, 1863-05-23
Labors of the Press.

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acts, without missing an opportunity to
denounce its opponents and to this end
it is expected that a free press will never
tell the truth when it is likely to be inju-
rious to the party. Every candidate of the
party is to be endorsed morally, socially
and politically; and though his character
may be as black as the doors of the infer
neral regions, it is to be made as white as
snow; and if it is as tainted as leper's
flesh, it must be made as pure as the an
gels. On the other hand, an opponents
character is to be painted blacker and
fouler than the others is pure.
But if the Free Press should stop at
building up and tearing down individual
character, its labors would fall far short of
public approval. There still remains the
more important duty of making the worse
appear the better cause, whenever the par
TVS interests require it. To this end every
occasion must be seized to misrepresent op-
ponents-to torture their expressions
garble their writings-impute to them dis
honest purposes, and hold them response
BILE for what you don't know that they ev-
er intend to do, as we'll as for what they
are doing or have done. In this manner
the strongest possible case may be made
out against them while, by the same rule
Of ,,ou,c,,o,,or vooro1e y Froo proee vr;1I he
expected to defend all that The Party has
done, is doing and may do-endorse all
platforms, resolutions, public speeches-by
drunken political loafers, mayhap-treasu-
ry-robbings, and every species of political
iniquity which has been, is being or may
be conceived. These are few of the prin-
cipal duties of Free Press.
The next grade of duties is of local
character. 1t requires the Free Press to
prove on all occasions that the town in
which it is published is the best located,
most healthy, thriving, moral and in every
way preferable place to any other, in which
to live and die besides being certain to
keep ahead of all other places which have
been or may be founded, in geometrcal
ratio. The Free Press will not fail to note
everything to the disadvantage of adjacent
towns and villages, and exaggerate such
circumstances to the EXTREMIST verge of
falsehood allowable. But all this concen-
tration Of excellence in the place of publ
cation must be reconciled to a higher de-
gree of prosperity in the State in which the
Free Press publishes than in any other
State in the Union and by the same rule
the Union, as Whole, excols any other and
all other countries in every imaginable par
ticular
In defending the local attractions, the
Free Press will naturally be eulogistic of
the quality of whisky sold at particular
houses, and the nutrimant spread out at
particular hotels. The steamboats,, running
to and from the place, are of course "foat-
ing palaces" and the railroad cars ''dash off
at the speed of thought' at tho rate of
fifteen miles an hour
In short the Free Press must prove be-
yond cavil that The Party is the main stay
of the Union, the balance wheel of public
morals The City is the only place in the
Union worth living in, and everybody is
dying of anxiety to live there The State
is the best. in all particulars in the Union.
and, as for the country, as whole, Truth
would be wasted on so noble theme-the
imagination must be called on to assist in
picturing it. OF course all whisky shops,
hotels, steamboats, and railroads are the
Best.
Another minor, but still important duty
of the Free Press is to puff sensation
preachers and tinerant lecturers. This, to
a free mind, is about the most nauseous
task which the Free Press is called upon
to perform The first class Of these peo-
pie is to be made notorious in order to
become useful and the other is to be made
notorious for no purpose of public utility
whatever'-being an unqualified nuisance
giving no more orally ior nifty cents or
dollar tnan what may oe bought IN print
tor two cents and a half Yet to doubt
'he superior Sancu'y oil one or the literary
fall, E IL