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BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR l,

CRYSTALLIZING PUBLIC OPINION I
PROPAGANDA
I
AN OUTLINE OF CAREERS
THE ;BROADWAY i\NTHOLOGY (CO.-AUTHOR. By
I EDWARD L. BERNAYS
•

I
I
J.

I
~

New York
HORACE LIVERIGHT
1928
Copyright· 19:28 . by
HORACE LIVERIGHT· INC

Printed in the United States

==~==

First printing, November, 1928

Second printing, December, 1928

To My JrVife
DORIS E. FLEISCHMAN
CONTENTS
I. ORGANIZING CHAOS 9
II. THE NEW PROPAGANDA 19

III. THE NEW PROPAGANDISTS 32

IV. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 47
Some of the ideas and some of the materia.l in V. BUSINESS AND THE PUBLIC 62
this book have been used in articles written for The
VI. PROPAGANDA AND POLITICAL LEADERSHIP 92
Bookman, The Delineator, Advertising and Selling,
The Independent, The American Journal of Soci- VII. WOMEN'S ACTIVITIES AND PROPAGANDA I I 5
ology, and other journals, to whom the author makes VIII. PROPAGANDA FOR EDUCATION 121

grateful acknowledgment. IX. PROPAGANDA IN SOCIAL SERVICE 135

X. ART AND SCIENCE . I4 I
XI. THE MECHANICS OF PROPAGANDA IS0
CHAPTER I
ORGANIZING CHAOS

THE conscious and intelligent manipulation of the

organized habits and opinions of the masses is an
important element in democratic society. Those who
manipulate this unseen mechanism of society consti-
tute an invisible government which is the true ruling
power of our country.
We are governed, our minds are molded, our
tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men
we have never heard of. This is a logical result of
the way in which our democratic society is organized.
Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in
this manner if they are to live together as a smooth-
ly functioning society.
Our invisible governors are, in many cases, un-
aware of the identity of their fellow members in the
inner cabinet.
They govern us by their qualities of natural leader-
ship, their ability to supply needed ideas and by their
key position in the social structure.' Whatever atti-
tude one chooses to take toward this condition, it
remains a fact that in almost every act of our daily
lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business,
in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are
9
Propaganda
Organizing Chaos
dominated by the relatively small number of per-
in every question, they would find it impossible to
sons-a trifling fraction of our hundred and twenty
come to a conclusion about anything. We have
million-who understand the mental processes and
voluntarily agreed to let an invisible government
social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the
sift the data and high -spot the outstanding issues so
wires which control the public mind, who harness old
that our field of choice shall be narrowed to practical
social forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide
proportions. From our leaders and the media they
the world.
use to reach the public, we accept the evidence and
It is not usually realized how necessary these in-
the demarcation of issues .bearing upon public ques-
visible governors are to the orderly functioning of
tions; from some ethical teacher, be it a minister, a
our group life. In theory, every citizen may vote
favorite essayist, or merely prevailing opinion, we
for whom he pleases. Our Constitution does not
accept a standardized code of social conduct to which
envisage political parties as part of the mechanism
we conform most of the time.
of government, and its framers seem not to ?ave
In theory, everybody buys the best and cheapest
pictured to themselves the existence in 0U: .natIOnal
commodities offered him on the market. In practice,
politics of anything like the modern polttIcal ma-
if everyone went around pricing, and chemically
chine. But the American voters soon found that
testing before purchasing, the dozens of soaps or
without organization and direction their individual
fabrics or brands of bread which are for sale, eco-
votes, cast, perhaps, for dozens or hundreds of can-
nomic life would become hopelessly jammed. To
didates would produce nothing but confusion. In-
avoid such confusion, society consents to have its
visible' government, in the shape of rudimentary
choice narrowed to ideas and objects brought to its
political parties, arose almost overnight. Ever since
attention through propaganda of all kinds. There
then we have agreed, for the sake of simplicity and
is consequently a vast and continuous effort going on
practicality, that party machines should narrow down
to capture our minds in the interest of some policy or
the field of choice to two candidates, or at most three
commodity or idea.
or four.
It might be better to have, instead of propaganda
In theory, every citizen makes up his mind on
and special pleading, committees of wise men who
public questions and matters of private conduct. In
would choose our rulers, dictate our conduct, private
practice, if all men had to study for thems:lves the
and public, and decide upon the best types of clothes
abstruse economic, political, and ethical data mvolved
for us to wear and the best kinds of food for us to
10
II
Propaganda Organizing Chaos
eat. But we have chosen the opposite method, that centers, of getting quick replies and effective discus-
of open competition. We must find a way to make sion-have opened up a new world of political proc-
free competition function with reasonable smooth- esses. Ideas and phrases can now be given an
ness. To achieve this society has consented to permit effectiveness greater than the effectiveness of any
free competition to be organized by leadership and personality and stronger than any sectional interest.
propaganda. The common design can be documented and sustained
Some of the phenomena of this process are crit- against perversion and betrayal. It can be elaborated
icized-the manipulation of news, the inflation of and developed steadily and widely without personal
personality, and the general ballyhoo by which poli- local and sectional misunderstanding." ,
ticians and commercial products and social ideas are \Vhat Mr. Wells says of political processes is
brought to the consciousness of the masses. The in- equally true of commercial and social processes and
struments by which public opinion is organized and all manifestations of mass activity. The groupings
focused may be misused. But such organization and and affiliations of society to-day are no longer subject
focusing are necessary to orderly life. to "local and sectional" limitations. When the Con-
As civilization has become more complex, and as stitution was adopted, the unit of organization was
the need for invisible government has been increas- the village community, which produced the greater
ingly demonstrated, the technical means have been part of its own necessary commodities and generated
invented and developed by which opinion may be its group ideas and opinions by personal contact and
regimented. discussion directly among its citizens. But to-day
With the printing press and the newspaper, the because ideas can be instantaneously transmitted t~
railroad, the telephone, telegraph, radio and air- any distance and to any number of people, this geo-
planes, ideas can be spread rapidly and even instanta- graphical integration has been supplemented by many
neously over the whole of America. other kinds of grouping, so that persons having the
H. G. Wells senses the vast potentialities of these same ideas and interests may be associated and regi-
inventions when he writes in the New York Times: mented for common action even though they live
"Modern means of communication-the power thousands of miles apart.
afforded by print, telephone, wireless and so forth, . It is extremely difficult to realize how many and
of rapidly putting through directive strategic or tech- dIverse are these cleavages in our society. They may
nical conceptions to a great number of cooperating be social, political, economic, racial, religious or eth-
12 13
Propaganda Organizing Chaos
ical with hundreds of subdivisions of each. In the
Grocer; National Hotel Reporter; National Income
W;rld Almanac, for example, the following groups
Tax Magazine; National Jeweler; National Journal
are listed under the A's:
of Chiropractic ; National Live Stock Producer',
The League to Abolish Capital Punishment; As-
National Miller; National Nut News; National
sociation to Abolish War; American Institute of
Poultry, Butter and Egg Bulletin; National Provi-
Accountants' Actors' Equity Association; Actuarial
sioner (for meat packers) j National Real Estate
Association 'of America; International Advertising
Journal; National Retail Clothier ; National Retail
Association; National Aeronautic Association; Al-
bany Institute of History and Art; Amen Corner; Lumber Dealer; National Safety News; National
American Academy in Rome; American Antiquarian Spiritualist; National Underwriter; The Nation's
Society; League for American Citizens~ip; .Ameri- Health; Naujienos (Lithuanian daily newspaper);
can Federation of Labor; Amore (RosICrUCIan Or- New Comer (Republican weekly for Italians);
der) ; Andiron Club; American-Irish. Histori~al Daily News; The New World (Catholic weekly);
Association; Anti-Cigarette League; Antl-Profamty North American Banker; North American Veterina-
nan.
League' Archeological Association of America; Na-
, S . The circulation of some of these publications is
tional Archery Association; Arion Singing oClety;
American Astronomical Association; Ayrshire Breed- astonishing. The National Live Stock Producer has
ers' Association' Aztec Club of 1847. There are a sworn circulation of 155,97 8 ; The National En-
, f .
many more under the "A" section 0 thIS very gineer, of 20,328; The New World, an estimated
limited list. circulation of 67,000. The greater number of the
The American Newspaper Annual and Directory periodicals listed--chosen at random from among
for 1928 lists 22,128 periodical publications in 22,128-have a circulation in excess of 10,000.
America. I have selected at random the N's pub- The diversity of these publications is evident at a
lished in Chicago. They are: glance. Yet they can only faintly suggest the multi-
Narod (Bohemian daily newspaper); Narod-Pol- tude of cleavages which exist in our society, and
ski (Polish monthly); N.A.R.D. (pharmaceutical); along which flow information and opinion carrying
National Corporation Reporter; National Culinary authority to the individual groups.
Progress (for hotel chefs); National Dog Journal; Here are the conventions scheduled for Cleveland,
National Drug Clerk; National Engineer; National Ohio, recorded in a single recent issue of "World
14 IS
Propaganda Organizing Chaos
Cenvention Dates"-a fraction of the 5,500 con- ever been made), they would still represent but a
ventions and rallies scheduled. part of those existing less formally but leading
The Employing Photo-Engravers' Association of vigorous lives. Ideas are sifted and opinions stereo-
America; The Outdoor Writers' Association; the typed in the neighborhood bridge club. Leaders
Knights of St. John; the Walther League; The Na- assert their authority through community drives and
tional Knitted Outerwear Association; The Knights amateur theatricals. Thousands of women may un-
of St. Joseph; The Royal Order of Sphinx; The consciously belong to a sorority which follows the
Mortgage Bankers' Association; The International fashions set by a single society leader.
Association of Public Employment Officials; The "Life" satirically expresses this idea in the reply
Kiwanis Clubs of Ohio; The American Photo-En- which it represents an American as giving to the
gravers' Association; The Cleveland Auto Manufac- Britisher who praises this country for having no
turers Show; The American Society of Heating and upper and lower classes or castes:
Ventilating Engineers. "Yeah, all we have is the Four Hundred, the
Other conventions to be held in 1928 were those
White-Collar Men, Bootleggers, Wall Street Barons,
of:
Criminals, the D.A.R., the K.K.K., the Colonial
The Association of Limb Manufacturers' Asso-
Dames, the Masons, Kiwanis and Rotarians, the K.
ciations; The National Circus Fans' Association of
of c., the Elks, the Censors, the Cognoscenti, the
America; The American Naturopathic Association;
The American Trap Shooting Association; The Morons, Heroes like Lindy, the W.C.T.U., Poli-
Texas Folklore Association; The Hotel Greeters; ticians, Menckenites, the Booboisie, Immigrants,
The Fox Breeders' Association; The Insecticide and Broadcasters, and-the Rich and Poor."
Disinfectant Association; The National Association Yet it must be remembered that these thousands
of Egg Case and Egg Case Filler Manufacturers; of groups interlace. John Jones, besides being a
The American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages; Rotarian, is member of a church, of a fraternal order,
and The National Pickle Packers' Association, not to of a political party, of a charitable organization, of
mention the Terrapin Derby-most of them with a professional association, of a local chamber of
banquets and orations attached. commerce, of a league for or against prohibition or
If all these thousands of formal organizations and of a society for or against lowering the tariff, and of
institutions could be listed (and no complete list has a golf club. The opinions which he receives as a
%6 17
Propaganda
Rotarian, he will tend to disseminate in the other
groups in which he may have influence.
This invisible, intertwining structure of groupings
and associations is the mechanism by which democ- CHAPTER II
racy has organized its group mind and simplified its THE NEW [Link]
mass thinking. To deplore the existence of such a
mechanism is to ask for a society such as never was IN the days When kings were kings, Louis XIV
and nevet' will be. To admit that it exists, but expect made his modest remark, t'L'Etat c'est moi." He
that it shall not be used, is unreasonable. was nearly right.
EmU Ludwig represents Napoleon as «(ever on But times have changeCl. The steam engine tlle
the watch for indications of public opinion; always multiple press, and the public school that trio of the
listening to the voice of the people, a voice which industrial revolution, have taken the power away
defies ca1culation. 'Do you know,' he said in those from kings and given it to the people. The people
days, 'what amazes me more than all else? The actually gained power which the king lost. For
impotence of force to organize anything.' J) economic power tends to draw after it political
It is the purpose of this book to explain the struc- power; and the history of the industrial revolution
ture of the mechanism which controls the public sh?ws how that power passed from the king and the
mind, and to tell how it is manipulated by the special anstoa:cr to the bourgeoisie. Universal suffrage
pleader who seeks to create public acceptance for a and UnIversal schooling ret!nforced this tendency, and
particular idea or commodity. It will attempt at the at last even the bourgeoisie stood in fear of the com-
same time to nnd the due place in the modern demo- mon people. For the masses promised to become
cratic scheme for. this new propaganda. and to sug- king.
gest its gradually evolving code of ethics and prac- To-day, however, a reaction nas set in. The mi-
tice. nor!ty. ~as discovered a powerful help in influencing
maJonttes. It has been found possible so to mold
the mind of the masses that they will throw
their newly gained strength in the desired direction.
~n t~e present structure of society, this practice is
IneVItable. Whatever of social importance is done
J9
Propaganda T he New Propaganda
to-oay, whether in politics, finance, manufacture, agri- are 'tneither good nor bad but custom makes them
culture, charity, education, or other fields, must be so." I find the word defined in Funk and Wagnal.1s'
done with the help of propaganda. Propaganda is Dictionary in four ways:
the executive arm at the invisible government. "I. A society of cardinals, the overseers of for-
Universal literacy was supposed to educate .the eign missions; also the College of the Propaganda at
common man to control his environment. Once Rome founded by Pope Urban VIII in 1627 for the
he could read and write he would have a mind fit to education of missionary priests; Sacred College de
rule. So ran the democratic doctrine. But instead Propaganda Fide.
of a mind, universal literacy has given him rubber "2. Hence, any institution or scheme for propa-
stamps, rubber stamps inked with advertising slogans, gating a doctrine or system.
with editorials, with published scientific data, with ",3. Effort directed systematically toward the
the trivialities of the tabloids and the platitudes of gaining of public support for an opinion or a course
history, but quite innocent of original thought•. ~ch of action.
man's rubber stamps are the duplicates of millions "4- The principles advanced by a propaganda."
of others, so that when those millions are exposed to The SciBntific American, in a recent issue, pleads
the same stimuli, all r:ceive identical imprints.. It for the restoration to respectable usage of that "fine
may seem an exaggeration to say that the [Link] old word 'propaganda.' "
public gets most of its ideas in this wholesale fashiOn.. "There is no word in the English language," it
The mechanism by which ideas are disseminated on a says, "whose meaning has been so sadly distorted as
large scale is propaganda, in the ~road [Link] of the word 'propaganda.' The change took place
an organized effort to spread a. pa.rt1cular behef or mainly during the late war when the term took on a
doctrine. decidedly sinister complexion.
I am aware that the word "propaganda" carnes
to "If you tum to the Standard Dictionary, you will
many minds an unpleasant connotation. Yet whether, find that the word was applied to a congregation or
in any instance, propaganda is good or bad depends society of cardinals for the care and oversight of
upon the merit of the cause urged, and the correct- foreign missions which was instituted at Rome in
ness of the information published. the year 162.7. It was applied also to the College of
In itself, the word «propaganda" has certain tech- the Propaganda. at Rome that was founded by Pope
nical meanings which, like most things in this world, Urban VIII, for the education of the missionary
'.10 ~.u
The New Propaganda
Propaganda
course of action in some debatable question, believing
priests. Hence, in later years the word came to be
that it is promoting the best interest of the commu-
applied to any institution or scheme for propagating
nity. Propaganda? Not a bit of it. Just a plain
a doctrine or system.
forceful statement of truth. But let another group.
"Judged by this definition, we can see that in its
of citizens express opposing views, and they are
true sense propaganda is a perfectly legitimate form
promptly labeled with the sinister name of propa-
of human activity. Any society, whether it be social,
ganda. . . .
religious or political, which is possessed of certain
(( 'What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the
beliefs, and sets out to make them known, either by
gander,' says a wise old proverb. Let us make haste
the spoken or written words, is practicing propa-
to put this fine old word back where it belongs, and
ganda. restore its dignified significance for the use of our
"Truth is mighty and must prevail, and if any
children and our children's children."
body of men believe that they have discovered a
The extent to which propaganda shapes the prog~
valuable truth, it is not merely their privilege but
ress of affairs about us may surprise even well in-
their duty to disseminate that truth. If they realize,
formed persons. Nevertheless, it is only necessary
as they quickly must, that this spreading of the truth
to look under the surface of the newspaper for a
can be done upon a large scale and effectively only
hint as to propaganda's authority over public opinion.
by organized effort, they will make use of the press
Page one of the New York Times on the day these
and the platform as the best means to give it wide
paragraphs are written contains eight important news
circulation. Propaganda becomes vicious and repre-
stories. Four of them, or one-half, are propaganda.
hensive only when its authors consciously and delib-
The casual reader accepts them as accounts of spon-
erately disseminate what they know to be lies, or
taneous happenings. But are they? Here are the
when they aim at effects which they know to be prej-
headlines which announce them: "TWELVE NATIONS
udicial to the common good.
WARN CHINA REAL REFORM MUST COME BEFORE
"(Propaganda' in its proper meaning is a perfectly
wholesome word, of honest pare~tage, and with an
THEY GIVE RELIEF," "PRITCHETT REPORTS ZIONISM
WILL FAIL," "REALTY MEN DEMAND A TRANSIT IN-
honorable history. The fact that it should to-day be
QUIRY," and "OUR LIVING STANDARD HIGHEST IN
carrying a sinister meaning merely shows how much
HISTORY, SAYS HOOVER REPORT."
of the child remains in the average adult. A group
of citizens writes and talks in favor of a certain Take them in order: the article on China explains
22 23
Propaganda T he New Propaganda
the joint report of the Commission on Extraterri- Modern propaganda is a consistent, enduring
toriality in China, presenting an exposition of the fort to create or shape events to influence the rela-
Powers' stand in the Chinese muddle. What it says tions of the public to an enterprise, idea or group.
is less important than what it is. It was "made pub- This practice of creating circumstances and of
lie by the State Department to-day" with the purpose creating pictures in the minds of millions of persons
of presenting to the American public a picture of the is very common. Virtually no important undertaking
State Department's position. Its source gives it au- is now carried on without it, whether that enterprise
thority, and the American public tends to accept and be building a cathedral, endowing a university, mar-
support the State Department view. keting a moving picture, floating a large bond issue,
The report of Dr. Pritchett, a trustee of the Car- or electing a president. Sometimes the effect on the
negie Foundation for International Peace, is an at- public is created by a professional propagandist,
tempt to find the facts about this Jewish colony in sometimes by an amateur deputed for the job. The
the midst of a restless Arab world. When Dr. important thing is that it is universal and continuous;
Pritchett's survey convinced him that in the long run and in its sum total it is regimenting the public mind
Zionism would ((bring more bitterness and more un- every bit as much as an army regiments the bodies of
happiness both for the Jew and for the Arab," this its soldiers.
point of view was broadcast with all the ~uthority So vast are the numbers of minds which can be
of the Carnegie Foundation, so that the publIc would regimented, and so tenacious are they when regi-
