Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1869-10-21
The Press and the Prssiaent.

tFrom the New York World, 18th inst.l
A New Haven paper observes that the
course of the New York Sun in attacking
President Grant seems to he dictated by
sheer spite. Up to the time Of Grants in
auguration, it truly says, no paper was more
profuse in panegyric of him than that one.
But when 1t appeared that lie was not minded
to reciprocate this adulation with the be-
stowal of an Office suitable to Mr.. Dana's
appreciation Of Mr.. Dana's services, Mr..
Dana's paper turned again and rent him.
Singular to say, the Sun does not indig-
nantly deny this charge. Contrariwise, it
confesses it, by implication, thus:-
"This we regard as one of the most damag-
ing assaults upoR the reputation of General
Grant for common sense and ordinary saga
city that we have ever met with. If it he
true that he could have had the continued
and cordial support Of the Sun on the sim
pie condition of giving an Office to its editor,
was he not fool not to give 1t? Consider
ing how many offices General Grant has
given away to men who deserved nothing,
and who have since done nothing but dam
age his administration and help in breaking
was in bestowing honors and emoluments
on his relations and cronles, il certainly
would have been prudent if he had given u
little variety to his programme by enlisting
an able editor or two in such way as to
make them the hearty defenders of his good
acts and the shrewd apolOgists of his newt
able blunders.
That is to say, il 1t is to the immediate in
tcrest of Grant to secure the silence Of the
press by bribing editors, is he not "fool'
unless he does ii The serene unconscious
ness of any distinction between right and
wrong which such declaration as this i'm
plies is Of piece, to be sure, with the con-
duct for which II is put forward as an excuse
but it is nevertheless shameful for any Amer
lean journalist to feel and disgracetul for
him TO avow.
In effect, Mr. Dana says TO Mr.. Grants 81
sam public watch. dog you might have
"kept me quiet with slice of beef, but you
have chosen to refuse it to me, and now
you shall feel my iangs.' Even President
Grant has not sunk SO low as not to be able
to despise attacks which are instigated by Sc
sordid motive as this, even though they 80
the length of charging him with corrupt
completely in the designs Of knot of gold
gamblers When trader in regulations
cunfesses that the failure of an attempt tc
levy black mail moves him to blacken repu
tations, the object Of his ribald spite ca
very well afford 10 laugh at him.
For ourselves, and for the whole decen
portion of the American press, we disclaln
participation in such sentiments as these o
the Sun. 1t is too obvious to need more
than mere statement that 1t is essential Il
the value of newspaper criticism that il
should be entirely disinierested. The mer
who administer it must be entirely beyont
either the open bribe of money or the scarce
ly less open bribe of Office
II is to fix this disrepute where 1t belongs
that we take this notice of Mr.. Dana and hi.
paper. We believe that there is no othe
journalist of any standing in the sountr,
who would be or who would avow himsel
to be influenced by such motives as he ba'
taken for granted that all journalists are in
fluenced by. The conduct Of a man at tht
head of metropolitan newspaper who per
miis his public utterances to be dictated b,
his private grudges can only be character
lied as rascally. And a journalist who as
sumes that such grudges are common mo
tive of action to all his brethren is guilty, II
addition, Of fagrant insult to the honora
BILE members of his profession.