The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1874-08-07
The Impending Conflict.

IL Is common mistake OF certain class
OF professional politicians to suppose.
when the country l. ringing with expo
sures Of their corrupt character and de-
nunciation of their misconduct, that their
chief enemies are the newspapers, and II
they could silence these public censors the
world would accept them for honest men.
Whenever, therefore, a popular revolt
breaks out against the tyranny of thieyish
Rings, the imperiled rogues give their first
attention 10 the press. Tweed spent enor-
nous sums of money in sustaining news
paper organs. and every dollar devoted to
such purposes was wasted. because his
subsidized journals neither representedn nor
influenced any school of opinion. The Dis
trict Of Columbia Ring made the same mis-
take. 10 bought the control of every news
paper IN Washington except one. and all
this expenditure could not delay his fate
an hour. Ii is just the same with great
many gentlemen in Congress. They have
not, indeed, attempted TO buy the press,
but they are trying to terrify il into silence
They have passed law of libel which ex-
poses every journalist who criticises the
conduct of "A Congressman to the danger
of being hailed under arrest To Washington
and tried by "A court which depends upon
Congress for its existence. Under this
law editors may be taken from their offices
and arraigned before packed jury in the
District of Columbia for an alleged Grim
inal libel written and printed i'm New y DIRK,
in San Francisco, IN Maine, in Texas. in
Alaska. and never seen perhaps by more
than a single man I'm the National Capital !;
for in the eye of the law a libel is published
wherever il chances to circulate.
But Congress will fail Just as Tweed
and Shepherd did. The press is formida-
BILE to these men only so far as il is the
representative of an indignant public; and
Messrs. Carpenter, Conkling and their as
sociates can no more suppress the voice Of
an angry and outraged community than
they can dam up Niagara. With some Vi
olence perhaps. with some partisan ram
cor, with occasional exaggeration and err
ror. and with unnecessary coarseness of
invective, the press has nevertheless dis
charged its duty with substantial honesty
and disinterestedness. and the whole coun-
try knows 1.-THE whole country except
the few men i'm Washington who are suf-
fering under the lash of public opinion.
Every DISTINGUISHED observer of affairs can
see the signs of a great popular uprising
against the corruptions in office, the base
ness of political warfare, the scandals of
public life, the unh0ly thirst for gain. the
looseness of financial morals which have
so long disgraced Us in the eyes Of the
world. Every sensible man knows that
the newspapers have apparently succeeded
in disgracng the statesmen of the Credit
Mobiier, defeating champions of the Back
Pay. breaking up the District Government,
abolishing the Jayne and Sanbon scan
dals. cleaning ont the Treasury Depart
ment. and exhibiting certain of our lead
ing Senators in their true character.
only because the newspapers have been in
full accord with the great mass of an hon
est and right-minded people. The i'm
pending conflict is not between Congress
and the press. but between official dishon-
esty and public opinion. The issue of
such a struggle can hardly be doubtful;
and vet there are some old women at
Washington who think Of fighting off the
storm with brooms.--Neio York Tribune.