hear and believe. The statement by the president of mented, that a group at times offers an irresistible
the Real Estate Board of New York, and Secretary pressure before which legislators, editors, and teach-
Hoover's report, are similar attempts to influence ers are helpless. The group will cling to its stereo-
the public toward an opinion. type, as Walter Lippmann calls it, making of those
These examples are not given to create the impres- supposedly powerful beings, the leaders of public
sion that there is anything sinister about propaganda. opinion, mere bits of driftwood in the surf. When
They are set down rather to illustrate how consci?us an Imperial Wizard, sensing what is perhaps hunger
direction is given to events, and how the men behmd for an ideal, offers a picture of a nation all Nordic
these events influence public opinion. As such they and nationalistic, the common man of the older
are examples of modern propaganda. At this point American stock, feeling himself elbowed out of his
we may attempt to define propaganda. rightful position and prosperity by the newer immi-
14 2S
'Propaganda The New Propaganda
grant stocks, grasps the picture which fits in so neatly public at least for a time and for a given purpose.
with his prejudices, and makes it his own. He buys Formerly the rulers were the leaders. They laid
the sheet and pillow-case costume, and bands with out the course of history, by the simple process of
his fellows by the thousand into a huge group doing what they wanted. And if nowadays the
powerful enough to swing state elections and to successors of the rulers, those whose position or
throw a ponderous monkey wrench into a national ability gives them power, can no longer do what
convention. they want without the approval of the masses,
In our present social organization approval of the they find in propaganda a tool which is increasingly
public is essential to any large undertaking. Hence powerful in gaining that approval. Therefore, prop-
a laudable movement may be lost unless it impresses aganda is here to stay.
itself on the public mind. Charity, as well as busi- It was, of course, the astounding success of prop-
ness, and politics and literature, for that matter, have aganda during the war that opened the eyes of
had to adopt propaganda, for the public must be the intelligent few in all departments of life to
regimented into giving money just as it must be regi- the possibilities of regimenting the public mind.
mented into tuberculosis prophylaxis. The Near The American government and numerous patriotic
East Relief, the Association for the Improvement of agencies developed a technique which, to most per-
the Condition of the Poor of New York, and all sons accustomed to bidding for public acceptance, was
the rest, have to work on public opinion just as new. They not only appealed to the individual by
though they had tubes of tooth paste to sell. We means of every approach-visual, graphic, and audi-
are proud of our diminishing infant death rate-and tory-to support the national endeavor, but they also
that too is the work of propaganda. secured the cooperation of the key men in every group
Propaganda does exist on all sides of us, and it -persons whose mere word carried authority to hun-
does change our mental pictures of the world. Even dreds or thousands or hundreds of thousands of
if this be unduly pessimistic-and that remains to followers. They thus automatically gained the sup-
be proved-the opinion reflects a tendency that is port of fraternal, religious, commercial, patriotic,
undoubtedly real. In fact, its use is growing as social and local groups whose members took their
its efficiency in gaining public support is recognized. opinions from their accustomed leaders and spokes-
This then, evidently indicates the fact that any men, or from the periodical publications which they
one with sufficient influence can lead sections of the were accustomed to read and believe. At the same
26 27
Propaganda The New Propaganda
time the manipulators of patriotic opinion made use the home of fashion. Lyons is the home of silk. The
of t~e mental cliches and the emotional habits of the attack had to be made at the source. It was deter-
public to produce mass reactions against the alleged mined to substitute purpose for chance and to utilize
atrocities, the terror and the tyranny of the enemy. the regular sources for fashion distribution and to
It was only natural, after the war ended, that intel- influence the public from these sources. A velvet
ligent persons should ask themselves whether it was fashion service, openly supported by the manufac-
not possible to apply a similar technique to the prob- turers, was organized. Its first function was to es-
lems of peace. tablish contact with the Lyons manufactories and
As a matter of fact, the practice of propaganda the Paris couturiers to discover what they were doing,
since the war has assumed very different forms from to encourage them to act on behalf of velvet, and to
those prevalent twenty years ago. This new tech- help in the proper exploitation of their wares. An
nique may fairly be called the new propaganda. intelligent Parisian was enlisted in the work. He vis-
It takes account not merely of the individual, nor ited Lanvin and Worth, Agnes and Patou, and others
even of the mass mind alone, but also and especially and induced them to use velvet in their gowns and
of the anatomy of society, with its interlocking group hats. It was he who arranged for the distinguished
formations and loyalties. It sees the individual Countess This or Duchess That to wear the hat or the
not only as a cell in the social organism but as a cell gown. And as for the presentation of the idea to the
organized into the social unit. Touch a nerve at a public, the American buyer or the American woman
sensitive spot and you get an automatic response of fashion was simply shown the velvet creations in
from certain specific members of the organism. the atelier of the dressmaker or the milliner. She
Business offers graphic examples of the effect that bought the velvet because she liked it and because
may be produced upon the public by interested it was in fashion.
groups, such as textile manufacturers losing their The editors of the American magazines and fash-
markets. This problem arose, not long ago, when the ion reporters of the American newspapers, like-
velvet manufacturers were facing ruin because their wise subjected to the actual (although created) cir-
product had long been out of fashion. Analysis cumstance, reflected it in their news, which, in turn,
showed that it was impossible to revive a velvet fash- subjected the buyer and the consumer here to the
ion within America. Anatomical hunt for the vital same influences. The result was that what was at
spot!. Paris! Obviously! But yes and no. Paris is first a trickle of velvet became a flood. A demand
'18 29
Propaganda The New Propaganda
was slowly, but deliberately, created in Paris and duce the results they desire. Whether they realize
America. A big department store, aiming to be a it or not, they call upon propaganda to organize and
style leader, advertised velvet gowns and hats on the effectuate their demand.
authority of the French couturiers, and quoted origi- But clearly it is the intelligent minorities which
nal cables received from them. The echo of the need to make use of propaganda continuously and
new style note was heard from hundreds of depart- syste:natically. In the active proselytizing minori-
ment stores throughout the country which wanted to tIes III whom selfish interests and public interests
be style leaders too. Bulletins followed despatches. coincide lie the progress and development of Amer-
The mail followed the cables. And the American ica. Only through the active energy of the intelligent
woman traveler appeared before the ship news pho- few can the public at large become aware of and act
tographers in velvet gown and hat. upon new ideas.
The created circumstances had their effect. «Fickle Small groups of persons can, and do, make the
fashion has veered to velvet," was one newspaper rest of us think what they please about a given sub-
comment. And the industry in the United States ject. But there are usually proponents and opponents
again kept thousands busy. of every propaganda, both of whom are equally
The new propaganda, having regard to the consti- eager to convince the majority.
tution of society as a whole, not infrequently serves
to focus and realize the desires of the masses. A
desire for a specific reform, however widespread,
cannot be translated into action until it is made articu-
late, and until it has exerted sufficient pressure upon
the proper law-making bodies. Millions of house-
wives may feel that manufactured foods dele-
terious to health should be prohibited. But there
is little chance that their individual desires will be
translated into effective legal form unless their half-
expressed demand can be organized, made vocal,
and concentrated upon the state legislature or upon
the Federal Congress in some mode which will pro-
3° 31
The New Propagandists
largest industrial corporations, the president of many
of the labor unions affiliated in the American Fed-
eration of Labor, the national president of each of
CHAPTER III the national professional and fraternal organizations,
the president of each of the racial or language so-
THE NEW PROPAGANDISTS
cieties in the country, the hundred leading news-
WHO are the men who, without our realizing it, paper and magazine editors, the fifty most popular
give us our ideas, tell us whom to admire and v: hom authors, the presidents of the fifty leading charitable
· hat to believe about the ownersh1p of organizations, the twenty leading theatrical or cinema
to d esplse, w . f
public utilities, about the tariff, about the .pnc: 0 producers, the hundred recognized leaders of fash-
about the Dawes Plan, about imm1gratlOn; ion, the most popular and influential clergymen in
rubber , d' d h t the hundred leading cities, the presidents of our col-
who tell us how our houses should be eS1gne ,w a
furniture we should put into them, what me?us we leges and universities and the foremost members of
should serve on our table, what k~nd of S~lrts we their faculties, the most powerful financiers in Wall
must wear what sports we should mdulge m, what Street, the most noted amateurs of sport, and so on.
plays we ;hould see, what charities ;;e should sup- Such a list would comprise several thousand
t what pictures we should adm1re, what slang persons. But it is well known that many of these
por 'hould affect what jokes we should laugh at? leaders are themselves led, sometimes by persons
we s , d men
If we set out to make a list of the me.n a~ wo. whose names are known to few. Many a congress-
who, because of their position in pub~1c h~e~ m1ght man, in framing his platform, follows the suggestions
fairly be called the molders of pubh~ opmlOn, we of a district boss whom few persons outside the politi-
ns cal machine have ever heard of. Eloquent divines
could quickly arrive at an extended hst of p:rso
. d'm "Wh'
mentlOne 0 s
Who" . It would obvlOusly may have great influence in their communities, but
include, the President of the United States and the often take their doctrines from a higher ecclesiasti-
'1s Cabinet· the Senators and Repre- cal authority. The presidents of chambers of com-
members 0 f h , f
. . Congress' the Governors of our orty- merce mold the thought of local business men
sentatwes m , f
eight states' the presidents of the chambers.o com- concerning public issues, but the opinions which they
merce in o~r hundred largest cities, the cha1rmen of promulgate are usually derived from some national
the boards of directors of our hundred or more authority. A presidential candidate may be
32 33
Propaganda The New Propagandists
"drafted" in response to «overwhelming popular de- There are invisible rulers who control the destinies
mand," but it is well known that his name may be of millions. It is not generally realized to what ex-
decided upon by half a dozen men sitting around a tent the words and actions of our most influential
table in a hotel room. public men are dictated by shrewd persons operating
In some instances the power of invisible wire- behind the scenes.
pullers is flagrant. The power of the in:isible cab.i- Nor, what is still more important, the extent to
net which deliberated at the poker table In a certam which our thoughts and habits are modified by
little green house in Washington has become a na- authorities.
tional legend. There was a period in which t~e In some departments of our daily life, in which
major policies of the national government w~re dIc- we imagine ourselves free agents, we are ruled by
tated by a single man, Mark Hanna. A SImmons dictators exercising great power. A man buying a
may, for a few years, succeed in marshaling mil- suit of clothes imagines that he is choosing, accord-
lions of men on a platform of intolerance and vio- ing to his taste and his personality, the kind of gar-
lence. ment which he prefers. In reality, he may be obey-
Such persons typify in the public mind the type ing the orders of an anonymous gentleman tailor in
of ruler associated with the phrase invisible govern- London. This personage is the silent partner in
ment. But we do not often stop to think that there a modest tailoring establishment, which is patron-
are dictators in other fields whose influence is just ized by gentlemen of fashion and princes of the
as decisive as that of the politicians I have mentioned. blood. He suggests to British noblemen and others
An Irene Castle can establish the fashion of short a blue cloth instead of gray, two buttons instead of
hair which dominates nine-tenths of the women who three, or sleeves a quarter of an inch narrower than
make any pretense to being fashionable. Paris last season. The distinguished customer approves
fashion leaders set the mode of the short skirt, for of the idea.
wearing which, twenty years ago, any woman would But how does this fact affect John Smith of
simply have been arrested and thrown into jail by Topeka?
the New York police, and the entire women's The gentleman tailor is under contract with a
clothing industry, capitalized at hundreds of mil- certain large American firm, which manufactures
lions of dollars, must be reorganized to conform to men's suits, to send them instantly the designs of the
their dictum. suits chosen by the leaders of London fashion.
34 35
Propaganda T he New Propagandists
Upon receiving the designs, with specifications as would work through certain group leaders on Tues-
to color, weight and texture, the firm immediately day for one purpose, and through an entirely differ-
places an order with the cloth makers for several ent set on Wednesday for another. The idea of
hundred thousand dollars' worth of cloth. The suits invisible government is relative. There may be a
made up according to the specifications are then ad- handful of men who control the educational meth-
vertised as the latest fashion. The fashionable men ods of the great majority of our schools. Yet from
in New York, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia another standpoint, every parent is a group leader
wear them. And the Topeka man, recognizing this with authority over his or her children.
leadership, does the same. The invisible government tends to be concen-
Women are just as subject to the commands of trated in the hands of the few because of the ex-
invisible government as are men. A silk manufac- pense of manipulating the social machinery which
turer, seeking a new market for its product, sug- controls the opinions and habits of the masses. To
gested to a large manufacturer of shoes that women's advertise on a scale which will reach fifty million
shoes should be covered with silk to match their persons is expensive. To reach and persuade the
dresses. The idea was adopted and systematically group leaders who dictate the public's thoughts and
propagandized. A popular actress was persuaded to actions is likewise expensive.
wear the shoes. The fashion spread. The shoe firm For this reason there is an increasing tendency to
was ready with the supply to meet the created de- concentrate the functions of propaganda in the hands
mand. And the silk company was ready with the of the propaganda specialist. This specialist is more
silk for more shoes. and more assuming a distinct place and function in
The man who injected this idea into the shoe in- our national life.
dustry was ruling women in one department of their New activities call for new nomenclature. The
social lives. Different men rule us in the various propagandist who specializes in interpreting enter-
departments of our lives. There may be one power prises and ideas to the public, and in interpreting the
behind the throne in politics, another in the manipu- public to promulgators of new enterprises and ideas,
lation of the Federal discount rate, and still another has corne to be known by the name of "public rela-
in the dictation of next season's dances. If there tions counsel."
were a national invisible cabinet ruling our destinies The new profession of public relations has grown
(a thing which is not impossible to conceive of) it up because of the increasing complexity of modern
36 37
Propaganda T he New Propagandists
life and the consequent necessity for making the sel on public relations concentrates on the public con-
actions of one part of the public understandable to tacts of his client's business. Every phase of his
other sectors of the public. It is due, too, to the client's ideas, products or activities which may affect
increasing dependence of organized power of all sorts the public or in which the public may have an in-
upon public opinion. Governments, whether they terest is part of his function.
are monarchical, constitutional, democratic or com- For instance, in the specific problems of the manu-
munist, depend upon acquiescent public opinion for facturer he examines the product, the markets, the
the success of their efforts and, in fact, government is way in which the public reacts to the product, the at-
only government by virtue of public acquiescence. titude of the employees to the public and towards
Industries, public utilities, educational movements, the product, and the cooperation of the distribution
indeed all groups representing any concept or prod- agenCIes.
uct, whether they are majority or minority ideas, The counsel on public relations, after he has ex-
succeed only because of approving public opinion. amined all these and other factors, endeavors to
Public opinion is the unacknowledged partner in all shape the actions of his client so that they will gain
broad efforts. the interest, the approval and the acceptance of the
The public relations counsel, then, is the agent public.
who, working with modern media of communica- The means by which the public is apprised of the
tion and the group formations of society, brings an actions of his client are as varied as the means of
idea to the consciousness of the public. But he is communication themselves, such as conversation, let-
a great deal more than that. He is concerned with ters, the stage, the motion picture, the radio, the lec-
courses of action, doctrines, systems and opinions, and ture platform, the magazine, the daily newspaper.
the securing of public support for them. He is also The counsel on public relations is not an advertising I
concerned with tangible things such as manufactured man but he advocates advertising where that is indi-
and raw products. He is concerned with public utili- cated. Very often he is called in by an advertising
ties, with large trade groups and associations repre- agency to supplement its work on behalf of a client.
senting entire industries. His work and that of the advertising agency do not
He functions primarily as an adviser to his client, conflict with or duplicate each other.
very much as a lawyer does. A lawyer concentrates His first efforts are, naturally, devoted to analyz-
on the legal aspects of his client's business. A coun- ing his client's problems and making sure that what
38 39
Propaganda The New Propagandists
he has to offer the public is something which the which, on behalf of his client, he may talk to the
public accepts or can be brought to accept. It is public.
futile to attempt to sell an idea or to prepare the Only after this double analysis has been made and
ground for a product that is basically unsound. the results collated, has the time come for the next
For example, an orphan asylum is worried by a step, the formulation of policies governing the gen-
falling off in contributions and a puzzling attitude eral practice, procedure and habits of the client in all
of indifference or hostility on the part of the public. those aspects in which he comes in contact with the
The counsel on public relations may discover upon public. And only when these policies have been
analysis that the public, alive to modern sociological agreed upon is it time for the fourth step.
trends, subconsciously criticizes the institution because The first recognition of the distinct functions of
it is not organized on the new ((cottage plan." He the public relations counsel arose, perhaps, in the
will advise modification of the client in this re- early years of the present century as a result of the
spect. Or a railroad may be urged to put on a fast insurance scandals coincident with the muck-raking
train for the sake of the prestige which it will lend of corporate finance in the popular magazines. The
to the road's name, and hence to its stocks and bonds. interests thus attacked suddenly realized that they
If the corset makers, for instance, wished to bring were completely out of touch with the public they
their product into fashion again, he would un- were professing to serve, and required expert advice
questionably advise that the plan was impossible, to show them how they could understand the public
since women have definitely emancipated themselves and interpret themselves to it.
from the old-style corset. Yet his fashion advisers The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company,
might report that women might be persuaded to prompted by the most fundamental self-interest, in-
adopt a certain type of girdle which eliminated the itiated a conscious, directed effort to change the atti-
unhealthful features of the corset. tude of the public toward insurance companies in
His next effort is to analyze his public. He general, and toward itself in particular, to its profit
studies the groups which must be reached, and the and the public's benefit.
leaders through whom he may approach these groups. It tried to make a majority movement of itself
Social groups, economic groups, geographical groups, by getting the public to buy its policies. It reached
age groups, doctrinal groups, language groups, cul- the public at every point of its corporate and separate
tural groups, all these represent the divisions through ~xistences. To communities it gave health surveys

