in -spite of the difficulties, monetary and otherwise, -of reaching and influencing populations numbering -millions—if he can succeed in overcoming -these difficulties by a skillful understanding of -the situation, his profession is socially valuable.</p> - -<p>Absolute homogeneity, resulting in a dead level -of uniformity in public and individual reaction, -is undesirable. On the other hand, agreement on -broad social purposes is essential to progress. -Agreement on broad industrial purposes may be -equally desirable. Without such agreement, without -unified purposes, there can be no progress and -the unit must fall. The men who were most -effective in stimulating national morale during -the war never lost sight of these underlying -needs, whether they stimulated a whole nation -to ration itself voluntarily and give up the eating -of sugar, or whether they stimulated knitting and -Red Cross activities and voluntary contributions -to funds.</p> - -<p>Three ways are cited by Mr. Lippmann to -obtain cohesive force among the special and local -interests which make up national and social units. -The public relations counsel avails himself only -of the third. The first method which is described -is that of “patronage and pork.” This is very -largely the method relied upon by certain legislative<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">128</span> -bodies to-day to maintain cohesive force. -As an instance of this, the investigations of the -methods used in connection with the bills to -secure the building of local post offices or the -dredging of harbors or rivers seem to point -out that a representative from one community -will promise reciprocal support to the member -from another community, if he in turn will act -favorably on another item. This method intensifies -the feeling that all are working together, -even though they may not be working for the -highest interests of the country. Similarly the -chief executive of a city may institute certain -measures to placate school teachers. He will -expect the school teachers to support him on some -other project at some other period.</p> - -<p>The second method named by Mr. Lippmann<a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">24</a> -is “government by terror and obedience.”</p> - -<p>The third method is “government based on such -a highly developed system of information, analysis -and self-consciousness that ‘the knowledge -of national circumstances and reasons of state’ -is evident to all men. The autocratic system is -in decay. The voluntary system is in its very -earliest development and so, in calculating the -prospects of associations among large groups of -people, a league of nations, industrial government, -or a federal union of states, the degree to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">129</span> -which the material for a common consciousness -exists determines how far coöperation will depend -upon force, or upon the milder alternative -to force, which is patronage and privilege. The -secret of great state builders, like Alexander -Hamilton, is that they know how to calculate -these principles.”</p> - -<p>The method of education by information, -which was to a great extent relied upon by the -United States, for example, was evidenced in -the formation during the war of such agencies -as the Committee on Public Information. The -public relations counsel, through the mediums -chosen by him, presented to the public the information -necessary to aid in understanding America’s -war aims and ideals. George Creel and his -organization reached vast groups, representing -every phase of our national elements, in every -modern method of thought communication. But -even in the United States the other two methods -were used to obtain cohesive force.</p> - -<p>In fact the method least relied upon in any -of the belligerent countries was that of “government -based on such a highly developed system -of information, analysis and self-consciousness -that ‘the knowledge of national circumstances -and reasons of state’ is evident to all -men.”</p> - -<p>This breakdown did not occur among small,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">130</span> -inefficiently organised groups. It occurred among -the representatives of the highest development -in social organization.</p> - -<p>If this was the fate of the most highly organized -social groups, consider then the problem -which confronts the social, economic, educational -or political groups in peace time, when they attempt -to obtain a public hearing for new ideas. -Innumerable instances have shown the difficulty -that any group faces in gaining an acceptance for -its ideas.</p> - -<p>The development of the United States to its -present size and diversification has intensified the -difficulty of creating a common will on any subject -because it has heightened the natural tendency -of men to separate into crowds opposed to -one another in point of view. This difficulty is -further emphasized by the fact that often these -crowds live in different traditional, moral and -spiritual worlds. The physical difficulties of -communication make group separation greater.</p> - -<p>Mr. Trotter’s conclusions from a study of the -gregarious instinct are singularly apt on this -point. He says that<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">25</a> “the enormous power of -varied reaction possessed by man must render -necessary for his attainment of the full advantages -of the gregarious habit a power of inter-communication -of absolutely unprecedented fineness.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">131</span> -It is clear that scarcely a hint of such -power has yet appeared, and it is equally obvious -that it is this defect which gives to society the -characteristics which are the contempt of the man -of science and the disgust of the humanitarian.”</p> - -<p>When the worker was of the same ancestry as -his employer, labor difficulties, for example, could -be discussed in terms which were comprehensible -to both parties. To-day the United States Steel -Corporation must exert tremendous effort to present -its view to its thousands of employees who -are South Europeans, North Europeans, Americans.</p> - -<p>Czechoslovakia, during the Peace Conference, -wanted to appeal to its countrymen in America, -but this group was vague and scattered in a -population that lived in many cities throughout -the country. The public relations counsel who -was engaged to reach this scattered population -had, therefore, to translate his appeals so that -they might be understood logically and emotionally -by the educated and the uneducated, the urban, -the rural, the laboring and the professional -man.</p> - -<p>The same problem in a quite different guise -presented itself to the public relations counsel -who wanted to insure a public response to the -appeal of the Diaghileff Russian Ballet, of which -the public knew nothing. He had, therefore, to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">132</span> -surmount the difficulties of dissimilar geographic -and artistic heritage and taste, of unwillingness -to accept novelty and of interests already firmly -attached to other forms of amusement.</p> - -<p>Dominant groups to-day are more secure in -their position than was the most successful autocrat -of several hundred years ago, because to-day -the inertia which must be overcome in order -to displace these groups is so much greater. So -many persons with so many different points of -view must be reached and unified before anything -effective can be done. Unity can be secured -only by finding the greatest common factor or -divisor of all the groups; and it is difficult to find -one common factor which will appeal to a large -and unhomogeneous group.</p> - -<p>A very simple and broadly appealing campaign -for reaching the public was undertaken recently -by the railroads in combination. They utilized -the poster in graphic, fundamental appeal to -awaken an instinct of carefulness in regard to -crossing railroad tracks. When the government -sought to reëstablish ex-service men, the public -relations counsel had to appeal vividly and -quickly to employers and returned soldiers out -of the vast complexity of their interests. He -selected the most fundamental appeals of loyalty, -fairness and patriotism in order to be understood -actively.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">133</span> -Domination to-day is not a product of armies -or navies or wealth or policies. It is a domination -based on the one hand upon accomplished -unity, and on the other hand upon the fact that -opposition is generally characterized by a high -degree of disunity. The institution of electing -representatives to Congress is so firmly established -that no existent force to-day can overthrow -it. More specifically, why is it that the two parties, -Republican and Democrat, have maintained -themselves as the dominant force for so many -years? Only the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt -seemed for a time to supersede them; and -events since then have shown that it was Roosevelt -and not his party who succeeded. The -Farmer-Labor Party, the Socialist Party despite -years of campaigning have failed to become even -strongly recognizable opponents to the established -groups. The disunity of forces which seek to -overthrow dominant groups is illustrated every -day in every phase of our lives—political, moral -and economic. A new point of view, although -faced by the difficulty of unifying a group to -concerted will or action, can seldom establish new -mediums by which to approach those people to -whom it wishes to appeal.</p> - -<p>It is possible for advertising and pamphletizing -to blanket the country at a cost. To establish -a new lecture service in order to reach the public<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">134</span> -would be expensive, and effective only to a -limited extent. To establish an independent -radio station to broadcast an idea would be difficult -and probably disproportionately expensive. -To create a new motion picture and a distributing -agency would be slow, and very difficult -and costly, if possible at all.</p> - -<p>The difficulty of establishing and building new -channels of approach to the public is shown best -by an examination of the principal mediums -which are available to the public relations counsel -who desires to direct public thought to the problems -of the group he represents.</p> - -<p>It is only necessary to picture the newspaper -and magazine situation in the United States to-day -to realize the difficulty of establishing a new -medium for the representation of a point of view. -Americans are accustomed to first-rate service -from their press. They demand a high standard -not only in the physical appearance of their newspapers -but in the news service as well. Their -daily paper must provide them with items of local, -state and international interest and importance. -In the complex activities of modern life, the -newspaper must find and select the subjects -which interest its readers. It must also give to -its readers the news fresh from the making. -Whatever vagueness there may be about the definition<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">135</span> -of news itself, one admitted constant is that -it must be fresh.</p> - -<p>The cost of establishing a paper with a wide -appeal, which will have the facilities of gathering -news, of printing and distributing it, is such -that groups can no longer depend upon their own -organs of expression. The Christian Science -church does not depend upon its admirable publication, -the <cite>Christian Science Monitor</cite> in order -to reach its own and new publics. Even where -the issue demands a partisan or class origin of -a newspaper, as in the case of a political party, -the results achieved by so expensive and laborious -a step seldom justify it.</p> - -<p>Mr. Given in his book “Making a Newspaper,” -points out the great expense that is attached to -the publication of a large metropolitan daily. In -proportion to their field of appeal and potential -income, the smaller dailies undoubtedly face the -same economic problems. Mr. Given says:<a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">26</a> -“Few persons not having intimate knowledge of -a newspaper have any idea of the great amount -of money required to start one, or to keep one -running which is already established. The mechanical -equipment and delivery service alone -may demand an investment of several hundred -thousand dollars—there is one New York paper<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">136</span> -whose mechanical equipment cost $1,000,000—supplies -are in constant demand, and the salary -list is a long and heavy one. For a new paper -the salary list of the editorial department is especially -formidable, as editors and reporters who -have employment with well-established publications -are always reluctant to change to a venture -that at best is in for a rough voyage, and can be -attracted only by high pay.</p> - -<p>“A good many of the newspapers that are -started soon become memories, and fewer than -are generally supposed are paying their own way. -The sum of $3,000,000 would hardly suffice at -the present time to equip a first-class newspaper -establishment in New York City, issue a morning -and an evening edition paper, build up a circulation -of 75,000 for each, and place the establishment -on a money-making basis. Run on the lines -of those already established and possessing no -extraordinary features to recommend them to the -public, the two papers might continue to lose -money for twenty years. When one learns that -there are in New York business managers who -are compelled to reckon with an average weekly -expense account of nearly $50,000, he can understand -the possibility of heavy losses. And it -might be added, in contrast, that there are in -New York newspapers which could not be bought -for $10,000,000.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">137</span> -Discussing substantially the same point, Mr. -Oswald Garrison Villard observes the narrowing -down of the number of newspapers in our -large cities and points out the imminent danger -of a news monopoly in the United States. He -says:<a id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">27</a> “It is the danger that newspaper conditions, -because of the enormously increased costs -and this tendency to monopoly, may prevent people -who are actuated by passion and sentiment -from founding newspapers, which is causing -many students of the situation much concern. -What is to be the hope for the advocates of new-born -and unpopular reforms if they cannot have -a press of their own, as the Abolitionists and the -founders of the Republican party set up theirs -in a remarkably short time, usually with poverty-stricken -bank accounts?”</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel must always sub-divide -the appeal of his subject and present it -through the widest possible variety of avenues -to the public. That these avenues must be existing -avenues is both a limitation and an opportunity.</p> - -<p>People accept the facts which come to them -through existing channels. They like to hear -new things in accustomed ways. They have -neither the time nor the inclination to search for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">138</span> -facts that are not readily available to them. The -expert, therefore, must advise first upon the form -of action desirable for his client and secondly -must utilize the established mediums of communication, -in order to present to the public a point -of view. This is true whether it is that of a -majority or minority, old or new personality, institution -or group which desires to change by -modification or intensification the store of knowledge -and the opinion of the public.