The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1859-03-02

BILE in their tone.,. That freedom of tho't,t i
acquired by carrying the mind over the
entire country, aud collecting items from
every State and upon all conceivable sub
jects, would gradually disappear and give
place to o narrow, contracted, sone-idead
mode of conducting journals; each one but
re-echoing the thoughts and sentiments
Of those few sheets with which they come
in continual contact, and thus the very
heads of government, who represent q free
people and free institutions, will be virtu-
ally taking away the freedom Of the press,
and aid in bringing it down from a po-
sition never dreamed of under any other
government, and which has only been ac-
quired by the free intercourse heretofore
existing among publications, and placir g
it below the rank of journalism in other
countries. Ia 'ai'aN "ns sta' .
No one can deny that such trammel-
ed and contracted press would have a most
injurious effect upon the community, as
our education depends much upon the
newspaper world, which has moulded
many mind, and given birth, to many
high and noble aspirations and deeds, and
in a great manner to the manly inde-
pendent spirit of which our citizens are
noted; and yet we fear such will be the
case if the facilities now offered for free
interchange of thoughts are taken away.
Some may say it was greatly abused
privilege, bat we cannot understand how.
In these days of high prices for labor and
material, every paper printed beyond the
actual am olrt need I'd for subs CT be s, is an
item with publishers, and they are watch
ed and kept down as low as possible. and
after supplying his exchange list, compos-
ed of carefully selected papers from differ
ent sections of the country, of sufficient
number only to answer his purposes, he
knows all others are waste and useless
expense. No publisher prints paper
merely for the benefit Of his brother pub
fishers, or collects more exchanges than
he can, use to, bis own advantage, and
where the abuse is to come from we know
not. "2" t'5-' .'"-,' .-
But we still are satisfied with our first
assertion, that this law will cause the dis
continuance of fully one-half the papers;
and although we must admit that there are
many which could readily be spared, yet
we very much fear that among those which
would depart, would be the "organs" of
many of those very wise men who favor
this measure, for sterling prominent,
postage-affording papers, cannot be read
lily brought up as "organs, ,"-and when
another campaign comes around our Sen
ators find that they have broken down the
pony upon which they traversed the circuit
in search of office! BE careful, friends, that
you do not kill the goose that lays your
golden egg. ~ - '...,,if e'''.l'. :. 4
We have no doubt all will admit the
right ofrepealing the law granting free
postage in the county in which paper il
published, as there is no reason why those
subscribers happening IS live in the same
county should bave advantages over 9th
ers who do not, and we fully advocate
the giving up of this privilege, being tn.
least of the two evils. e,sr sa .tg
Another idea which we have always fa
vored, is the absolute prepayment at thu
Office Of mailing, of all newspapers and
publications sent to subscribers. Witt
such a law in existence, the Post Ofic
Department would receive payment regu
larly for all paid-for reading matter pas
sing through the mails; the rate of sub
scriptions would be universally raised
equal to the postage, aud what is of still
more Importance to the publisher, he
would never risk sending paper to
person, and pay the postage for it, with
out first receiving the full price for tn
same, and thus would be firmly inaugura
ted the principle of payments invarlabl
in advance" which has become too fa
5 miliarF and too often violated to carr,
any weight with it. Let such law b.
passed, instead of the one, now pending
and new and better state of things vii
spring up in newspaperdom. .-Ne,ps~ lei