The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-01-06
To TIE Editors of The Southern Prxss.

To the Editors of the Southern Press.
Truth they say, lies in a nell /; ergo-Truth lies.
GENTLEMEN: Nothing in this AnnHs MIR
abitis, has astonished me more than the hardi-
hood of the intelligent and witty member from
Louisiana, in publicly expressing his opinion that
the newspaper press had degcnerted within tho
last ten years. have heard Of men attacking
bee-hives, hornets nests, rattle snake dens, wild
cats, grissly bears, and alligators, and even
plunging head foremost into chapparal but
this is nothing compared with an attack on the
great privileged order of newspaper editors, who,
everybody knows, are by long prescription en-
titled to the exclusive monopoly of deciding not
only on their own merits, but on those of other
people.
Did not this most imprudent representative Of
the Snccharine State, know that neither st.
George nor any other saint, christian or pagan,
ever encountered dragon with so many mouths
spouting fire and birthstone! Did nc not know
that every edtor-yourselves excepted re-
porter, letter writer cOmpositor and printers
devil, is er-oticio, patriot, sage, law-giver,
nothing of the past, he can sec AS clearly into
the milestone of the future as mole under
ground WA the indiscrcet member ignorant
that the moment he commences the exercise of
hisrega functions, Sir Editor becomes by divine
right, or divine inspiration, qualified to decide
without appeal on all measures not only of his
own government but every other in christen-
dom To weigh the merits Of every public
man to scruple, ard place him on the proper
shelf among the rest Of the pewter plates and
dishes! TO point out the latent faults and
beauties Of pictures, though he never saw one,
except the likeness of Thomas Dilworth or
Noah Webster in spelling book, or those of
Washington, and La Fayette on sign post
To settle the point of precedence between Ma
lbran and Jenny Lind, though he never heard
any minstrel, except an owl in the woods, or
cracked fiddle at a training To scan the elias
steal perfection of n master piece of Grecnough
or Pow crs, though he never saw specimen of
carving beyond the wooden image of a little ne
gro at the door ola tobacconsts shopl And
lastly, to dssect with stone Ratchet, or hand
saw, all compositions in poetry, science, philoso-
| ply, and polite literature though the extent of
his scholarship is limited to smattering of bad
English, and of his reading, TO the correction of
his own leaders!
Did not this prcdestined victim, who has thus
sold himself to at least five hundred baskets full
of bohtail devils incarnate, know that the men,
bers of this privileged order, are also er-otfcio
entitled to the right of free warren at every
theatre, concert, museum, and puppet show ;
and that single puff is considered an equivalent
for tickets for his whole family, together with
few Of his particular friends! Was he so de-
plorably ignorant as not to know, that there is
not one of those, be he editor Of paper Of the
size of n blanket, or SIX by eight inches, bu' is
capable of making great man out of cheese
pairing, giant out Of General Tom Thumb, or
prodigy out Of a monster! In short did he
not know, that The liberty Of the press carries
with it carte blanche, cxempting the happy pos
SCISSOR from all the petty obligations of truth,
candor, and deccncy, and that he may lie as
much as the good Of his party requires, without
isolating the higher law, or the conscientious
scruples, and without confining himself TO mere
political leng which Is an art that merits an
analysis, If | had space for it in this letter. I
must, therefore, leave it to some of the great
masters, who will not name, lest those whom
] might chance to omit should complain Of be-
ing neglected.
The member from Louisiana might better
have run on the snags, sawycrs, and sand banks
of the Mississippi, or placed himself at the
mouth Of crevassc, rather than attack this aw.
fnl enemy AIMED with more quilts than the
iretful porcnpine" But like bold men mon
who dare to speak the truth though the heavens
should fall; and as the odds ape 80 fearful
agai ,st hun, hereby offer ny Sseble aid, should
il be necessary. lf the assistance Of an o.
creyhsard, who wears short breech..cs ~, on,
at the elbows, armed with sIing and a stone
can do him any good. I am at his service.
ma'o''in with Mr. Mor,r, that the new spare,