M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1856-07-17
July 7th, 1855.

We nave Deen pleased Win tne general appear
ance and conduct of the Democrat since It has
been in the hands Of its present conductors, obi.
Gus as its politics are to u.s. We shall cheerfully
avail ourselves Of any corrections 1t may make O
any misstatements offact that may find their way
into our columns so far as they 90 towards elicit
iting the truth We would suggest, however, Il
our Macarthur neighbors, that characterizng or
opponent rs a"liar" and "no honorable man,
is not the most courteous or gentlemanly way oI
commencing even newspaper controversy, and
that the free use Of such epithets has tendency
by no means, to dignity the press in the eyes OF
the public. People are prone TO attribute them,
too, 10 o dearth Of facts and arguments in their
authors, as the latter are generally considered
preferable weapons in controversy Ahsens
Messenger.
In reply to the "suggestion' of the Mes
senger, will state in the first place, that we
do not desire controversy with any paper,
But, as the Messenger circulates in a region
in which we have some few subscribers, we
deem it our duty to correct any misstate-
ments ofthat paper, in order that our patrons
may be ready to set those right whom the
Messenger may lead astray, or who may, in
argument with our Democratic friends quote
the Messenger to sustain their positions
Again, we deem it our duty to brand the
stale ISLANDERS upon our candidate as they
deserve, for the reason that they were long
ago refuled and put to rest by Mr.. Buchanan
himself. The editor Of the Messenger ad-
mits that he never believed the "ten cents
a-day" story, and that it appeared in his pa
per without his knowledge or consent AZ
ter such confession we shall of course cx-
honerate our cotemporary from blame in Civ.
ing that slander currency.
But the Messenger has become wonder.
fully dignifed. In the above extract it kind
ly suggests that epithets are not courteous
that "People ore prone to attribute them
to dearth of facts and arguments in their
authors" &c. In the leading article of the
same paper, we find that the Messenger ap-
plies to James Buchanan some dozen or
more ePithets, without a single fact to sus.
tain them! Whether "dearth of facts and
arguments" in the author was the cause of
this astounding collapse of'dignity' ;, the read
er mayjudge for himselfWe confess that the
lndiscriminate and gener al use of epithets
does not tend to dignity the press, and we
submit to the judgment of every impartial
mind, whether the Black Republican Jour-
nails for two years past have been adding to
the "dgnity the Press.' Has not denun-
citation and epthets been their forte Have
they not rent the air with their approbrious
epithets? Has not the President of the
United States been abused and villifed, and
Senators denounced as scoundrels who
deserved hanging Are not facts distorted
and exaggerated and actions misreprsented,
and wholesale fabricatons sent all over the
land cooperate against the Democratic par
ty! Do we not hear on the stump, in the
street, and see reiterated in the Black Re-
publican Journals these false accusations
and bare-faced fabrcations, after their cor
rection and refutation ! And must we keep
eternally correcting and refuting them by
publishing the facts in extenso, and dealing
with them as simple mistakes9 We'tell
the Messenger once, for all, that to treat
the authors of such unmitigated falsehoods
as honorable men, and to speak of their
Roorbacks as we would of the productions
ofgentlemcn, would be comforting a dignity
on the press which we, for one most respect
( ully decline to give it!
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