The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1843-05-23
NEW YORK. TUESDAY MORNING. MAY 49, 1s43.
The Great Newspaper War between Eu-
rope and America.
IFrom the London Qu.rt.rly Review ]

<dTt h1l-l Inc NfD YORK morning Courier ana
Enquirer: The NeW York Herald October TO Fs
brnarv, 1912 3.
2. Les Amfricains en- Europe, ct les Emopems amr
Et,ts Unis. Ame leans IN Europe, and Europeans
des Dsur Mondes, February, 1913 Paris ISi3
3. Les Etots- Unis Sonvsnirs dun Voya gem. che
Uni6d States: Recohections Of a 7raodier) Par
M is,dore Lo,c'nstern. Paris AMI Ieipsic. 1912
A. The North american RepieU for January, 1913.
Boston, U. S.
We have reason to be satisfied with the effect of
our article of last October, on the Newspapers of
the United States 1t has been, in the first place,
understood oy those whom it concerned, and com
plimented with that calm Indifference and philoso-
phlc contempt, which were lavshed by Sheridan's
hero on the villainous, licentious, abominabe in
fernal Review, that had been written upon him. In
other quarters, 1t has been met with guarded
doubts, with well meant remonstrance, with ii mid
comparisons and questlOnings, and with agreement
founded on an honest examination of the facts and
reasons that we offered In all it has involved OF
necessity, more or less, discussion Of the nuisance
1t exposed.
Thisis the main advantage. And for this we re-
turn to subject only more important than hateful,
since 1t forces us, whatever the tone we adopt, to
admit at any rate the continued existence of
power, enormous In proportion to the absence OF
every quality which inspires respect. Power,
founded on the junction OF literary incOmpetency,
with moral indecency, and deriving its means O.
support from nothing save scandal. SANDER wretch
ed rlbaldry, and ruffanly abuse, is the hum atng
antagonist against which we enter the field You
cannot afford, with justice to all that is at stake TO
desplse such an atagonst; for you cannot treat
with the same contempt the masses who listen to
him, and Of whose blind lusts and ignorance his in
fuence is composed. You may tear to pieces and
trample under foot single number of the New
York Herald or the New York Courier and En-
qIirer, but at that very instant, there are tens of
thousands reading that very number of either jour
nal, and deriving from it all the satisfaction which
large classes OF men will never cease to take, IN the
qualification OF their ignorance or of their evil as
| sions.
| "Does any ,cell-educated man in America read
,hese RaGeTs ,gn ,se is 1hs strange question OF
| what has respect to do with il ? Does any well
| educated man enter gambling house, or a
brothe or any other scene of vice, with respect for
| the inmates he looks to find there Far from it.
II more than probable if he has any feeling at all,
that he hates himself for going. but he goes and
the ofener he goes, we viii answer for it, the less
he fluids necessary TO trouble his head with notions
| of respect" of any kind. And this is what we
| charge upon these newspapers, as not the least
| frighttul mischief that is in them. They level to
an undistnguishable mass, the educated, the igno-
rant, and the base. They drive into bad direc-
| ton all the forces of society, which, if personal
liberty is to be preserved or the rights of individual
thought and opinion respected, ought to be engaged
In counteractlng each other Democracy is little
| understood, 1t this Is supposed to be democracy.
II lsa state OF equal and universal slavery the ty-
ranny to which all are subject, being that of press
| the most Infamous on earth.
| Topretend that such condition of things must
flow matter of course from the institutions of
America, can blind only the most thouxhtless
The 'Times" argues ably for all its opinions, but
omits an Important element in the consideration
| OF this. The government and society of America
cannot be assumed to have as yet taken permanent
| shape On the great experiment which lie going for
| ward there-'he right OF any one broadly and finally
| to pronounce, Is lar from having yet begun In the
present stage. of it, we must still maintain, the
| character OF the people is distinctly at stake
| than the character OF the institutions Nothing
seems SO dangerous to pallate the social delin.
nj AD.aV1 thn f0f ol.,.
PERTINENT unless 1t Is the danger of making forms of
government of any kind responsible for what lies in
| direction too deep to be amenable to them. Co.
vernment IN that sense is much to be considered
| but sel-government, In every form Of society, is
also worth considering; since without it, the other,
though cast IN the perfect mould of absolute wis
dom, will avail surprisingly little. The existing
constitution OF America has not yet outIived the
test OF fifty years. and for every vice and failing oil
tho peo1le we are asked to make this fraction OF
| lme acct untable!
Will those who require us to do so, point out the
example in history OF political constitution framed
this rapid ex-cahdra fashion, and turning out o.
greater account than the paper II was written on
| Will they furnish us an example Of constitution or
form of government OF any kind whatsoev er which
had within II an element OF permanence-to which
the habirs the duties the rights the capabilities OF
| the people governed, had in any manner found it
| possible to accommodate themselves-and which
has not been in every case the work of time, and
in a still greater and more important degree the
work of the people themselves ? Admitting here,
then that the final issue still waits to be developd
BY time, it is on the latter ground we for the pre-
sent take our stand We say that with no effort to
che ck the influence which running riot in
America, the chances of that great society being ul-
timatey gathered together under any set OF po-
lIica institutions, we care not oil what descr ton,
| are extremely remote and problematical. Why, II
they had upon their hands, if they had threa-
tening and troublesome neighbors, nay, it tn y had
| their millions of ill governed, starving poor, cla-
| moring for instruction and for bread, we do be-
lieve that their chances of existence one people
| would be greater than they now Frightful as
we must think these penalties and vices from which
older countries suffer, the least some centre of
/ resistance would of necessity evolve itself from
| them to what now overrides the Misunderstanding all
that is of elevating tendency, everywhere establish
| ing like narrow prejudlces and foul passions max.
| ing one mean view and example of mankind uni
versaI and predominant, and silencing an indepen.
| dent thought wherever it would make itself known
No government, no society, can long exist with such
| power as this abroad, subject to no control. We
quite prepared to have it said that we exagger
| ate we say what we believe to be true.
In remark on our socaIled exaggeration, the
| "Westmnster Review valves any advantage de-
rvabe from its exposure, and asserts that even Ia
king il a fair description of the newspaper press
of America, the attempted to be set up signay
fails, And why We say" says the &c Westmin
/ ster Review" that the moral tone of the Ameri-
can press is not so iow as that of the newspaper
/ stamped press OF our own country, with honorable
exceptions" The reviewer is at pains to repeat the
assertion, and to have understand that it is made
deliberately" He adds that he has carefully" ex-
amined file OF the 6 New York Herald" the pa
per especially referred to the woret in the United
States, and found it, bad it is reer from gross
obscenities and ribac jests than either the -,
the -, or the -, papers circulated extern
svely here among the. higher classes and its per-
sonal abuse OF political opponents not greater than
that of almost any one of our Tory journals"
We do not g the names of the papers thus spe-
clay put forward because the third, though Of DO.
litical opinions with which cannot sympathize,
| is conducted with perfect deccncy and honor, and
is pretence, save of most reckless disregard
/ of truth, to be cassed with that literature of the
gambling house and u brohel" which we did
| not fail 10 denounce when entered first upon this
subject, and of which the other two journals named
are the admitted representatives. Ii is important
TO notice that what we must call the design of indis
j Grimm civ hrpainG WiIhip the dcGrada