CHAPTER II.

THE DEMORALIZATION OF THE PRESS.

During that first period of its existence, while the newspaper remained the faithful advocate of the eternal truths of human liberty and progress, and the medium of truthful news from all parts of the world, it was a great public blessing. It then had no essential connection with the publisher, who was only expected to have a talent for the organization of news-gathering, and the editorial columns. were open to the most learned men and scholars of the age for comments upon all new discoveries, reforms, and other matters of public concern; but as the circulation of the newspapers extended,- partly owing to an increased desire of the people for the latest news, and partly to the introduction of business advertisements, and as their proprietors thus grew rich and powerful, it occurred to them to increase their power by making the newspaper not only a vehicle for news, but also for partisan comment upon all questions. This was especially notable in those countries that encouraged opposing political parties, like France, England, and the United States.

Thus the owner of an established journal would increase the circulation of his paper by permitting it to become the "organ" of a political party, or some ambitious partisan would purchase or set up a newspaper to communicate his views and direct the judgment and opinions of the multitude for his own aggrandizement; both parties accomplishing their objects under the impersonal name and character of a "Globe," "Post," "World," "Times," "Enquirer," "Argus," etc.

When this state of things began to develop itself, the issuing of pamphlets, wherein important political questions could be discussed in a thorough and statesmanlike manner, gradually ceased, and in their place came the flippant, abusive, scurrilous, and irresponsible "editorial." It is only in France that this department retained character and responsibility, in the requirement of having the author's name attached to every article.

In Great Britain and the United States, however, the editorial was used to a great extent simply as a party instrument; and, as its license grew by toleration, became soon a means whereby to vent all the

personal favoritism or malice which the proprietor or his friends might entertain towards any one of any party.

The inherent love of scandal, of reading vile charges against a neighbor, which animates all base characters, lent a support to this department of the newspaper, and in course of time made it a prominent feature. The paper now was read, not so much for the news it contained as for the malice of its editorials, or the spitefulness of its local paragraphs. Private life became grossly and indecently exposed to public animadversion in the press, and the most insignificant scribbler of items usurped the power to make a sensitive person's existence insupportable, and to destroy the best man's reputation by continued scurrilous mention. This sort of newspaper poisoning and assassination has grown so common, and is carried on so audaciously by mendacious, blackmailing, piratical newspaper buccaneers, that nowadays our noblest minds and best scholars shrink from entrance into public life as from a pest-house.

Whenever a growing despotism or monopoly intends to usurp powers that are granted to no individual person, it hides its serpent's coils under the mask of an assumed impersonal name. The editors of this class of newspapers found this impersonal feature ready at hand in the title of their organs. This feature they therefore retained and impressed into their use. It was no longer the individual Mr. A. or B. who uttered an opinion upon matters modestly over his own name, but an impersonal oracle, a Mercury," or " 'Sun," or "Independent," that thundered forth its denunciations with the tone of an inspired prophet, and as the legitimate and recognized expounder of universal public opinion.

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The unknown always excites fear; all superstition has its root in, and thrives upon this cowardly fear of the unknown. Now, the newspaper has become, in its worst specimens, very similar in its terrors to such an unknown power, - of uttering, in grandiloquent phrases, its hurtful praise, its ill-considered judgments, its slanders of good men, and its personal malice.

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One needs but to turn over some of the specimens of this class of papers of the past, and glance at the venomous slanders and scandals raised against Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Paine, Adams, Jackson, Webster, Calhoun, Clay, Benton, and others of our noblest patriots, to realize the extent of shamelessness to which this was carried on, even in the early times of newspaper development.

Nor was there any redress; for if any outraged person appealed to the law for protection, the newspapers of this class, however much opposed to each other before, straightway combined to raise a hue and cry against the injured man, as one who would interfere with the "liberty of the press!"

For this impersonal title of "the press" had been invented and was now used to cover the multitudinous impersonalities of all newspapers whatsoever, uniting them, for popular effect, under one general organization, claiming immunity from all control of the law; and thus a few publishers and editors of that class-few in comparison with the millions of other citizens were gradually allowed to usurp a license and tyranny which has become one of the most distressing features of our age. Not only does it deter the wisest and purest men of our nation from entering into public life, but it enables demagogues to take State and Federal offices, upon pledges that they will support the monopolists, the party, and "the press."

