The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1869-07-29
THE EMPIRE AND LIBERTY.

Somebody behind the screen OF Inc
rial Publishing Company" in Ne" io'A 10
towing and amusing himself with an 'nPe'
rial whelp, which as yet can only 0afS' Uu'
-, a. ga master hopes, will soon be
oblo 10 show is teeth and growl its dehanee
At the people of the United States who may
onno.s an imperial form of government for
thi. country.
The Impsrialist, the organ: of the bond
holder and those who want more power con-
oentrs,ad Mt Washington and less allowed to
the people and to the States recently IN
dulged itself in an imperial revere, IN "h'ch
cha ad;,or nlays autocrat over the press OF
this country which iavors the reputation o'
the national debt. He says
iva were the autocrat Of Ameatca to'day'and
.,cb a sbeet As Pomcroys Democrat or any other
.SonII come out in advocacy OF Reputation, at
.t,,r,i,, 10 arouse the passions and preiudlces OF
,bo m,b against an authority ami Tor the dcs-
truction of such Of the property OF our SUBJECTS
n. was invested in the national credit, we "ouiu
,,romptly and pitlessly shut up that Anarchial
Ous
nuis,nees and enemies 10 the commonwealth, aud
II the mob interfered on their behalf, as they
might. We would give tho mob salutaty lesson
on honesty and the preservation oil the PHo'e
peace Do we express ourselves with suhcleht
clearnessg Ii not, the fault Is n onr detective
command Of the English language, and not IN
our good will to speak IT,
In order to show that he would be playing
no new role in this country, he cites the ex'
ample Of the illustrious martyr to loyalty,
Lincoln, as follows;
INSTRUMENTATION Is the first law of nature"
and it is as distinct and covering law tor ma
tions a. for individuals. 1t is a law which never
Iapses, but it is one whose paramount demands
are most clearly audible in times Of war and peril
For this nation it had been permitted to slumber
for many years. Hardly had its rest been broker
since the Revolution, except by the brief fpasu
of wakefulnes- in Andrew Jackson's time, unit
tue civil war compelled the frightened RePubli
TO call Au.ucracy to its aid in its hour of extrem
and deadly danger. Them indeed, both at tn
North and South, the amenability OF the Prev
Ously oil but deifed "press' to the law oil sell
preservation was at onoe and thoroughly recog
nied Abraham lincoln, Dictator Of the North
the temporary representative Of the strength ant
necessity Of Autocrscy in America, ruthiessl.
the inyiolabi!y Of the men who make newspa
pers and sent them to prison by the dozen. Hi
action was almost universally approved by th
people, and even his enemies admitted its wis
dom His only fault was that he did not shu
up more Of the incendisry sheets and that he iii
not hang anybody.
If there has ever been any doubt as to Il
particular interest intended to be fostert
and defended by this journal, that doubt
dispelled by the following paragraph, refe
ing to the national debt:
day We are in the midst of another strug
gle for national life and honor. There are n
armies IN the field, but the Issues OF the cOnfit
are nearly the same. The national credit is II
stake, ard with il the existence of this govern
ment. If, therefore, any man engaged IN tn
newspaper business, with consequent power t
stab hls country IN vital part, dares to take til
side of his cOuutry's enemies, he should be treat
ed not only as Il public enemy but as a traito
q spy within the camp, and should receive Ju
such relentless treatment as his prototypes hay
earned in any other war. If the nation is strOn
enough 10 be merciful--and this nation is N
at this present--hs might be permitted
escape with worse penalty than the confsci
tiOn Of his "JOurnal" and its appurtenances, bI
his least doom should be compulsory silence.
Thus the Lncoln.Stanton mode of PR
serving the Union Ind enforcing the Law
by imprisouing all who dissented from tbs
violations Of the very laws which they pi
fessed to enforce, receives the highest pra
that this scion Of imperialism can besto
In order, however, to make a show of cons
tency he admits that his own rule won
imprson him and close up bis office, b
does not lack the impudenc to state th
fear rather than regard for liberty of Il
press restraints the authorities from hushiu
him up
We ourselves do not hesitate TO cay that
our own rule the authorities at WasbingtC
would be justified In closing up our pubcatio
Office and IN sending US to Fort Lafayette. TIL,
are well aware that we are steadily organizing
powerful party, which proposes the overthrow
the Cuucus system and the establishment of Ce
trallzati1n and Autocracy, and they would
justified by the law of self pre- seryation in usii
force 10 prevent our utterance of the unwecou
truths with which they cannot contend, viii
they cannot avoid or rctute them. The reaso
why they do not and dare not take such r st
are ot varied nature and origin. They NAV, a
douotess do, to some extent, recognize the iol
vi our position, and honestly hesitate to interf,
with the advancement Of the cause of good q
eminent, for they can but see that the u
influences against which we are fighting
the worst enemies of the Commonwealth
Let us give the powers that be a fair aloyanc.
credit Tor possible patriotism and good jud
ment. Again, any action on the part of
government to fOrcby prevent our publcat
would be distinct admission to the whole wo
that we are right, and that even "caucus" '