40 41
Propaganda The New Propagandists
and expert counsel. To individuals it gave health defined and his advice has definite bearing on the
creeds and advice. Even the building in which the conduct of the group or individual with whom he is
corporation was located was made a picturesque land- working.
mark to see and remember, in other words to carry Many persons still believe that the public rela-
on the associative process. And so this, company tions counsel is a propagandist and nothing else.
came to have a broad general acceptance. The num- But, on the contrary, the stage at which many suppose
ber and amount of its policies grew constantly, as he starts his activities may actually be the stage at
its broad contacts with society increased. which he ends them. After the public and the
Within a decade, many large corporations were client are thoroughly analyzed and policies have
employing public relations counsel under one title or been formulated, his work may be finished. In
another, for they had come to recognize that they other cases the work of the public relations counsel
depended upon public good will for their continued must be continuous to be effective. For in many in-
·« stances only by a careful system of constant, thorough
prosperity. It was no 1onger true t hat It was none
of the public's business" how the affairs of a corpora- and frank information will the public understand and
tion were managed. They were obliged to convince appreciate the value of what a merchant, educator or
the public that they were conforming to its demands statesman is doing. The counsel on public relations
as to honesty and fairness. Thus a corporation might must maintain constant vigilance, because inadequate
discover that its labor policy was causing public re- information, or false information from unknown
sentment, and might introduce a more enlightened sources, may have results of enormous importance.
policy solely for the sake of general good will. Or a A single false rumor at a critical moment may drive
department store, hunting for the cause of diminish- down the price of a corporation's stock, causing a loss
ing sales, might discover that its clerks had a repu- of millions to stockholders. An air of secrecy or
tation for bad manners, and initiate formal instruction mystery about a corporation's financial dealings may
breed a general suspicion capable of acting as an in-
in courtesy and tact.
The public relations expert may be known as public visible drag on the company's whole dealings with
relations director or counsel. Often he is called sec- the public. The counsel on public relations must be
retary or vice-president or director. Sometimes he in a position to deal effectively with rumors and sus-
is known as cabinet officer or commissioner. By what- picions, attempting to stop them at their source,
ever title he may be called, his function is well counteracting them promptly with correct or more
42 43
Propaganda T he New Propagandists
complete information through channels which will be cooperate by enunciating clearly. It aims to bring
most effective, or best of all establishing such rela- about an understanding between educators and edu-
tions of confidence in the concern's integrity that cated, between government and people, between
rumors and suspicions will have no opportunity to charitable institutions and contributors, between na-
tion and nation.
take root. .
His function may include the discovery of new The profession of public relations counsel is de-
markets, the existence of which had been un- veloping for itself an ethical code which compares
favorably with that governing the legal and medical
suspected.
If we accept public relations as a profession, we professions. In part, this code is forced upon the
must also expect it to have both ideals and ethics. public relations counsel by the very conditions of his
The ideal of the profession is a pragmatic one. It is work. vVhile [Link], just as the lawyer does,
to make the producer, whether that producer be a that everyone has the right to present his case in its
legislature making laws or a manufacturer makin~ best light, he nevertheless refuses a client whom
a commercial product, understand what the publtc he believes to be dishonest, a product which he be-
wants and to make the public understand the objec- lieves to be fraudulent, or a cause which he believes
tives of the producer. In relation to industry, the to be antisocial. One reason for this is that, even
ideal of the profession is to eliminate the waste and though a special pleader, he is not dissociated from
the friction that result when industry does things or the client in the public's mind. Another reason is
makes things which its public does not want, or when that while he is pleading before the court-the court
the public does not understand what is b~ing o~er~d of public opinion-he is at the same time trying to
it. For example, the telephone compames mamtam affect that court's judgments and actions. In law,
extensive public relations departments to explain the judge and jury hold the deciding balance of
what they are doing, so that energy may not be power. In public opinion, the public relations coun-
burned up in the friction of misunderstanding. A sel is judge and jury, because through his pleading
detailed des~ription, for example, of the immense of a case the public may accede to his opinion and
and scientific care which the company takes to choose judgment.
clearly understandable and distinguishable exchan~e
He does not accept a client whose interests con-
names, helps the public to appreciate the. effort th~t IS
flict with those of another client. He does not accept
being made to give good service, and stImulates It to
45
44
Propaganda
a client whose case he believes to be hopeless or
whose product he believes to be unmarketable.
He should be candid in his dealings. It must be CHAPTER IV
repeated that his business is not to fool or ho~dwin~
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
the public. If he were to get such a reputat10n, hIS
usefulness in his profession would be at an end. THE systematic study of mass psychology re-
When he is sending out propaganda material, it is vealed to students the potentialities of invisible gov-
clearly labeled as to source. The editor knows from ernment of society by manipulation of the motives
whom it comes and what its purpose is, and accepts which actuate man in the group. Trotter and Le
or rejects it on its merits as news. Bon, who approached the subject in a scientific man-
ner, and Graham Wallas, Walter Lippmann and
others who continued with searching studies of the
group mind, established that the group has mental
characteristics distinct from those of the individual,
and is motivated by impulses and emotions which
cannot be explained on the basis of what we know
of individual psychology. So the question naturally
arose: If we understand the mechanism and motives
of the group mind, is it not possible to control and
regiment the masses according to our will without
their knowing it?
The recent practice of propaganda has proved that
it is possible, at least up to a certain point and within
certain limits. Mass psychology is as yet far from
being an exact science and the mysteries of human
motivation are by no means all revealed. But at
least theory and practice have combined with suffi-
cient success to permit us to know that in cet:tain
47
Propaganda The Psycho lOllY 0/ Public Relations
cases we can effect some change in public opinion curnstances an international flight will produce a
with a fair degree of accuracy by operating a. certain spirit of good will, making possible even the con-
mechanism, just as the motorist can regulate the summation of political programs. But he cannot be
speed of his car by manipulating the [Link] of gas0- sure that some unexpected event will not overshadow
line. Propaganda is not a science in the laboratory this llight in the public interest, or that some other
sense, but it is no longer entirely the empirical affair aviator may not do something more spectacular the
that it was before the advent of the study of mass day before. Even in bis restricted field of public
psychology. It is now scientinc in the sense that it psychology there must always be a wide margin of
seeks to base its operations upon definite knowledge error. Propaganda, like economics and sociology,
drawn from direct observation of the group mind, can never be an exact science for the reason that its
and upon the application of principles which have subject-matter, like theirs, deals with human beings.
been demonstrated to be consistent and relatively If you can influence the leaders, either with or
constant. without their conscious cOOperation, you automatically
The modern propagandist studies systematically influence the group which they sway. But men
and objectively the material with which he is working do not need to be actually gathered together in a
in the spirit of the laboratory. If the matter in public meeting or in a street riot, to be subject to the
hand is a nation-wide sales campaign, he studies the influences of mass psychology. Beca~ man is by
field by means of a clipping service, or of a. corps of nature gregarioUS' he feels himself to be member of
scouts, or by personal study at a crucial spot. He a herd, even when he is alone in his room with. the
determines, for example, which features of a product curtains drawn. His mind retains the patterns which
are losing their public appeal, and in what new direc- have been stamped on it by the group influences.
tion the public taste is veering. He will not fail to A man sits in his office deciding what stocks to buy.
investigate to wbat extent it is the wife who has the He imagines, no doubt, that he is planning his pur-
final word in the choice of her husband's car, or of chases according to his own judgment. In actual
his suits and shirts. fact his judgment is a. melange of impressions
Scientific accuracy of results is not to be expected, stamped on his mind by outside influences which un-
because many of the elements of the situation must consciously control his thought. He buys a certain
always be beyond his control. He may know with a railroad stock because it was in the headlines yester~
fair degree of certainty that under favorable cir- day and hence is the one which comes most promi1
48
49
Propaganda T he Psychology 0/ Public Relations
nently to his mind; because he has a pleasant new one, the propagandist can sometimes swing a
recollection of a good dinner on one of its fast whole mass of group emotions. In Great Britain,
trains; because it has a liberal labor policy, a reputa- during the war, the evacuation hospitals came in for
tion for honesty; because he has been told that a considerable amount of criticism because of the
J. P. Morgan owns some of its shares. , summary way in which they handled their wounded.
Trotter and Le Bon concluded that the group It was assumed by the public that a hospital gives
mind does not think in the strict sense of the word. prolonged and conscientious attention to its patients.
In place of thoughts it has impulses, habits and em~­ When the name was changed to evacuation posts
tions. In making up its mind its first impulse IS the critical reaction vanished. No one expected more
usually to follow the example of a trusted leader. than an adequate emergency treatment from an insti-
This is one of the most firmly established principles tution so named. The cliche hospital was indelibly
of mass psychology. It operates in establishing t~e associated in the public mind with a certain picture.
rising or diminishing prestige of a summer resort, In To persuade the public to discriminate between one
causing a run on a bank, or a panic on the stock ex- type of hospital and another, to dissociate the cliche
change, in creating a best seller, or a box-office from the picture it evoked, would have been an im-
success. possible task. Instead, a new cliche automatically
But when the example of the leader is not at hand conditioned the public emotion toward these hospi-
and the herd must think for itself, it does so by tals.
means of cliches, pat words or images which stand Men are rarely aware of the real reasons which
for a whole group of ideas or experiences. Not motivate their actions. A man may believe that he
many years ago, it was only necessary to tag a political buys a motor car because, after careful study of the
candidate with the word interests to stampede technical features of all makes on the market, he
millions of people into voting against him, because has concluded that this is the best. He is almost
anything associated with ((the interests" seemed ne?- certainly fooling himself. He bought it, perhaps,
essarily corrupt. Recently the word BolshevIk because a friend whose financial acumen he respects
has performed a similar service for person: who bought one last week; or because his neighbors be-
wished to frighten the public away from a lIne of lieved he was not able to afford a car of that class;
action. or because its colors are those of his college fra-
By playing upon an old cliche, or manipulating a ternity.
5° 51
Propaganda T he Psychology of Public Relations
It is chiefly the psychologists of the school of control that vast, loose-jointed mechanism which is
Freud who have pointed out that many of man's modern society.
thoughts and actions are compensatory substitutes , The old propagandist based his work on the mech-
for desires which he has been obliged to suppress. anistic reaction psychology then in vogue in our
A thing may be desired not for its intripsic worth colleges. This assumed that the human mind was
or usefulness but because he has unconsciously come merely an individual machine, a system of nerves
to see in it a ~ymbol of something else, the desire for and nerve centers, reacting with mechanical regularity
which he is ashamed to admit to himself. A man to stimuli, like a helpless, will-less automaton. It
buying a car may think he wants it for purposes of was the special pleader's function to provide the
locomotion whereas the fact may be that he would stimulus which would cause the desired reaction in
really pref~r not to be burdened with it, and would the individual purchaser.
rather walk for the sake of his health. He may It was one of the doctrines of the reaction psy-
really want it because it is a symbol of social position, chology that a certain stimulus often repeated would
an evidence of his success in business, or a means of create a habit, or that the mere reiteration of an idea
pleasing his wife. would create a conviction. Suppose the old type of
This general principle, that men are very largely salesmanShip, acting for a meat packer, was seeking to
actuated bv motives which they conceal from them- increase the sale of bacon. It would reiterate innu-
selves is as true of mass as of individual psychology. merable times in full-page advertisements: "Eat
It is ~vident that the successful propagandist must more bacon. Eat bacon because it is cheap, because
understand the true motives and not be content to it is good, because it gives you reserve energy."
accept the reasons which men give for what they do. The newer salesmanship, understanding the group
It is not sufficient to understand only the me- structure of society and the principles of mass psy-
chanical structure of society, the groupings and chology, would first ask: "Who is it that influences
cleavages and loyalties. An engineer may ~ow all the eating habits of the public?" The answer, ob-
about the cylinders and pistons of a locomotIve, but viously, is: "The physicians." The new salesman
unless he knows how steam behaves under pressure will then suggest to physicians to say publicly that
he cannot make his engine run. Human desires it is wholesome to eat bacon. He knows as a mathe-
are the steam which makes the social machine wo~k. matical certainty, that large numbers of persons will
Only by understanding them can the propagandIst follow the advice of their doctors, because he under-
52 53
Propaganda The Psychology 0/ Public Relations
stands the psychological relation of dependence of The claims may all be true, but they are in direct
men upon their physicians. conflict with the claims of other piano manufac-
The old-fashioned propagandist, using almost ex- turers, and in indirect competition with the claims
clusively the appeal of the printed word, tried to of a radio or a motor car, each competing for the
persuade the individual reader to buy il definite consumer's dollar.
article, immediately. This approach is exemplified What are the true reasons why the purchaser is
in a type of advertisement which used to be con- planning to spend his money on a new car instead of
sidered ideal from the point of view of directness on a new piano? Because he has decided that he
and effectiveness: wants the commodity called locomotion more than
cCYOU (perhaps with a finger pointing at the he wants the commodity called music? Not alto-
reader) buy O'Leary's rubber heels-NOW." gether. He buys a car, because it is at the moment
The advertiser sought by means of reiteration and the group custom to buy cars.
emphasis directed upon the individual, to break down The modern propagandist therefore sets to work
or penetrate sales resistance. Although the appeal to create circumstances which will modify that cus-
was aimed at fifty million persons, it was aimed at tom. He appeals perhaps to the home instinct which
each as an individual. is fundamental. He will endeavor to develop public
The new salesmanship has found it possible, by acceptance of the idea of a music room in the home.
dealing with men in the mass through their group This he may do, for example, by organizing an ex-
formations, to set up psychological and emotional hihition of period music rooms designed by well
currents which will work for him. Instead of as- known decorators who themselves exert an influence
saulting sales resistance by direct attack, he is inter- on the buying groups. He enhances the effectiveness
ested in removing sales resistance. He creates and prestige of these rooms by putting in them rare
circumstances which will swing emotional currents and valuable tapestries. Then, in order to create
so as to make for purchaser demand. dramatic interest in the exhibit, he stages an event
If, for instance, I want to sell pianos, it is not suf- or ceremony. To this ceremony key people, persons
ficient to blanket the country with a direct appeal, known to influence the buying habits of the public,
such as: such as a famous violinist, a popular artist, and a
"YOU buy a Mozart piano now. It is cheap. society leader, are invited. These key persons affect
The best artists use it. It will last for years." other groups, lifting the idea of the music room to a
S4 55
Propaganda The Psychology 0/ Public Relations
place in the public consciousness which it did not ance of the Jitney Players was staged for the benefit
have before. The juxtaposition of these leaders, of earthquake victims of Japan, under the auspices
and the idea which they are dramatizing, are then of Mrs. Astor and others. The social advantages
projected to the wider public through various pub- of the place were projected-a golf course was
licity channels. Meanwhile, influential architects laid out and a clubhouse planned. When the
have been persuaded to make the music room an post office was opened, the public relations counsel
integral architectural part of their plans with per- attempted to use it as a focus for national interest
haps a specially charming niche in one corner for and discovered that its opening fell coincident with
the piano. Less influential architects will as a matter a date important in the annals of the American Postal
of course imitate what is done by the men whom they Service. This was then made the basis of the
consider masters of their profession. They in turn opemng.
will implant the idea of the music room in the mind When an attempt was made to show the public the
of the general public. beauty of the apartments, a competition was held
The music room will be accepted because it has among interior decorators for the best furnished
been made the thing. And the man or woman apartment in Jackson Heights. An important com-
who has a music room, or has arranged a corner of mittee of judges decided. This competition drew
the parlor as a musical corner, will naturally think the approval of well known authorities, as well as
of buying a piano. It will come to him as his own the interest of millions, who were made cognizant of
idea. it through newspaper and magazine and other pub-
Under the old salesmanship the manufacturer said licity, with the effect of building up definitely the
."
to the prospective purchaser, "PIease buy a piano. prestige of the development.
The new salesmanship has reversed the process and One of the most effective methods is the utilization
caused the prospective purchaser to say to the manu- of the group formation of modern society in order
."
facturer, "Please se11 me a piano. to spread ideas. An example of this is the nation-
The value of the associative processes in propa- wide competitions for sculpture in Ivory soap, open
ganda is shown in connection with a large real estate to school children in certain age groups as well as
development. To emphasize that Jackson Heights professional sculptors. A sculptor of national repu-
was socially desirable every attempt was made to tation found Ivory soap an excellent medium for
produce this associative process. A benefit perform- sculpture.
56 57
Propaganda T he Psychology 0/ Public Relations
The Procter and Gamble Company offered a series housewife but also a matter of personal and intimate
of prizes for the best sculpture in white soap. The interest to her children.
contest was held under the auspices of the Art A number of familiar psychological motives were
Center in New York City, an organization of high set in motion in the carrying out of this campaign.
standing in the art world. , The esthetic, the competitive, the gregarious (much
School superintendents and teachers throughout of the sculpturing was done in school groups), the
the country were glad to encourage the movement as snobbish (the impulse to follow the example of a
an educational aid for schools. Practice among recognized leader), the exhibitionist, and-last but
school children as part of their art courses was stim- by no means least-the maternaL
ulated. Contests were held between schools, be~ All these motives and group habits were put in
tween school districts and between cities. concerted motion by the simple machinery of group
Ivory soap was adaptable for sculpturing in the leadership and authority. As if actuated by the
homes because motl::ers saved the shavings and the pressure of a button, people began working for the
imperfect efforts for laundry purposes. The work client for the sake of the gratification obtained in the
itself was clean. sculpture work itself.
The best pieces are selected from the local com- This point is most important in successful propa-
petitions for entry in the national contest. .This is ganda work. The leaders who lend their authority
held annually at an important art gallery 111 New to any propaganda campaign will do so only if it can
York, whose prestige with that of th: distinguished be made to touch their own interests. There must
judges establishes the contest as a senous art event. be a disinterested aspect of the propagandist's activi-
I:i1 the first of these national competitions about ties. In other words, it is one of the functions of the
500 pieces of sculpture were entered. In the public relations counsel to discover at what points
third, 2,500. And in the fourth, more than 4,000. his client's interests coincide with those of other indi-
1£ the carefully selected pieces were so numerous, viduals or groups.
it is evident that a vast number were sculptured dur- In the case of the soap sculpture competition, the
ing the year, and that a much greater number distinguished artists and educators who sponsored
must have been made for practice purposes. The the idea were glad to lend their services and their
good will was greatly enhanced by the fact that this names because the competitions really promoted an
soap had become not merely the concern of the interest which they had at heart-the cultivation of
S8 59
Propaganda The Psychology 0/ Public Relations
the esthetic impulse among the younger generation. The ideas of the new propaganda are predicated
Such coincidence and overlapping of interests is on sound psychology based on enlightened self-
as infinite as the interlacing of group formations interest.
themselves. For example, a railway wishes to de-
velop its business. The counsel on public relations I have tried, in these chapters, to explain the place
makes a survey to discover at what points its interests of propaganda in modern American life and some-
coincide with those of its prospective customers. The thing of the methods by which it operates-to tell
company then establishes relations with chambers of the why, the what, the who and the how of the
commerce along its right of way and assists them in i~visible government which dictates our thoughts,
developing their communities. It helps them to dIrects our feelings and controls our actions. In the
secure new plants and industries for the town. It following chapters I shall try to show how propa-
facilitates business through the dissemination of ganda functions in specific departments of group
technical information. It is not merely a case of activity, to suggest some of the further ways in
bestowing favors in the hope of receiving favors; which it may operate.
these activities of the railroad, besides creating good
will, actually promote growth on its right of way.
The interests of the railroad and the communities
through which it passes mutually interact and feed
one another.
In the same way, a bank institutes an investment
service for the benefit of its customers in order that
the latter may have more money to deposit with the
bank. Or a jewelry concern develops an insurance
department to insure the jewels it sells, in order to
make the purchaser feel greater security in buying
jewels. Or a baking company establishes an in-
formation service suggesting recipes for bread to
encourage new uses for bread in the home.
60
61
Business and the Public
of the public's conscience. This consciousness has
led to a healthy cooperation.
Another cause for the increasing relationship is
CHAPTER V undoubtedly to be found in the various phenomena
growing out of mass production. Mass production
BUSINESS AND THE PUBLIC
is only profitable if its rhythm can be maintained-
THE relationship between business and the public that is, if it can continue to sell its product in steady
has become closer in the past few decades. Business or increasing quantity. The result is that while,
to-day is taking the public into partnership. A num- under the handicraft or small-unit system of produc-
ber of causes, some economic, others due to the grow- tion that was typical a century ago, demand created
ing public understanding of business and the public the supply, to-day supply must actively seek to create
interest in business, have produced this situation. its corresponding demand. A single factory, poten-
Business realizes that its relationship to the public tially capable of supplying a whole continent with its
is not confined to the manufacture and sale of a given particular product, cannot afford to wait until the
product, but includes at the same time the selling of public asks for its product; it must maintain constant
itself and of all those things for which it stands in touch, through advertising and propaganda, with the
the public mind. vast public in order to assure itself the continuous
Twenty or twenty-five years ago, business sought demand which alone will make its costly plant profit-
to run its own affairs regardless of the public. The able. This entails a vastly more complex system of
reaction was the muck-raking period, in which a distribution than formerly. To make customers is
multitude of sins were, justly and unjustly, laid to the new problem. One must understand not only his
the charge of the interests. In the face of an own business-the manufacture of a particular prod-
aroused public conscience the large corporations were uct-but also the structure, the personality, the prej-
obliged to renounce their contention that their affairs udices, of a potentially universal public.
were nobody's business. If to-day big business Still another reason is to be found in the improve-
were to seek to throttle the public, a new reaction ments in the technique of advertising-as regards
similar to that of twenty years ago would take place both the size of the public which can be reached
and the public would rise and try to throttle big by the printed word, and the methods of appeal.
business with restrictive laws. Business is conscious The growth of newspapers and magazines having a
62 63
\
l
Propaganda Business and the Public
circulation of millions of copies, and the art of the dence and good will of the general public. Business
modern advertising expert in making the printed must express itself and its entire corporate existence
message attractive and persuasive, have placed the so that the public will understand and accept it. It
business man in a personal relation with a vast and must dramatize its personality and interpret its ob-
diversified public. jectives in every particular in which it comes into
Another modern phenomenon, which' influences ~o?tact with the community (or the nation) of which
the general policy of big business, is the new compe- It IS a part.
tition between certain firms and the remainder of the An oil corporation which truly understands its
industry, to which they belong. Another kind of many-sided relation to the public, will offer that
competition is between whole industries, in their public ~ot only good oil but a sound labor policy. A
struggle for a share of the consumer's dollar. ?ank wIll seek to show not only that its management
When, for example, a soap manufacturer claims that IS sound and conservative, but also that its officers are
his product will preserve youth, he is obviously at- honorable both in their public and in their private life.
tempting to change the public's mode of thinking A. store specializing in fashionable men's clothing
about soap in general-a thing of grave importance WIll express in its architecture the authenticity of the
to the whole industry. Or when the metal furniture goods it offers. A bakery will seek to impress the
industry seeks to convince the public that it is more public with the hygienic care observed in its manu-
desirable to spend its money for metal furniture than facturing process, not only by wrapping its loaves in
for wood furniture, it is clearly seeking to alter the dust-proof paper and throwing its factory open to
taste and standards of a whole generation. In either public inspection, but also by the cleanliness and at-
case, business is seeking to inject itself into the lives tractiveness of its delivery wagons. A construction
and customs of millions of persons. firm will take care that the public knows not only
Even in a basic sense, business is becoming depend- .that its buildings are durable and safe, but also that
ent on public opinion. With the increasing volume Its employees, when injured at work, are com-
and wider diffusion of wealth in America, thousands pen~ated. At whatever point a business enterprise
of persons now invest in industrial stocks. New stock Impmges on the public consciousness, it must seek to
or bond flotations, upon which an expanding business give its public relations the particular character which
must depend for its success, can be effected only if will conform to the objectives which it is pursuing.
the concern has understood how to gain the confi- Just as the production manager must be familiar
64 65
Propaganda
Business and the Public
with every element and detail concerning [Link] mate-
rial'> with which he is working, so the man III charge them. The relationship between business and the
of a firm's public relations must be familiar with the public can be healthy only if it is the relationship of
give and take.
structure, the prejudices, and the whims of t~e gen-
eral public, and must handle his problems w1th the It is this condition and necessity which has created
utmost care. The public has its own startdards and the need for a specialized field of public relations.
demands and habits. You may modify them, but Business now calls in the public relations counsel to
you dare not run counter to them. You cannot per- advise it, to interpret its purpose to the public, and to
suade a whole generation of women to wear long suggest those modifications which may make it con-
skirts, but you may, by working through leaders of form to the public demand.
fashion, persuade them to wear. [Link] dresses The modifications then recommended to make the
which are long in back. The publtc IS. not [Link]- business conform to its objectives and to the public
phous mass which can be mold~d at wIll, .or d1ctated demand, may concern the broadest matters of policy
to. Both business and the publIc have theIr own ~er­ or the apparently most trivial details of execution.
sonalities which must somehow be brought mto It might in one case be necessary to transform entirely
friendly agreement. Conflict and suspicion are in- the lines of goods sold to conform to changing public
j urious to both. Modern business must .study on demands. In another case the trouble may be found
what terms the partnership can be made amIcable and to lie in such small matters as the dress of the clerks.
mutually beneficial. It must explain itself, its aim~, A jewelry store may complain that its patronage is
its objectives, to the public in terms which the publIc shrinking upwards because of its reputation for
can understand and is willing to accept. carrying high-priced goods; in this case the public
