Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-09-03
ESTABLISHED 1910.


The Dufy of the Press.
The fash Journals and the lovers Of
scandal have been surfeited during the
past few days with the developments
made in the examination before S. A.
Moore, ESQ. We have excluded from
our columns much Of the disgusting
details, and shall continne-tO TO do so ia
this and all other similar cases. Were
we to publish fash paper, and dis
pose d to pander to the morbid taste Of
the vulgar. We could show consider
able enterprise" for we have before
US the sickening details Of the ruin Of
2 beautiful young lady by her brother
fa-Iaw. under whose charge she had
b zen placed by her friends
ia an adjoining State. Silence
uoon such subjects Is the best means
for the protection Of public and pri-
vate virtue. The publication Of scan-
dalous gossip, instead Of lessening the
evils complained Of and promoting
morality, is only exciting unhealthy
emotions, and Psndering TO depraved
literary tastes. Public attention is
thoroughly aroused and it Is deter
mined 10 put a stop to the fiippant
scandalous and contemplate manner
in Ehich obscene matter is heralded
to the world. Unavoidsbly, in the
columns Of any paper, which pre-
tends to be a reflex Of the incidents of
the dsv, there win be seen much
which is really unfit for public obser-
walton; but a sometimes necessary eX-
hibit Of Objectionable pictures does
not Justify the detailed history of
vicious transactions, a knowledge Of
which can, by no possibility, tend to
the advantage Of any party receiv-
ing the information, but may
result in injury. But this thing
Of hunting morsels Of petty
scandal, and parading them before the
public merely to crafty the debsuehed
taste Of the grOveling and depraved, is
q disgrace to the press and to the COM
munity that patrOnizes such literature. !
In the great work OF promoting NOR
ality the press has an important mis-
sion. A pulpit orator once said Of the
press: 81 love to hear the rumbliDg
OF the steam pOwer-press better than
the rattle and the roar Of artillery.
It is silently attacking and vanquish-
ing the Mslakoffs Of vice and the
RsdaDs Of evil; and its parallels and
approaches cannot be resisted I ike
the click Of the type in the composing
stick Of the eOmpOsitor better than the
click Of the musket in the hands Of
the soldier. It bears q lesden messen-
ger Of deadlier power, Of sublimer |
force, and Of q surer aim, which viii |
nit its mark, though it is a thousand |
yezrs aheadn' The press is shorn Of
thst "sublimer force" and it is no |
longer a ''leaden messenger Of |
deadly power" to XIII error
when If becomes the vehicle of
dirty scandal. The influence OF
the press in this country is
emphatieally free, and where it is
most literally patronized, is powerful
and all n-pervading; and it is deeply to
be deplOred that this freedom is de-
graded 70 8 degree Of Hcentiousness
that has produced great and alarming
evils. The fash papers are a nuisance
to the community in which they are
published. They are breaking down
the Out-DOsts OF honor and the correct /
standards Of morals. This is no fancy
sketch. It Is q sad reality, that is
seen in all its deformity. The moral,
honest, intelligent part Of So
ciety look with fearful spprehensiors
at the dissemination and progress Of
these evils, and they have traced
them to their source. And to the
abuse Of the freedom Of the press, and
70 its gross licentiOusness, more than
to any other cause, is attributable this
great scourge, lashing society and
darkening the best hopes Of good
people. The remedy Is in the hands
Of the lovers Of morality. Let them
be not dismayed by the great
lever that is welded by the
press, and which is felt by its
power throughout all the ramifca-
tions Of society. Let them resolve,
wherever they find a paper conducted
iu the interest of the depraved and
Iieenti0us, to cut of the stream Of its
support, which is its patronage, and
it viii fall, poor, pOwerless and
dishonOred. This course. fearlessly
pursued, would not only correct
these evils, bat it would produce
the best effects. by securing to
the press its just and sppropri-
ate influence as the great conserv-
ator Of publie and private rights, and
the invaluable disseminatOr of reli-
giOn and morality.
Entertaining these views we shall
continue to exclude rom the coll
umns Of the APPEAL, the p0bulacn
which forms such a dainty dish for
Others; and for these reasons we have
refused to give the facts OF the new
scandal furnished Us, which, il pub
Iished, would only crafty scandal