The New York herald., 1873-11-28

interest. One of the complaints of those
who esteem highly the morality Of the
press is that conductors of newspapers
accept advertisements for pay and print
them as reading matter. In other words, the
reader is deceived, by being requested to ac-
cept as the opinion of an independent editor
what is the paid eulogium of an eager man of
business. II we were disposed to permit this
editorial explanation to degenerate into con-
troversy we might show from the columns OF
our critics that they perpetrats this fraud
upon their readers whenever money enough Is
paid by an advertiser. For years no line has
ever appeared in our news columns, no opin-
ion has ever found expression in this paper.
which was paid for as an advertise
ment For years every advertisement
handed over our counter has been submitted
to editorial scrutiny, and we have always re-
served the right to reject advertisements that
do not meet this scrutiny. These and other
maxims govern our business We make it
rule that any citizen with q want, or hope,
or purpose, has right to be heard in these
columns, provided he violates no law and
commits no offence against morals and good
taste. Every day advertisements are excluded
because they do not meet these conditons-ad-
vertisements enough, we might almost say, to
furnish prosperous business to our critical
contemporaries. Take the column headed
personal" This is a column severely criti-
cised; yet it is the most important column
in the London Times. The HERALD column is
exactly like that in the Times. We edit this
column with particular care. and reject adver-
Observation-Disclosures every day that are offered
to us-because on their face they violate good
taste.
So long as these rules are observed we do
not feel that journalist can 60 further So
long as an advertisement is not on its face
manifest violation of morals we cannot sit in
fnquisition upon the motives that inspire it
and the meaning underlying all. That would
be an endless, impossible task. If people
desire to advertise for an immoral or illegal
purpose they can do SO in o hundred ways
in the column of religious notices or
banking institutions. During our war,
when people were forbidden to publish
personals from the South because
they might contain information for the
rebels, the rebel leaders printed innocent
advertisements Offering land for sale, which
served their purpose. So that, aswe say,
there is no process of inquisition that can be
adopted in reference to advertisements in daily
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has higher interest in the purity of the press
than the HERALD. We may say that no
journal has striven more earnestly to in
troduce into journalism courtesy, good taste,
fair play towards opponents, justice to
men of all opinions, honorable and honest criti-
cisms of leading politicians Of all parties, ear
nestness without rancor, generous, elevating,
all-embracing American sentiment, than the
HERALD. And certainly with this as On ami
mating purpose in our editorial columns-as
all men know-it is only natural that we
should strive, as we have striven, to bring our
business under the control of similar prin-
ciples--to deny no one these columns who
does not violate the law and the canons of
morals and good TASTE AS to the enactment
of laws against certain class of advertise
ments-lotteries and gift enterprises-that
come to US in questionable but not illegal
shape, we say that such law would meet
our heartiest approval We shall do our
utmost to secure the passage of the most
rigid laws in reference to the press and the
character of general advertisements. We obey
the law, and do not make it. Let those who
make the law do their duty, and we shall do
ours. We have more to gain from the operation
of such statutes than any other journal in
America. Let them be made as strict as possi-
BILE, and we shall take pride in giving them
full, hearty and uncomplaining obedience.