The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1861-06-20


masked artillery of the enemy.
TIE WAR AND THE NEWSPAPER P.Ess-A
SEARCHING REvoLUTToN.-The venerable Ma
tono' InteAigencer, at Washington, which wa.
in existence there when the British entered .hst
city in 1914, Is evidently going down. The
ordeal of this civil war has reduced it almost
to the last gasp, and it confesses that unless Ii
friends come to tie rescue it must give I'D the
ghost And why not? 1t has outliyed its 70
cation as party organ, and the generation,
which knew it and admired it will know it ~
more forever.
Established as the advocate OF Jedsrso1's
policy and of Madison's administration, tn.
inttNgencer in 182428, from the aristocratic
and conservative principles and prejudices Il
its editors, very naturally became the national
central organ of the old and highly respectable
wing party. Since the death and decompo9-
ton of that party the journal in question, upon
the turbid and tempestuous waters Of our sec
tonal party politics. has been vsinly drifting
about for conservative resting place, until at
length, with the North and South in arms
against each other, it is cast high and dry be.
tween them. But it has had good time. Tts
party subsidies and sops from the federal trea-
sury may be counted by hundreds of thousands,
and even by millions of dollars. Its editors
have lived like princes; 80 that with tasir
prircely receipts they have been for many
years in a state of chronic bankruptcy .
Their old style credit system has been,
however, an important item towards thei-
ruin. It is probable that the unpaid debts
with the Inteuigsncer, if footed up to-day,
would reach the Gum of half million of dol.
lars But the editors plumed themselves al
way more upon the respectability of their pa
irons than upon cash payments; for they had
learned to depend upon their liberal jobs and
sops from Congress. And so this venerable
conservative organ of the 'fne old gentlemen,
all Of the olden time" is going the way of all
the earth.
Nor does this searching civil CONFUSION stop
here with ita deadly Influences upon the news
papers Of bygone age. the organs of this or
that defunct political party, or this or that old
fashioned business clique. The public jour
nails of the South from the terrible pressure
Of this war, and the blockade which cats of
their paper, are dying off as by the cholera.
Throughout tie North, too, there seems to be
fearfuliy fatal epidemic prevailing among our
party newspaper hacks, ma we consider it q
good thing. The same fatal disease ia also
manifesting itself among many Of our Metropo-
Titan weeklies and dailies. For example, the
Journal Of Commerce is raced to the extent of
four columns; and we apprehend that the Cou-
rier ard Enquirer will not long be able to keep
up the appearances of healthy vitality. The
highly respectable old style commercial cliques
upon which those journals are dependent are
being shaken to pieces by this terrible storm,
and ere it subsidies they will be left among the
wrecks Of the past never to be resuscitated.
The new systsm Of Independent popular
journalism, on the cheap cash system, inaugu-
rated by the NEW YORK HERALD q quarter of q
century ago-a sJ stem which has been steadily
under mining and superseding party organs,
and parties, and cliques of all descriptions
from that day to this-is, on the other hand,
receiving powerful impulse under this trying
ordeal of civil war; It is the only newspaper
system which can survive the test, and emerge
from it more popular and more powerful than
ever before. No other than an Independent
popular journal, keeping well up with the
movements Of the age, the stirring events
OF the present day, and their tendencies
towards the future, regardless of parties,
cli4ues or sects, political, commercial or reli.
gious, can hold its own in these eventful times.
Hence the steadily increasing popularity and
success of the HERALD, and its independent
cheap cash system of journalism. Our intelli..
gent constituency know the difference between
the old fashioned, lazy, slow coach order Of
newspapers and that system of liberal enter
prize and wide awake activity which has made
the HERALD an institution in this active aud en-
terprising community. And 80, neither exter-
nal wa1s nor internal commissions can shake tine
stability of public journal fully alive to the
spirit and the public demands of the age.