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">139</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_III_II" class="vspace">CHAPTER II<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE INTERLAPPING GROUP FORMATIONS OF SOCIETY, -THE CONTINUOUS SHIFTING OF GROUPS, -CHANGING CONDITIONS AND THE FLEXIBILITY -OF HUMAN NATURE ARE ALL -AIDS TO THE COUNSEL ON PUBLIC -RELATIONS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> public relations counsel works with public -opinion. Public opinion is the product -of individual minds. Individual minds make up -the group mind. And the established order of -things is maintained by the inertia of the group. -Three factors make it possible for the public -relations counsel to overcome even this inertia. -These are, first, the interlapping group formation -of society; second, the continuous shifting -of groups; third, the changed physical conditions -to which groups respond. All of these are -brought about by the natural inherent flexibility -of individual human nature.</p> - -<p>Society is not divided into two groups, although -it seems so to many. Some see modern society -divided into capital and labor. The feminist sees -the world divided into men and women. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">140</span> -hungry man sees the rich and the poor. The -missionary sees the heathen and the faithful. If -society were divided into two groups, and no -more, then change could come about only through -violent upheaval.</p> - -<p>Let us assume, for example, a society divided -into capital and labor. It is apparent on slight -inspection that capital is not a homogeneous -group. There is a difference in point of view -and in interests between Elbert H. Gary or John -D. Rockefeller, Jr., on the one hand, and the -small shopkeeper on the other.</p> - -<p>Occasions arise, too, upon which even in one -group sharp differences and competitive alignments -take place.</p> - -<p>In the capital group, on the tariff question, for -example, the retailer with a net income of ten -thousand dollars a year is apt to take a radically -different position from the manufacturer with a -similar income. In some respects the capitalist -is a consumer. In other respects he is a worker. -Many persons are at the same time workers and -capitalists. The highly paid worker who also -draws income from Liberty Bonds or from shares -of stock in industrial corporations is an example -of this.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, the so-called workers do -not consist of a homogeneous group with complete -identity of interests. There may be no difference<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">141</span> -in economic situation between manual -labor and mental labor; yet there is a traditional -difference in point of view which keeps these two -groups far apart. Again, the narrower field of -manual labor, the group represented by the American -Federation of Labor, is frequently opposed -in sympathies and interests to the group of Industrial -Workers of the World. Even in the -American Federation of Labor there are component -units. The locomotive engineer, who belongs -to one of the great brotherhoods, has different -interests from the miner, who belongs to -the United Mine Workers of America.</p> - -<p>The farmer is in a class by himself. Yet he -in turn may be a tenant farmer or the owner -of an estate or of a small patch of tillable -soil.</p> - -<p>That group so vaguely called “the public” consists -of all sorts and conditions of men, the particular -kind or condition depending upon the point -of view of the individual who is making the observation -or classification. This is true likewise -of great and small subdivisions of the public.</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel must take into account -that many groups exist, and that there is -a very definite interlapping of groups. Because -of this he is enabled to utilize many types of -appeal in reaching any one group, which he sub-divides -for his purposes.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">142</span> -The Federation for the Support of Jewish -Charities recently instituted a campaign to raise -millions of dollars for what it called its United -Building Fund. The directors of that campaign -might have subdivided society for their purpose -into two groups, the Jewish and the non-Jewish -group, or they might have decided that there were -rich people who could give and poor people who -could not give. But they realized the interlapping -nature of the groups they wanted to reach. They -analyzed these component groups closely and divided -them into groups which had common business -interests. For instance, they organized a -group of dentists, a group of bankers, a group -of real estate operators, a group of cloak-and-suit-house -operators, a group of motion picture -and theatrical owners and others.</p> - -<p>Through an approach to each group on the -strongest appeal to which the members of the -group as a group would respond, the charity received -the support of the individuals who made -it up. The social aspirations of the group, the -ambitions for leadership of the group, the competitive -desires and philanthropic tendencies of -the individuals who made up these groups were -capitalized.</p> - -<p>The interlapping nature of these groups made -it possible, too, for the public relations counsel to -reach all the individuals by appeals that were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">143</span> -directed not merely to the individual as a member -of the business group with which he was aligned, -but also as a member of a different group. For -instance, as a humanitarian, as a public-spirited -citizen, or as a devoted Jew. Because of this -interlapping characteristic of groups, the organization -was able to accomplish its purpose more -successfully.</p> - -<p>Society is made up of an almost infinite number -of groups, whose various interests and desires -overlap and interweave inextricably. The same -man may be at the same time the member of a -minority religious sect, supporter of the dominant -political party, a worker in the sense that he -earns his living primarily by his labor, and a capitalist -in the sense that he has rents from real -estate investments or interest from financial investments. -In an issue which involves his religious -sect he will align himself with one group. -In an issue which involves the choice of a President -of the United States he aligns himself with -another group. In an industrial issue between -capital and labor it might be very nearly impossible -to estimate in advance how he would align -himself. It is from the constant interplay of -these groups and of their conflicting interests -upon each other that progress results, and it is -this fact that the public relations counsel takes -into account in pleading his cause. A movement<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">144</span> -called “The Go-Getters,” instituted by a magazine, -as much to keep itself before the public eye -as to stimulate commercial activity, found rapid -acceptance throughout the country because it appealed -to trades of every description, because -each group had among its members men who belonged -also to a large group, the group of salesmen.</p> - -<p>Let us examine for a moment the personnel -of the Horseshoe at the Metropolitan Opera -House. It is composed of people who are rich, -but this economic classification is only one, for -the men and women who assemble there are presumably -music lovers. But we may again break -up this classification of music lovers and discover -that this group contains art lovers as well. It -contains sportsmen. It contains merchants and -bankers. There are philosophers in it. There -are motorists and amateur farmers. When the -Russian Ballet came to America the essential -parts of this group attended the performances, -but in going after his public, the public relations -counsel based his actions upon the interlapping of -groups, and appealed to his entire possible audience -through their various interlapping group interests. -The art lover had been stimulated by -hearing of the Ballet through his art group or -the art publications and by seeing pictures of the -costumes and the settings. The music lover,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">145</span> -who might have had his interest stimulated -through seeing a photograph, also had his interest -stimulated by reading about the music.</p> - -<p>Every individual heard of the Russian Ballet -in terms of one or more different appeals and responded -to the Ballet because of these appeals. -It is naturally difficult to say which one of them -had its strongest effect upon the individual’s mind. -There was no doubt, however, that the interlapping -group formation of society made it possible -for more to be reached and to be moved than -would have been the case if the Ballet had been -projected on the world at large only as a well-balanced -artistic performance.</p> - -<p>The utilization of this characteristic of society -was shown recently in the activities of a silk firm -which desired to intensify the interest of the -public in silks. It realized that fundamentally -women were its potential buying public, but it -understood, too, that the women who made up -this public were members of other groups as well. -Thus, to the members of women’s clubs, silk was -projected as the embodiment of fashion. To -those women who visited museums, silk was displayed -there as art. To the schools in the same -town, perhaps, silk became a lesson in the natural -history of the silkworm. To art clubs, silk became -color and design. To newspapers, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">146</span> -events that transpired in the silk mills became -news matters of importance.</p> - -<p>Each group of women was appealed to on the -basis of its greatest interest. The school teacher -was appealed to in the schoolroom as an educator, -and after school hours as a member of -a women’s club. She read the advertisements -about silk as a woman reader of the newspapers, -and as a member of the women’s group which -visited the museums, saw the silk there. The -woman who stayed at home was brought into -contact with the silk through her child. All these -groups made up the potential market for silk, -reached in this way in terms of many appeals -to each individual. These are the implications -present for the public relations counsel, who must -take into account the interchange and interplay -of groups in pleading his cause.</p> - -<p>For society, the interesting outcome of this situation -is that progress seldom occurs through the -abrupt expulsion by a group of its old ideas in -favor of new ideas, but rather through the rearrangement -of the thought of the individuals -in these groups with respect to each other and -with respect to the entire membership of society.</p> - -<p>It is precisely this interlapping of groups—the -variety, the inconsistency of the average man’s -mental, social and psychological commitments -which makes possible the gradual change from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">147</span> -one state of affairs or from one state of mind to -another. Few people are life members of one -group and of one group only. The ordinary person -is a very temporary member of a great number -of groups. This is one of the most powerful -forces making for progress in society because it -makes for receptivity and open-mindedness. The -modification which results from the inconstancy -of individual commitments may be accelerated -and directed by conscious effort. These changes -which come about so stealthily that they remain -unobserved in society until long after they have -taken place, can be made to yield results in chosen -directions.</p> - -<p>Changed external conditions must be taken into -account by the public relations counsel in his -work.</p> - -<p>Such changes carry with them modifications -in the interests and points of view of those they -affect. They make it possible to modify group -and individual reaction. The public relations -counsel, too, can modify the results of the -changed external condition by calling attention -to it or interpreting it in terms of the interest -of those affected.</p> - -<p>The radio might be taken as an example. In -considering the radio from the standpoint of his -work, the public relations counsel has a new -medium which can readily reach huge sections of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">148</span> -the public with his message. The public relations -counsel must be ready to estimate, too, what difference -in viewpoint the radio will produce or has -produced in any given section of the public it -reaches. He will have to consider, for instance, -that due to it the average farmer is much more -closely in contact with the world’s events than -formerly.</p> - -<p>In the case of the radio, too, if his clients be, -for instance, large manufacturers of radio supplies -and demand acceleration of this changed -external condition in order to increase their business, -he may enlarge the radio’s field, activity -and effectiveness. Or, he may stress to the public -the importance of this new instrument and -strengthen its prestige, so that it may better fulfill -its mission as a modifier of conditions.</p> - -<p>Changed conditions can make possible modifications -in the public point of view, as can be -instanced by a campaign carried on by savings -banks to encourage thrift. This campaign was -successful at that time because inflation made it -easy for the public to see the wisdom of the doctrines -preached and to act upon them.</p> - -<p>Another example of this modification in the -public point of view due to a changed condition -was the demand made by the Executive Committee -of the Central Trades and Labor Council -of New York for the government to take over<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">149</span> -the railways of the country. Public ownership -had been a pet subject for school debate for more -than two decades, but it had seldom passed into -the field of serious consideration by the general -public. Yet the conditions of hardship created -by the last strike of the railroad shopmen caused -a much greater receptivity in the public mind to -this idea.</p> - -<p>The airplane slowly emerges as an important -factor in the daily life of the people. What it -will mean in the psychology of the nation when -commuters can settle within a radius of a hundred -or more miles of cities is only to be guessed -at. Cities may cease to exist except as industrial -centers. There will be greater groups and -broader interests. There will be fewer geographic -divisions.</p> - -<p>When the automobile was first used motoring -was a dangerous and thrilling sport. To-day it is -found that the automobile has altered the fundamental -conception of daily life held by thousands -of people, both in the urban and the rural population. -The automobile has removed much of the -isolation of country districts. It has increased -the possibility of education in them. It has -caused millions of miles of excellent roads to -be laid.</p> - -<p>Changed conditions can be national or local in -their import and significance. They can be as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">150</span> -national in scope as the revolutionary introduction -over night of a national prohibition law or -as local as a police captain’s edict in Coney Island -against stockingless feminine bathers. But they -must be taken into consideration by the public relations -counsel in his work if they concern in the -slightest degree his particular public.</p> - -<p>The basic elements of human nature are fixed -as to desires and instincts and innate tendencies. -The directions, however, in which these basic elements -may be turned by skillful handling are infinite. -Human nature is readily subject to modification. -Many psychologists have attempted to -define the component parts of human nature, and -while their terminology is not the same, they do -follow more or less the same general outlines.