Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-06-24
THOSE LIBEL SUITS.

A Representative west tennessee
Journal and the Issue InyoIyed-It
Wants the Truth, the whole Truth
and Nothing but the Truth.
Memphis Appeal.
The men on the press who are above
the contemplate weakness of jealousy,
and who can lift themselves to the
height of approaching and landing a
successful or worthy contemporary are
so few, and their ranks are so slowly
recruited, that we despair of journal
ism in our age reaching that freedom
from personal, not to speak of party,
bias which will enable its professors TO
deal fairly with one another.
"a case In point is the contest now
waging in their columns, as well as in
the courts, between the Nashville
UNION AND AMERICAN and the Ban
ner, growing out of differences in po-
htical sentiment as irreconcilable as
the poles, and from ambitions that are
as impossible of anything like harmony
as two distinct things well can be. Be-
ginning with small paragraphs, the
war between these two papers has grown
by what it was fed upon until at last,
as is generally the result In such cases,
it has been narrowed to personalities,
and the charge made, more by
inuendo than by any direct
statement, that Comptroller Burch
bought his Office from Hobbs,
who was elected thereto by the Legisla-
ture of the State. The Banner for
some weeks alluded to this transaction
as the Hobbs mystery" and, when
called upon by the UNION AND AMERI-
CAN to clear it up by statement in
plain, vigorous English of what it
knew about it, made no response such
as it should have done after all its
taunt and sneer at the Comptroller,
whose private life it invades by allu-
sions to his family carriage, as if an
editor or Comptroller, if able to do SO,
should not indulge in landaulet as
well as your merchant, capitalist or
successful mechanic.
All this sort of thing is Contempt
BILE, and only serves to reduce the
press to the level of those unfortunate
creatures whom passion and ignorance
confne to the paucity of language so
aptly illustrated by the repetition of
you're another" If the Banner
knows that Burch bought Hobbs's pos
ition as State Comptroller, why does it
not say so in plain, unequivocal terms,
and furnish the proof. and so rest its
case with the public? To do so, even
now, would be to do the manly thing,
and relieve, as it processes to be anxi-
GUS to do, the Democratic party from
the odium of so base transaction and
the press from the suspicion its inuen-
do casts upon US all, itself included.
This is the plain duty-to the people,
the State, and to the journals
and journalists of the State. 1t is
the way we do things in Memphis.
Here. whatever our sins of omission or
commission, it will never be charged
against US that we are not outspoken
and do not follow up our charges with
proof. We have our jealousies and
chickering's, and bad blood growing out
of them, but inuendo is seldom INDUCED
in as a result of them. Both journalistic
courtesy and fair dealing demand plain
speech, and it is generally forthcoming
here. To this complexion We trust the
Banner viii come at last, and tell us IN
plain terms, not if it believes, or is con-
WINGED, or suspects, but if it kHotcs that
John c.. Burch bought the Office of
Comptroller of the State of Tennessee
from one Hobbs, who was elected there
to by the Legislature.
Whether Burch has a landaulet or
owns common hack, whether he feeds
on birds on toast or plain corn dodgers
and buttermilk, has nothing to do with
the question at issue, in which alone
the people are concerned. They want
to know if Burch bought Hobbs's pO-
sition, and if the Banner can prove
that he did. Common decency, no less
than common justice, demands mo"
or yes" and that either shall be
promptly forthcoming. This is what
we demand in the name of the people
of the State, having nothing whatever
to do with the petty squabbles,
the contemplate jealousies, or
local ambitions that always underlie
the wars Of our capitoline eotempora-
ries. 1t may be the profits of the
State printing; it may be tax-list; it !
may be an Office, or it may be the jour-
nallstic leadership that neither is fit |
for, that is the real basis of quarrel
that is so disgraceful to the profession. |
OF that we know nothing, and for it |
care nothing. We have only to deal
with the very grave charge of the pur-
chase of Hobbs Office by Burch, and of |
that alone. We want all the facts and |
particulars of which the Banner stands |
and we want them HolC,
feeling that neither the public interests |
nor the welfare of the Democratic |
party is to be subserved by silence |
until the courts meet in September.
Did Burch buy Hobbs place? Let the
Banner answer.
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