Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-05-26
The Freedom of the Press--The CIR
cumstanc~> Attending the Suppress
sion of the new York Journal of
Commerce and The world.

rumsfanc~s Attending the suppress
sion OF the new York Journal of
Commerce and The world.
The folloxin9 fact In reference . The sup
preston Of the New York Journal Of Commerce
and World. we regard Of sufficient importance to
reproduce at length The former paper thus re
counts the circumstances attending the affair:
During the day on Wednesday the editors Of
this paper bad been diligently engaged in aiding
General Dix in tracing the authorship OF the
forged proclamation, having, in conjunction with
the World, offered a reward Of $500 for his de
lection. and IN company with Mr.. Marble of the
World having placed in the hands Of the general
such facts as have subsequently, enabled the su-
thorities 20 arres, the guilty party In the eve
ming at about nine o'clock. our Office was occu
pied by military force. and officers were dis
patched TO various parts vf the city and Brook
yn With brief and peremptory orders u arres: the
editors and convey them 10 Fort Lafayette By
steamer. which waiting 10 receive them at
the battery.
These orders came from the President, and no
discretion was allowed 10 General Dix. We
have the best reason to know that the general
himself was earnestly opposed % the proceeding,
and exerted himself strenuOusly 10 induce sus-
pension of the arbitrary act. The highest praise
IS due to General Dix for the course he pursued
in the matter. and we have not the slightest
doubt that the correspondence between him and
the War Department. IL il ever sees the light.
will exhibit him in the character of faithful de-
fender OF the rights Of the person and press In
America
Two of the editors Of the Journal were arrest
ed One of them, Mr. Hallock. was in the office
at the time OF the seizure. Mr. Prime. who had
tafs "A
heard. by mere accident, OF the orders, and at
once finding one of Gen. DI's staff who was
charged with their execution, surrendered him
self and was by him conveyed TO headquarters
he was there received with great courtesy by Gen
Dix. who informed him that the order for his ar
rest had been suspended. but that the order 10
bold the newspapers remained in force. and he
could not be permitted to enter the Office Mr.
Stone having heard ri his residence in BROOKLYN
that the office was occupied by the military, at
once proceeded 20 New York to find his asso
eiates and ascertain the nature OF the difficulty
and learning of their arrest he spent the night in
endeavoring find the officers having them in
Charge search which was unsuccessful until
about three O'Clock Meantime the officers had
visited his house, and informed Mrs Stone that
they were seeking him TO convey to Fort Laiay
cite. and she was left through the night in the
deepest anxiety as 10 his fate. Mr.. Hallock was
very kindly allowed To arrange some Office mat
tiers of Importance, and to write note to his
family, who of course thrown into the
greatest distress by its receipt. He was then con
veyed IN carriage to the Battery. where the
countermanding order found him, aud he was re
leased. The editorial Reunion was, after much
searching and anxiety. finally effected at the of
fee OF the Associated Press. 1T 3 O'Clock i'm the
morning.
From nine o'clock on Wednesday night till
eleven o'clock Saturday morning our office
was held by detachment OF soldiers, and the
people OF this city had All excellent opportunity
of seeing that strange sight TO American ewes
bayonets crossed ut the door of newspaper es
Enlistment
During this time we made no representation or
application OF any kind 20 the United States an
thorities. We contented ourselves with an oc-
casIonai inquiry at headquarters whether any
new orders were received. receiving negative
reply until Saturday. when order given
Us requiring the Captain in charge to hand over
the office of the Journal of Commerce to sthe
bearer"
We have thus briefly recited the history OF the
suspension OF the Journal of Commerce and The
arrest of its editors.
We now turn for a moment to the origin of the
fraud which perpetrated on US.
The forger has been arrested and has made
bis confession. Our article for Thursday MORN
ing pointed 10 The man
Mr.Joseph Howard, the guilty individual was
educated 10 the newspaper business on the New
York Times. and is familiarly known as How
ard of the Times" He was "A thorough news
paper man. familiar with al! the facts necessary
TO accomplish his purpose. He was favorte
contributor to the Independent, President of the
First Republican Association in BROOKLYN long
member OF the Rev. Mr. Beecher's church
member of the Republican Committee of Kin.s
county, and employed lately in a subordinate
position on the Eagle. He is well known in
radical circles, the intimate associate of the
most eminent o; their politicians and il Is "A
singular circumstance, which We have thought il
our duty To lay before the authorities, that on
Thursday last he stated TO one of our reporters
that he had been drinking champagne all the
previous night with one of the most prominent
Republican politicians, VITO Is known TO be "A
heavy stock operator We do not make this
curious catalogue. lt is IA remarkable concatena-
ton OF facts. and we give il as it stands
/ MS ingenious scamp. for stock operations
committed the forgery and entrapped the news
papers
We entertain no feelings of luminosity toward
the young man. He has done VA great. i'm some
respects an irreparable injury We understand
that his father and Rev Mr. Beecher and other
prominent gentlemen o! the radical party, have
"-t't" WI pcAClat LIZA WIFI earnest representa-
tons IN his favor stating that he was misled by
pecuniary misiortnues or else that he was weak
tool in the hands OF willy men, and that his pun
ishment ought To be light and his release speedy
Possibly these representations will be success full
and II the immense damage done by government
TO the innocent the family suffering inflicted and
the pecuniary loss caused TO ~ and our conten,-
porary. should all be credited to the account OF
the guilty young man. II might be made TO ap-
pear that the punishment was already nearly ade
quate But We have nothing To do with the
punishment OF the guilty, leaving him TO his DO
llticai friends who have influence at Washington
Our present concern relates only to the treat
ment of the innocent
We we're caught. rs were Others-nOt the New
ork World alone. but other papers, who bv pure
accident, and nothing else, were enabled to dis
cover the fraud IN time to suppress immense
editions already printed. destroy stereotype pages
confirming the forgery, aud their reputa-
tiOns We suffered
They would not have been punished as we were
had they published it. Noone dreams that if the
radical newspapers had been caught the Admin
istratiOn would have pursued the course they
took. IL was one of the accidents of the morn
ing. that while only few hundred copies of the
Herald were lent out containing IT, two conserva-
tive papers issued it in large part of their ed.
tons. Then arose the storm of political hatred
and partisan luminosity, aud the men at Wash
ington went mad.
To the disgrace of American history. an order