</p> - -<p>Among the universal instincts are—self-preservation, -which includes the desire for shelter, -sex hunger and food hunger. It is only necessary -to look through the pages of any magazine -to see the way in which modern business avails -itself of these three fundamentals to exert a coercive -force upon the public it is trying to reach. -The American Radiator advertisement with its -cozy home, the family gathered around the radiator, -the storm raging outside, definitely makes its -appeal to the universal desire for shelter.</p> - -<p>The Gulden Mustard advertisements with their -graphic delineation of cold cuts and an inviting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">151</span> -glass of what is presumably near-beer definitely -appeal to our gustatory sense.</p> - -<p>As for the sex appeal, the soap advertisements -run a veritable race with these ends in view. -Woodbury’s “the skin you love to touch” is a -graphic illustration.</p> - -<p>The instinct of self-preservation, one of the -most basic of human instincts, is most flexible. -The dispensers of raisins, upon the advice of an -expert on public opinion, adopted a slogan to appeal -to this instinct: “Have you had your iron -to-day?”—iron presumably strengthening a man -and increasing his powers of resistance. The -same man appealed to here will respond to the -sales talk which persuades him that insurance -may save him at a time of need.</p> - -<p>An important hair-net manufacturer wanted -to increase the sales of his product. The public -relations counsel, therefore, appealed to the instinct -of self-preservation of large groups of the -public. He talked of self-preservation with respect -to hygiene for food dispensers. He talked -of self-preservation with respect to safety for -women who work near exposed machinery.</p> - -<p>The same instinct of preservation which may -cause a worker to give up necessary food so that -he may save a little money will cause him to -contribute money to a common fund if he can -be shown that this too is a safety measure.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">152</span> -The public relations counsel extracts from his -clients’ causes ideas which will capitalize certain -fundamental instincts in the people he is trying -to reach, and then sets about to project these -ideas to his public.</p> - -<p>William MacDougall, the psychologist, classifies -seven primary instincts with their attendant -emotions. They are flight-fear, repulsion-disgust, -curiosity-wonder, pugnacity-anger, self-display-elation, -self-abasement-subjection, parental-love-tenderness. -These instincts are utilized -by the public relations counsel in developing ideas -and emotions which will modify the opinions and -actions of his public.</p> - -<p>The action of public health officials in stressing -the possibility of a plague or epidemic is effective -because it appeals to the emotion of fear, and -presents the possibility of preventing the spread -of the epidemic or plague. Of course, the element -of flight in this particular situation is not -one of movement, but of a desire to get away -from the danger.</p> - -<p>The instinct of repulsion with its attendant -emotion of disgust is not often called upon by -the public relations counsel in his work.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, curiosity and wonder are -continually employed. In Governmental work, -particularly, the statesman who has an announcement -to make is continually exhausting every<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">153</span> -effort to arouse public interest in advance of the -actual announcement. Feelers are often sent out -to the public to help create curiosity.</p> - -<p>It is interesting to note, too, that even book -publishers rely upon the element of wonder, -termed suspense in drama, to increase their public -and their sales. Our now famous “What is -wrong with this picture?” advertisements, and -those used for the O. Henry books illustrate this -point.</p> - -<p>Pugnacity with its attendant emotion of anger -is a human constant. The public relations counsel -uses this continually in constructing all kinds of -events that will call it into play. Because of it, -too, he is often forced to enact combats and create -issues. He stages battles against evils in -which the antagonist is personified for the public. -New York City, when it wants to reduce the death -rate from tuberculosis, aligns its citizens yearly -in a fight against the disease and continues the -idea of combat by announcing the number of -victims from year to year. It uses the terminology -of warfare in these bulletins. Such phrases -in this or other health campaigns as “kill the -germs,” “swat the fly,” illustrate this point. -The public responds to a battle in a way that -it might not respond to a plea to take care of -itself or to do its civic duty.</p> - -<p>Under pugnacity would come that technique<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">154</span> -of the public relations counsel which is continually -devising tests and contests. Mr. Martin, -in his experience as director of the Cooper -Union Forum, noticed that the sort of interest -which will most easily bring an assemblage of -people together is most commonly an issue of -some kind.</p> - -<p>On the one hand, says Mr. Martin:<a id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">28</a> “I have -seen efforts made in New York to hold mass -meetings to discuss affairs of the very greatest -importance, and I have noted the fact that such -efforts usually fail to get out more than a handful -of specially interested persons, no matter how -well advertised, if the subject to be considered -happens not to be of a controversial nature. On -the other hand, if the matter to be considered -is one about which there is keen partisan feeling -and popular resentment—if it lends itself to the -spectacular personal achievement of one whose -name is known, especially in the face of opposition -or difficulties—or if the occasion permits of -resolutions of protest, of the airing of wrongs, -of denouncing a business of some kind, or of casting -statements of external principles in the teeth -of ‘enemies of humanity,’ then, however trivial -the occasion, we may count on it that our meeting -will be well attended.</p> - -<p>“It is this element of conflict, directly or indirectly,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">155</span> -which plays an overwhelming part in the -psychology of every crowd. It is the element of -contest which makes baseball so popular. A debate -will draw a larger crowd than a lecture. -One of the secrets of the large attendance of -the forum is the fact that discussion—‘talking -back’—is permitted and encouraged. The Evangelist -Sunday undoubtedly owes the great attendance -at his meetings in no small degree to the -fact that he is regularly expected to abuse some -one.</p> - -<p>“Nothing so easily catches general attention -and creates a crowd as a contest of any kind. -The crowd unconsciously identifies its members -with one or the other competitor. Success enables -the winning crowd to ‘crow’ over the losers. -Such an occasion becomes symbolic and is utilized -by the ego to enhance its feeling of importance.”</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel finds in the instinct -of pugnacity a powerful weapon for enlisting public -support for or public opposition to a point of -view in which he is interested. On this principle, -he will, whenever possible, state his case in the -form of an issue and enlist, in support of his -side, such forces as are available.</p> - -<p>The dangers of the method must be recognized -and borne in mind. Pugnacity can be enlisted -on the side of decency and progress. He who -looks at it from that point of view will agree<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">156</span> -with Mr. Pulitzer, the great publisher, that it -seems neither extraordinary nor culpable that -“people and press should be more interested in the -polemical than in the platitudinous; in blame than -in painting the lily; in attack than in sending laudatory -coals to Newcastle.” On the other hand, -the instinct of pugnacity can be utilized to suppress -and to oppress. From the point of view -of the public relations counsel, who is interested -from day to day in accomplishing definite results -on specific issues, the dangers of the method are -only the ordinary dangers of every weapon, physical -or psychological, which has been devised.</p> - -<p>It is interesting in this connection to note that -a newspaper uses the same methods to encourage -interest in itself as do others. The <cite>New York -Times</cite> promoted public interest in heavier-than-air-machines -by creating sporting issues of contests -between aviators on altitude records, continuous -stays in the air, distance flying and so -forth.</p> - -<p>Mr. Lippmann comments on this same characteristic:</p> - -<p>“But where pugnacity is not enlisted, those of -us who are not directly involved find it hard to -keep up our interest. For those who are involved -the absorption may be real enough to hold them -even when no issue is involved. They may be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">157</span> -exercised by sheer joy in activity or by subtle -rivalry or invention. But for those to whom the -whole problem is external and distant, these other -faculties do not easily come into play. In order -that the faint image of the affair shall mean -something to them, they must be allowed to exercise -the love of struggle, suspense, and victory.”<a id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">29</a></p> - -<p>We have to take sides. We have to be able to -take sides. In the recesses of our being we must -step out of the audience onto the stage and -wrestle as the hero for the victory of good over -evil. We must breathe into the allegory the -breath of our life.</p> - -<p>Recently a philanthropic group was advised to -hold a prize fight for charity. This recognition -of the importance of the principle of pugnacity -was correct. It is a question whether the -application was not somewhat ill advised and -in bad taste. The Consumer’s Committee of -Women opposed to American Valuation was -avowedly aligned to fight against a section of the -tariff presented by Chairman Fordney. The -Lucy Stone League, a group who wish to make -it easy for married women to maintain their -maiden names, dramatized the fight that they -are making against tradition by staging a debate -at their annual banquet.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">158</span> -Very often the public relations counsel utilizes -the self-display-elation motive and draws public -attention to particular people in groups, in order -to give them a greater interest in the work they -are espousing. It is often found to be true that -when a man’s adherence or allegiance to a movement -is lukewarm and he is publicly praised for -his adherence to it, he will become a forceful -factor in it. That is why the intelligent hospital -boards name rooms or beds after their -donors. It is one of the reasons for the elaborate -letterheads so many of our philanthropic -organizations have.</p> - -<p>Self-abasement and subjection, its attendant -emotion, are seldom called upon. On the other -hand, parental love and tenderness are continually -employed, viz., the effort of the baby-kissing -candidate for public office or the attempt to popularize -a brand of silk by having a child present -a silk flag to a war veteran at a public ceremony. -The whole flood of post-war charity-drives was -keyed to this pitch. The starving Belgian orphan -personified in every picture, the starving Armenian, -and then the hungry Austrian and German -orphans appeared, and the campaigns all -succeeded on this issue. Even issues where the -child was not the predominant factor used this -appeal.</p> - -<p>Four other instincts are listed in this classification—gregariousness,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">159</span> -individualism, acquisition -and construction. We have already dealt -with the first at length.</p> - -<p>The gregarious instinct in man gives the public -relations counsel the opportunity for his most -potent work. The group and herd show everywhere -the leader, who because of certain qualifications, -certain points that are judged by the -herd to be important to its life, stands out and -is followed more or less implicitly by it.</p> - -<p>A group leader gains such power with his -group or herd that even on matters which have -had nothing to do with the establishment or gaining -of that leadership he is considered a leader -and is followed by his group.</p> - -<p>It is this attribute of men and women that -again gives the public relations counsel free play.</p> - -<p>A group leader of any given cause will bring -to a new cause all those who have looked to his -leadership. For instance, if the adherence of -a prominent Republican is secured for the League -of Nations, his adherence will probably bring -to the League of Nations many other prominent -Republicans.</p> - -<p>The group leadership with which the public -relations counsel may work is limited only by the -character of the groups he desires to reach. -After an analysis of his problem the subdivisions -must be made. His action depends upon his selective<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">160</span> -capacity, and the possibility of approach to -the leaders. These leaders may represent therefore -a wide variety of interests—society leaders -or leaders of political groups, leaders of women -or leaders of sportsmen, leaders of divisions by -geography, or divisions by age, divisions by language -or by education. These subdivisions are -so numerous that there are large companies in -the United States whose business it is to supply -lists of groups and group leaders in different -fields.</p> - -<p>This same mechanism is carried out in many -other cases. In looking for group leaders, the -public relations counsel must realize that some -leaders have more varied and more intensified -authority than others. One leader may represent -the ideals and ideas of several or numerous -groups. His coöperation on one basis may bring -into alignment and may carry with it the other -groups who are interested in him primarily for -other reasons.</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel, let us say, enlists -the support of a man, president of two associations; -(a) an economic association, (b) a welfare -association. The issue is an economic one, purely. -But because of his leadership, the membership -of association (b), that is, the welfare group, -joins him in the movement as interestedly as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">161</span> -association (a) does, which has the more logical, -direct reason for entering the field.</p> - -<p>I have given this in general terms rather than -as a specific instance. The principle which governs -the interlapping and continually shifting -group formation of society also governs the gregariousness.</p> - -<p>Individualism, another instinct, is a concomitant -of gregariousness, and naturally follows it. -The desire for individual expression is always -a trait of the individuals who go to make up the -group. The appeal to individualism goes closely -in hand with other instincts, such as self-display.</p> - -<p>The instincts of acquisition and construction -are minor instincts as far as the ordinary work -of the public relations counsel is concerned. Examples -of this type of appeal come readily to -mind in the “Own your own home” and “Build -your own home” campaigns.</p> - -<p>The innate tendencies are susceptibility to suggestion, -imitation, habit and play. Susceptibility -to suggestion and imitation might well be classified -under gregariousness, which we have already -discussed.</p> - -<p>Under habit would come one very important -human trait of which the public relations counsel -avails himself continually. The mechanism -which habit produces and which makes it possible<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">162</span> -for the public relations counsel to use habit -is the stereotype we have already touched upon.