Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1873-09-09
NeuCsDdDer Erchan0es.

telligence and literature.
Men dislike TO have privileges taken
away; and, il they can obtain no COM
pensation for what they are deprived OF,
they are pretty likely 10 Try to take some
thing away from ,he deprivor. Thus
Congress, feeling that public opinion dc
manded the discontinuance of the frank
ing privilege, discontinued il, and took
TWO compensations,- ,-one an increase OF
their own pay; and the other. retributive
deprivation, namely, the discontinuanco
oi free exchanges and free home circua.
ton OF the newspapers that had stirred
up this very public opinion. OF these
two discretitablc performances, the FORM
Ell is an er post tdctO measure, which is
wrong on the same principle that forbids
penalties 10 be inflicted on crimes com.
mitted before the making uf the law.
This principle is simply, Laws may not
take men by surprise. Even wrong.
doer must have ample notice that he is TO
| be punished. In like manner should
paymaster have notice what he is to pay
! his servant but our congressional ser
wants of the people propose, 1t would
appear both TO carry the bag, and To help
themselves to what is put therein. IT is
morally wrong, us well as politically in
expedient, that congressman should
have the power OF altering his own pay.
/ for the same reasons that have caused
its obsolute prohibition TO The President;
and the Constitution should be amended
SO rs 10 prevent it in future, by adding
| TO the first sentence OF the first para.
graph OF the sixth section OF the first
article the words given below in Italics,
which would cause that sentence 10 read
rs follows, The senators and representa-
tives shall receive a compensation ior
their services, TO be ascertained by law,
and paid out of the treasury Of the Unit
cd States; and irhich shall neither DC nv.
creased nor diminished for any senator or
representative during the period for vhich
he shall hare been elected' This would
allow luIl swing to patriotic restitulions
by those feeling tn emselves oveIpaid.
There are sufficient and substantial
reasons Tor the re- enactment Of the re.
pealed free exchange and free home Cir
cuation laws. This repeal is pos
tive advance in u tendency-already
obvious, and, for various reasons, bad
towards an extinction OF local newspn-
( pers to make room for large monop0llz'
ing city newspapers. Accordingly. any.
body who has observed the opinions of
the press on the repeal will recoilect,
that, the larger and more powerful the
paper, the more decidedly did it approve
the repeal. 1t has long been an establish.
ed policy of the great city papers to set
forth the duty OF the local papers TO
scrapO together their local news, and
leave great affairs TO great men. 1t is
natural that a city newspaper manager
should covet large circulation aud
great influence. II is his very obvious
policy to make the country papers mere
local reporters for him. The only thing
he would like better would be to discOn-
tinue them entirely. add their circulation
10 his, and substitute a local correspond
ent, or occasional reporter, for the local
editor A curious phenomenon, OF late
frequently observed in divers quarters,
is another instance Of this same policy:
Newspaper, local or provincial will
be found, having in its telegraphic COL
umn AN item like the following: The
New York Blowgun' of tomorrow will
say so and so and then follows q para-
graph, not OF news, but OF editorial.
This, OF course, has direct tendency to
discredit the local paper; for the reader
says. 'Ah then the important thing is
not what my editor says, but what The
New York Blowgun' man says. / guess
I'll stop my paper. and take The Blow
gum There never was more ingcn-
ious device 10 induce men TO cut their
own throats for the good of somebody
else.
The additional expense imposed by the
repeal-twenty. or fifty, or hundred. or
two hundred and fifty dollars. or more.
year-is far more important in the coun.
try than in the city. Money costs in the
country, but time in the city. The pow
erful city paper with capital OF mill
ion or three millions does not mind thou.
slnds OF dollars more or less; but, in the
country. no man--farmer. lawyer. or edi-
tor-can afford 10 waste or 10 lose q sin.
gle dollar.
But there is a lar more important con-
sideralion. The policy of cenlralizing
power is the one anti American policy.
The policy of maintaining numerous
small centres OF power is the one heart
and soul and life of our American social
and political order. De Tocqueville's
fame rests, in great measure. OH his rec
ogntion of the importance of our local
centres of political action. The secret
of the i'll success OF all the French re-
publics is simply that they have no town
meetings. The local Newspaper is the