The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-09-06

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last Congress to Stccdman. the pair then max
ing quite nice little arrangement with Wen
dell. How many Western editors melted by
Steedman's fortune two years ago will be on
hand with the votes Of their State delegations
In their pockets, ready, like little Banks, to
They will be there certainly In scores. From
the East too. there will be candidates innumer-
able. Finally. tho fastidious and elegant John
C. Rives will be ON hand. ready TO show by
facts and figures that cannot lie that he has
been the most self-sacrihcing public printer
that ever lived. running himself at the rate Of
one or two hundred thousand dollars year by
his contract with the government for reporting
the debates, and willing TO undertake the pub
lie printing on the same terms. Rves ought
really to get the printing. for he is honest and
practical. But IL is not likely he will. He
cannot succeed against corrupt combinations.
THE NEWSPAPER MANIA AMONG PoLrIc,.Ss.-
Many politicians have an idea that in order to
insure success in their aspirations for Office it
is of the first Importance to own or control
newspaper. A more preposterous or more
costly hallucination they could hardly be sub
ject to- Douglas has his organs In Chicago,
Philadelphia and Washington, and bleeds very
freely to keep them in existence. He imagines
that they increase his chances for the nomina-
ton at Charleston. When he realizes the fall
lacy of that idea he will undoubtedly let For
news Press and Heiss' States die out Govern
or Wise, aboring under the same form of mo-
nomania, owns or controls the Richmond En-
o,,;rer: while the fact is that the very bad re-
putaton which that paper has acquired on ac-
count Of the quarrelling propensities of its edi-
tors, as so often evinced of late, is damning to
any politician whose claims it advocates. The
ENQUIRER used to be quite respectable journal
for Richmond, but since II became identified
with Wise and bis fortunes it has lost all its in
fuence.
Other Presidential aspirants have their indi-
vidual penny trumpet papers, either owned or
supported by themselves, and whose business
it is to sound their praises and put forward
their claims to public favor. 1t may be set
down as foregone conclusion that all the can
didates who adopt this plan Of forwarding their
schemes will be doomed to disappointment.
The old Texan ranchero who has just been
elected Governor of Texas and who does not
influence paper outside of or perhaps in that
State has a better chance of the Charleston
nomination than any of his competitors who
have gone into the newspaper business.
The same hallucination is observable among
the smaller fry politicians. Candidates for State,
county and municipal Offices, frequently estab-
lish or purchase an interest in Sunday papers
Of imperceptible circulation and ephemeraI
existence. Fernando Wood, for instance, in
dulges in the costly luxury of a New York
daily newspaper for the edifcation of few
hundred of his supporters and the gratifca-
ton Of bis own expensive whim. Even candi-
dates for the Office of Coroner or County Clerk
deem it necessary for them to own an organ.
There can be no more absurd idea than this.
AS general thing newspapers have very little
influence over the political sentiments of the
community. What influence they do exert is
the result of their business enterprise and their
reputation for independence. Mere political
journals, that are the mouthpieces of this or
that party or politician, cannot evince either
enterprise or independence, and consequently
exert no influence whatever. We would, there
fore, advise Douglas, Wise, Wood and all other
politicians who have got into the newspaper
business, to get out of it as soon as possible.
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