</p> - -<p>Mental habits create stereotypes just as physical -habits create certain definite reflex actions. -These stereotypes or reflex images are a great aid -to the public relations counsel in his work.</p> - -<p>These short-cuts to reactions make it possible -for the average mind to possess a much larger -number of impressions than would be possible -without them. At the same time these stereotypes -or <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">clichés</i> are not necessarily truthful pictures -of what they are supposed to portray. -They are determined by the outward stimuli to -which the individual has been subject as well as -by the content of his mind.</p> - -<p>To most of us, for example, the stereotype -of the general is a stern, upright gentleman in -uniform and with gold braid, preferably on a -horse. The stereotype of a farmer is a slouching, -overall-clad man with straw sticking out of -his mouth and a straw hat on his head. He is -supposed to be very shrewd when it comes to -matters of his own farm and very ignorant when -it comes to matters of culture. He despises “city -fellers.” All this is the connotation brought up -by the one word “farmer.”</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel sometimes uses the -current stereotypes, sometimes combats them and -sometimes creates new ones. In using them he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">163</span> -very often brings to the public he is reaching a -stereotype they already know, to which he adds -his new ideas, thus he fortifies his own and gives -a greater carrying power. For instance, the public -relations counsel might well advise Austria, -which in the public mind might still represent -a belligerent country, to bring forward other -Austrian stereotypes, namely the Danube waltz -stereotype and the Danube blue stereotype. An -appeal for help would then come from the country -of the well-liked Danube waltz and Danube -blue—the country of gayety and charm. The -new idea would be carried to those who accepted -the stereotypes they were familiar with.</p> - -<p>The combating of the stereotype is seen in the -battle waged against the American Valuation -Plan by the public relations counsel. The formulators -of the plan dubbed it “American Valuation” -in order to capitalize on the stereotype of -“American.” In fighting the plan, its opponents -put the word “American” in quotation marks -whenever reference was made to the subject in -order to question the authenticity of the use of -this stereotype. Thus patriotism was definitely -removed from what was evidently an economical -and political issue.</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel creates new stereotypes. -Roosevelt, his own best adviser, was an -apt creator of such stereotypes—“square deal,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">164</span> -de-lighted, molly-coddle, big stick,” created new -concepts for general acceptance.</p> - -<p>Stereotypes sometimes become shop-worn and -lose their power with the public that has previously -accepted them. “Hundred per cent -American” died from over use.</p> - -<p>Visible objects as stereotypes are often used -by the public relations counsel with great effectiveness -to produce the desired impression. A -national flag on the orator’s platform is a most -common device. A scientist must of necessity -be in juxtaposition with his instruments. A -chemist is not a chemist to the public unless test -tubes and retorts are near him. A doctor must -have his kit, or, formerly, a Van Dyke beard. -In photographs of food factory buildings white -is a good stereotype for cleanliness and purity. -In fact, all emblems and trade-marks are stereotypes.</p> - -<p>There is one danger in the use of stereotypes -by the public relations counsel. That is, by the -substitution of words for acts, demagogues in -every field of social relationship can take advantage -of the public.</p> - -<p>Play as an innate tendency is utilized by the -public relations counsel whenever conditions -merit such an appeal. When a charity committee -is advised to institute a street fair to gather<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">165</span> -money, the committee is recognizing this tendency. -When a city government arranges fireworks -for its citizens, when a metropolitan news-daily -stages marble contests or horseshoe pitching -events, the play tendency of human society -finds an outlet and the initiators of the event find -friends.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">166</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_III_III" class="vspace">CHAPTER III<br /> - -<span class="subhead">AN OUTLINE OF METHODS PRACTICABLE IN MODIFYING -THE POINT OF VIEW OF A GROUP</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">On</span> the question of specific devices upon which -the public relations counsel relies to accomplish -his ends, volumes could probably be written -without exhausting the subject. The detailed -presentation is potentially endless. Pages could -be filled with instances of the stimuli to which -men and women respond, the circumstances under -which they will respond favorably or unfavorably, -and the particular application of each -of these stimuli to concrete conditions. Such an -outline, however, would have less value than an -outline of fundamentals, since circumstances are -never the same.</p> - -<p>These principles, by and large, consist of fundamentals -already defined, to which the public relations -counsel has recourse in common with the -statesman, the journalist, the preacher, the lecturer -and all others engaged in attempting to -modify public opinion or public conduct.</p> - -<p>How does the public relations counsel approach -any particular problem? First he must analyze<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">167</span> -his client’s problem and his client’s objective. -Then he must analyze the public he is trying to -reach. He must devise a plan of action for the -client to follow and determine the methods and -the organs of distribution available for reaching -his public. Finally he must try to estimate the -interaction between the public he seeks to reach -and his client. How will his client’s case strike -the public mind? And by public mind here is -meant that section or those sections of the public -which must be reached.</p> - -<p>Let us take the example of a public relations -counsel who is confronted with the specific problem -of modifying or influencing the attitude of -the public toward a given tariff bill. A tariff bill, -of course, is primarily the application of theoretical -economics to a concrete industrial situation. -The public relations counsel in analyzing must see -himself simultaneously as a member of a large -number of publics. He must visualize himself -as a manufacturer, a retailer, an importer, an -employer, a worker, a financier, a politician.</p> - -<p>Within these groups he must see himself again -as a member of the various subdivisions of each -of these groups. He must see himself, for example, -as a member of a group of manufacturers -who obtain the bulk of their raw material within -the United States, and at the same time as a -member of a group of manufacturers who obtain<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">168</span> -large portions of their raw material from abroad -and whose importations of raw material may be -adversely affected by the pending tariff bill. He -must see himself not only as a farm laborer but -also as a mechanic in a large industrial center. -He must see himself as the owner of the department -store and as a member of the buying public. -He must be able to generalize, as far as -possible, from these points of view in order to -strike upon the appeal or group of appeals which -will be influential with as many sections of society -as possible.<a id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">30</a></p> - -<p>Let us assume that our problem is the intensification -in the public mind of the prestige of a -hotel. The problem for the public relations counsel -is to create in the public mind the close relationship -between the hotel and a number of ideas -that represent the things the hotel desires to -stand for in the public mind.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">169</span> -The counsel therefore advises the hotel to make -a celebration of its thirtieth anniversary which -happens to fall at this particular time and suggests -to the president the organization of an -anniversary committee of a body of business men -who represent the cream of the city’s merchants. -This committee is to include men who represent -a number of stereotypes that will help to produce -the inevitable result in the public mind. -There are to be also a leading banker, a society -woman, a prominent lawyer, an influential -preacher, and so forth until a cross section of -the city’s most telling activities is mirrored in -the committee. The stereotype has its effect, and -what may have been an indefinite impression beforehand -has been reënforced and concretized. -The hotel remains preëminent in the public mind. -The stereotypes have proved its preëminence. -The cause has been strongly presented to the -public by identification with different group stereotypes.</p> - -<p>Here is another example. A packing company -desires to establish in the public mind the fact -that the name of its product is synonymous with -bacon. Its public relations counsel advises a contest -on “Bring home the Beech-Nut,” the contest -to be open to salesmen and to be based on the -best sale made by salesmen throughout the country -during the month of August. But here again<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">170</span> -it is necessary to use a stereotype to help the -possible contestant identify the cause. A committee -of nationally known sales-managers is -chosen to act as judges for the contest and immediately -success is assured. Thousands of -salesmen compete for the prize. The stereotype -has bespoken the value of the contest.</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel can try to bring -about this identification by utilizing the appeals -to desires and instincts discussed in the preceding -chapter, and by making use of the characteristics -of the group formation of society. His utilization -of these basic principles will be a continual -and efficient aid to him.</p> - -<p>He must make it easy for the public to pick -his issue out of the great mass of material. He -must be able to overcome what has been called -“the tendency on the part of public attention to -‘flicker’ and ‘relax.’” He must do for the public -mind what the newspaper, with its headlines, -accomplishes for its readers.</p> - -<p>Abstract discussions and heavy facts are the -groundwork of his involved theory, or analysis, -but they cannot be given to the public until they -are simplified and dramatized. The refinements -of reason and the shadings of emotion cannot -reach a considerable public.</p> - -<p>When an appeal to the instincts can be made<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">171</span> -so powerful as to secure acceptance in the medium -of dissemination in spite of competitive interests, -it can be aptly termed news.</p> - -<p>The public relations counsel, therefore, is a -creator of news for whatever medium he chooses -to transmit his ideas. It is his duty to create -news no matter what the medium which broadcasts -this news. It is news interest which gives -him an opportunity to make his idea travel and -get the favorable reaction from the instincts -to which he happens to appeal. News in itself -we shall define later on when we discuss “relations -with the press.” But the word news is sufficiently -understood for me to talk of it here.</p> - -<p>In order to appeal to the instincts and fundamental -emotions of the public, discussed in previous -chapters, the public relations counsel must -create news around his ideas. News will, by its -superior inherent interest, receive attention in the -competitive markets for news, which are themselves -continually trying to claim the public attention. -The public relations counsel must lift -startling facts from his whole subject and present -them as news. He must isolate ideas and develop -them into events so that they can be more readily -understood and so that they may claim attention -as news.</p> - -<p>The headline and the cartoon bear the same<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">172</span> -relation to the newspaper that the public relations -counsel’s analysis of a problem bears to the -problem itself.</p> - -<p>The headline is a compact, vivid simplification -of complicated issues. The cartoon provides a -visual image which takes the place of abstract -thought. So, too, the analyses the public relations -counsel makes, lift out the important, the -interesting, and the easily understandable points -in order to create interest.</p> - -<p>“Yet human qualities are themselves,” says -Mr. Lippmann,<a id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">31</a> “vague and fluctuating. They -are best remembered by a physical sign. And -therefore the human qualities we tend to ascribe -to the names of our impressions, themselves tend -to be visualized in physical metaphors. The people -of England, the history of England, condense -into England, and England becomes John Bull, -who is jovial and fat, not too clever, but well -able to take care of himself. The migration of -a people may appear to some as a meandering of -a river, and to others like a devastating flood. -The courage people display may be objectified as -a rock, their purpose as a road, their doubts as -forks of the road, their difficulties as ruts and -rocks, their progress as a fertile valley. If they -mobilize their dreadnaughts they unsheath a -sword. If their army surrenders they are thrown<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">173</span> -to earth. If they are oppressed they are on the -rack or under the harrow.”</p> - -<p>Perhaps the chief contribution of the public -relations counsel to the public and to his client -is his ability to understand and analyze obscure -tendencies of the public mind. It is true that he -first analyzes his client’s problem—he then analyzes -the public mind; he utilizes the mediums of -communication between the two, but before he -does this he must use his personal experience and -knowledge to bring two factors into alignment. -It is his capacity for crystallizing the obscure -tendencies of the public mind before they have -reached definite expression, which makes him so -valuable.</p> - -<p>His ability to create those symbols to which -the public is ready to respond; his ability to know -and to analyze those reactions which the public -is ready to give; his ability to find those stereotypes, -individual and community, which will bring -favorable responses; his ability to speak in the -language of his audience and to receive from it -a favorable reception are his contributions.</p> - -<p>The appeal to the instincts and the universal -desires is the basic method through which he -produces his results.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="PART_IV">PART IV<br /> - -<span class="subhead"><span class="smcap">Ethical Relations</span></span></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">177</span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_IV_I" class="vspace">CHAPTER I<br /> - -<span class="subhead">A CONSIDERATION OF THE PRESS AND OTHER MEDIUMS -OF COMMUNICATION IN THEIR -RELATION TO THE PUBLIC RELATIONS -COUNSEL</span></h2> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">When</span> the question of preparing and publishing -this volume was first considered, -the publishers wrote letters to several hundred -prominent men asking their opinions, individually, -as to the probable public interest in a work -dealing with public relations. Newspaper editors -and publishers, heads of large industries and -public service corporations, philanthropists, university -presidents and heads of schools of journalism, -as well as other prominent men made up -the number. Their replies are exceedingly interesting -in as much as they show, almost uniformly, -the increasing emphasis placed upon public -relations by leaders in every important phase -of American life. These replies show also a -growing understanding of the need for specialized -service in this field of specialized problems.