Daily national Democrat., 1858-11-25
Respectable Editing.


to try and be decent They say that, if they
possibly can, they will. Each one excuse,
itself for past vulgarity on the ground that
it was forced into personalities by the gros:
scurrlity of its cotempOraries. Well, we
think it is high time that the press of that
Territory did reform itself in this respect, for
of al the low blackguardism that we ever
did witness or hear of in the world Saving
few contemplate exceptions in this State
the Oregonian editorials capped the climax,
Nearly whole columns were filled with per-
sonal villifcations; and vulgar TRADES occu-
pied the space which should have been devo-
ted to more interesting matter. The Oregon
editors seemed to act upon the supposition
that in order to be satirical it was necessary
to be a blackguard, and in order to be sup.
posed courageous it was necessary to be n
bully They seemed to think that the whole
force of argument consisted in giving the lie,
or denominating an antagonist a scoundrel :;
not rejecting that such course of conduct
simply reduced journalism to the level of
the fish market, and excited only that kind
of interest in the public mind which is man;
ifested by the spectators and auditors of a
fierce contest of billingsgate between very
low persons. The difference between this
kind of journalism and that which is gentle
manly is that which exists between the vul-
gar quarrels of hod- carriers or street-scaven
gers and the debates of such antagonists as
Clay and Calhoun, or Douglas and Green, in
the Senate of the United States Differences
of political opinion are not properly of per.
sonal character, at ALL Every free born man
has a right to his opinions, and that man who
cannot meet political antagonist with ar
gument shows the weakness and poverty of
his own mental resources. To fall to abuse
of his antagonist becauses hel cannot answer
him with argument, is to prove conclusively
that the offender is no gentleman, for no
gentleman will deliberately insult another
without provocation. The distinction be-
tween gentleman and blackguard is well
illustrated in the following familiar nnecdote,
which we find, in its present shape, in the
Olympia Pioneer and Democrat. 1--WE re.
member" says that paper, "what was so
well said by an eloquent and distinguished
advocate in the management of an important
cause, who, being assailed by opposing coun-
sci with yirulent personal invective, was
rallied at by his friends for his patient for
bearance under grievous personal insult
Over and above it, he maintained his position
not deigning to make personal retorts but
in his address to the jury, he justified his
truthful language; l never take notice of
personal insults. There are two classes of
persons entering into tine composition of So.
and blackguards A gen
tleman uW not insult me-a blackguard can
not"
There are two kinds of persons, too, we
may add here, entering into the composition
of the editorial neutrality-suspicious. and
and, as gentlemen never asso-
ciate with bLackguards in their daily walks
so should newspapers which are conducted
by gentlemen never condescend to have any
thing to do with that class of papers which
are conducted by backguards, They should
endeavor, (till at least, forbeOrance ceases to
be virtue,) to act upon the principle that
staggering, bullying, half-drunken editorial
black guard cannot insult thann
We are glad to note the determination, al-
luded to, of the Oregon papers, and hope
their example may be followed by the entire
corps editorial Of the Pacific Coast.