The position taken by Commissioner J. Q. Emery of Wisconsin and his followers, who are vigorously attacking the use of benzoate of soda is: "If there is any doubt as to the harmfulness of chemicals in food the public should have the benefit of the doubt."
The Form of the Interview. The interview, as a
statement made to one man, the reporter, instead of to
a number of persons, as in the case of a speech, may
have practically the same kind of beginning as the
address or report. Owing to the interest in the man interviewed
his name frequently begins the story, but as
what he says is likewise of value, some form of beginning
that gives his opinions can also be used advantageously.
Although in an interview all of the information
is obtained from the person interviewed in
response to the reporter's questions, it is not necessary
or generally desirable to include these questions in the
written story of the interview. Readers are interested
in the statements of the person interviewed, not in the
reporter's questions or actions. When a man refuses to
give any information by declaring in response to questions
that he has nothing to say, it may be desirable as
a matter of news to give the reporter's questions and
the man's non-committal answers. Generally, however,
neither the reporter nor his questions and remarks are
given a place in the story of an interview. The following
examples illustrate the application to interviews of
some of the forms suggested for speeches and reports:
(1)
"Two-cent letter postage between
the United States and England is a
business proposition which should
have been put into effect twenty years
ago," was the comment of John Wanamaker,
former postmaster general,
on the adoption of the reduced rate.