</p> - -<p>Particularly interesting were the comments of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">178</span> -newspaper publishers and editors in response to -Mr. Liveright’s inquiry, for nothing could better -indicate the light in which the public relations -counsel is held by those very individuals who -are supposed popularly to disparage his value in -the social and economic scheme of things.</p> - -<p>What are the relations of the public relations -counsel to the various mediums he can employ -to carry his message to the public? There is, -of course, first and perhaps most important, the -press. There is the moving picture; the lecture -platform; there is advertising; there is the direct-by-mail -effort; there is the stage—drama and -music; there is word of mouth; there is the pulpit, -the schoolroom, the legislative chamber—to -all of these the public relations counsel has distinct -relationship.</p> - -<p>The journalist of to-day, while still watching -the machinations of the so-called “press agent” -with one half-amused eye, appreciates the value -of the service the public relations counsel is able -to give him.</p> - -<p>To the newspaper the public relations counsel -serves as a purveyor of news.</p> - -<p>As disseminator of news the newspaper holds -an important position in American life. This has -not always been the case, for the emphasis upon -the news side is a development of recent years. -Originally, the name newspaper was scarcely an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">179</span> -accurate or appropriate designation for the units -of the American press. So-called newspapers -were, in fact, vehicles for the expression of opinion -of their editors. They contained little or -no news, as that word is understood to-day—largely -because difficulties of communication made -it impossible to obtain any but the most local -items of interest. The public was accustomed to -look to its press for the opinion of its favorite -editor upon subjects of current interest rather -than for the recital of mere facts.</p> - -<p>To-day, on the other hand, the expression of -editorial opinion is only secondarily the function -of a newspaper; and thousands of persons read -newspapers with whose editorial policy they do -not in the slightest agree. Such a situation would -have been nearly impossible in the days of Horace -Greeley.</p> - -<p>The need which the American press is to-day -engaged in satisfying is the need for news. “A -paper,” says Mr. Given,<a id="FNanchor_32" href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">32</a> “may succeed without -printing editorials worth reading and without -having any aim other than the making of money, -but it cannot possibly thrive unless it gets the -news and prints it in a pleasing and attractive -form.”</p> - -<p>Writing from a long experience with the profession -of journalism, Will Irwin reaches the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">180</span> -conclusion that<a id="FNanchor_33" href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">33</a> “news is the main thing, the -vital consideration of the American newspaper; -it is both an intellectual craving and a commercial -need to the modern world. In popular psychology -it has come to be a crying primal want of the -mind, like hunger of the body. Tramp windjammers, -taking on the pilot after a long cruise, -ask for the papers before they ask, as formerly, -for fresh fruit and vegetables. Whenever, in our -later Western advance, we Americans set up a -new mining camp, an editor, his type slung on -burro-back, comes in with the missionaries, evangel -himself of civilization. Most dramatically the -San Francisco disaster illuminated this point. -On the morning of April 20, 1906, the city’s population -huddled in parks and squares, their houses -gone, death of famine or thirst a rumor and a -possibility. The editors of the three morning -newspapers, expressing the true soldier spirit -which inspires this most devoted profession, had -moved their staffs to the suburb of Oakland, and -there, on the presses of the <cite>Tribune</cite>, they had -issued a combined <cite>Call-Chronicle-Examiner</cite>. -When, at dawn, the paper was printed, an editor -and a reporter loaded the edition into an automobile -and drove it through the parks of the disordered -city, giving copies away. They were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">181</span> -fairly mobbed, they had to drive at top speed, -casting out the sheets as they went, to make any -progress at all. No bread wagon, no supply of -blankets, caused half so much stir as did the -arrival of the news.</p> - -<p>“We need it, we crave it; this nerve of the -modern world transmits thought and impulse -from the brain of humanity to its muscles; the -complex organism of modern society could no -more move without it than a man could move -without filaments and ganglia. On the commercial -and practical side, the man of even small -affairs must read news in the newspapers every -day to keep informed on the thousand and one -activities in the social structure which affect his -business. On the intellectual and spiritual side, -it is—save for the Church alone—our principal -outlook on the higher intelligence. The thought -of legislature, university, study, and pulpit comes -to the common man first—and usually last—in -the form of news. The tedious business of teaching -reading in public schools has become chiefly -a training to consume newspapers. We must go -far up in the scale of culture before we find an -intellectual equipment more a debtor to the formal -education of school and college than to the haphazard -education of news.”</p> - -<p>The extent to which the editorial aspect of -the newspaper has given way to an increased importance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">182</span> -of the news columns is vividly illustrated -in the anecdote about the <cite>Philadelphia North -American</cite>, which Mr. Irwin relates. “The <cite>North -American</cite>,” says Mr. Irwin, “had declared for -local option. A committee of brewers waited on -the editor; they represented one of the biggest -groups in their business. ‘This is an ultimatum,’ -they said. ‘You must change your policy or lose -our advertising. We’ll be easy on you. We don’t -ask you to alter your editorial policy, <em>but you must -stop printing news of local-option victories</em>.’<a id="FNanchor_34" href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">34</a> So -the deepest and shrewdest enemies of the body -politic give practical testimony to the ‘power of -the press’ in its modern form.”</p> - -<p>In the case of the brewers of Philadelphia it -is my own opinion that if they had been well -advised, instead of attempting to interfere with -the policy of the <cite>North American</cite>, they would -have made it a point to bring to the attention -of the <cite>North American</cite> every instance of the defeat -of local option. The newspaper would undoubtedly -have published both sides of the story, -as far as both sides consisted of news.</p> - -<p>It is because he acts as the purveyor of truthful, -accurate and verifiable news to the press -that the conscientious and successful counsel on -public relations is looked upon with favor by -the journalist. And in the Code of Ethics recently<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">183</span> -adopted in Washington by a national editors’ -conference, his function is given acknowledgment. -Just as in the case of the other mediums -for the dissemination of information, -mediums which range from the lecture platform -to the radio, the press, too, looks to the public -relations counsel for information about the causes -he represents.</p> - -<p>Since news is the newspaper’s backbone, it is -obvious that an understanding of what news actually -is must be an integral part of the equipment -of the public relations counsel. For the public -relations counsel must not only supply news—he -must create news. This function as the creator -of news is even more important than his others.</p> - -<p>It has always been interesting to me that a concise, -comprehensive definition of news has never -been written. What news is, every newspaper -man instinctively knows, particularly as it concerns -the needs of his own paper. But it is almost -as difficult to define news as it is to describe a -circular staircase without making corkscrew gestures -with one’s hand, or as to define some of the -abstruse concepts of the metaphysician, like space -or time or reality.</p> - -<p>What is news for one newspaper may have no -interest whatever, or very little interest, for another -newspaper. There are almost as many definitions -of news as there are journalists who take<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">184</span> -the trouble to define it. Certain of the characteristics -of news, of course, can be readily seized -upon; and definitions of news generally consist -of particular emphasis upon one or another of -these characteristics. Mr. Given remarks that<a id="FNanchor_35" href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">35</a> -“news was once defined as ‘Fresh information of -something that has lately taken place.’...” -The author of this definition puts the chief emphasis -upon the element of timeliness. Undoubtedly -in most news that element must be present. -It would not be true, however, to say that it must -always be present, nor would it be true to say that -everything which is timely is news. Obviously, -the well-nigh infinite number of occurrences -which take place in daily life throughout the -world are timely enough, so far as each of them -in its respective environment is concerned; but -few of them ever become news.</p> - -<p>Mr. Irwin defines news as “a departure from -the established order.” Thus, according to Mr. -Irwin, a criminal act is news because it is a departure -from the established order, and at the -same time, an exceptional display of fidelity, -courage or honesty is also news for the same -reason.</p> - -<p>“With our education in established order, we -get the knowledge,” he says,<a id="FNanchor_36" href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">36</a> “that mankind in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">185</span> -bulk obeys its ideals of that order only imperfectly. -When something brings to our attention -an exceptional adhesion to religion, virtue, and -truth, that becomes in itself a departure from -regularity, and therefore news. The knowledge -that most servants do their work conscientiously -and many stay long in the same employ is not -news. But when a committee of housewives presents -a medal to a servant who has worked faithfully -in one employ for fifty years, that becomes -news, because it calls our attention to a case of -exceptional fidelity to the ideals of established -order. The fact that mankind will consume an -undue amount of news about crime and disorder -is only a proof that the average human being is -optimistic, that he believes the world to be true, -sound and working upward. Crimes and scandals -interest him most because they most disturb his -picture of the established order.</p> - -<p>“That, then, is the basis of news. The mysterious -news sense which is necessary to all good -reporters rests on no other foundation than acquired -or instinctive perception of this principle, -together with a feeling for what the greatest -number of people will regard as a departure from -the established order. In Jesse Lynch William’s -newspaper play, ‘The Stolen Story,’ occurs this -passage:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">186</span></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“(<i>Enter Very Young Reporter; comes down -to city desk with air of excitement.</i>)</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Very Young Reporter</span> (<i>considerably impressed</i>): -‘Big story. Three dagoes killed by that -boiler explosion!’</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">The City Editor</span> (<i>reading copy. Doesn’t -look up</i>): ‘Ten lines.’ (<i>Continues reading copy.</i>)</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Very Young Reporter</span> (<i>looks surprised and -hurt. Crosses over to reporter’s table. Then -turns back to city desk. Casual conversational -tone</i>): ‘By the way. Funny thing. There was -a baby carriage within fifty feet of the explosion, -but it wasn’t upset.’</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">The City Editor</span> (<i>looks up with professional -interest</i>): ‘That’s worth a dozen dead dagoes. -Write a half column.’</p> - -<p>“(<i>Very Young Reporter looks still more surprised, -perplexed. Suddenly the idea dawns upon -him. He crosses over to table, sits down, writes.</i>)</p></blockquote> - -<p>“Both saw news; but the editor went further -than the reporter. For cases of Italians killed -by a boiler explosion are so common as to approach -the commonplace; but a freak of explosive -chemistry which annihilates a strong man -and does not disturb a baby departs from it -widely.”</p> - -<p>Here again it is clear that Mr. Irwin has<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">187</span> -merely emphasized one of the features generally -to be found in what we call news, without, however, -offering us a complete or exclusive definition -of news.</p> - -<p>Analyzing further within his general rule that -news is a departure from the established order, -Mr. Irwin goes on to point out certain outstanding -factors which enhance or create news value. -I cite them here because all of them are unquestionably -sound. On the other hand, analysis -shows that some of them are directly contradictory -to his main principle that only the departure -from the established order is news. In Mr. Irwin’s -opinion, the four outstanding factors making -for the creation or enhancement of news value -are the following:<a id="FNanchor_37" href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor">37</a></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>1. “<i>We prefer to read about the things we -like.</i>” The result, he says, has been the rule: -“Power for the men, affections for the women.”</p> - -<p>2. “<i>Our interest in news increases in direct -ratio to our familiarity with its subject, its setting, -and its dramatis personæ.</i>”</p> - -<p>3. “<i>Our interest in news is in direct ratio to -its effect on our personal concerns.</i>”</p> - -<p>4. “<i>Our interest in news increases in direct<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">188</span> -ratio to the general importance of the persons or -activities which it affects.</i>” This is so obvious -that it scarcely needs comment.</p></blockquote> - -<p>Some notion of the diversity of news arising -in a city may be obtained if one studies the points -which are watched as news sources, either continuously -or closely by metropolitan dailies. Mr. -Given<a id="FNanchor_38" href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor">38</a> lists the places in New York which are -watched constantly:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“Police Headquarters.</p> - -<p>Police Courts.</p> - -<p>Coroner’s Office.</p> - -<p>Supreme Courts, New York County.</p> - -<p>New York Stock Exchange.</p> - -<p>City Hall, including the Mayor’s Office, Aldermanic -Chamber, City Clerk’s Office, and Office of -the President of Manhattan Borough.</p> - -<p>County Clerk’s office.