The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-05-10


We took the position that while tho metropolitan
secular press had becc gradually improving in Its
moral tone, and while there was good reason to
believe that the efsect Of this oxAzsp}e upon the
religious press wo~aA be most salutary, the press
es Of the cities above named seemed to vie with
each other In bestiality. Certain circumstances
gave the puritanioal city Of Boston reemiAenoe
in the disgusting race. Tho courts Of Boston
and vicinity have been engaged, for the past six
weeks, In trying the most disgusting cats over
known. The journals Of Boston, almost without
exception, gave the evidence in full placing par
ticular emphasis ettorially upon TIE dntieet de-
tails All these detailswere greediiy snapped up
and reproduced in the journals Of the other ptO-
vincial cities. Whyt Simply because the pro-
vAcial editors lack the ability tact and industry
repaired to make a really good newspapr-a
journal which shall give the news Of the day, with
sound unbiased, independent editorial commeats
upon the same; and they eagerly sie4e upoa mat
tr which ministers to the depraved appetites Ola
portion Of their readers hoping thereby 10 mako
TIE paper cell and conceal their own deficiencies
ut the same time. We were not at all surprised
ii she greed Of the Boston papers for obscene
matter, or at the voraclty displayed BY portion
of tho public in swallowing it, for when Jour
again to rise. We were prepared for the extra
ordinary statement Of the leader Of the
Boston bar, who told the jury in the Dalton
divorce case that Irritation such as his
client was proved to have participated In
was common thing among the higher GLASSES Of
through with the honeymoon, made practice Of
meeting strange young men In the street, arrang-
ing designations at cafes riding with their lovers
to hotels In the suburbs, remaining with them In
private rooms during several hours, and enoourag-
Ing amorous correspondence. We were not sur
prised to know that the topic In drawing room
conversation at Boston WAS how far married
woman might go with lover not her husband,
and keep within the nnits of the Law, and that
young ladies hardly in their teens pronounce
opinions upon the question no< to be surpassed
in accurate knowledge Of the Law and the facts
by the judicial luminary whs presides on the
Supreme Bench.
We traced all this to its proper source-ths
local press In order to sell few hundred papers,
the Journalists of Boston blunted tho moral
sense Of the community and brought disgrace
upon an honorable profession. The newspaper
in the other cities followed the Infamous example
Of the Boston editors, and we see already In the
increase OF crime the deleterious effects Of .
deprsvea, iicentious and immoral press
That the above statements cannot be gsinsayed
is evident from the course Of the provincial press
since the first article upon the subject appeared
in these eolumns Extracts from that article
have gone the rounds Of the press, accompanied
by comments which do not touch upon tho real
point at issoe The Journalists have contented
themselves with the usual abuse Of the HERALD
and its editor, which, however piquAnt it
may be, has really nothing TO do with the
matter In point Of fact it rather helps our
c&e If we represent Satan rebuklng sin
If we have repented Of our early
errors, while the Puritans have fallen back
from race, Is no. our position preferable to
tbeirss Is there not more joy In heaven ovS
ono sinner that repents than over ninety aud
nine juS mem And shall the onoe Just man VITO
returns 70 wailow In tho mire escape eternal
damnaton'
No. Tho question ia not whether or not the
editor Ct the HsRJID is a great rascal, bat
whether or not the statements made by Us, aud
the deductions dra Sn from those statements, ore
tue. This question has not yet been net By any
Of The provincial Journalists, and we must re-
ques. in the most polite nancsr that they will
Genuine themselves 20 the point we raised, which
Is that In this age of progress they have retro
graied-that they have psndcred TO base appe-
utes and poisoned the minds Of their youthful
readers Until they have at last become ready to
embrace tas vice which they were at FIRST taught
10 ab1of
The whole fact Of tie matter Is, that within the
Last ten years the leading New York newspapers
have kept pace With the spirit Of the age, vail,
The country p~ess has been forced 10 the wAn
The extensioo Of railways throughout the coint-y
has given tie metropolitan press circulation In
al the principal cities far greater than the. Of
the local journals witch have been compelled 10
reeort to tie worst devices 10 maintain sickIy
existerce. Tie provincial editsrs, thee, occupy
their tine partially by abusing the New Yoek
papers, ps-tisily In stealing from them. but
chiefly In digging up records Of the nlthiess
crimes FOR the entertainment Of the grog shop
and the d.IeotatioD Of The drawing room When
the criminal records become no longer lnlerc,-
Ing, bccsase they are no Longer obscene, we 6ai
sbese guardians Of 5e public morals praising the
immoral drama, and laudlng an actress for 9
fai,afL representation Of the life Of q worsn Of
the town We tell them no~, that they ar.
fsithlese 10 their high missisn, and that tAey
deserve ooiy NE sosa and ocntcmpt Of every
good citaEen-
THE staten ksland Resclikons