The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1864-06-01
FREEDOM Or THE PRESS.
The Supprsssion OF the Wof1AeSsxAA
EAitor Of the World % thD
preaidomt.

is The theory Of monarchy. II is the
theory Of constitutional republic that It'd
Chief Magistrate may do wrong. In the
former the ministry are responsible for the
Kings act. In tho latter the President Il
responsible for the acts Of bis minister's
Our Constitution admits that tie President
may err in providing for judgment upon
his doings, BY the people, in regular cleo
tions. In providing for his impeach.,
ment, it admits that he may be guilty of
crimes. -
In a government Of laws, and not Of men,
the most obscure citizen may without inde.
corum address himself to the Chief Magis.
trate, when to the Constitution whence you
derive your temporary power and he the
guaranty Of his perpetual rights, he has
constantly paid his unquestioning loyalty,
and when to the laws, which your duty il
to care for faithful execution 81, be has
rendered entire obedience.
If the matter of his address be that In bid
person, property, and rights, the Constitu1
ton has been disregarded and the laws dis.
| obeyed if its appeal to the principles Of
justice be no more earnest than the solici.
tude Of its regard for truth, and If the man!
ner Cf his address be no less temperate
than firm, he does not need courtlt Phrases
to propritiate an attentive hearing from
magistrate who loves his country, her insti!
tutions, and her laws.
In the World Of last Wednesday morn..
ing was published proclamation, purport.
ing to be signed by your Excellency and
| countersigned by the Secretary of State, Up.
pointing day Of fasting and prayer, and
| calling into military service by volunteering
and draft four hundred thousand citsens
between the ages of eighteen and forty y.flve.
That proclamation was forgery, written
| by person who, ever since your departure
from Springfield for Washington in 1861
has enjoyed private as we'll as public op.
portunities for learning to counterfeit the
pecularities of your speech and style. and
whose service for years as city editor Of
the New York Times and upon the New
York 7ri0xne acquainted him with the en-,
tire newspaper machinery Of the city, and
enabled him to insert his clever forgery into
the regular channels by which we receive
news, at time when competent inspection
Of its genuneness was impossible, and
suspicion of its authenticity was improb-
able. The manifold paper, resembling in
all respects that upon which we nightly re-
ceive from our agents news, and from the
Government itself orders, announcements
and proclamations, was left with q night
watch about 8 or 4 o'clock in the morning,
after the departure of every responsible
editor, and was at once passed into the
hands of the printers, put IN type aud pub.
lished. No newspaper in the country but
would have been deceived as We wcrel
Our misfortune was complete. At an.
early hour, however, before the business Of
the city had fairly begun, it was discovered
that we had been imposed upon, and were
being made to appear the instruments of .
deception of the public. There was no delay
in vindicating our character. Our whole
machinery for spreading news was set in
motion instantly to announce that We had
been deceived by forgery-,hat your Ex1
cellency had issued no proclamation. The
sale of papers over our counters was step.
ped. Our bundles to the Sc tia bound for
Europe that day were stepped. The own.
crs and purser's files were stopp'd. News-
room bundles and files were stopped, and
the agent Of the line was informed that the
proclamation was forgery. Our printers
and pressmen were brought from their
homes and beds to put in type the story of
our misfortune. Our bulletin boards were
placarded with the offer of reward for the
discovery Of the forger; and to the agent
Of the Associated Press sent a telegram
reciting all the facts, for him to transmit at
once to nearly every daily paper in the
North, from Maine to California. Thus be.
fore the Scotia sailed, before your Secretary
of State had officially branded the forgery,
the wings which We had given to Truth had
enabled her to outstrip everywhere the
Falsehood We had unwittingly set on foot,
and in many places the Truth arrived b..
fore the forger had come to tell his tale.
For any injury done to ourselves. to the
Government, or to the public, this publ.
city was ample antdote. 1t indeed made
injury impossible.
But the insult to your excellcncy was the
greater in proportion to the e,sn, nee Of
your station. Early in the afternoon Of
Wednesday. therefore, | went with Mr..
VIM. G. Prime, the chief editor Of the
Journal of Commerce, which had been de.
ceived precisely as We were, to the head
quarters of the Department Of the East,
| and We laid before the commanding Gene
raj every clue in our possession which
could lead to the discovery of the guilty
persons. All the facts above recited were
telegraphed at once to you through the
Secretary of War by Gen. Dix Iassert our
utter blamelessness. l assert, moreover,
that have never known a mind so freju-
diced in which acquaintance with these
facts would not enforce the conviction Of
our utter blamelessness.
Here was the absence Of an intent to do
wrong here was an antidote for an injury
unwittingly assisted, more complete and
effectual than the injury itself; here was
alacrity in search of the wrong. .doe,, and
assistance rendered to your subordinate to
| discover the author Of the insult done to
you.
With these facts set fully before you by
the General commanding :his department.,
you reiterated an order for my arrest and
imprisonment in Fort Lafayette, for the
seizure and occupation Of The World otfice
| by military guard. and the suppression Of
its publications. The Journal Of Commerce,
its editors and publishers, were included in
| the same order.
believe, though I cannot state Of my
own knowledge, that to the commanding
| Generals ass, rtion Of our entire blameless.
ness it was owing that the order for our
arrest and incarceration was rescinded.
But the order for the suppression of tho
World was not recinded. Under your or.
| ders General Dix sent a strong military
| force to its publication Office and editorial
rooms, who elected their occupa' Is, ard for
two days and three nights held possession
there, injuring and abstracling some Of
their contents, and permitting no one to
cross the threshold.
Not until Saturday morning did this oc-
cupation cease. Not until to day has The
who have ears to hear it's absence has been
| IL tIa,1 all -