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>Those places, says Mr. Given, which the newspapers -watch carefully, but not continually, are:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“City Courts (Minor civil cases).</p> - -<p>Court of General Sessions (Criminal cases).</p> - -<p>Court of Special Sessions (Minor criminal -cases).</p> - -<p>District Attorney’s Office.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">189</span> -Doors of Grand Jury rooms when the Grand -Jury is in session (For indictments and presentments).</p> - -<p>Federal Courts.</p> - -<p>Post Office.</p> - -<p>United States Commissioner’s Offices, and -Offices of the United States Secret Service officers.</p> - -<p>United States Marshal’s Office.</p> - -<p>United States District Attorney’s Office.</p> - -<p>Ship News, where incoming and outgoing vessels -are reported.</p> - -<p>Barge Office, where immigrants land.</p> - -<p>Surrogate’s Office, where wills are filed and -testimony concerning wills in litigation is heard.</p> - -<p>Political Headquarters during campaigns.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>Finally, “the following are visited by the reporters -several times, or only once a day:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“Police Stations.</p> - -<p>Municipal Courts.</p> - -<p>Board of Health Headquarters.</p> - -<p>Fire Department Headquarters.</p> - -<p>Park Department Headquarters.</p> - -<p>Building Department Headquarters.</p> - -<p>Tombs Prison.</p> - -<p>County Jail.</p> - -<p>United States Sub-treasury.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">190</span> -Office of Collector of the Port.</p> - -<p>United States Appraiser’s Office.</p> - -<p>Public Hospitals.</p> - -<p>Leading Hotels.</p> - -<p>The Morgue.</p> - -<p>County Sheriff’s Office.</p> - -<p>City Comptroller’s Office.</p> - -<p>City Treasurer’s Office.</p> - -<p>Offices of the Tax Collector and Tax Assessors.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>Mr. Given’s example of the broker, John -Smith, illustrates aptly the point I am making. -“For ten years,” said Mr. Given,<a id="FNanchor_39" href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor">39</a> “he pursues -the even tenor of his way and except for his customers -and his friends no one gives him a thought. -To the newspapers he is as if he were not. But -in the eleventh year he suffers heavy losses and, -at last, his resources all gone, summons his lawyer -and arranges for the making of an assignment. -The lawyer posts off to the County Clerk’s office, -and a clerk there makes the necessary entries in -the office docket. Here in step the newspapers. -While the clerk is writing Smith’s business obituary, -a reporter glances over his shoulder, and a -few minutes later the newspapers know Smith’s -troubles and are as well informed concerning his -business status as they would be had they kept<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">191</span> -a reporter at his door every day for over ten -years. Had Smith dropped dead instead of -merely making an assignment his name would -have reached the newspapers by way of the Coroner’s -office instead of the County Clerk’s office, -and in fact, while Smith did not know it, the -newspapers were prepared and ready for him no -matter what he did. They even had representatives -waiting for him at the Morgue. He was -safe only when he walked the straight and narrow -path and kept quiet.”</p> - -<p>An overt act is often necessary before an event -can be regarded as news.</p> - -<p>Commenting on this aspect of the situation, -Mr. Lippmann discusses this very example of the -broker, John Smith, and his hypothetical bankruptcy. -“That overt act,” says Mr. Lippmann,<a id="FNanchor_40" href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor">40</a> -“‘uncovers’ the news about Smith. Whether the -news will be followed up or not is another matter. -The point is that before a series of events -become news they have usually to make themselves -noticeable in some more or less overt act. -Generally, too, in a crudely overt act. Smith’s -friends may have known for years that he was -taking risks, rumors may even have reached the -financial editor if Smith’s friends were talkative. -But apart from the fact that none of this could -be published because it would be libel, there is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">192</span> -in these rumors nothing definite on which to -peg a story. Something definite must occur -that has unmistakable form. It may be the act -of going into bankruptcy, it may be a fire, a -collision, an assault, a riot, an arrest, a denunciation, -the introduction of a bill, a speech, a vote, -a meeting, the expressed opinion of a well-known -citizen, an editorial in a newspaper, a sale, a -wage-schedule, a price change, the proposal to -build a bridge.... There must be a manifestation. -The course of events must assume a certain -definable shape, and until it is in a phase -where some aspect is an accomplished fact, news -does not separate itself from the ocean of possible -truth.”</p> - -<p>From the point of view of the practical journalist, -Mr. Irwin has applied this observation to -the making of the news of the day. He says:<a id="FNanchor_41" href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor">41</a> -“I state a platitude when I say that government -by the people is the essence of democracy. In -theory, the people watch and know; when, in the -process of social and industrial evolution, they -see a new evil becoming important, they found -institutions to regulate it or laws to repress it. -They cannot watch without light, know without -teachers. The newspaper, or some force like it, -must daily inform them of things which are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">193</span> -shocking and unpleasant in order that democracy, -in its slow, wobbling motion upward, may perceive -and correct. It is good for us to know that -John Smith, made crazy by drink, came home and -killed his wife. Startled and shocked, but interested, -we may follow the case of John Smith, see -that justice in his case is not delayed by his pull -with Tammany. Perhaps, when there are enough -cases of John Smith, we shall look into the first -causes and restrain the groggeries that made him -momentarily mad or the industrial oppression -that made him permanently an undernourished, -overnerved defective. It is good to know that -John Jones, a clerk, forged a check and went to -jail. For not only shall we watch justice in his -case, but some day we shall watch also the fraudulent -race-track gambling that tempted him to -theft. If every day we read of those crimes -which grow from the misery of New York’s East -Side and Chicago’s Levee, some day democracy -may get at the ultimate causes for overwork, underfeeding, -tenement crowding.</p> - -<p>“No other method is so forcible with the public -as driving home the instance which points the -moral. General description of bad conditions -fails, somehow, to impress the average mind. -One might have shouted to Shreveport day after -day that low dives make dangerous negroes, and -created no sentiment against saloons. But when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">194</span> -a negro, drunk on bad gin which he got at such -a dive, assaulted and killed Margaret Lear, a -schoolgirl, Shreveport voted out the saloon.”</p> - -<p>For the great mass of activities there is no -machinery of record whatever. How these are -to be recorded when they are important is the -real problem for the press.</p> - -<p>In this field the public relations counsel plays -a considerable part. His is the business of calling -to the public attention, through the press and -through every other available medium, the point -of view, the movement or the issue which he represents. -Mr. Lippmann has observed that it is -for this reason that what he calls the “press -agent” has become an important factor in modern -life.</p> - -<p>Mr. Lippmann’s observation on this point deserves -comment. He says:<a id="FNanchor_42" href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor">42</a> “This is the underlying -reason for the existence of the press agent. -The enormous discretion as to what facts and -what impressions shall be reported is steadily -convincing every organized group of people that -whether it wishes to secure publicity or to avoid -it, the exercise of discretion cannot be left to the -reporter. It is safer to hire a press agent who -stands between the group and the newspapers.”</p> - -<p>The really important function of the public relations -counsel, in relation to the press as well<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">195</span> -as to his client, lies even beyond these considerations. -He is not merely the purveyor of news; -he is more logically the <em>creator</em> of news.</p> - -<p>An amateur can bring a good story to the average -newspaper office and receive consideration, -although the amateur is only too likely to miss -precisely those features of his story which give -it news value, and to overlook precisely that -element of the story which will make it interesting -to the particular newspaper he is approaching.</p> - -<p>The New York hotel proprietors were enforcing -the prohibition law in relation to their own -establishments, but saw that certain restaurants -were violating the law with impunity. Realizing -the injustice to them of this situation, they built -a definite news event by going over the heads of -the local law enforcement offices and wired an -appeal direct to President Harding, asking for -enforcement. This naturally became news of the -first order.</p> - -<p>The opening of a shop by prominent women in -which were shown graphic examples of the effect -of the tariff on women’s wear was an event created -to intensify interest in this subject.</p> - -<p>The launching of battleships with ceremony; -the laying of corner stones; the presentation of -memorials; demonstration meetings, parties and -banquets are all events created with a view to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">196</span> -their carrying capacity in the various mediums -that reach the public.</p> - -<p>The departments of a modern newspaper will -show the great variety of possible approaches on -any subject from the standpoint of the press. -When this is correlated to the possible approaches -on any subject from the standpoint of human -psychology, we see the diversification of methods -to which the public relations counsel can have -recourse to construct events.</p> - -<p>In the metropolitan press, for instance, there -are the news departments, the editorial departments, -the letter-to-the-editor department, the -women’s department, the society department, the -current events department, the sport department, -the real estate department, the business department, -the financial department, the shipping department, -the investment department, the educational -department, the photographic department -and the other special feature writers and sections, -different in different journals.</p> - -<p>In a valuable study on the “Newspaper Reading -Habits of Business Executives and Professional -Men in New York” compiled by Professor -George Burton Hotchkiss, Head of the Department -of Advertising and Marketing, and Richard -B. Franken, Lecturer in Advertising at -New York University, there are several tables -setting forth the features of morning and evening<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">197</span> -newspapers preferred as a whole by the -group to whom the questionnaires were sent, and -by various smaller groups within the main group.</p> - -<p>The counsel on public relations not only knows -what news value is, but knowing it, he is in a -position to <em>make news happen</em>. He is a creator -of events.</p> - -<p>An organization held a banquet for a building -fund to which the invitations were despatched -on large bricks. The news element in this story -was the fact that bricks were despatched.</p> - -<p>In this capacity, as purveyor and creator of -news for the press as well as for all other mediums -of idea dissemination, it must be clear -immediately that the public relations counsel -could not possibly succeed unless he complied with -the highest moral and technical requirements of -those with whom he is working.</p> - -<p>Writing on the profession of the public relations -counsel, the author of an article in the <cite>New -York Times</cite><a id="FNanchor_43" href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor">43</a> says “newspaper editors are the -most suspicious and cynical of mortals, but they -are as quick to discern the truth as to detect -the falsehood.” He goes on to discuss the particular -public relations counsel whom he has in -mind and whom he designates by the fictitious -name Swift, and remarks that: “Irrespective of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">198</span> -their position on ethics, Swift & Co. won’t deal -in spurious goods. They know that one such -error would be fatal. The public might forget, -but the editor never. Besides, they don’t have -to.”</p> - -<p>Truthful and accurate must be the material -which the public relations counsel furnishes to the -press and other mediums. In addition, it must -have the elements of timeliness and interest which -are required of all news—and it must not only -have these elements in general, but it must suit -the particular needs of each particular newspaper -and, even more than that, it must suit the needs -of the particular editor in whose department it -is hoped that it will be published.</p> - -<p>Finally, the literary quality of the material -must be up to the best standards of the profession -of journalism. The writing must be good, -in the particular sense in which each newspaper -considers a story well written.</p> - -<p>In brief, the material must come to the editorial -desk as carefully prepared and as accurately verified -as if the editor himself had assigned a special -reporter to secure and write the facts. Only -by presenting his news in such form and in such -a manner can the counsel on public relations hope -to retain, in the case of the newspaper, the most -valuable thing he possesses—the editor’s faith -and trust. But it must be clearly borne in mind<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">199</span> -that only in certain cases is the public relations -counsel the intermediary between the news and -the press. The event he has counseled upon, the -action he has created finds its own level of expression -in mediums which reach the public.</p> - -<p>The radio stations offer an avenue of approach -to the public. They are controlled by private organizations, -large electrical supply companies, department -stores, newspapers, telegraph companies -and in some cases by the government. Their programs -broadcast information and entertainment -to those within their radius. These programs -vary in different localities.</p> - -<p>To the public relations counsel there is a wide -opportunity to utilize the means of distribution -the radio program affords. In partisan matters, -the controllers of the radio insist upon the presentation -of all points of view in order to have -the onus of propaganda removed from their -shoulders. The public relations counsel is therefore -in a position to suggest to the broadcasting -managers a symposium treatment of the subject -in which he happens to be interested. Or in -the case of information, which has not this partisan -character, he is in a position to assure treatment -of his subject by embodying his thesis in -the form of a speech delivered by some individual -of standing and reputation.</p> - -<p>In the case of events which the public relations<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">200</span> -counsel may be instrumental in creating, -such as large public meetings, the radio to-day -becomes a natural form of distribution, just as -news treatment in a newspaper does, and the -broadcasting to thousands and thousands of people -of the speeches becomes a corollary of the -event itself. The broadcasting of Lord Robert -Cecil’s speech on the League of Nations, delivered -at a banquet in New York, is a case in point.