New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1850-08-30
NETWORK TRIBUNE.
THE AMERICAN PRESS.
IFouI0 Arl<I.l

l VehhhshLc nc iouONug pGa9rapu ION nc
article On Newspapers and Periodicals ia the with
volume Of BroekAsHs's Concentrations Lerieoa, pab-
hshed st Leipzig in ls4s;
The Ergsh Nsvrpsper Press Is ths most 5orza ard
comprehensive In E1rope IN tue1enes
already far exceeded By hat Of The Uned STATES d S0r
America Nowhere n The work are Eevspspe1 90 mi.
eerss OnnTOsct Ia respect Of everything hat takes
place. cy OF GOO tnh4birs1 which EnyiEnd would
Dot support paper o. Ia owl al Il An-rics vii have
Daily ees Of ~ ooo which IN Eusland eoatsus them
selves win SEMI Weekly Weekly papers, IN Amer
ca three four Daiies The number Of copies OF News
papers distributed In Great Britain ard Ireland IN lS7 10
reckored q rs efa while IN Anericsh exceeded l2oo
go The support Of 90 enormous namber Of papers IA poe
sele America aside from he genera Interest poes
through her eheapuefs IL Daily Ofe srst elass
highest y yea, while the Loadon daily papers ssove
81; may respectable daily journals s. others
Indeed crly s. through the Of the advertisements
hey pabsb, and through The freedom Of ADVERTISE
neus from every sort Of The character Of he Aner-
osnPress cannot be sad 10 be worthy respect The rage
Of parties DO, only spares personality bat makes the
most abundant OF Les and tlsndeTs here IN America
hardly man Of deserts great morals pure that the
Press have branded him nos miserable and con
seupube Villain For hts tue, Bishop White
SSd, hat In America b destroyed By calanny
Ever greater han i Osenses sgAinsg morals
RACES good taste Of which The American Pren guilty
Mere receuy snes Of horoug and vsnocs culture
ard honorable Character have become publishers Of News
pspes he American PrssS ia go far improved that uum
Der Ct papers hAyo assumed bearing In every respect
ereditsbe"
The writer then goes on TO mention among the
papers Of the highest reputation. The Gazette in
Philadelphia, The Tribune in NeE.York The
Erening Post, edited by Bryant, The Commercial
AdvetiseT, edited from 1927 70 1892 by Sands, The
Louisville Journal edited by Prentice, &c. &c.
showing that bis sources Of formation, though not
always the most recent, are yet accurate for the
time to which they refer.
Taking the American Press as a whole, il must
be admitted that il does not always exhibit that
perfect regard for truth which is desirable in state
ments made by Newspapers as well as by individ-
usla We have 10 desire to excuse this great
fault which, we are happy to agree with the above
writer is diminishing. Still il is one which must
exist to greater or less extent as long a. there
are political parties or party contests. 1t proceeds
in great measure from the wholesome custom OF
oyeThsuling the actions Of men who presume 10
claim ,Le confidence of the people. When q man
becomes candidate for President, or Congress-
man. be challenges investigation into bis character
and authorizes the publication Of every fact in bis
history which can have bearing upon his honesty
and capacity. The zeal Of his opponents is sum
mOned to show every reason why he should no: be
elected In many cases, going beyond the truth,
they make use Of lies and ISLANDERS this is the
abuse and may sometimes accomplish the temper
AIRY end for which il was designed But such
tlseboods, as Bishop White remarks, rarely, if
ever, work any permanent injury TO the reputa-
tons against which they are directed. Prominent
men frequently suffer political humiliation, but il is
only the truth which has such an effect. The PEG
pie sooner later render justice and their verdict
outlves the strife Of parties and the perversions
Of heated antagonists. A thousand times better
such probing and discussion even with the stmos,
abuse thereof yet hibited in this republic than
the hypocritical silence as to the faults and crimes
Of public and rulers, such as has in times past
existed in those stagnEnt countries against whose
journals the above writer could bring such &C
cusstion.
We do not think an uncommon indulgence in
personal attacks upon merely private citizens
sbe charged upon the American press Certainly,
the public at large look with no favor upon such
Outrsger and those journals Of the Satanic School
which fatten on the garbage Of SANDER and scandal
cannot Justly be regarded As other than excep-
sonal excrescences. Nor do we suppose thom 10 be
worse than similar publications in England. In
any country, where there is Liberty OF the Press,
90 long - social Institutions and influences remain
essentially the same as now, the benefits Of tina.
Liberty must be accompanied by some evils. IA
70 this IL 10 enough 10 say that the former infinitely
outweigh the latter and indeed, are an indispens-
abe means 20 their extinction. Besides,-though
IL il no excuse for our sins that worse ones are
elsewhere perpetated,-it MAY be worth while
10 observe that no quantity Of lies, SANDER and
abuse ever INDUCED in by American journals, can I
match what the past two years have produced ia
such papers as the Augsburg AAgeneise Zei'
sung Paris Cosstitutionnei, Patre, Assemblte Ma /
h0nale, and the London Tines and other prominent
journals Of England The cslumnies they have
steadily heaped upon the revolutionary democrats I
Of Europe during this period far sarpsss in iagen-
atty Of invention and bitterness OF malice anything
ever witnessed in the most excited Presidential
or other contest in this country. We do not say
that the Democrats on their side have always
been guiluess in this respect excited party spirit
rarely is so; still il is true and noteworthy that
they have exhibited comparatively little of party
spirit They have been inspired by broad and ex-
,ted IDEAS. not by personal aninosties against .
their adverssries and, when the latter have fallen
into their hands. have often tres.ed them with
sublime, If not always polite, ioTbeaancs
Vast as has been the increase Of population 10 .
the United States, and the development OF every
kind Of material resources during the last sen
years. the increue In the number Of newspapers
has fully kept pace WIKI il. In 1910, according TO .
reliable estimates, there were in tns whole coan- .
Try from l,4oo to 1000 now there are not less
than $500. and some Of the best judges estimate
the number as high as 5000. Al any rate 1t