PERNICIOUS JOURNALISM.

Overconfidence has ruined very many fine plans. As in football, so in war, the side which becomes too sure of itself, or too contemptuous of its foe, is due for a fall. The natural result or our six months in the conflict, without appreciable casualties, without seeing the power of the enemy, and without the stimulating influence of a Zeppelin raid, is to create a feeling that we have an easy path before us. Newspapers have enlarged this misconception. Stories of the remarkable strides being made by our troops, of compliments paid to them, and of German prisoners' surprise at seeing so many, are printed frequently and read widely. Stories of an opposite character are seldom even printed. The result on the average person can be none other than to elevate the untried American army above its experienced foes and allies.

A certain Boston paper reaches the height of tactlessness, to use a considerate word, in publishing large headlines to the effect that a member of the Reichstag has declared Germany cannot win against the United States. To print this so prominently amounts to saying, "Stay at home, boys; keep your money in your pockets. The Kaiser is afraid of us and wants to quit." Privileges of the press may permit this, but a reasonable sense of patriotism does not. Such a sacrifice of common sense for sensationalism, by creating an unfounded feeling of security and contempt, endangers loan campaigns, recruiting agencies, and our mere nucleus of an army.