Business does not willingly accept dictation from relations counsel might suggest the :featuring of
the public. It should not expect that it can dic:ate medium-priced goods, even at a loss, not because the
to the public. While the public should apprecIate firm desires a large medium-price trade as such, but
the great economic benefits which business o~ers, because out of a hundred medium-price customers
thanks to mass production and scientific marke~Ill~, acquired to-day a certain percentage will be well-to-
business should also appreciate that the pubhc IS do ten years from now. A department store which is
becoming increasingly discriminative in its standards seeking to gather in the high-class trade may be urged
and should seek to understand its demands and meet to employ college graduates as clerks or to engage
66 well known modern artists to design show-windows
67
Propaganda
Business and the Public
or special exhibits. A bank may be urged to open a
Fifth Avenue branch, not because the actual business ~ression ~iven is a false one. A sound public rela-
done on Fifth Avenue warrants the expense, but tl~ns polICy will not attempt to stampede the public
because a beautiful Fifth Avenue office correctly ex- :WIth exaggerated claims and false pretenses but to
Interpret the individual business vividly a~d truly
presses the kind of appeal which it wishes to make to
future depositors; and, viewed in this way; it may be through every avenue that leads to public opinion.
The New York Central Railroad has for decades
as important that the doorman be polite, or that the
floors be kept clean, as that the branch manager be an sought to appeal to the public not onlv on the basis
able financier. Yet the beneficial effect of this of the speed and safety of its trains b~t also on the
branch may be canceled, if the wife of the president basis of their elegance and comfort. 'It is appropriate
is involved in a scandal. that the corporation should have been personified to
Big business studies every move which may express the general public in the person of so suave and in-
its true personality. It seeks to tell the public, in all ~atiati~g a gentleman as Chauncey M. Depew-an
appropriate ways,-by the direct advertising message Ideal WIndow dressing for such an enterprise.
and by the subtlest esthetic suggestion-the quality ~hi1e the concrete recommendations of the public
of the goods or services which it has to offer. A ~eI~tl~ns co~nsel may vary infinitely according to
store which seeks a large sales volume in cheap goods IndIvIdual CIrcumstances, his general plan of work
will preach prices day in and day out, concentrating may. be re~uced to two types, which I might term
its whole appeal on the ways in which it can save contl~uous mterpretation and dramatization by high-
money for its clients. But a store seeking a high spottIng. The two may be alternative or may be
margin of profit on individual sales would try to pursued concurrently.
associate itself with the distinguished and the elegant, Continuous interpretation is achieved by trying to
whether by an exhibition of old masters or through control every approach to the public mind in such a
the social activities of the owner's wife. manner :hat the public receives the desired impression,
The public relations activities of a business cannot often WIthout being conscious of it. High-spotting,
be a protective coloring to hide its real aims. It is on the other hand, vividly seizes the attention of the
bad business as well as bad morals to feature exclu- public and fixes it upon some detail or aspect which is
sivelya few high-class articles, when the main stock typical of the entire enterprise. When a real estate
is of medium grade or cheap, for the general im- corporation which is erecting a tall office building
'68
69
Propaganda Business and the Public
makes it ten feet taller than the highest sky-scraper concern which is fully aware of its responsibility to-
in existence, that is dramatization. ward its stockholders, will furnish them with fre-
Which method ,is indicated, or whether both be quent letters urging them to use the product in which
indicated concurrently, can be determined only after their money is invested, and use their influence to
a full study of objectives and specific possibilities. promote its sale. It has a responsibility toward the
Another interesting case of focusing public atten- dealer which it may express by inviting him, at its
tion on the virtues of a product was shown in the case expense, to visit the home factory. It has a responsi-
of gelatine. Its advantages in increasing the diges- bility toward the industry as a whole which should
tibility and nutritional value of milk were proven restrain it from making exaggerated and unfair sell-
in the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research. The ing claims. It has a responsibility toward the re-
suggestion was made and carried out that to further tailer, and will see to it that its salesmen express
this knowledge, gelatine be used by certain hospitals the quality of the product which they have to selL
and school systems, to be tested out there. The There is a responsibility toward the consumer, who
favorable results of such tests were then projected is impressed by a clean and well managed factory,
to other leaders in the field with the result that they open to his inspection. And the general public, apart
followed that group leadership and utilized gelatine from its function as potential consumer, is influenced
for the scientific purposes which had been proven to in its attitude toward the concern by what it knows
be sound at the research institution. The idea car- of that concern's financial dealings, its labor policy,
even by the livableness of the houses in which its
ried momentum.
The tendency of big business is to get bigger. employees dwell. There is no detail too trivial to
Through mergers and monopolies it is constantly influence the public in a favorable or unfavorable
increasing the number of persons with whom it is in sense. The personality of the president may be a
direct contact. All this has intensified and multiplied matter of importance, for he perhaps dramatizes the
the public relationships of business. whole concern to the public mind. It may be very
The responsibilities are of many kinds. There is important to what charities he contributes, in what
a responsibility to the stockholders-numbering per- civic societies he holds office. If he is a leader in his
haps five persons or five hundred thousand-who industry, the public may demand that he be a leader
have entrusted their money to the concern and have in his community.
the right to know how the money is being used. A The business man has become a responsible member
71
7°
Propaganda Business and the Public
of the social group. It is not a question of ballyhoo, facility and promptness, with less damage to the
of creating a picturesque fiction for public consump- baggage, and less inconvenience to the passenger;
tion. It is merely a question of finding the appro- if the steamship company lets down, in its own in-
priate modes of expressing the personality that is to terests, its restrictions on luggage; if the foreign
be dramatized. Some business men can be their own government eases up on its baggage costs and trans-
best public relations counsel. But in the majority of portation in order to further tourist travel; then the
cases knowledge of the public mind and of the ways luggage manufacturers will profit.
in which it will react to an appeal, is a specialized The problem then, to increase the sale of their
function which must be undertaken by the profes- luggage, was to have these and other forces come
sional expert. over to their point of view. Hence the public rela-
Big business, I believe, is realizing this more and tions campaign was directed not to the public, who
more. It is increasingly availing itself of the serv- were the ultimate consumers, but to these other ele-
ices of the specialist in public relations (whatever ments.
may be the title accorded him). And it is my con- Also, if the luggage manufacturer can educate
viction that as big business becomes bigger the need the general public on what to wear on trips and when
for expert manipulation of its innumerable contacts to wear it, he may be increasing the sale of men's
with the public will become greater. and women's clothing, but he will, at the same time,
One reason why the public relations of a business be increasing the sale of his luggage.
are frequently placed in the hands of an outside Propaganda, since it goes to basic causes, can very
expert, instead of being confided to an officer of the often be most effective through the manner of its
company, is the fact that the correct approach to a introduction. A campaign against unhealthy cos-
problem may be indirect. For example, when the metics might be waged by fighting for a return to
luggage industry attempted to solve some of its the wash-cloth and soap-a fight that very logically
problems by a public relations policy, it was realized might be taken up by health officials all over the
that the attitude of railroads, of steamship companies, country, who would urge the return to the salutary
and of foreign government-owned railroads was and helpful wash-cloth and soap, instead of cos-
an important factor in the handling of luggage. metics.
If a railroad and a baggage man, for their own The development of public opinion for a cause
interest, can be educated to handle baggage with more or line of socially constructive action may very often
72 73
Propaganda Business and the Public
be the result o'f a desire on the p~rt of the propa- tions of service, if you haven't behind you a sympa-
gandist to meet successfully his own problem which thetic public opinion, you are bound to fail." This
the socially constructive cause would further. And is the opinion of Samuel Insull, one the foremost
by doing so he is actually fulfilling a social purpose traction magnates of the country. And the late
in the broadest sense. Judge Gary, of the United States Steel Corporation,
The soundness of a public relations' policy was expressed the same idea when he said: ((Once you
likewise shown in the case of a shoe manufacturer have the good will of the general public, you can go
who made service shoes for patrolmen, firemen, let- ahead in the work of constructive expansion. Too
t er carriers, and men in similar occupations. .He
often many try to discount this vague and intangible
realized that if he could make acceptable the Idea element. That way lies destruction."
that men in such work ought to be well-shod, he Public opinion is no 10![Link] inclined to be unfavor-
would sell more shoes and at the same time further able to the large business merger. It resents the
the efficiency of the men. censorship of business by the Federal Trade Com-
He organized, as part of his business, a foot pro- mission. It has broken down the anti-trust laws
tection bureau. This bureau disseminated scientifi- where it thinks they hinder economic develop-
cally accurate information on the proper care of the ment. It backs great trusts and mergers which it
feet, principles which the manufacturer had incor- excoriated a decade ago. The government now per-
porated in the construction of the shoes. The result mits large aggregations of producing and distributing
was that civic bodies, police chiefs, fire chiefs, and units, as evidenced by mergers among railroads and
others interested in the welfare and comfort of their other public utilities, because representative govern-
men, furthered the ideas his product stood for and ment reflects public opinion. Public opinion itself
the product itself, with the consequent effect that fosters the growth of mammoth industrial enter-
more of his shoes were sold more easily. prises. In the opinion of millions of small investors,
The application of this principle of a common mergers and trusts are friendly giants and not ogres,
denominator of interest between the object that is because of the economies, mainly due to quantity
sold and the public good will can be carried to in- production, which they have effected, and can pass
finite degrees. on to the consumer.
((It matters not how much capital you may have, This result has been, to a great extent, obtained
how fair the rates may be, how favorable the condi- by a deliberate use of propaganda i:l its broadest
74 7S
Propaganda Business and the Public
sense. It was obtained not only by modifying the and need to maintain good will with the greatest care
opinion of the public, as the governments modified and watchfulness. These and other corporations of
and marshaled the opinion of th eir publics during a semi-public character will always have to face a
the war, but often by modifying the business concern demand for government or municipal ownership if
itself. A cement company may work with ,road com- such attacks as those of Professor Ripley are con-
missions gratuitously to maintain testing laboratories tinued and are, in the public's opinion, justified, un-
in order to insure the best-quality roads to the public. less conditions are changed and care is taken to main-
A gas company maintains a free school of cookery. tain the contact with the public at all points of their
But it would be rash and unreasonable to take it corporate existence.
for granted that because public opinion has come The public relations counsel should anticipate such
over to the side of big business, it will always remain trends of public opinion and advise on how to avert
there. Only recently, Prof. W. Z. Ripley of Har- them, either by convincing the public that its fears
vard University, one of the foremost national or prejudices are unjustified, or in certain cases by
authorities on business organization and practice, modifying the action of the client to the extent nec-
exposed certain aspects of big business which tended essary to remove th~ cause of complaint. In such a
to undermine public confidence in large corporations. case public opinion might be surveyed and the points
He pointed out that the stockholders' supposed vot- of irreducible opposition discovered. The aspects of
ing power is often illusory; that annual financial the situation which are susceptible of logical ex-
statements are sometimes so brief and summary that planation; to what extent the cri ticism or prejudice
to the man in the street they are downright mislead- is a habitual emotional reaction and what factors are
ing; that the extension of the system of non-voting dominated by accepted cliches, might be disclosed.
shares often places the effective control of corpora- In each instance he would advise some action or
tions and their finances in the hands of a small clique modification of policy calculated to make the read-
of stockholders; and that some corporations refuse justment.
to give out sufficient'information to permit the public While government ownership is in most instances
to know the true condition of the concern. only varyingly a remote possibility, public ownership
Furthermore, no matter how favorably disposed of big business through the increasing popular in-
the public may be toward big business in general, the vestment in stach and bonds, is becoming more and
utilities are always fair game for public discontent more a fact. The importance of pUblic relations
76 77
Propaganda Business and the Public
from this standpoint is to be judged by the fact that The growth of big business is so rapid that in some
practically all prosperous corporations expect at some lines ownership is more international than national.
time to enlarge operations, and will need to float new It is necessary to reach ever larger groups of people
stock or bond issues. The success of such issues de- if modern industry and commerce are to be financed.
pends upon the general record of the concern in the Americans have purchased billions of dollars of for-
business world, and also upon the good will which it eign industrial securities since the war, and Euro-
has been able to create in the general public. When peans own, it is estimated, between one and two
the Victor Talking Machine Company was recently billion dollars' worth of ours. In each case public
offered to the public, millions of dollars' worth of acceptance must be obtained for the issue and the en-
stock were sold overnight. On the other hand, there terprise behind it.
are certain companies which, although they are fi- Public loans, state or municipal, to foreign coun-
nancially sound and commercially prosperous, would tries depend upon the good will which those coun-
be unable to float a large stock issue, because public tries have been able to create for themselves here.
opinion is not conscious of them, or has some unana- An attempted issue by an east European country is
lyzed prejudice against them. . now faring badly largely because of unfavorable
To such an extent is the successful floating of public reaction to the behavior of members of its
stocks and bonds dependent upon the public favor ruling family. But other countries have no difficulty
that the success of a new merger may stand or fall in placing any issue because the public is already con-
upon the public acceptance which is created for it. vinced of the prosperity of these nations and the
A merger may bring into existence huge new re- stability of their governments.
sources, and these resources, perhaps amounting to The new technique of public relations counsel is
millions of dollars in a single operation, can often serving a very useful purpose in business by acting as
fairly be said to have been created by the expert a complement to legitimate advertisers and adver-
manipulation of public opinion. It must be repeated tising in helping to break down unfair competitive
that I am not speaking of artificial value given to a exaggerated and overemphatic advertising by reach-
stock by dishonest propaganda or stock manipulation, ing the public with the truth through other channels
but of the real economic values which are created than advertising. \Nhere two competitors in a field
when genuine public acceptance is gained for an in- are fighting each other with this type of advertising,
dustrial enterprise and becomes a real partner in it. they are undermining that particular industry to a
78 79
Propaganda Business and the Public
point where the public may lose confidence in the advertising machinery, it was comparatively easy to
whole industry. The only way to combat such get country-wide recognition for a product. A corps
unethical methods, is for ethical members of the in- of traveling salesmen might persuade the retailers,
dustry to use the weapon of propaganda in order to with a few cigars and a repertory of funny stories,
bring out the basic truths of the situation. to display and recommend their article on a nation-
Take the case of tooth paste, for instance. Here wide scale. To-day, a small industry is swamped
is a highly competitive field in which the preponder- unless it can find appropriate and relatively inex-
ance of public acceptance of one product over another pensive means of making known the special virtues
can very legitimately rest in inherent values. How- of its product, while larger industries have sought
ever, what has happened in this field? to overcome the difficulty by cooperative advertising,
One or two of the large manufacturers have as- in which associations of industries compete with other
serted advantages for their tooth pastes which. no associations.
single tooth paste discovered up to the present tm:e Mass advertising has produced new kinds of com-
can possibly have. The competing man~~acturer IS petition. Competition between rival products in the
put in the position either ~f overemph~slzmg an al- same line is, of course, as old as economic life itself.
ready exaggerated emphasIs or of lettm~ the over- In recent years much has been said of the new com-
emphasis of his competitor take away hIS markets. petition, we have discussed it in a previous chapter,
He turns to the weapon of propaganda which can between one group of products and another. Stone
effectively, through various channels of approach to competes against wood for building; linoleum against
the public-the dental clinics, the schools, the carpets; oranges against apples; tin against asbestos
women's clubs the medical colleges, the dental press for roofing.
and even the' daily press-bring to the public the This type of competition has been humorously
truth of what a tooth paste can do. This will, of illustrated by Mr. O. H. Cheney, Vice-President of
course have its effect in making the honestly adver- the American Exchange and Irving Trust Company
tised ;ooth paste get to its real public. of New York, in a speech before the Chicago Busi-
Propaganda is potent in meeting unethical or un- ness Secretaries Forum.
fair advertising. Effective advertising has become (CDo you represent the millinery trades?" said Mr.
more costly than ever before. Years ago, when the Cheney. "The man at your side may serve the fur
country was smaller and there was no tremendous industry, and by promoting the style of big fur col-
80 81
Propaganda Business and the Public
lars on women's coats he is ruining the hat business most spectacular of al1. It is the one which seems
by forcing women to wear small and inexpensive most of all to have caught the business imagination
hats. You may be interested in the ankles of the of the country. More and more business men are
fair sex-I mean, you may represent the silk hosiery beginning to appreciate what inter-commodity com-
industry. You have two brave rivals who are ready petition means to them. More and more they are
to fight to the death-to spend millions in' the fight calling upon their trade associations to help them-
-for the glory of those ankles-the leather indus- because inter-commodity competition cannot be
try, which has suffered from the low-shoe vogue, fought single-handed.
and the fabrics manufacturers, who yearn for the «Take the great war on the dining-room table, for
good old days when skirts were skirts. instance. Three times a day practically every dining-
"If you represent the plumbing and heating busi- room table in the country is the scene of a fierce
ness, you are the mortal enemy of the textile indus- battle in the new competition. Shall we have prunes
try, because warmer homes mean lighter clothes. If for breakfast? No, cry the embattled orange-grow-
you represent the printers, how can you shake hands ers and the massed legions of pineapple canners.
with the radio equipment man? . . . Shall we eat sauerkraut? Why not eat green olives?
ccThese are really only obvious forms of what I is the answer of the Spaniards. Eat macaroni as a
have called the new competition. The old competi- change from potatoes, says one advertiser--and will
tion was that between the members of each trade the potato growers take this challenge lying down?
organization. One phase of the new competition is "The doctors and dietitians tell us that a normal
that between the trade associations themselves-be- hard-working man needs only about two or three
tween you gentlemen who represent those industries. thousand calories of food a day. A banker, I sup-
Inter-commodity competition is the new competition pose, needs a little less. But what am I to do? The
between products used alternatively for the same fruit growers, the wheat raisers, the meat packers,
purpose. Inter-industrial competition is the new the milk producers, the fishermen-all want me to
competition between apparently unrelated industries eat more of their products-and are spending mil-
which affect each other or between such industries lions of dollars a year to convince me. Am I to eat
as compete for the consumer's dollar-and that to the point of exhaustion, or am I to obey the doctor
means practically all industries. . and let the farmer and the food packer and the
CCInter-commodity competition is, of course, the retailer go broke! Am I to balance my diet in pro-
82 83
Propaganda Business and the Public
portion to the advertising appropriations of the there was included a four-minute address by the
various producers? Or am I to balance my diet president of Dodge Brothers announcing the new
scientifically and let those who overproduce go car, which gave him access in four minutes to an es-
bankrupt? The new competition is probably keenest timated audience of thirty million Americans, the
in the food industries because there we have a very largest number, unquestionably, ever to concentrate
real limitation on what we can consume-in spite of their attention on a given commercial product at a
higher incomes and higher living standards, we can- given moment. It was a sugar-coated sales message.
not eat more than we can eat." Modern sales technicians will object: "What you
I believe that competition in the future will not say of this method of appeal is true. But it increases
be only an advertising competition between individual the cost of getting the manufacturer's message across.
products or between big associations, but that it will The modern tendency has been to reduce this cost
in addition be a competition of propaganda. The (for example, the elimination of premiums) and con-
business man and advertising man is realizing that centrate on getting full efficiency from the advertis-
he must not discard entirely the methods of Barnum ing expenditure. If you hire a Galli-Curci to sing
in reaching the public. An example in the annals of for bacon you increase the cost of the bacon by the
George Harrison Phelps, of the successful utilization amount of her very large fee. Her voice adds noth-
of this type of appeal was the nation-wide hook-up ing to the product but it adds to its cost."
which announced the launching of the Dodge Victory Undoubtedly. But all modes of sales appeal re-
Six car. quire the spending of money to make the appeal at-
Millions of people, it is estimated, listened in to tractive. The advertiser in print adds to the cost of
this program broadcast over 47 stations. The ex- his message by the use of pictures or by the cost of
pense was more than $60,000. The arrangements getting distinguished endorsements.
involved an additional telephonic hook-up of 20,000 There is another kind of difficulty, created in the
miles of wire, and included transmission from Los process of big business getting bigger, which calls for
Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans, and New new modes of establishing contact with the public.
York. Al Jolson did his bit from New Orleans, Quantity production offers a standardized product
Will Rogers from Beverly Hills, Fred and Dorothy the cost of which tends to diminish with the quantity
Stone from Chicago, and Paul Whiteman from New sold. If low price is the only basis of competition
.York, at an aggregate artists' fee of $25,000. And with rival products, similarly produced, there ensues
84 85
Propaganda Business and the Public
a cut-throat competition which can end only by taking the artist who might give artistic approval to the
all the profit and incentive out of the industry. styles, and beautiful mannequins. The problem,
The logical way out of this dilemma is for the then, was to bring these groups together before an
manufacturer to develop some sales appeal other audience of hat buyers.
than mere cheapness, to give the produ<;t, in the A committee of prominent artists was organized
public mind, some other attraction, some idea that to choose the most beautiful girls in N ew York to
will modify the product slightly, some element of wear, in a series of tableaux, the most beautiful hats
originality that will distinguish it from products in in the style classifications, at a fashion fete at a lead-
the same line. Thus, a manufacturer of typewriters ing hotel.
paints his machines in cheerful hues. These special A committee was formed of distinguished Ameri-
types of appeal can be popularized by the manipula- can women who, on the basis of their interest in the
tion of the principles familiar to the propagandist- development of an American industry, were willing
the principles of gregariousness, obedience to author- to add the authority of their names to the idea. A
ity, emulation, and the like. A minor element can style committee was formed of editors of fashion
be made to assume economic importance by being magazines and other prominent fashion authorities
established in the public mind as a matter of style. who were willing to support the idea. The girls in
Mass production can be split up. Big business will their lovely hats and costumes paraded on the run-
still leave room for small business. Next to a huge ning-board before an audience of the entire trade.
department store there may be located a tiny spe- The news of the event affected the buying habits
cialty shop which makes a very good living. not only of the onlookers, but also of the women
The problem of bringing large hats back into throughout the country. The story of the event was
fashion was undertaken by a propagandist. The mil- flashed to the consumer by her newspaper as well as
linery industry two years ago was menaced by the by the advertisements of her favorite store. Broad-
prevalence of the simple felt hat which was crowd- sides went to the millinery buyer from the manu-
ing out the manufacture of all other kinds of hats and facturer. One manufacturer stated that whereas be-
hat ornaments. It was found that hats could roughly fore the show he had not sold any large trimmed hats,
be classified in six types. It was found too that four after it he had sold thousands.
groups might help to change hat fashions: the society Often the public relations counsel is called in to
leader, the style expert, the fashion editor and writer, handle an emergency situation. A false rumor, for
86 87
Propaganda Business and the Public
instance, may occasion an enormous loss in prestige A clipping from the Journal of Commerce of April
and money if not handled promptly and effectively. 4, 19 2 5, is reproduced here as an interesting ex-
An incident such as the one described in the New ample of a method to counteract a false rumor:
York American of Friday, May 21, 1926, shows
what the lack of proper technical handling ,of public BEECH-NUT HEAD HOME TOWN GUEST
relations might result in. Bartlett Arkell Signally Honored by Com-
munities of Mohawk Valley
$1,000,000 LOST BY FALSE RUMOR ON (Special to The Journal of Commerce)
HUDSON STOCK CANAJOHARIE, N. Y., April 3.-To-day was
Hudson Motor Company stock fluctuated 'Beech-Nut Day' in this town; in fact, for the
widely around noon yesterday and losses esti- whole Mohawk Valley. Business men and prac-
mated at $500,000 to $1,000,000 were suf- tically the whole community of this region
fered as a result of the widespread flotation of joined in a personal testimonial to Bartlett
false news regarding dividend action. Arkell of New York City, president of the
The directors met in Detroit at 12:30, New Beech-Nut Packing Company of this city, in
York time, to act on a dividend. Almost im- honor of his firm refusal to consider selling his
mediately a false report that only the regular company to other financial interests to move
dividend had been declared was circulated. elsewhere.
At 12:46 the Dow, Jones & Co. ticker service When Mr. Arkell publicly denied recent
received the report from the Stock Exchange rumors that he was to sell his company to the
:firm and its publication resulted in further drop Posturn Cereal Company for $ 17,000,000,
in the stock. which would have resulted in taking the indus-
Shortly after 1 o'clock the ticker services ;:e- try from its birthplace, he did so in terms con-
ceived official news that the dividend had been spicuously loyal to his boyhood home, which he
increased and a 20 per cent stock distribution has built up into a prosperous industrial com-
authorized. They rushed the correct news out munity through thirty years' management of his
on their tickers and Hudson stock immediately Beech-Nut Company.
jumped more than 6 points. He absolutely controls the business and flatly;
88 89
Propaganda Business and the Public
stated that he would never sell it during his life- The modern publicity director of a theater syndi-
time 'to anyone at any price,' since it would be cate or a motion picture trust is a business man, re-
disloyal to his friends and fellow workers. And sponsible for the security of tens or hundreds of mil-
the whole Mohawk Valley spontaneously de- lions of dollars of invested capital. He cannot afford
cided that such spirit deserved public recogni- to be a stunt artist or a free-lance adventurer in pub:..
tion. Hence, to-day's festivities. . Iicity. He must know his public accurately and
More than 3,000 people participated, headed modify its thoughts and actions by means of the
by a committee comprising W. J. Roser, chair- methods which the amusement world has learned
man; B. F. Spraker, H. V. Bush, B. F. Diefen- from its old pupil, big business. As public knowledge
dorf and J. H. Cook. They were backed by the increases and public taste improves, business must be
Canajoharie and the Mohawk Valley Chambers ready to meet them halfway.
of Business Men's Associations. Modern business must have its finger continuously
on the public pulse. It must understand the changes
Of course, everyone realized after this that there in the public mind and be prepared to interpret itself
was no truth in the rumor that the Beech-Nut Com- fairly and eloquently to changing opinion.
pany was in the market. A denial would not have
carried as much conviction.
Amusement, too, is a business--one of the largest
in America. It was the amusement business-first
the circus and the medicine show, then the theater-
which taught the rudiments of advertising to indus-
try and commerce. The latter adopted the ballyhoo
of the show business. But under the stress of prac-
tical experience it adapted and refined these crude
advertising methods to the precise ends it sought to
obtain. The theater has, in its turn, learned from
business, and has refined its publicity methods to
the point where the old stentorian methods are in
the discard.

