"But I find plenty of advertising in the papers and magazines."
"Certainly—it is a great convenience. Have you studied it?"
I had to own that I had not particularly—I never did like advertising.
"You'll find it worth reading. In the first place it's all true."
"How do you secure that?"
"We have made lying to the public a crime—don't you remember? Each community has its Board of Standards; there is a constant effort to improve standards you see, in all products; and expert judgment may always be had, for nothing. If any salesman advertises falsely he loses his job, if he's an official; and is posted, if he's selling as a private individual. When the public is told officially that Mr. Jones is a liar it hurts his trade."
"You have a Government Press?"
"Exactly. The Press is pre-eminently a public function—it is not and never was a private business—not legitimately."
"But you do have private papers and magazines?"
"Yes indeed, lots of them. Ever so many personal 'organs,' large and small. But they don't carry advertising. If enough people will buy a man's paper to pay him, he's quite free to publish."