</p> - -<p>Many magazines, for instance, are availing -themselves of the radio stations to supply -speeches on the particular topics they are most -interested in. So the housekeeping magazines -supply the radio stations with information about -that phase of women’s activities. The fashion -magazines do likewise in their fields. And they -thereby heighten their own prestige and authority -in the minds of their hearers.</p> - -<p>The use of the wireless telegraph in war time -was an important factor in broadcasting information -of war aims and war accomplishments to -enemy countries. It was used successfully by -both Allied and Central powers. It was utilized -even by the Soviet Government in the announcement -of its communications. This form -of propagation differs slightly from the radio, -referred to previously, since it depends for its -efficacy not upon reaching great numbers of -hearers, but upon reaching newspapers and other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">201</span> -mediums that give currency to the material -broadcasted. The wireless telegraph of course -was and is a valuable asset to the public relations -counsel.</p> - -<p>The lecture platform is another well-established -means of idea communication.</p> - -<p>The spoken word has to a certain extent lost -its efficacy when the lecture platform alone is -considered.</p> - -<p>The appeal of the lecture platform is limited -by the actual number of those who hear the message. -It is possible to reach vaster numbers -through the printed word or the motion picture -or even the radioed word. Both the weakness -of the human voice and the physical characteristics -of the place of assemblage bring about this -limitation.</p> - -<p>The lecture platform, however, still retains its -importance for the public relations counsel because -it affords him the opportunity to speak -before group audiences which in themselves have -a news value, or because it presents the opportunity -to stage dramatic events that bring intensification -of interest and action on the part -of larger audiences than those actually addressed.</p> - -<p>The lecture field open to the public relations -counsel for the propagation of information or -ideas may be divided into several classifications. -First there are the lecture managers and bureaus,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">202</span> -which act as agents in booking lecturers -to different kinds of group audiences throughout -the country. The public relations counsel can, -for instance, suggest to his client to secure a -prominent person, who because of interest in -a cause will be glad to undertake a lecture tour. -Then a bureau may manage the tour. The tours -of important proponents on such issues as the -League of Nations fall in this class as well as the -tours of prominent authors, arranged by publishers -in their behalf.</p> - -<p>Then there is the lecture tour managed by the -client himself and arranged through the booking -of engagements with such local groups as might -be interested in assuming sponsorship for what -is said. A soap company might engage a lecturer -on cleanliness to speak in the schools of leading -communities. Or a woolen firm arrange for a -home economics authority to lecture to women’s -clubs on dress. These speeches of course, locally, -gain a wider audience than the speaker would -who addressed a single meeting because they give -opportunity for treatment in newspapers, advertising, -circularizing, and other mediums.</p> - -<p>The lecture field offers another means of communication -in as much as it gives the public relations -counsel a range of group leaders to whom -he can furnish the facts and ideas he is trying to -propagate. The lecturers of Boards of Education<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">203</span> -in cities throughout the country, the lecturers -before schools and other institutions of learning, -the lecturers of one sort or another who address -varied audiences can be reached directly and can -become the carriers of the information the public -relations counsel desires to give forth.</p> - -<p>The meeting or public demonstration, at which -prominent speakers voice their views upon the -particular problem or problems at issue, would -fall quite naturally under this same classification. -Its main purpose, of course, is not so much -to reach the audience being addressed as to make -a focal point of interest for those thousands and -millions who do not attend, but who get the -reverberations of the speaker’s voice through -other mediums than their own auditory sensation.</p> - -<p>Advertising is a medium open to the public relations -counsel. In the sense in which the word -is used here, the term applies to every form of -paid space available for the carrying of a message. -From the newspaper advertisement to the -billboard, its forms are so varied that it has -developed its own literature and its own principles -and practice. In considering his objectives and -the mediums through which his potential public -can be reached the public relations counsel always -considers advertising space as among his most important -adjuncts. The wise public relations counsel<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">204</span> -calls into conference on the particular kinds of -advertising to be used in a given problem the -advertising agent who has made this study his -lifework. The public relations counsel and the -advertising agent then work out the problem in -their respective fields.</p> - -<p>Advertising up to the present time has laid -its greatest stress upon the creation of demands -and markets for specific goods. It is also applied -with effectiveness to the propagation of ideas as -well. It is peculiarly effective when used in combination -with other methods of appeal.</p> - -<p>Advertising controls the amount of physical -space it occupies before the public eye. Advertising’s -dimensional qualities give it a facile flexibility -that can be extended or limited at will. -In a sense, too, this quality gives the special -leader the opportunity to select his audience and -to give them his message directly.</p> - -<p>The field of coöperative advertising by combinations -of advertisers in the same business or -profession, by governments or their subdivisions, -for one reason or another, is open to future possibilities.</p> - -<p>The stage offers an avenue of approach to the -public which must be regarded both from the -standpoint of the numbers of individuals it -reaches as well as from the circles of influence it -creates by word of mouth and otherwise. To<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">205</span> -the public relations counsel therefore it offers a -wide field.</p> - -<p>Through coöperation with playwrights or managers, -ideas can be given currency on the stage. -When they can be translated to the action that -takes place upon a stage, they are given emphasis -by the visual and auditory presentation.</p> - -<p>The motion picture falls into two fields for the -purposes of the public relations counsel. There -is the field of the feature film. Here any direct -utilization of the public relations counsel’s ideas -must come indirectly and be taken by the producer -of the film from some of the other organs of -thought communication. The producer may -adopt for the subject of a film some idea which -the public relations counsel has agitated. The -film, for instance, dealing with the drug traffic -came very definitely as a result of the work carried -on to help relieve the drug evil.</p> - -<p>The second field is one the public relations -counsel can employ more directly. Educational -films are made to order to-day to illustrate specific -points for public consumption, from showing -how a product is made to showing the necessity -for subway relief in a big city. These films are -usually shown before a special group audience -arranged for by the public relations counsel or -before some other group interested in the idea -the particular film stands for. Thus a Chamber<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">206</span> -of Commerce can further a film having to do -with the need for better port facilities.</p> - -<p>One phase of this kind of film is the news reel -which, controlled by a private organization, films -events and occasions which may have been created -by the public relations counsel, but which -carries because of its value in the competitive -market of events.</p> - -<p>Word of mouth is an important medium to be -considered. Ideas and facts can be given currency -by word of mouth. Here group leaders -are strong factors in giving currency to ideas. -The public relations counsel often communicates -the ideas he wishes to promulgate to group leaders -whose espousal of the idea he wishes to obtain.</p> - -<p>The direct-by-mail campaign and the printed -word afford the public relations counsel channels -of approach to such individuals as he may desire -to reach. Large companies have available for -such purposes lists of individuals arranged according -to innumerable criteria. There are geographical -divisions, professional divisions, business -divisions, and divisions of religion. There -are classifications by economic position, classifications -by all manner of preferences. This classification -of his public into the right groups for -the proper appeals is one of the most important -functions of the public relations counsel, as we -have pointed out. The direct-by-mail method of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">207</span> -approach offers wide opportunities for capitalizing -his training and experience along these -lines. Telegraphic and wireless communications -would of course come under this heading.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">208</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_IV_II" class="vspace">CHAPTER II<br /> - -<span class="subhead">HIS OBLIGATIONS TO THE PUBLIC AS A SPECIAL -PLEADER</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">It</span> has been the history of new professions—and -every profession has been at some time a -new profession—that they are accepted by the -public and become firmly established only after -two significant handicaps are overcome. The -first of these, oddly enough, lies in public opinion -itself; it consists of the public’s reluctance to -acknowledge a dependence, however slight, upon -the ministrations of any one group of persons. -Medicine, even to-day, is still fighting this reluctance. -The law is fighting it. Yet these are established -professions.</p> - -<p>The second handicap is that any new profession -must become established, not through the efforts -and activities of others, who might be considered -impartial, but through its own energy.</p> - -<p>These handicaps are particularly potent in a -profession of advocacy, because it is engaged in -the partisan representation of one point of view. -The legal profession is perhaps the most familiar -example of this fact, and in this light at least a -trenchant comparison may be drawn between the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">209</span> -bar and the new profession of the public relations -counsel.</p> - -<p>Both these professions offer to the public substantially -the same services—expert training, a -highly sensitized understanding of the background -from which results must be obtained, a -keenly developed capacity for the analysis of -problems into their constituent elements. Both -professions are in constant danger of arousing -crowd antagonism, because they often stand in -frank and open opposition to the fixed point of -view of one or another of the many groups which -compose society. Indeed it is this aspect of the -work of the public relations counsel which is undoubtedly -the foundation of a good deal of popular -disapproval of his profession.</p> - -<p>Even Mr. Martin, who on several occasions in -his volume talks with severe condemnation of -what he calls propaganda, sees and admits the -fundamental psychological factors which make -the adherents to one point of view impute degraded -or immoral motives to believers in other -points of view. He says:<a id="FNanchor_44" href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor">44</a></p> - -<p>“The crowd-man can, when his fiction is -challenged, save himself from spiritual bankruptcy, -preserve his defenses, keep his crowd -from going to pieces, only by a demur. Any one -who challenges the crowd’s fictions must be ruled<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">210</span> -out of court. He must not be permitted to speak. -As a witness to contrary values, his testimony -must be discounted. The worth of his evidence -must be discredited by belittling the disturbing -witness. ‘He is a bad man; the crowd must not -listen to him.’ His motives must be evil; he is -‘bought up’; he is an immoral character; he tells -lies; he is insincere or he ‘has not the courage -to take a stand’ or ‘there is nothing new in what -he says.’</p> - -<p>“Ibsen’s ‘Enemy of the People,’ illustrates this -point very well. The crowd votes that Doctor -Stockman may not speak about the baths, the -real point at issue. Indeed, the mayor takes -the floor and officially announces that the doctor’s -statement that the water is bad is ‘unreliable and -exaggerated.’ Then the president of the Householders’ -Association makes an address accusing -the doctor of secretly ‘aiming at revolution.’ -When finally Doctor Stockman speaks and tells -his fellow citizens the real meaning of their conduct, -and utters a few plain truths about ‘the -compact majority,’ the crowd saves its face, not -by proving the doctor false, but by howling him -down, voting him an ‘enemy of the people,’ and -throwing stones through the window.”</p> - -<p>If we analyze a specific example of the public -relations counsel’s work, we see the workings of -the crowd-mind, which have made it so difficult<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">211</span> -for his profession to gain popular approval. Let -us take, for example, the tariff situation again. -It is manifestly impossible for either side in the -dispute to obtain a totally unbiased point of view -as to the other side. The importer calls the manufacturer -unreasonable; he imputes selfish motives -to him. For his own part he identifies the -establishment of the conditions upon which he -insists with such things as social welfare, national -safety, Americanism, lower prices to the -consumer, and whatever other fundamentals he -can seize upon. Every newspaper report carrying -the flavor of adverse suggestion, whether on -account of its facts or on account of the manner -of its writing, is immediately branded as untrue, -unfortunate, ill-advised. It must, the importer -concludes, it must have been inspired by insidious -machinations from the manufacturers’ interests.</p> - -<p>But is the manufacturer any more reasonable? -If the newspapers publish stories unfavorable to -his interests, then the newspapers have been -“bought up,” “influenced”; they are “partisan” -and many other unreasonable things. The manufacturer, -just like the importer, identifies his side -of the struggle with such fundamental standards -as he can seize upon—a living wage, reduced -prices to the consumer, the American standard -of employment, fair play, justice. To each the -contentions of the other are untenable.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">212</span> -Now, carry this situation one step further to -the point at which the public relations counsel is -retained, on behalf of one side or the other. Observe -how sincerely each side and its adherents -call even the verifiable facts and figures of the -other by that dread name “propaganda.” Should -the importers submit figures showing that wages -could be raised and the price to the consumer reduced, -their adherents would be gratified that -such important educational work should be done -among the public and that the newspapers should -be so fair-minded as to publish it. The manufacturers, -on the other hand, will call such material -“propaganda” and blame either the newspaper -which publishes those figures or the economist -who compiled them, or the public relations -counsel who advised collating the material.