----~ .... ~- .. ~- .....- - - - · _ · · · ·_ _····_ _ ·~_m

Propaganda and Political Leadership
Unfortunately, the methods of our contemporary
politicians, in dealing with the public, are as archaic
and ineffective as the advertising methods of busi-
CHAPTER VI ness in 1900 would be to-day. While politics was
PROPAGANDA AND POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
the first important department of American life to
use propaganda on a large scale, it has been the
THE great political problem in our modern democ- slowest in modifying its propaganda methods to meet
~acy is how to induce our leaders ~o lead. . The the changed conditions of the public mind. American
dogma that the voice of the people IS ~he VOIce of business first learned from politics the methods of
God tends to make elected persons the wtll-Iess serv- appealing to the broad public. But it continually im-
ants of their constituents. This is undoubtedly part proved those methods in the course of its competi-
cause of the political sterility of which certain Amer- tive struggle, while politics clung to the old formulas.
ican critics constantly complain. The political apathy of the average voter, of
No serious sociologist any longer believes that the which we hear so much, is undoubtedly due to the
voice of the people expresses any divine or specially fact that the politician does not know how to meet
wise and lofty idea. The voice of the peop~e e~­ the conditions of the public mind. He cannot drama-
presses the mind of the people, an~ that ml~d IS tize himself and his platform in terms which have
made up for it by the group leaders III whom It be- real meaning to the public. Acting on the fallacy
lieves and by those persons who understand the that the leader must slavishly follow, he deprives his
manipulation of public opinion. It is con:po~ed of campaign of all dramatic interest. An automaton
inherited prejudices and symbols and chches and cannot arouse the public interest. A leader, a fighter,
verbal formulas supplied to them by the le~~e:s. . a dictator, can. But, given our present political con-
Fortunately, the sincere and gifted pohtlCtan tS ditions under which every office seeker must cater to
able, by the instrument of propaganda, to mold and the vote of the masses, the only means by which the
form the will of the people. born leader can lead is the expert use of propa-
Disraeli cynically expressed the dilemma, whe.n ganda.
he said: "1 must follow the people. Am 1 not thetr Whether i1'l. the problem of getting elected to
leaded" He might have added: "I must lead the office or in the problem of interpreting and popular-
people. Am I not their servant?" izing new issues, or in the problem of making the day-
92 93
Propaganda Propaganda and Political Leadersh£p
to-day administration of public affairs a vital part of ance, and selling the public these ideas and products.
the community life, the use of propaganda, carefully Politics was the first big business in America.
adjusted to the mentality of the masses, is an essen- Therefore there is a good deal of irony in the fact
tial adjunct of political life. that business has learned everything that politics has
The successful business man to-day apes the poli- had to teach, but that politics has failed to learn very
tician. He has adopted the glitter and the ballyhoo much from business methods of mass distribution of
of the campaign. He has set up all the side shows. ideas and products.
He has annual dinners that are a compendium of Emily Newell Blair has recounted in the Inde-
speeches, flags, bombast, stateliness, pseudo-democ- pendent a typical instance of the waste of effort and
racy slightly tinged with paternalism. On occasion money in a political campaign, a week's speaking tour
he doles out honors to employees, much as the re- in which she herself took part. She estimates that on
public of classic times rewarded its worthy citizens. a five-day trip covering nearly a thousand miles she
But these are merely the side shows, the drums, and the United States Senator with whom she was
of big business, by which it builds up an image of making political speeches addressed no more than
public service, and of honorary service. This is but 1,10 S persons whose votes might conceivably have
one of the methods by which business stimulates been changed as a result of their efforts. The cost
loyal enthusiasms on the part of directors, the work- of this appeal to these voters she estimates (calculat-
ers, the stockholders and the consumer public. It is ing the value of the time spent on a very moderate
one of the methods by which big business performs basis) as $15.27 for each vote which might have been
its function of making and selling products to the changed as a result of the campaign.
public. The real work and campaign of business con- This, she says, was a "drive for votes, just as an
sists of intensive study of the public, the manufac- Ivory Soap advertising campaign is a drive for
ture of products based on this study, and exhaustive sales." But, she asks, "what would a company execu-
use of every means of reaching the public. tive say to a sales manager who sent a high-priced
Political campaigns to-day are all side shows, all speaker to describe his product to less than 1,200
honors, all bombast, glitter, and speeches. These are people at a cost of $15.27 for each possible buyer.?"
for the most part unrelated to the main business of She finds it "amazing that the very men who make
studying the public scientificalJy, of supplying the their millions out of cleverly devised drives for soap
public with party, candidate, platform, and perform- and bonds and cars will turn around and give large
94 9S
Propaganda Propaganda and Political Leadership
contributions to be expended for vote-getting in an tioned and used as they are when big business de-
utterly inefficient and antiquated fashion." sires to get what it wants from the public.
It is, indeed, incomprehensible that politicians do The first step in a political campaign is to deter-
not make use of the elaborate business methods that mine on the objectives, and to express them exceed-
industry has built up. Because a politician knows ingly well in the current form-that is, as a platform.
political strategy, can develop campaign 'issues, can In devising the platform the leader should be sure
devise strong planks for platforms and envisage that it is an honest platform. Campaign pledges and
broad policies, it does not follow that he can be promises should not be lightly considered by the pub-
given the responsibility of selling ideas to a public as lic, and they ought to carry something of the guaran-
tee principle and money-back policy that an honor-
large as that of the United States.
The politician understands the public. He knows able business institution carries with the sale of its
what the public wants and what the public will accept. goods. The public has lost faith in campaign pro-
But the politician is not necessarily a general sales motion work. It does not say that politicians are
dishonorable, but it does say that campaign pledges
manager, a public relations counsel, or a man who
are written on the sand. Here then is one fact of
knows how to secure mass distribution of ideas.
Obviously, an occasional political leader may be public opinion of which the party that wishes to be
capable of combining every feature of leadership, just successful might well take cognizance.
as in business there are certain brilliant industrial To aid in the preparation of the platform there
leaders who are financiers, factory directors, engineers, should be made as nearly scientific an analysis as pos-
sible of the public and of the needs of the public. A
sales managers and public relations counsel all rolled
survey of public desires and demands would come to
into one.
Big business is conducted on the principle that it the aid of the political strategist whose business it is to
must prepare its policies carefully, and that in sell- make a proposed plan of the activities of the parties
ing an idea to the large buying public of America, it and its elected officials during the coming terms of
must proceed according to broad plans. The politi- office.
cal strategist must do likewise. The entire campaign A big business that wants to sell a product to the
should be worked out according to broad basic public surveys and analyzes its market before it takes
plans. Platforms, planks, pledges, budgets, activities, a single step either to make or to sell the product.
personalities, must be as carefully studied, appor- If one section of the community is absolutely sold to
96 97
Propaganda Propaganda and Political Leadership
the idea of this product, no money is wasted in re- eted. The first question which should be decided
selling it to it. If, on the other hand, another sec- is the amount of money that should be raised for the
tion of the public is irrevocably committed to another campaign. This decision can be reached by a care-
product, no money is wasted on a lost cause. Very ful analysis of campaign costs. There is enough
often the analysis is the cause of basic cranges and precedent in business procedure to enable experts to
improvements in the product itself, as well as an index work this out accurately. Then the second question
of how it is to be presented. So carefully is this of importance is the manner in which money should
analysis of markets and sales made that when a com- be raised.
pany makes out its sales budget for the year, it sub- It is obvious that politics would gain much in pres-
divides the circulations of the various magazines and tige if the money-raising campaign were conducted
newspapers it uses in advertising and calculates with candidly and publicly, like the campaigns for the war
a fair degree of accuracy how many times a section funds. Charity drives might be made excellent
of that population is subjected to the appeal of the models for political funds drives. The elimina-
company. It knows approximately to what extent a tion of the little black bag element in politics would
national campaign duplicates and repeats the em- raise the entire prestige of politics in America, and
phasis of a local campaign of selling. the public interest would be infinitely greater if the
As in the business field, the expenses of the politi- actual participation occurred earlier and more con-
cal campaign should be budgeted. A large business structively in the campaign.
to-day knows exactly how much money it is going Again, as in the business field, there should be a
to spend on propaganda during the next year or years. clear decision as to how the money is to be spent.
It knows that a certain percentage of its gross re- This should be done according to the most careful
ceipts will be given over to advertising-newspaper, and exact budgeting, wherein every step in the cam-
magazine, outdoor and poster; a certain percentage paign is given its proportionate importance, and the
to circularization and sales promotion-such as house funds allotted accordingly. Advertising in news-
organs and dealer aids; and a certain percentage papers and periodicals, posters and street banners, the
must go to the supervising salesmen who travel exploitation of personalities in motion pictures, in
around the country to infuse extra stimulus in the speeches and lectures and meetings, spectacular events
local sales campaign. and all forms of propaganda should be considered
A political campaign should be similarly budg- proportionately according to the budget, and should
98 99
I
1
Propaganda I Propaganda and Political Leadership
always be coordinated with the whole plan. Certain
expenditures may be warranted if they represent a
I didate who takes babies on his lap, and has his photo-
graph taken, is doing a wise thing emotionally, if this
small proportion of the budget and may be totally act epitomizes a definite plank in his platform. Kiss-
unvtrarranted if they make up a large proportion of ing babies, if it is worth anything, must be used as a
the budget. symbol for a baby policy and it must be synchronized
In the same way the emotions by which the public with a plank in the platform. But the haphazard
is appealed to may be made part of the broad plan staging of emotional events without regard to their
of the campaign. Unrelated emotions become maud- value as part of the whole campaign, is a waste of
lin and sentimental too easily, are often costly, and effort, just as it would be a waste of effort for the
too often waste effort because the idea is not part manufacturer of hockey skates to advertise a picture
of the conscious and coherent whole. of a church surrounded by spring foliage. It is true
Big business has realized that it must use as many that the church appeals to our religious impulses and
of the basic emotions as possible. The politician, that everybody loves the spring, but these impulses
however, has used the emotions aroused by words do not help to ~ll the idea that hockey skates are
almost exclusively. amusing, helpful, or increase the general enjoyment
To appeal to the emotions of the public in a politi- of life for the buyer.
cal campaign is sound-in fact it is an indispensable Present-day politics places emphasis on personality.
part of the campaign. But the emotional content An entire party, a platform, an international policy
must- is sold to the public, or is not sold, on the basis of the
(a) coincide in every way with the broad basic intangible element of personality. A charming can-
plans of the [Link] and all its minor details; didate is the alchemist's secret that can transmute a
(b) be adapted to the many groups of the public prosaic platform into the gold of votes. Helpful as
at which it is to be [Link]; and is a candidate who for some reason has caught the
(c) conform to the media of the distribution of imagination of the country, the party and its aims
ideas. are certainly more important than the personality of
The emotions of oratory have been worn down the candidate. Not personality, but the ability of the
through long years of overuse. Parades, mass meet- candidate to carry out the party's program ade-
ings, and the like are successful when the public has a quately, and the program itself should be empha-
frenzied emotional interest in the event. The can- sized in a soWld campaign plan. Even Henry Ford,
100 101
Propaganda Propaganda and Political Leadership
the most picturesque personality in business in objects and its basic plans, having defined the group
America to-day, has become known through his appeal which it must use, must carefully allocate to
product, and not his product through him. each of the media at hand the work which it can
It is essential for the campaign manager to educate do with maximum efficiency.
the emotions in terms of groups. The ppblic is not The media through which a political campaign may
made up merely of Democrats and Republicans. be brought home to the public are numerous and
People to-day are largely uninterested in politics and fairly well defined. Events and activities must be
their interest in the issues of the campaign must be created in order to put ideas into circulation, in these
secured by coordinating it with their personal in- channels, which are as varied as the means of human
terests. The public is made up of interlocking groups communication. Every object which presents pic-
-economic, social, religious, educational, cultural, tures or words that the public can see, everything that
racial, collegiate, local, sports, and hundreds of presents intelligible sounds, can be utilized in one
others. way or another.
When President Coolidge invited actors for break- At present, the political campaigner uses for the
fast, he did so because he realized not only that actors greatest part the radio, the press, the banquet hall,
were a group, but that audiences, the large group of the mass meeting, the lecture platform, and the
people who like amusements, who like people who stump generally as a means for furthering his ideas.
amuse them, and who like people who can be amused, But this is only a small part of what may be done.
ought to be aligned with him. Actually there are infinitely more varied events that
The Shepard-Towner Maternity Bill was passed can be created to dramatize the campaign, and to make
because the people who fought to secure its passage people talk of it. Exhibitions, contests, institutes of
realized that mothers made up a group, that educa- politics, the cooperation of educational institutions,
tors made up a group, that physicians made up a the dramatic cooperation of groups which hith-
group, that all these groups in turn influence other erto have not been drawn into active politics, and
groups, and that taken all together these groups were many others may be made the vehicle for the presen-
sufficiently strong and numerous to impress Congress tation of ideas to the public.
with the fact that the people at large wanted this bill But whatever is done must be synchronized accu-
to be made part of the national law. rately with all other forms of appeal to the public.
The political campaign having defined its proad News reaches the public through the printed word-
102 r03
Propaganda Propaganda and Po It tical Leadership
Dooks, magazines, letters, posters, circulars and ban- sonalities, by establishing contact with the group
ners, newspapers; through pictures-photographs and leaders who control the opinions of their publics.
motion pictures; through the ear-lectures, speeches, But campaigning is only an incident in political
hand music, radio, campaign songs. All these must life. The process of government is continuous. And
be employed by the political party if it is to succeed. the expert use of propaganda is more useful and fun-
One method of appeal is merely one method of ap- damental, although less striking, as an aid to demo-
peal and in this age wherein a thousand movements cratic administration, than as an aid to vote getting.
and ideas are competing for public attention, one dare Good government can be sold to a community just
not put all one's eggs into one basket. as any other commodity can. be sold. I often wonder
It is understood that the methods of propaganda whether the politicians of the future, who are re-
can be effective only with the voter who makes up sponsible for maintaining the prestige and effective-
his own mind on the basis of his group prejudices and . ness of their party, will not endeavor to train poli-
desires. Where specific allegiances and loyalties exist, ticians who are at the same time propagandists. I
as in the case of boss leadership, these loyalties will talked recently with George Olvany. He said that a
operate to nullify the free will of the voter. In this certain number of Princeton men were joining Tam-
close relation between the boss and his constituents many Hall. If I were in his place I should have
lies, of course, the strength of his position in politics. taken some of my brightest young men and set them
It is not necessary for the politician to be the slave to work for Broadway theatrical productions or ap-
of the public's group prejudices, if he can learn how prenticed them as assistants to professional propa-
to mold the mind of the voters in conformity with his gandists before recruiting them to the service of the
own ideas of public welfare and public service. The party.
important thing for the statesman of our age is not One reason, perhaps, why the politician to.,.day is
so much to know how to please the public, but to slow to take up methods which are a commonplace
know how to sway the public. In theory, this educa- in business life is that he has such ready entry to the
tion might be done by means of learned pamphlets media of communication on which his power depends.
explaining the intricacies of public question6. In. The newspaper man looks to him for news. And
actual fact, it can be done only by meeting the con- by his power of giving or withholding information
ditions of the public mind, by creating circumstances the politician can often effectively censor political
which set up trains of thought, by dramatizing Eer- news. But being dependent, every day of the year
104 1°5
Propaganda Propaganda and Political Leadership
and for year after year, upon certain politicians for Clue to the tariff in force. He would see that these
news, the newspaper reporters are obliged to work in exhibitions were ceremoniously inaugurated by prom-
harmony with their news sources. inent men and women who were interested in a low
The political leader must be a creator of cirCUM- tariff apart from any interest in his personal political
stances, not only a creature of mechanical processes of fortunes. He would have groups, whose interests
stereotyping and rubber stamping. were especially affected by the high cost of living,
Let us suppose that he is campaigning on a low- institute an agitation for lower schedules. He would
tariff platform. He may use the modern mechanism dramatize the issue, perhaps by having prominent
of the radio to spread his views, but he will almost men boycott woolen clothes, and go to important
certainly use the psychological method of approach functions in cotton suits, until the wool schedule was
which was old in Andrew Jackson's day, and which reduced. He might get the opinion of social workers
business has largely discarded. He will say over the as to whether the high cost of wool endangers the
radio: "Vote for me and low tariff, because the high health of the poor in winter.
tariff increases the cost of the things you buy." He In whatever ways he dramatized the issue, the at-
may, it is true, have the great advantage of being able tention of the public would be attracted to the ques-
to speak by radio directly to fifty million listeners. tion before he addressed them personally. Then,
But he is making an old-fashioned approach. He is when he spoke to his millions of listeners on the
arguing with them. He is assaulting, single-handed, radio, he would not be [Link] to force an argument
the resistance of inertia. down the throats of a public thinking of other things
If he were a propagandist, on the other hand, al- and annoyed by another demand on its attention; on
though he would still use the radio, he would use the contrary, he would be answering the spontaneous
it as one instrument of a well-planned strategy. questions and expressing the emotional demands of
Since he is campaigning on the issue of a low tariff, he a public already keyed to a certain pitch of interest
not merely would tell people that the high tariff in- in the subject.
creases the cost of the things they buy, but would The importance of taking the entire world public
create circumstances which would make his conten- into consideration before planning an important event
tion dramatic and self-evident. He would perhaps is shown by the wise action of Thomas Masaryk, then
stage a low-tariff exhibition simultaneously in twenty Provisional President, now President of the Republic
cities, with exhibits illustrating the additional cost of Czecho-Slovakia. .
106 1°7
Propaganda Propaganda and Political Leadership
Czecho-Slovakia officially became a free state on query as to whether the newspaper makes public
Monday, October 28, 1918, instead of Sunday, opinion or whether public opinion makes the news-
October 27, 1918, because Professor Masaryk real- paper. There has to be fertile ground for the leader
ized that the people of the world would receive more and the idea to fall on. But the leader also has to
information and would be more receptive tQ the an-· have some vital seed to sow. To use another figure, a
nouncement of the republic's freedom on a Monday mutual need has to exist before either can become
morning than on a Sunday, because the press would positively effective. Propaganda is of no use to the
have more space to devote to it on Monday morning. politician unless he has something to say which the
Discussing the matter with me before he made the public, consciously or unconsciously, wants to hear.
announcement, Professor Masaryk said, "1 would But even supposing that a certain propaganda is
be making history for the cables if 1 changed the untrue or dishonest, we cannot on that account re-
date of Czecho-Slovakia's birth as a free nation." ject the methods of propaganda as such. For propa-
Cables make history and so the date was changed. ganda in some form will always be used where lead-
This incident illustrates the importance of tech- ers need to appeal to their constituencies.
nique in the new propaganda. The criticism is often made that propaganda tends
It will be objected, of course, that propaganda will to make the President of the United States so im-
tend to defeat itself as its mechanism becomes obvi- portant that he becomes not the President but the
ous to the public. My opinion is that it will not. embodiment of the idea of hero worship, not to say
The only propaganda which will ever tend to weaken deity worship. 1 quite agree that this is so, but how
itself as the world becomes more sophisticated and are you going to stop a condition which very accu-
intelligent, is propaganda that is untrue or unsocial. rately reflects the desires of a certain part of the
Again, the objection is raised that propaganda is public? The American people rightly senses the
utilized to manufacture our leading political person- enormous importance of the executive's office. If the
alities. It is asked whether, in fact, the leader makes public tends to make of the President a heroic symbol
propaganda, or whether propaganda makes the of that power, that is not the fault of propaganda but
leader. There is a widespread impression that a lies in the very nature of the office and its relation to
good press agent can puff up a nobody into a great the people.
man. This condition, despite its somewhat irrational puff-
The answer is the same as that made to the old ing up of the man to fit the office, is perhaps still
108 .{ .109
Propaganda Propaganda and Political Leadership
more sound than a condition in which the man utilizes But they are chosen to represent and dramatize the
no propaganda, or a propaganda not adapted to its man in his function as representative of the people.
proper end. Note the example of the Prince of A political practice which has its roots in the tendency
Wales. This young man reaped bales of clippings of the popular leader to follow oftener than he
and little additional glory from his A~erican visit, leads is the technique of the trial balloon which he
merely because he was poorly advised. To the Ameri- uses in order to maintain, as he believes, his contact
can public he became a well dressed, charming, sport- with the public. The politician, of course, has his
loving, dancing, perhaps frivolous youth. Nothing ear to the ground. It might be called the clinical ear.
was done to add dignity and prestige to this impres- It touches the ground and hears the disturbances of
sion until towards the end of his stay he made a trip the political universe.
in the subway of New York. This sole venture into But he often does not know what the disturbances
democracy and the serious business of living as evi- mean, whether they are superficial, or fundamental.