In monarchical countries the governments no sooner became aware of the despotism of "the press " than they hastened to check it by an exercise of their own tyrannic power, either by suppressing the newspapers altogether, or by establishing a censorship over them. As a further protection, they have frequently established official newspapers of their own.

But in our country the worst class of such newspapers have had the broadest scope for mischief imaginable; each party organ endeavoring, to the best of its ability, to misrepresent the actual news, or facts, when considered adverse to its own interests or the interests of its supporters, and imposing upon its readers by the assumption of the royal "WE," as if it were the sole organ of "the press." At the same time the indiscriminate publication of all sorts of so-called news, consisting chiefly of reports of immoral fictions, of adultery, seductions, rapes, robberies, and murders, has had such a tendency to deprave the minds of the people, brutalize their tastes, familiarize them with crime, and confuse their moral judgments, as to excite the liveliest apprehensions of all good men, parents, and guardians concerning its demoralizing effects upon the rising generation.

True, there have been at all times, and now are, many noble exceptions in "the press," just as there are among the money and railway despots; but I have described the general system of partisan publication, it being the object of this work to expose all forms of

despotism and monopoly, and their principal agencies, under whatever cloak they may try to hide themselves.

To what extent the evils attendant upon this form of abuse of public intercommunication by "the press can be checked and punished by law, is a question that deserves the most serious consideration of every friend of genuine individual freedom; for only by its effective check can each individual be secured in that sanctity of private life which to most people is of the most inestimable value. This is not the place to point out what legal methods might be employed, and these historical and critical remarks have been made simply with a view to introduce to public consideration an important affirmative duty of a rational State organization. I may, however, point out one such method: a means which is, in fact, prescribed by the duty of perfecting the public intercommunication between its citizens by the publication of daily official newspapers, so as to furnish them an authentic history of the events of each day, without editorial comments, and without any charge or expense to the citizens.

CHAPTER III.

A DAILY NATIONAL NEWSPAPER.

It is the duty of government to make known all its laws, official and judicial decisions, and public proceedings, at the earliest possible moment, to all its citizens, since no one should be required to obey laws of which he has had no reasonable opportunity to inform himself. And when the government assumes, as I propose it should, control of all the methods of transmitting news, it becomes a duty for it to make known to the citizens at once all the news communicated from any part of the world.

Government ought not to leave this important branch of intercommunication to private citizens or monopolies, whose self-interest or corrupt motives may.be in direct opposition to the welfare of the people; partly for its own sake, since it is primarily interested in a continuous and reliable transmission of news from all parts of the world, and partly because it is bound to protect the people against false information or imposition on matters so important to their gen

eral welfare. Besides, as under the system of government advanced in this work, the national government would obtain exclusive and absolute control of the telegraph, it alone could guarantee the correctness of the news received by that great medium of transmitting information; and yet it could do this vastly cheaper than it is possible to do it under the present system.

The government of the United States should, therefore, establish a daily newspaper publication, by means of which to make known to all citizens: firstly, all measures, decisions, laws, proceedings, and accounts of its various departments, so that no one can plead ignorance of their existence or be debarred from the strictest scrutiny into their nature; and, secondly, all the news that may be transmitted by mail or telegraph to the various departments of the government.

By such a daily publication, all the official acts of our government and of foreign governments concerning the public interests; all stock quotations, prices of products, etc.; each new financial regulation; every change in the money-issue; all new laws made, or proposed to be made; all acts, decisions, measures, and proceedings of the various departments, offices, and bureaus; all governmental contracts; all accounts of expenses, classified for publication at stated intervals; all sales of public lands, of property, etc.; all patent-rights granted, extended, or renewed; all advertisements of contracts; the weekly imports and exports, and other matters appertaining to the administration of our public affairs, would be accurately communicated to the public at large in the most authentic and prompt manner. Moreover, all the scientific discoveries of the universities, academies of science, State and National institutions, etc.; all reports of weather, of electric and magnetic phenomena; of scientific, educational, hygienic, and commercial news, analytically classified and indexed at stated periods, would thus be made immediately and generally known.

We

This daily newspaper would thus become, of necessity, the vehicle of publishing annual official statistics for the whole United States. The last census has abundantly shown—if it had not been known before - that a ten-year census is an absurdity, especially for a nation so growing and expansive as that of the United States. need a census every year; and if the national government undertakes such a census, the several States, their counties, cities, and schooldistricts, may be very advantageously relieved of a useless and financially oppressive burden.