</p> - -<p>The only difference between “propaganda” and -“education,” really, is in the point of view. -The advocacy of what we believe in is education. -The advocacy of what we don’t believe in is -propaganda. Each of these nouns carries with it -social and moral implications. Education is valuable, -commendable, enlightening, instructive. -Propaganda is insidious, dishonest, underhand, -misleading. It is only to-day that the viewpoint -on this question is undergoing a slight change, -as the following editorial would indicate:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">213</span> -“The relativity of truth,”<a id="FNanchor_45" href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor">45</a> says Mr. Elmer -Davis, “is a commonplace to any newspaper man, -even to one who has never studied epistemology; -and, if the phrase is permissible, truth is rather -more relative in Washington than anywhere else. -Now and then it is possible to make a downright -statement; such and such a bill has passed in one -of the houses of Congress, or failed to pass; the -administration has issued this or that statement; -the President has approved, or vetoed, a certain -bill. But most of the news that comes out of -Washington is necessarily rather vague, for it -depends on the assertions of statesmen who are -reluctant to be quoted by name, or even by description. -This more than anything else is responsible -for the sort of fog, the haze of miasmatic -exhalations, which hangs over news with -a Washington date line. News coming out of -Washington is apt to represent not what is so -but what might be so under certain contingencies, -what may turn out to be so, what some eminent -personage says is so, or even what he wants the -public to believe is so when it is not.”</p> - -<p>Most subjects on which there is a so-called definite -public opinion are much more vague and indefinite, -much more complex in their facts and -in their ramifications than the news from Washington<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">214</span> -which the historian of the <cite>New York -Times</cite> describes. Consider, for example, what -complicated issues are casually disposed of by the -average citizen. An uninformed lay public may -condemn a new medical theory on slight consideration. -Its judgment is hit or miss, as medical -history proves.</p> - -<p>Political, economic and moral judgments, as we -have seen, are more often expressions of crowd -psychology and herd reaction than the result of -the calm exercise of judgment. It is difficult to -believe that this is not inevitable. Public opinion -in a society consisting of millions of persons, all -of whom must somehow or other reach a working -basis with most of the others, is bound to -find a level of uniformity founded on the intelligence -of the average member of society as a whole -or of the particular group to which one may belong. -There is a different set of facts on every -subject for each man. Society cannot wait to find -absolute truth. It cannot weigh every issue carefully -before making a judgment. The result is -that the so-called truths by which society lives are -born of compromise among conflicting desires -and of interpretation by many minds. They are -accepted and intolerantly maintained once they -have been determined. In the struggle among -ideas, the only test is the one which Justice<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">215</span> -Holmes of the Supreme Court pointed out—the -power of thought to get itself accepted in the -open competition of the market.</p> - -<p>The only way for new ideas to gain currency -is through the acceptance of them by groups. -Merely individual advocacy will leave the truth -outside the general fund of knowledge and beliefs. -The urge toward suppression of minority -or dissentient points of view is counteracted in -part by the work of the public relations counsel.</p> - -<p>The standards of the public relations counsel -are his own standards and he will not accept a -client whose standards do not come up to them. -While he is not called upon to judge the merits -of his case any more than a lawyer is called upon -to judge his client’s case, nevertheless he must -judge the results which his work would accomplish -from an ethical point of view.</p> - -<p>In law, the judge and jury hold the deciding -balance of power. In public opinion, the public -relations counsel is judge and jury because -through his pleading of a case the public is likely -to accede to his opinion and judgment. Therefore, -the public relations counsel must maintain -an intense scrutiny of his actions, avoiding the -propagation of unsocial or otherwise harmful -movements or ideas.</p> - -<p>Every public relations counsel has been confronted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">216</span> -with the necessity of refusing to accept -clients whose cases in a law court would be valid, -but whose cases in the higher court of public -opinion are questionable.</p> - -<p>The social value of the public relations counsel -lies in the fact that he brings to the public facts -and ideas of social utility which would not so -readily gain acceptance otherwise. While he, of -course, may represent men and individuals who -have already gained great acceptance in the public -mind, he may represent new ideas of value -which have not yet reached their point of largest -acceptance or greatest saturation. That in itself -renders him important.</p> - -<p>As for the relations between the public relations -counsel and his client, little can be said -which would not be merely a repetition of that -code of decency by which men and women make -moral judgments and live reputable lives. The -public relations counsel owes his client conscientious, -effective service, of course. He owes to his -client all the duties which the professions assume -in relation to those they serve. Much more -important than any positive duty, however, which -the public relations counsel owes to his client is -the negative duty—that he must never accept a -retainer or assume a position which puts his duty -to the groups he represents above his duty to his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">217</span> -own standards of integrity—to the larger society -within which he lives and works.</p> - -<p>Europe has given us the most recent important -study of public opinion and its social and historical -effects. It is interesting because it indicates -the sweep of the development of an international -realization of what a momentous factor -in the world’s life public opinion is becoming. -I feel that this paragraph from a recent work -of Professor Von Ferdinand Tonnies is of particular -significance to all who would feel that the -conscious moulding of public opinion is a task embodying -high ideals.</p> - -<p>“The future of public opinion,” says Professor -Tonnies, “is the future of civilization. It is certain -that the power of public opinion is constantly -increasing and will keep on increasing. It is -equally certain that it is more and more being influenced, -changed, stirred by impulses from below. -The danger which this development contains -for a progressive ennobling of human society -and a progressive heightening of human -culture is apparent. The duty of the higher -strata of society—the cultivated, the learned, the -expert, the intellectual—is therefore clear. They -must inject moral and spiritual motives into public -opinion. Public opinion must become public -conscience.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">218</span> -It is in the creation of a public conscience that -the counsel on public relations is destined, I believe, -to fulfill his highest usefulness to the society -in which he lives.</p> - -<p class="p4 center wspace">THE END</p> - -<div class="chapter"><div class="footnotes"> -<h2 id="FOOTNOTES" class="nobreak p1">FOOTNOTES</h2> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="fnanchor">1</a> Cardozo, “The Nature of the Judicial Process” (page 9).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="fnanchor">2</a> Walter Lippmann, “Public Opinion” (page 248).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="fnanchor">3</a> “Public Opinion” (page 342). Mr. Lippmann goes on to say -that “having hired him, the temptation to exploit his strategic -position is very great.” As to that aspect of the situation, see -later chapters.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="fnanchor">4</a> William Trotter, “Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War” -(page 36).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="fnanchor">5</a> “Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War,” William Trotter -(pages 36–37).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="fnanchor">6</a> Page 45.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="fnanchor">7</a> “Public Opinion” (page 350).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="fnanchor">8</a> <cite>Atlantic Monthly</cite>, March, 1914.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="fnanchor">9</a> <cite>Atlantic Monthly</cite>, June, 1914.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="fnanchor">10</a> Francis E. Leupp, “The Waning Power of the Press,” <cite>Atlantic -Monthly</cite>, July, 1910.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="fnanchor">11</a> Rollo Ogden, “Some Aspects of Journalism,” <cite>Atlantic -Monthly</cite>, July, 1906.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="fnanchor">12</a> “Publicity at Paris,” <cite>New York Times</cite>, April 2, 1922.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="fnanchor">13</a> H. L. Mencken on Journalism, <cite>The Nation</cite>, April 26, 1922.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="fnanchor">14</a> “The Behavior of Crowds” (page 193).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="fnanchor">15</a> W. Trotter, “Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="fnanchor">16</a> It should be explained at the very outset that Mr. Trotter -does not use the term “herd” in any derogatory sense. He approaches -the entire subject from the point of view of the biologist -and compares the gregarious instinct in man to the same -instinct in lower forms of life.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="fnanchor">17</a> “Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War” (page 32).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="fnanchor">18</a> <cite xml:lang="la" lang="la">Ibid.</cite></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="fnanchor">19</a> “Public Opinion” (page 81).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="fnanchor">20</a> “Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War” (page 38).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="fnanchor">21</a> <cite xml:lang="la" lang="la">Ibid.</cite> (page 112 <i>et seq.</i>). Italics mine.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="fnanchor">22</a> Bleyer, “The Profession of Journalism” (page 269).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="fnanchor">23</a> “Public Opinion” (page 354).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="fnanchor">24</a> “Public Opinion” (page 292).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="fnanchor">25</a> “Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War” (page 62).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="fnanchor">26</a> Given, “Making a Newspaper” (pages 306–307).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="fnanchor">27</a> “Press Tendencies and Dangers,” <cite>Atlantic Monthly</cite>, January, -1918.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28" class="fnanchor">28</a> “The Behavior of Crowds” (pages 23–24).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29" class="fnanchor">29</a> Walter Lippmann, “Public Opinion.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30" class="fnanchor">30</a> Mr. Given’s definition of the qualifications of a good reporter -applies very largely to the qualifications of a good public -relations counsel. “There is undoubtedly a good deal of truth,” -says Mr. Given, “in the saying that good reporters are born and -not made. A man may learn how to gather some kinds of news, -and he may learn how to write it correctly, but if he cannot see -the picturesque or vital point of an incident and express what -he sees so that others will see as through his eyes, his productions, -even if no particular fault can be found with them, -will not bear the mark of true excellence; and there is, if one -stops to think, a great difference between something that is devoid -of faults and something that is full of good points. The -quality which makes a good newspaper man must, in the opinion -of many editors, exist in the beginning. But when it does exist, -it can usually be developed, no matter how many obstacles are -in the way.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31" class="fnanchor">31</a> “Public Opinion” (page 160).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_32" href="#FNanchor_32" class="fnanchor">32</a> Given, “Making a Newspaper.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_33" href="#FNanchor_33" class="fnanchor">33</a> “What Is News?” by Will Irwin, <cite>Collier’s</cite>, March 18, 1911 -(page 16).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_34" href="#FNanchor_34" class="fnanchor">34</a> Italics mine.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_35" href="#FNanchor_35" class="fnanchor">35</a> “Making a Newspaper” (page 168).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_36" href="#FNanchor_36" class="fnanchor">36</a> “What is News?” Will Irwin, <cite>Collier’s</cite>, March 18, 1911 (page -16).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_37" href="#FNanchor_37" class="fnanchor">37</a> “What is News?” by Will Irwin, <cite>Collier’s</cite>, March 18, 1911 -(pages 17–18). Italics mine.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_38" href="#FNanchor_38" class="fnanchor">38</a> “Making a Newspaper,” by Given (pages 59–62).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_39" href="#FNanchor_39" class="fnanchor">39</a> Given, “Making a Newspaper” (page 57).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_40" href="#FNanchor_40" class="fnanchor">40</a> “Public Opinion” (pages 339–340).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_41" href="#FNanchor_41" class="fnanchor">41</a> “All the News That’s Fit to Print,” <cite>Collier’s</cite>, May 6, 1911 -(page 18).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_42" href="#FNanchor_42" class="fnanchor">42</a> “Public Opinion” (page 344).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_43" href="#FNanchor_43" class="fnanchor">43</a> <cite>Times Book Review and Magazine</cite>, January 1, 1922. “Men -Who Wield the Spotlight,” by Charles J. Rosebault.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_44" href="#FNanchor_44" class="fnanchor">44</a> “The Behavior of Crowds” (pages 128–129).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_45" href="#FNanchor_45" class="fnanchor">45</a> “History of the <cite>New York Times</cite>” (pages 379–380).</p></div> -</div></div> - -<div class="chapter"><div class="transnote"> -<h2 id="Transcribers_Notes" class="nobreak p1">Transcriber’s Note</h2> - -<p>Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made -consistent when a predominant preference was found -in the original book; otherwise they were not changed.</p> -</div></div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Crystallizing Public Opinion, by Edward L. 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