denced in the daily habits of workers, aroused new So he sends up his balloon. He may send out an
interest in the Prince. Had he been properly advised anonymous interview through the press. He then
he would have augmented this somewhat by such waits for reverberations to come from the public-a
serious studies of American life as were made by an- public which expresses itself in mass meetings, or
other prince, Gustave of Sweden. As a result of the resolutions, or telegrams, or even such obvious mani-
lack of well directed propaganda, the Prince of Wales festations as editorials in the partisan or nonpartisan
became in the eyes of the American people, not the press. On the basis of these repercussions he then
thing which he constitutionally is, a symbol of the publicly adopts his original tentative policy, or rejects
unity of the British Empire, but part and parcel of it, or modifies it to conform to the sum of public
sporting Long Island and dancing beauties of the opinion which has reached him. This method is
ballroom. Great Britain lost an invaluable oppor- modeled on the peace feelers which were used during
tunity to increase the good will and understanding the war to sound out the disposition of the enemy to
between the two countries when it failed to under- make peace or to test anyone of a dozen other popu-
stand the importance of correct public relations coun- lar tendencies. It is the method commonly used by
sel for His Royal Highness. a politician before committing himself to legislation
The public actions of America's chief executive are, of any kind, and by a government before committing
if one chooses to put it that way, stage-managed. itself on foreign or domestic policies.
IIQ III
Propaganda Propaganda and Political Leadership
It is a method which has little justification. If a Propaganda bridges this interval in our modern
politician is a real leader he will be able, by the skill- complex civilization.
ful use of propaganda, to lead the people, instead of Only through the wise use of propaganda will our
following the people by means of the clumsy instru- government, considered as the continuous administra-
ment of trial and error. tive organ of the people, be able to maintain that inti-
The propagandist's approach is the exact' opposite mate relationship with the public which is necessary
of that of the politician just described. The whole in a democracy.
basis of successful propaganda is to have an objective As David Lawrence pointed out in a recent speech,
and then to endeavor to arrive at it through an exact there is need for an intelligent interpretative bureau
knowledge of the public and modifying circum- for our government in Washington. There is, it is
stances to manipulate and sway that public. true, a Division of Current Information in the De-
"The function of a statesman," says George Ber- partment of State, which at first was headed by a
nard Shaw, "is to express the will of the people in the trained newspaper man. But later this position began
way of a scientist." to be filled by men from the diplomatic service, men
The political leader of to-day should be a leader who had very little knowledge of the public. While
as finely versed in the technique of propaganda as some of these diplomats have done very well, Mr.
in political economy and civics. If he remains merely Lawrence asserted that in the long run the country
the reflection of the average intelligence of his com- would be benefited if the functions of this office were
munity, he might as well go out of politics. If one in the hands of a different type of person.
is dealing with a democracy in which the herd and the There should, I believe, be an Assistant Secretary
of State who is familiar with the problem of dis-
group follow those whom they recognize as leaders,
pensing information to the press-some one upon
why should not the young men training for leader-
whom the Secretary of State can call for consulta-
ship be trained in its technique as well as in its
tion and who has sufficient authority to persuade the
idealism?
Secretary of State to make public that which, for in-
"When the interval between the intellectual classes
and the practical classes is too great," says the his- I
"
sufficient reason, is suppressed.
The function of the propagandist is much broader
torian Buckle, "the former will possess no influence,
in scope than that of a mere dispenser of informa-
the latter will reap no benefits." tion to the press. The United States Government
lIZ
Il3
Propaganda
should create a Secretary of Public Relations as
member of the President's Cabinet. The function of
this official should be correctly to interpret America's
aims and ideals throughout the world, and to keep CHAPTER VII
the citizens of this country in touch with govern- WOMEN'S ACTIVITIES AND PROPAGANDA
mental activities and the reasons which prompt them.
He would, in short, interpret the people to the gov- WOMEN in contemporary America have achieved a
ernment and the government to the people. legal equality with men. This does not mean that
Such an official would be neither a propagandist nor their activities are identical with those of men.
a press agent, in the ordinary understanding of those Women in the mass still have special interests and
terms. He would be, rather, a trained technician activities in addition to their economic pursuits and
who would be helpful in analyzing public thought vocational interests.
and public trends, in order to keep the government Women's most obvious influence is exerted when
informed about the public, and the people informed they are organized and armed with the weapon of
about the government. America's relations with propaganda. So organized and armed they have
South America and with Europe would be greatly made their influence felt on city councils, state legisla-
improved under such circumstances. Ours must be tur7s! and national congresses, upon executives, upon
a leadership democracy administered by the intelli- polttIcal campaigns and upon public opinion gener-
gent minority who know how to regiment and guide ally, both local and national.
the masses. In politics, the American women to-day occupy a
Is this government by propaganda? Call it, if you much more important position, from the standpoint
prefer, government by education. But education, in of their influence, in their organized groups than
the academic sense of the word, is not sufficient. It from the standpoint of the leadership they have ac-
must be enlightened expert propaganda through the quired in actual political positions or in actual office
creation of circumstances, through the high-spotting holding. The professional woman politician has had,
of significant events, and the dramatization of im- up to the present, not much influence, nor do women
portant issues. The statesman of the future will thus generally regard her as being the most important ele-
be enabled to focus the public mind on crucial points ment in question. Ma Ferguson after all was
of policy, and regiment a vast, heterogeneous mass
. I y a woman in the home, a catspaw
SImp " for a deposed
of yoters to clear understanding and intelligent action. husband; Nellie Ross, the former Governor of \V'yo-
114 !IS
•
Propaganda Women's Activities and Propaganda
ming, is from all accounts hardly a leader of states- tions. These covered such broad interests as child
manship or public opinion. welfare, education, the home and high prices, women
If the suffrage campaign did nothing more, it in gainful occupations, public health and morals, in-
showed the possibilities of propaganda to achieve cer- dependent citizenship for married women, and others..
tain ends. This propaganda to-day is being utilized
I •
To propagandize these principles, the National
by women to achieve their programs in Washmgton League of Women Voters has published all types
and in the states. In Washington they are organized of literature, such as bulletins, calendars, election in-
as the Legislative Committee of Fourteen Women's formation, has held a correspondence course on gov-
Organizations, including the League of Women ernment and conducted demonstration classes and citi-
Voters, the Young Women's Christian Association, zenship schools.
the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the Fed- Possibly the effectiveness of women's organizations
eration of Women's Clubs, etc. These organizations in American politics to-day is due to two things:
map out a legislative program and then use the mod- first, the training of a professional class of executive
ern technique of propaganda to make this legislative secretaries or legislative secretaries during the suf-
program actually pass into the law of the land. Their frage campaigns, where every device known to the
accomplishments in the field are various. They can propagandist had to be used to regiment a recalcitrant
justifiably take the credit for much welfare legisla- majority; secondly, the routing over into peace-
tion. The eight-hour day for women is theirs. time activities of the many prominent women who
Undoubtedly prohibition and its enforcement are were in the suffrage campaigns and who also de-
theirs, if they can be considered an accomplishment. voted themselves to the important drives and mass
So is the Shepard-Towner Bill which stipulates sup- influence movements during the war. Such women
port by the central government of maternity welfare as Mrs. Frank Vanderlip, Alice Ames Winter, Mrs.
in the state governments. This bill would not have Henry Moskowitz, Mrs. Florence Kelley, Mrs. John
passed had it not been for the politica! prescience Blair, Mrs. O. H. P. Belmont, Doris Stevens, Alice
and sagacity of women like Mrs. VanderlIp and Mrs. Paul come to mind.
Mitchell. If I have seemed to concentrate on the accomplish-
The Federal measures endorsed at the first con- ments of women in politics, it is because they afford
vention of the National League of Women Voters a particularly striking example of intelligent use of
~ypify social welfare activities of women's organiza- the new propaganda to secure attention and acceptance
'II 6
II7
Propaganda If' omen's Activities and Propaganda
of minority ideas. It is perhaps curiously appropriate welfare of women and children; in playground de-
that the latest recruits to the political arena should velopment and park improvement; in raising stand-
recognize and make use of the newest weapons of ards of social or political morality; in homemaking:
persuasion to offset any lack of experience with what and home economics, education and the like. In
i~ somewhat euphemistically termed practical poli- these fields, the woman's club concerns itself with
tICS. As an example of this new technique: Some efforts that are not ordinarily covered by existing
years ago, the Consumers' Committee of Women agencies, and often both initiates and helps to fur-
fighting the "American valuation" tariff, rented a~ ther movements for the good of the community.
empty store on Fifty-seventh Street in New York and A club interested principally in homemaking and
se: up an exhibit of merchandise tagging each item the practical arts can sponsor a cooking school for
wIth the current price and the price it would cost if young brides and others. An example of the keen
the tariff went through. Hundreds of visitors to interest of women in this field of education is the
this shop rallied to the cause of the committee. cooking school recently conducted by the New York
But there are also non-political fields in which Herald Tribune, which held its classes in Carnegie
women can make and have made their influence felt Hall, seating almost 3,000 persons. For the several
for social ends, and in which they have utilized the days of the cooking school, the hall was filled to
principle of group leadership in attaining the desired capacity, rivaling the drawing power of a McCor-
objectives. mack or a Paderewski, and refuting most dramat-
In the General Federation of Women's Clubs, ically the idea that women in large cities are not
there are 13,000 clubs. Broadly classified, they in- interested in housewifery.
clude civic and city clubs, mothers' and homemakers' A movement for the serving of milk in public
clubs, cultural clubs devoted to art, music or litera- schools, or the establishment of a baby health sta-
ture, business and professional women's clubs, and tion at the department of health will be an effort
general women's clubs, which may embrace either close to the heart of a club devoted to the interest of
civic or community phases, or combine some of the mothers and child welfare.
other activities listed. A music club can broaden its sphere and be of
The woman's club is generally effective on behalf service to the community by cooperating with the
of health education; in furthering appreciation of the local radio station in arranging better musical pro-
fine arts; in sponsoring legislation that affects the grams. Fighting bad music can be as militant a cam-
lI8 II9
Propaganda
paign and marshal as varied resources as any politi-
cal battle.
An art club can be active in securing loan exhibi-
tions for its city. It can also arrange travelling ex- CHAPTER VIII
hibits of the art work of its members or show the art
PROPAGANDA FOR EDUCATION
work of schools or universities.
A literary club may step out of its charmed circle EDUCATION is not securing its proper share of pub-
of lectures and literary lions and take a definite part lic interest. The public school system, materially and
in the eduootional life of the community. It can financially, is being adequately supported. There is
sponsor, for instance, a competition in the public marked eagerness for a college education, and a
schools for the best essay on the history of the city, vague aspiration for culture, expressed in innumer-
or on the life of its most famous son. able courses and lectures. The public is not cognizant
Over and above the particular object for which the of the real value of education, and does not realize
woman's club may have been constituted, it commonly that education as a social force is not receiving the
stands ready to initiate or help any movement which kind of attention it has the right to expect in a democ-
has for its object a distinct public good in the com- racy.
mtU1ity. More important, it constitutes an organized It is felt, for example, that education is entitled
channel through which women can make themselves to more space in the newspapers; that well informed
felt as a definite part of public opinion. discussion of education hardly exists; that unless such
Just as women supplement men in private life, so an issue as the Gary School system is created, or out-
they will supplement men in pUblic life by concen- side of an occasional discussion, such as that aroused
trating their organized efforts on those objects which over Harvard's decision to establish a school of busi-
men are likely to ignore. There is a tremendous field ness, education does not attract the active interest of
for women as active protagonists of new ideas and the public.
new methods of political and social housekeeping. There are a number of reasons for this condition.
When organized and conscious of their power to in- First of all, there is the fact that the educator has
fluence their surroundings, women can use their newly been trained to stimulate to thought the individual
acquired freedom in a great many ways to mold the students in his classroom, but has not been trained as
world into a better place to live in. an educator at large of the public.
120 121
Propaganda
Propaganda for Education
In a democracy an educator should, in addition to
difficult psychological problem. The teacher finds
his academic duties, bear a definite and wholesome
himself in a world in which the emphasis is put on
relation to the general public. This public does not
those objective goals and those objective attainments
come within the immediate scope of his academic du-
which are prized by our American society. He him-
ties. But in a sense he depends upon it for his liv-
self is but moderately or poorly paid. Judging him-
ing, for the moral support, and the general cultural
self by the standards in common acceptance, he can-
tone upon which his work must be based. In the
not but feel a sense of inferiority because he finds
field of education, we find what we have found in
himself continually being compared, in the minds of
politics and other fields-that the evolution of [Link]
his own pupils, with the successful business man and
practitioner of the profession has not kept pace WIth
the successful leader in the outside world. Thus the
the social evolution around .him, and is out of gear
educator becomes repressed and suppressed in our
with the instruments for the dissemination of ideas
civilization. As things stand, this condition cannot
which modern society has developed. If this be
be changed from the outside unless the general public
true then the training of the educators in this re-
spec~ should begin in the normal schools, with the alters its standards of achievement, which it is not
likely to do soon.
addition to their curricula of whatever is necessary
Yet it can be changed by the teaching profession
to broaden their viewpoint. The public cannot un-
itself, if it becomes conscious not only of its indi-
derstand unless the teacher understands the relation-
vidualistic relation to the pupil, but also of its social
ship between the general public and the academic
relation to the general public. The teaching profes-
idea.
sion, as such, has the right to carryon a very definite
The normal school should provide for the training
propaganda with a view to enlightening the public
of the educator to make him realize that his is a two-
and asserting its intimate relation to the society which
fold job: education as a teacher and education as a
it serves. In addition to conducting a propaganda
propagandist.
on behalf of its individual members, education must
A second reason for the present remoteness of edu-
also raise the general appreciation of the teaching
cation from the thoughts and interests of the public
profession. Unless the profession can raise itself by
is to be found in the mental attitude of the pedagogue
its own bootstraps, it will fast lose the power of re-
-whether primary school teacher or college profes-
cruiting outstanding talent for itself.
sor-toward the world outside the schooL This is a
Propaganda cannot change all that is at present un-
122
12 3
Propaganda Propaganda for Education
satisfactory in the educational situation. There are of educational issues. Yet if this is the case-if the
factors, such as low pay and the lack of adequate university shapes its whole policy toward gaining
provision for superannuated teachers, which defi- the support of the state legislature-its educational
nitely affect the status of the profession. It is pos- function may suffer. It may be tempted to base its
whole appeal to the public on its public service, real·
sible, by means of an intelligent appeal .predicated
or supposed, and permit the education of its indi-
upon the actual present composition of the public
vidual students to take care of itself. It may attempt
mind, to modify the general attitude toward the
to educate the people of the state at the expense of its
teaching profession. Such a changed attitude will
begin by expressing itself in an insistence on the idea own pupils. This may generate a number of evils, to
the extent of making the university a political instru-
of more adequate salaries for the profession.
ment, a mere tool of the political group in power.
There are various ways in which academic organi-
zations in America handle their financial problems.
If the president dominates both the public and the
professional politician, this may lead to a situation
One type of college or university depends, for its
in which the personality of the president outweighs
monetary support, upon grants from the state legis-
the true function of the institution.
latures. Another depends upon private endow-
The endowed college or university has a problem
ment. There are other types of educational institu-
quite as perplexing. The endowed college is de-
tions, such. as the sectarian, but the two chief types
include by far the greater number of our institutions pendent upon the support, usually, of key men in in-
of higher learning. dustry whose social and economic objectives are
concrete and limited, and therefore often at variance
The state university is supported by grants from
with the pursuit of abstract knowledge. The success-
the people of the state, voted by the state legislature.
In theory, the degree of support which the university ful business man criticizes the great universities for
receives is dependent upon the degree of acceptance being too academic, but seldom for being too prac-
tical. One might imagine that the key men who
accorded it by the voters. The state university pros-
pers according to the extent to which it can sell itself support our universities would like them to special-
to the people of the state. ize in schools of applied science, of practical sales-
manship or of industrial efficiency. And it may well
The state university is therefore in an unfortunate
position unless its president happens to be a man of be, in many instances, that the demands which the
outstanding merit as a propagandist and a dramatizer potential endowers of our universities make upon
125
I24
Propaganda Propaganda lor Education
these institutions are flatly in contradiction to the in- aganda aiming to develop greater social consciousness
terests of scholarship and general culture. on the part of the people of the country, there may
We have, therefore, the anomalous situation of the be awakened in the minds of men of affairs, as a class,
college seeking to carryon a propaganda in favor of social consciousness which will produce more minds
scholarship among people who are quite out of sym· of the type of Julius Rosenwald, V. Everitt Macy,
pathy with the aims to which they are asked to sub- John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the late Willard Straight.
scribe their money. Men who, by the commonly Many colleges have already developed intelligent
accepted standards, are fail ures or very moderate suc- propaganda in order to bring them into active and
cesses in our American world (the pedagogues) seek continuous relation with the general public. A defi-
to convince the outstanding successes (the business nite technique has been developed in their relation to
men) that they should give their money to ideals the community in the form of college news bureaus.
which they do not pursue. Men who, through a These bureaus have formed an intercollegiate as-
sense of inferiority, despise money, seek to win the sociation whose members meet once a year to dis-
good will of men who love money. cuss their problems. These problems include the
It seems possible that the future status of the en- education of the alumnus and his effect upon the
dowed college will depend upon a balancing of these general public and upon specific groups, the education
forces, both the academic and the endowed elements of the future student to the choice of the particular
obtaining in effect due consideration. college, the maintenance of an esprit de corps so that
The college must win public support. If the po- the athletic prowess of the college will not be placed
tential donor is apathetic, enthusiastic public approval first, the development of some familiarity with
must be obtained to convince him. If he seeks the research work done in the college in order to at-
unduly to influence the educational policy of the in- tract the attention of those who may be able to lend
stitution, public opinion must support the college in aid, the development of an understanding of the
the continuance of its proper functions. If either aims and the work of the institution in order to
factor dominates unduly, we are likely to find a attract special endowments for specified purposes.
demagoguery or a snobbishness aiming to please one Some seventy-five of these bureaus are now affili-
group or the other. ated with the American Association of College News
There is still another potential solution of the prob- Bureaus, including those of Yale, Wellesley, Illinois,
lem. It is possible that through an educational prop· Indiana, Wisconsin, \Vestern Reserve, Tufts and
126 127
Propaganda Propaganda tor Education
California. A 'bi-monthly news letter is published, feels that the ancient and honorable art of com-
bringing to members the news of their profession. pounding specifics is being degraded. .
The Association endeavors to uphold the ethical Cornell University discovers that endowments are
standards of the profession and aims to work in har- rare. Why? Because the people think that the
mony with the press. , University is a state institution and therefore pub-
The National Education Association and other licly supported.
societies are carrying on a definite propaganda to pro- Many of our leading universities rightly feel that
mote the larger purposes of educational endeavor. the results of their scholarly researches should not
One of the aims of such propaganda is of course im- only be presented to libraries and learned publica-
provement in the prestige and material position of tions, but should also, where practicable and useful,
the teachers themselves. An occasional McAndrew be given to the public in the dramatic form which the
case calls the attention of the public to the fact that public can understand. Harvard is but one ex-
in some schools the teacher is far from enjoying full ample.
academic freedom, while in certain communities the "Not long ago," says Charles A. Merrill in Per-
choice of teachers is based upon political or sectarian sonality, "a certain Harvard professor vaulted into
considerations rather than upon real ability. If such the newspaper headlines. There were several days
issues were made, by means of propaganda, to become when one could hardly pick up a paper in any of the
a matter of public concern on a truly national scale, larger cities without finding his name bracketed with
there would doubtless be a general tendency to. his achievement.
improvement. "The professor, who was back from a trip to
The concrete problems of colleges are more varied Yucatan in the interests of science, had solved the
and puzzling than one might suppose. The pharma- mystery of the Venus calendar of the ancient Mayas.
ceutical college of a university is concerned because He had discovered the key to the puzzle of how the
the drug store is no longer merely a drug store, but Mayas kept tab on the flight of time. Checking the
primarily a soda fountain, a lunch counter, a book- Mayan record of celestial events against the known
shop, a retailer of all sorts of general merchandise astronomical facts, he had found a perfect correla-
from society stationery to spare radio parts. The col- tion between the time count of these Central Ameri-
lege realizes the economic utility of the lunch can Indians and the true positions of the planet Venus
counter feature to the practicing druggist, yet it in the sixth century B.C. A civilization which flour-
128 129
1

