The national Republican. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1866-1870, 1868-02-03

will receive their friends, as usual, on wedncs-
days, from IL to 4 o'clock, p. IN. Residence on
Montgomery street, Georgetown Heights.
GENERAL GRANT will be at home on wednes-
day evening, Februarys. No cards OF Invitation
will be issued. Residence, street, near New
Jersey avenue.
.ORGANIZING PUBLIC OPINION"
The New York Evening Post has editorial |
under the above caption. It 10 called forth by |
an essay from the pen OF some writer In the |
Northern Monthly. Whether public opinion Is |
improving In Its moral tone and spiritual forces
or not, one thing is certain, the world does not
lack visionary and Utopian moral philosophers |
who are laboring night and day to bring this
morally disjointed age into harmony with what
they conceive to be the divine principles OF
righteousness as applied to government.
II the theory which this writer propounds-
and we doubt not IL is-bc correctly stated In the
PoStStt is but another exhibition of the impossi-
bility and inutility OF a man attempting to fly
without wings or to lift himself in a basket.
According to the journal from which VIC quote,
the author OF this essay "thinks that the means
by which the people are informed or instructed
are somewhat lacking In force" He proposes
two measures TO increase the potency OF this
force, as follows;
First, the passage Of a law forbidding editors
to hold Office, and newspapers to receive Govern
mem men. pn,t nIg anu seeonu .he creation OF =
the meetings of the i.csislatures and Of Com.
gress and act as eensors. These censors, he re-
marks, would !" be present at the debates, be cog
infant ofthe business Of the session, and would
see with their own eyes the operations Of the
lobby. During or at the end of the session they
could make their reports, which would serve TO
cn,sIstnrs n thorn .ne Annals na o. me e the
votes for money Not only the bribed hui The
corruptors would be held up to general contempt
anu indlgnation. IN me absence OF such 9 trl.
I. nov iii hi innossJhio % iSo,, ro1 .h DC ~
prits.n
The absurdity Of such theories as these must be
apparent to all rejecting people, and the wonder
show such puerlle nonsense ands A place In any
respectable periodical. There must be a 80
lack Of brains or common sense, or of both, in
the management of a magazine which toleratea
such lucubrations
In the first place, editors nre tn he forbiddep
to hold. office, WHY not AZ we'll disfr,ncbi.e
them Mt oncel We would much like 10 know
where in the Constitution or I'm IN. th.orv ~ on,
Government the power Ia found to declare bv
statute that A free American citizen NAV mo ron.
dered Ineligible To hold Office IN account NJ bI.
professionf Docs this organizer of A pure public
sentiment mean to assert that editors AZ a elias.
are more corrupt than other men, II not what
does he meant He must mean this. or his at.
tack upon them Is pointIcss.
He would deprive all newspapers of Govern.
ment patronage, because, as we suppose, the
writer believes that this patronage eorrupts the
newspaper journalism Of the country.
Now, what IL this age which so corrupt.
the newspapers OF the land, that II must be with.
held by lawI The Government, through the col
umns OF some journals, promulgates the laws
which are enacted by Congress, and pays to said
journals very nearly enough to meet the compo
sition bills, which the publisher has to foot to
the satisfaction OF his compos itors whether or
no. State governments do the same with certain
newspapers, and publish the laws which the
State Legislatures enact. Now, docs this writer
mean to take the ground that these laws ought
not to be publishedi We hardly think he can
mean this II he does not assume tbi. I'm, doe.
mean. to have the statutes made known IA the
public, how shall Il be done Shall the laws he
printed in large volumes and scattered over the
country, never to be read, or shall the Govern.
ment Issue daily sheets by the million, and scat
ter them over the landi 1t will cost money, and
II Is perfectly easy to see which system will cost
the most. Ifthe present system eorrupts editors
and publishers, the other system villas It will
cost the Government infinitely morc-corrupt
more people. Besides this printing of the laws
the different departments Of the Government are
allowed 10 publish certain proposals for such
materials as the Government may want, and fol
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