Propaganda Propaganda for Education

ished in the Western Hemisphere twenty-five centu- It violates the fundamental article in the creed of
ries ago was demonstrated to have attained heights the old academic societies. Cloistered seclusion used
hitherto unappreciated by the modern world. to be considered the first essential of scholarship.
"How the professor's discovery happened to be The college was anxious to preserve its aloofness
chronicled in the popular press is, also, in retrospect, from the world. . . .
a matter of interest. . . . If left to his own de- "The colleges used to resent outside interest in
vices, he might never have appeared in print, ex- their affairs. They might, somewhat reluctantly and
cept perhaps in some technical publication, and his contemptuously, admit reporters to their Commence-
remarks there would have been no more intelli- ment Day exercises, but no further would they
! go. . . .
gible to the average man or woman than if they had .I
been inscribed in Mayan hieroglyphics.
j

l "To-day, if a newspaper reporter wants to inter-

((Popularization of this message from antiquity view a Harvard professor, he has merely to tele-
was due to the initiative of a young man named 1 phone the Secretary for Information to the
James W. D. Seymour. . . . I University. Officially, Harvard still shies away
«It may surprise and shock some people," Mr.
Merrill adds, "to be told that the oldest and most
I
I
i
i
from the title 'Director of Publicity.' Informally,
however, the secretary with the long title is the pub-
dignified seats of learning in America now hire press licity man. He is an important official to-day at
j
agents, just as railroad companies, fraternal organ- Harvard."
izations, moving picture producers and political It may be a new idea that the president of a
parties retain' them. It is nevertheless a fact. . . . university will concern himself with the kind of
( . . . there is hardly a college or university in mental picture his institution produces on the public
the country which does not, with the approval of the mind. Yet it is part of the president's work to see
governing body and the faculty, maintain a pub- that his university takes its proper place in the com-
licity office, with a director and a staff of assistants, munity and therefore also in the community mind,
for the purpose of establishing friendly relations and produces the results desired, both in a cultural
with the newspapers, and through the newspapers, and in a financial sense.
with the public. . . . If his institution does not produce the mental pic-
('This enterprise breaks sharply with tradition. In ture which it should, one of two things may be
the older seats of learning it is a recent innovation. wrong: Either the media of communication with
13° 13 1
Propaganda for Education
Propaganda
Again, it may be the general opinion that the
the public may be wrong or unbalanced; or his in-
work of a certain institution is 80 per cent post-
stitution may be at fault. The public is getting an
graduate research, an opinion which may tend to
oblique impression of the university, in which case
alienate public interest. This opinion may be true
the impression should be modified; or it may be that
or it may be false. If it is false, it should be cor-
the public is getting a correct impression, jn which
rected by high-spotting undergraduate activities.
case, very possibly, the work of the university itself
If, on the other hand, it is true that 80 per cent
should be modified. For both possibilities lie within
of the work is postgraduate research, the most should
the province of the public relations counseL
be made of that fact. It should be the concern of
Columbia University recently instituted a Casa
the president to make known the discoveries which
1taliana, which was solemnly inaugurated in the
are of possible public interest. A university expe-
presence of representatives of the Italian govern-
dition into Biblical lands may be uninteresting as a
ment, to emphasize its high standing in Latin studies
purely scholastic undertaking, but if it contributes
and the Romance languages. Years ago Harvard
light on some Biblical assertion it will immediately
founded the Germanic Museum, which was cere-
a,rouse the interest of large masses of the popula-
moniously opened by Prince Henry of Prussia. tIon. The zoological department may be hunting
Many colleges maintain extension courses which
for some strange bacillus which has no known re-
bring their work to the knowledge of a broad public.
lation to any human disease, but the fact that it is
It is of course proper that such courses should be
chasing bacilli is in itself capable of dramatic pres-
made known to the general public. But, to take an- entation to the public.
other example, if they have been badly planned,
Many universities now gladly lend members of
from the point of view of public relations, if they their faculties to assist in investigations of public in-
are unduly scholastic and detached, their effect may terest. Thus Cornell lent Professor Wilcox to aid
be the opposite of favorable. In such a case, it is the government in the preparation of the national
not the work of the public relations counsel to urge census. Professor Irving Fisher of Yale has been
that the courses be made better known, but to urge called in to advise on currency matters.
that they first be modified to conform to the impres- In the ethical sense, propaganda bears the same
sion which the college wishes to create, where that is relation to education as to business or politics. It
compatible with the university's scholastic ideals.
133
13 2
Propaganda
may be abused. It may be used to overadvertise an
institution and to create in the public mind artificial
values. There can be no absolute guarantee against CHAPTER IX
its misuse.
PROPAGANDA IN SOCIAL SERVICE

THE public relations counsel is necessary to social

work. And since social service, by its very nature,
can continue only by means of the voluntary support
of the wealthy, it is obliged to use propaganda con-
tinually. The leaders in social service were among
the first consciously to utilize propaganda in its
modern sense.
The great enemy of any attempt to change men's
habits is inertia. Civilization is limited by inertia.
Our attitude toward social relations, toward eco-
nomics, toward national and international politics,
continues past attitudes and strengthens them under
the force of tradition. Comstock drops his mantle
of proselytizing morality on the willing shoulders of
a Sumner; Penrose drops his mantle on Butler; Car-
negie his on Schwab, and so ad infinitum. Opposing
this traditional acceptance of existing ideas is an active
public opinion that has been directed consciously into
movements against inertia. Public opinion was made
or changed formerly by tribal chiefs, by kings, by
religious leaders. To-day the privilege of attempt-
ing to sway public opinion is everyone's. It is one
of the manifestations of democracy that anyone may
135
134
Propaganda Propaganda in Social Service
try to convince others and to assume leadership on
center, would have greater authority than the same
behalf of his own thesis.
point of view issuing from any other locality, par-
New ideas, new precedents, are continually striv-
ticularly when that point of view was at odds with
ing for a place in the scheme of things.
the traditional southern point of view. Atlanta.
The social settlement, the organized campaigns was chosen.
against tuberculosis and cancer, the various research
The third step was to surround the conference
activities aiming directly at the elimination of social
with people who were stereotypes for ideas that car-
diseases and maladjustments-a multitude of altru-
ried weight all over the country. The support of
istic activities which could be catalogued only in a
leaders of diversified groups was sought. Tele-
book of many pages-have need of knowledge of the
grams and letters were dispatched to leaders of re-
public mind and mass psychology if th~y are ,to
ligious, political, social and educational groups, ask-
achieve their aims, The literature on social serVIce
ing for their point of view on the purpose of the
publicity is so extensive, and the underlying, prin-
ciples so fundamental, that only one example IS nec- conference. But in addition to these group leaders
essary here to illustrate the technique of social service of national standing it was particularly important
propaganda. from the technical standpoint to secure the opinions
A social service organization undertook to fight of group leaders of the South, even from Atlanta it-
lynching, Jim Crowism and the civil discrt:ninati,ons self, to emphasize the purposes of the conference to
against the Negro below the Mason and DIxon lme. the entire public. There was one group in Atlanta
The National Association for the Advancement of which could be approached. A group of ministers
the Colored People had the fight in hand. As a had been bold enough to come out for a greater inter-
matter of technique they decided to dramatize the racial amity. This group was approached and agreed
year's campaign in an annual convention which would to cooperate in the conference.
concentrate attention on the problem. The event ran off as scheduled. The program
Should it be held in the North, South, West or itself followed the general scheme. Negroes and
East? Since the purpose was to affect the entire coun- white men from the South, on the same platform, ex-
try, the association was advised to hol~ it in :he pressed the same point of view.
South. For, said the propagandist, a pomt of VIew A dramatic element was spot-lighted here and
on a southern question, emanating from a southern there. A national leader from Massachusetts agreed
13 6 137
Propaganda Propaganda in Social Service
in principle and in practice with a Baptist preacher ably a result of this and other efforts of the Associa-
from the South. tion.
If the radio had been in effect, the whole country Many churches have made paid advertising and
might have heard and been moved by the speeches organized propaganda part of their regular activities.
and the principles expressed. They have developed church advertising committees
But the public read the words and the ideas in which make use of the newspaper and the billboard:
the press of the country. For the event had been as well as of the pamphlet. Many denominations
created of such important component parts as to maintain their own periodicals. The Methodist
awaken interest throughout the country and to gain [Link] of Publication and Information systematically
support for its ideas even in the South. grves announcements and releases to the press and
The editorials in the southern press, reflecting the the magazines.
public opinion of their communities, showed that the But in a broader sense the very activities of social
subject had become one of interest to the editors service are propaganda activities. A campaign for
because of the participation by southern leaders. the preservation of the teeth seeks to alter people's
The event naturally gave the Association itself habits in the direction of more frequent brushing of
substantial weapons with which to appeal to an in- teeth. A campaign for better parks seeks to alter
creasingly wider circle. Further publicity was at- people's opinion in regard to the desirability of tax-
tained by mailing reports, letters, and other propa- mg themselves for the purchase of park facilities. A
ganda to selected groups of the public. c~mpaign against tuberculosis is an attempt to con-
As for the practical results, the immediate one VInce everybody that tuberculosis can be cured, that
was a change in the minds of many southern editors persons with certain symptoms should immediately
who realized that the question at issue was not only go to the doctor, and the like. A campaign to lower
an emotional one, but also a discussable one; and the infant mortality rate is an effort to alter the
this point of view was immediately reflected to their ha~its of mothers in regard to feeding, bathing and
readers. Further results are hard to measure with a carIng for their babies. Social service, in fact is
identical with propaganda in many cases. '
slide-rule. The conference had its definite effect in
Even those aspects of social service which are
building up the racial consciousness and solidarity of
governmental and administrative, rather than chari-
the Negroes. The decline in lynching is very prob-
table and spontaneous, depend on wise propaganda
138
139
, !

Propaganda
for .their effectiveness. Professor Harry Elmer
Barnes, in his book, ((The Evolution of Modern Pe-
nology in Pennsylvania," states that improvements
in penological administration in that state are ham-
pered by political influences. The legislature must CHAPTER X
be persuaded to permit the utilization 6f the best ART AND SCIENCE
methods of scientific penology, and for this there is
necessary the development of an enlightened public IN the education of the American public toward
opinion. ((Until such a situation has been brought greater art appreciation, propaganda plays an im-
about," Mr. Barnes states, ((progress in penology is portant part. When art galleries seek to launch the
doomed to be sporadic, local, and generally ineffec- canvases of an artist they should create public accept-
tive. The solution of prison problems, then, seems ance for his works. To increase public appreciation
to be fundamentally a problem of conscientious and a deliberate propagandizing effort must be made.
scientific publicity." In art as in politics the minority rules, but it can
Social progress is simply the progressive education rule only by going out to meet the public on its own
and enlightenment of the public mind in regard to its ground, by understanding the anatomy of public
immediate and distant social problems. opinion and utilizing it.
In applied and commercial art, propaganda makes
greater opportunities for the artist than ever before.
This arises from the fact that mass production
reaches an impasse when it competes on a price basis
only. It must, therefore, in a large number of
fields create a field of competition based on esthetic
values. Business of many types capitalizes the es-
thetic sense to increase markets and profits. Which
is only another way of saying that the artist has the
opportunity of collaborating with industry in such a
way as to improve the public taste, injecting beauti-
ful instead of ugly motifs into the articles of com-
140
141
.,

Propaganda Art and Science

mon use, and, furthermore, securing recognition and
in the Decorative Arts Section of the Louvre
money for himself. Museum.
Propaganda can playa part in pointing out what is "The exposition opening on May 26th with
and what is not beautiful, and business can definitely the Minister of Fine Arts, Paul Leon, acting as
help in this way to raise the level of American cul- patron, will include silks from Cheney Brothers,
ture. In this process propaganda will naturally South Manchester and New York, the designs
make use of the authority of group leaders whose of which were based on the inspiration of Edgar
taste and opinion are recognized. Brandt, famous French iron worker, the mod-
The public must be interested by means of asso- ern Bellini, who makes wonderful art works
ciational values and dramatic incidents. New in- from iron.
spiration, which to the artist may be a very technical "M. Brandt designed and made the monu-
and abstract kind of beauty, must be made vital to mental iron doors of the Verdun war memorial.
the public by association with values which it recog- He has been asked to assist and participate in
nizes and responds to. this exposition, which will show France the ac-
For instance, in the manufacture of American complishments of American industrial art.
silk, markets are developed by going to Paris for "Thirty designs inspired by Edgar Brandt's
inspiration. Paris can give American silk a stamp work are embodied in 2,500 yards of printed
of authority which will aid it to achieve definite silks, tinsels and cut velvets in a hundred
position in the United States. colors. . . .
The following clipping from the New York Times "These 'prints ferronnieres' are the first tex-
of February 16, 1925, tells the story from an actual tiles to show the influence of the modern
incident of this sort: master, M. Brandt. The silken fabrics pos-
sess a striking composition, showing character-
"Copyright, 1925, by THE NEW YORK TIMES
istic Brandt motifs which were embodied in the
COMPANY-Special Cable to THE NEW YORK
tracery of large designs by the Cheney artists
TIMES.
who succeeded in translating the iron into silk,
upARIS, Feb. 15.-For the first time in his-
a task which might appear almost impossible.
tory, American art materials are to be exhibited
The strength and brilliancy of the original de-
142
143
Propaganda Art and Science
sign is enhanced by the beauty and warmth of tea parties will not talk about pianos; but they may
color." talk about the new modernist piano.
When Secretary Hoover, three years ago, was
The result of this ceremony was that prominent asked to appoint a commission to the Paris Expo-
department stores in New York, Chicago and other sition of Decorative Arts, he did so. As Associate
cities asked to have this exhibition. They tried to Commissioner I assisted in the organizing of the
mold the public taste in conformity with the idea group of important business leaders in the industrial
which had the approval of Paris. The silks of art field who went to Paris as delegates to visit and
Cheney Brothers--a commercial product produced in report on the Exposition. The propaganda carried
quantity-gained a place in public esteem by being on for the aims and purposes of the Commission
associated with the work of a recognized artist and undoubtedly had a widespread effect on the attitude
with a great art museum. of Americans towards art in industry; it was only a
The same can be said of almost any commercial few years later that the modern art movement pene-
product susceptible of beautiful design. There are trated all fields of industry.
few products in daily use, whether furniture, clothes, Department stores took it up. R. H. Macy &
lamps, posters, commercial labels, book jackets, Company held an Art-in-Trades Exposition, in which
pocketbooks or bathtubs which are not subject to the the Metropolitan Museum of Art collaborated as
laws of good taste. adviser. Lord & Taylor sponsored a Modern Arts
In America, whole departments of production are Exposition, with foreign exhibitors. These stores,
being changed through propaganda to fill an eco- coming closely in touch with the life of the people,
nomic as well as an esthetic need. Manufacture is performed a propagandizing function in bringing to
being modified to conform to the economic need to the people the best in art as it related to these in-
satisfy the public demand for more beauty. A piano dustries. The Museum at the same time was alive
manufacturer recently engaged artists to design mod- to the importance of making contact with the public
ernist pianos. This was not done because there ex- mind, by utilizing the department store to increase
isted a widespread demand for modernist pianos. art appreciation.
Indeed, the manufacturer probably expected to sell Of all art institutions the museum suffers most
few. But in order to draw attention to pianos one from the lack of effective propaganda. Most pres-
must have something more than a piano. People at ent-day museums have the reputation of being
144 145
Propaganda Art and Science
morgues or sanctuaries, whereas they should be come to the museum. It is also a question of mak-
leaders and teachers in the esthetic life of the com- ing the museum, and the beauty which it houses, go
munity. They have little vital relation to life. to the people.
The treasures of beauty in a museum need to be The museum's accomplishments should not be
interpreted to the public, and this requires a propa- evaluated merely in terms of the number of visitors.
gandist. The housewife in a Bronx apartment doubt- Its function is not merely to receive visitors, but to
less feels little interest in an ancient Greek vase in the project iself and what it stands for in the community
Metropolitan Museum. Yet an artist working with which it serves.
a pottery firm may adapt the design of this vase The museum can stand in its community for a defi-
to a set of china and this china, priced low through nite esthetic standard which can, by the help of in-
quantity production, may find its way to that Bronx telligent propaganda, permeate the daily lives of all
apartment, developing unconsciously, through its fine its neighbors. Why should not a museum establish
line and color, an appreciation of beauty. a museum council of art, to establish standards in
Some American museums feel this responsibility. home decoration, in architecture, and in commercial
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York production? or a research board for applied arts?
rightly prides itself on its million and a quarter of Why should not the museum, instead of merely pre-
visitors in the year 1926; on its efforts to dramatize serving the art treasures which it possesses, quicken
and make visual the civilizations which its various de- their meaning in terms which the general public
partments reveal; on its special lectures, its story understands?
hours, its loan collections of prints and photographs A recent annual report of an art museum in one
and lantern slides, its facilities offered to commercial of the large cities of the United States, says:
firms in the field of applied art, on the outside lec- "An underlying characteristic of an Art Museum
turers who are invited to lecture in its auditorium like ours must be its attitude of conservatism, for
and on the lectures given by its staff to outside or- after all its first duty is to treasure the great achieve-
ganizations; and on the free chamber concerts given ments of men in the arts and sciences."
in the museum under the direction of David Mannes, Is that true? Is not another important duty to
which tend to dramatize the museum as a home of interpret the models of beauty which it possesses?
beauty. Yet that is not the whole of the problem. If the duty of the museum is to be active it must
It is not merely a question of making people study how best to make its message intelligible to
'146 147
Propaganda
Art and Science
the community which it serves. It must boldly as-
sume esthetic leadership. and Telegraph Company, the '\\Testern Electric Com-
As in art, so in science, both pure and applied. pany, the General Electric Company, the \Vesting-
Pure science was once guarded and fostered by house Electric Company and others have realized the
leanled societies and scientific associations. Now importance of scientific research. They have· also
pure science finds support and encouragement also understood that their ideas must be made intelligible
in industry. Many of the laboratories in which ab- to the public to be fully successful. Television,
stract research is being pursued are now connected broadcasting, loud speakers are utilized as propa-
with some large corporation, which is quite willing ganda aids.
to devote hundreds of thousands of dollars to scien- Propaganda assists in marketing new inventions.
tific study, for the sake of one golden invention or Propaganda, by repeatedly interpreting new scien-
discovery which may emerge from it. tific ideas and inventions to the public, has made the
Big business of course gains heavily when the in- public more receptive. Propaganda is accustoming
vention emerges. But at that very moment it the public to change and progress.
assumes the responsibility of placing the new inven-
tion at the service of the public. It assumes also the
responsibility of interpreting its meaning to the
public.
The industrial interests can furnish to the schools,
the colleges and the postgraduate university courses
the exact truth concerning the scientific progress of
our age. They not only can do so; they are under
obligation to do so. Propaganda as an instrument of
commercial competition has opened opportunities to
the inventor and given great stimulus to the research
scientist. In the last five or ten years, the successes
of some of the larger corporations have been so out-
standing that the whole field of science has received
a tremendous impetus. The American Telephone
148
The Mechanics of Propaganda
Instead there are numerous other media of com-
munication, some new, others old but so transformed
that they have become virtually new. The news-
CHAPTER XI
paper, of course, remains always a primary medium
THE MECHANICS OF PROPAGANDA for the trammission of opinions and ideas-in other
words, for propaganda.
THE media by which special pleaders transmit
It was not many years ago that newspaper editors
their messages to the public through propaganda in- resented what they called ((the use of the news col-
clude all the means by which people to-day transmit
umns for propaganda purposes." Some editors
their ideas to one another. There is no means of hu- would even kill a good story if they imagined its
man communication which may not also be a means
p~bli:ation might benefit anyone. This point of
of deliberate propaganda, because propaganda is
VI~W l~ now largely abandoned. To-day the leading
simply the establishing of reciprocal understanding edItorIal offices take the view that the real criterion
between an individual and a group. governing the publication or non-publication of mat-
The important point to the propagandist is that
ter which comes to the desk is its news value. The
the relative value of the various instruments of newspaper cannot assume, nor is it its function to
propaganda, and their relation to the masses, are assume, the responsibility of guaranteeing that what
constantly changing. If he is to get full reach for it publishes will not work out to somebody's interest.
his message he must take advantage of these shifts
The~e i~ hardly a single item in any daily paper, the
of value the instant they occur. Fifty years ago,
?~bhcatlOn of which does not, or might not, profit or
the public meeting was a propaganda instrument par Injure somebody. That is the nature of news. What
excellence. To-day it is difficult to get more than a the newspaper does strive for is that the news which
handful of people to attend a public meeting unless it publishes shall be accurate, and (since it must select
extraordinary attractions are part of the program. from the mass of news material available) that it
The automobile takes them away from home, the sha!l be of interest and importance to large groups
radio keeps them in the home, the successive daily of Its readers.
editions of the newspaper bring information to them In its editorial columns the newspaper is a per-
in office or subway, and also they are sick of the sonality, commenting upon things and events from its
ballyhoo of the rally. individual point of view. But in its news columns
151
Propaganda The Mechanics 0/ Propaganda
the typical modern American newspaper attempts to that will be commercially advantageous to the men
reproduce, with due regard to news interest, the out- who market them; if they consist of Henry Fords
standing events and opinions of the day. with epoch-making cars-then all this is news. The
It does not ask whether a given item is propaganda so-called flow of propaganda into the newspaper
or not. What is important is that it be news. And in offices of the country may, simply at the editor's dis-
the selection of news the editor is usually entirely cretion, find its way to the waste basket.
independent. In the New York Times-to take an The source of the news offered to the editor
outstanding example-news is printed because of its should always be clearly stated and the facts accu-
news value and for no other reason. The Times edi- rately presented.
tors determine with complete independence what is The situation of the magazines at the present
and what is not news. They brook no censorship. moment, from the propagandist's point of view, is
They are not influenced by any external pressure nor different from that of the daily newspapers. The
swayed by any values of expediency or opportunism. average magazine assumes no obligation, as the
The conscientious editor on every newspaper realizes newspaper does, to reflect the current news. It
that his obligation to the public is news. The fact of selects its material deliberately, in accordance with
its accomplishment makes it news. a continuous policy. It is not, like the newspaper,
If the public relations counsel can breathe the an organ of public opinion, but tends rather to be-
breath of life into an idea and make it take its place come a propagandist organ, propagandizing for a
among other ideas and events) it will receive the particular idea, whether it be good housekeeping, or
public attention it merits. There can be no question smart apparel, or beauty in home decoration, or de-
of his "contaminating news at it!! source." He creates bunking public opinion, or general enlightenment or
some of the day's events, which must compete in liberalism or amusement. One magazine may aim
the editorial office with other events. Often the to sell health; another, English gardens; another,
events which he creates may be specially acceptable fashionable men's wear; another, Nietzschean phi-
to a newspaper's public and he may create them with losophy.
that public in mind. In all departments in which the various magazines
If important things of life to-day consist of trans- specialize, the public relations counsel may play an
atlantic radiophone talks arranged by commercial important part. For he may, because of his dient's
telephone companies; if they consist of inventions interest, assist them to create the events which
152 153
Propaganda The illl echanics of Propaganda
further their propaganda. A bank, in order to em- radio will tend to be withdrawn trom the news-
phasize the importance of its women's department, paper.
may arrange to supply a leading women's magazine To what extent is the publisher alive to this new
with a series of articles and advice on investments phenomenon? It is bound to come close to American
written by the woman expert in charge of this de- journalism and publishing. Newspapers have recog-
partment. The women's magazine in turn will nized the advertising potentialities of the companies
utilize this new feature as a means of building addi- that manufacture radio apparatus, and of radio
tional prestige and circulation. stores, large and small; and newspapers have ac-
The lecture, once a powerful means of influencing corded to the radio in their news and feature col-
public opinion, has changed its value. The lecture umns an importance relative to the increasing atten-
itself may be only a symbol, a ceremony; its impor- tion given by the public to radio. At the same time,
tance, for propaganda purposes, lies in the fact that certain newspapers have bought radio stations and
it was delivered. Professor So-and-So, expounding linked them up with their news and entertainment
an epoch-making invention, may speak to five hun- distribution facilities, supplying these two features
dred persons, or only fifty. His lecture, if it is over the air to the public.
It is possible that newspaper chains will sell sched-
important, will be broadcast; reports of it will ap-
ules of advertising space on the air and on paper.
pear in the newspapers; discussion will be stimu-
Newspaper chains will possibly contract with adver-
lated. The real value of the lecture, from the
tisers for circulation on paper and over the air.
propaganda point of view, is in its repercussion to
There are, at present, publishers who sell space in
the general public.
the air and in their columns, but they regard the two
The radio is at present one of the most important
as separate ventures.
tools of the propagandist. Its future development Large groups, political, racial, sectarian, economic
is uncertain. or professional, are tending to control stations to
It may compete with the newspaper as an adver- propagandize their points of view. Or is it con-
tising medium. Its ability to reach millions of per- ceivable that America may adopt the English licens-
sons simultaneously naturally appeals to the adver- ing system under which the listener, instead of the
tiser. And since the average advertiser has a limited advertiser, pays?
appropriation for advertising, money spent on the Whether the present system is changed, the ad-
154 155
Propaganda The Mechanics 0/ Propaganda
vertiser-and propagandist-must necessarily adapt a personality to typify a conspicuous corporation or
himself to it. Whether, in the future, air space will enterprise.
be sold openly as such, or whether the message will There is a story that a great financier discharged
reach the public in the form of straight entertain- a partner because he had divorced his wife.
ment and news, or as special programs for particular «But what," asked the partner, «have my private
groups, the propagandist must be prepared to meet affairs to do with the banking business?"
the conditions and utilize them. "If you are not capable of managing your own
wife," was the reply, ('the people will certainly be-
The American motion picture is the greatest un-
lieve that you are not capable of managing their
conscious carrier of propaganda in the world to-day.
money."
It is a great distributor for ideas and opinions.
The motion picture can standardize the ideas and The propagandist must treat personality as he
habits of a nation. Because pictures are made to would treat any other objective fact within his
proV1l1ce.
meet market demands, they reflect, emphasize and
A personality may create circumstances, as Lind-
even exaggerate broad popular tendencies, rather
bergh created good will between the United States
than stimulate new ideas and opinions. The motion
and Mexico. Events may create a personality, as
picture avails itself only of ideas and facts which
the Cuban War created the political figure of Roose-
are in vogue. As the newspaper seeks to purvey
velt. It is often difficult to say which creates the
news, it seeks to purvey entertainment.
other. Once a public figure has decided what ends
Another instrument of propaganda is the person-
he wishes to achieve, he must regard himself objec-
ality. Has the device of the exploited personality
tively and present an outward picture of himself
been pushed too far? President Coolidge photo-
which is consistent with his real character and his
graphed on his vacation in full Indian regalia in
alms.
company with full-blooded chiefs, was the climax of
There are a multitude of other avenues of ap-
a greatly over-reported vacation. Obviously a pub-
proach to the public mind, some old, some new as
lic personality can be made absurd by misuse of the
television. No attempt will be made to discuss each
very mechanism which helped create it.
one separately. The school may disseminate infor-
Yet the vivid dramatization of personality will
mation concerning scientific facts. The fact that a
always remain one of the functions of the public
commercial concern may eventually profit from a
relations counseL The public instinctively demands
156 157
propaganda The Mechanics of Propaganda
widespread un'derstanding of its activities because of new standards. If it becomes weary of the old
this does not condemn the dissemination of such in- methods used to persuade it to accept a given idea
formation, provided that the subject merits study or commodity, its leaders will present their appeals
on the part of the students. If a baking corporation more intelligently.
contributes pictures and charts to a schoo~ to show Propaganda will never die out. Intelligent men .
how bread is made, these propaganda activities, "if must realize that propaganda is the modern instru-
they are accurate and candid, are in no way repre- ment by which they can fight for productive ends
hensible, provided the school authorities accept or re- and help to bring order out of chaos.
ject such offers carefully on their educational merits.
It may be that a new product will be announced
to the public by means of a motion picture of a
parade taking place a thousand miles away. Or the
manufacturer of a new jitney airplane may person- THE END
ally appear and speak in a million homes through
radio and television. The man who would most
effectively transmit his message to the public must
be alert to make use of all the means of propaganda.
Undoubtedly the public is becoming aware of the
methods which are being used to mold its opinions
and habits. If the public is better informed about
the processes of its own life, it will be so much the
more receptive to reasonable appeals to its own in-
terests. No matter how sophisticated, how cynical the
public may become about publicity methods, it must
respond to the basic appeals, because it will always
need food, crave amusement, long for beauty, re-
spond to leadership.
If the public becomes more intelligent in its com-
mercial demands, commercial firms will meet the
I58 I59