The star of Pascagoula. [volume] (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1873-1878, 1874-04-11

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NO fHIg great Statesman ever bad
reason IT, lmr. uuah les t. abnse.
tho vast i6aus0oe of modern journal.
/ Ism. II may at times ron contrary
10 BIZ plans and mae ibo execution
Of his purp0soJ Il may at times pro.
yoke unjust criticism ol bis motives
and question The wisdom Of lis &C.
tons it may at times create a publiC
opinion which he deems hostile 90
tho boat interest Of tho nation but
10 the long run the benefits be do.
riycs from il far outweigh the an.
noyances and embarfassmcnts IL has
caused bin. For a truly great statos.
man is always honest, always honor
able and Journalism, as quick to
recognize these qualities as to con
demn their opposites, throws them
like q mantle over all his minor de-
ficiencies and then holds him up to
the popular gaz1 as one who deserves
well OF his country.
But to the pinchback statesmen
who is nothing more than comm on
o.itician, tricked up in the robcs Of
"a little brief authority"-the press
is the bane of his existance. He
begins his political career by truck
ling to it, and when by its aid he has
reached a certain pitch Of success he
is anxious to kick down the ladder
on which he has climbed from moth
ingness to notoriety. He cannot un>
derstand that the power which en-
couraged and assisted him when he
seemed worthy Of encouragement and
assistance, should dare to denOunce
him when bis unworthiness is fixed
fact. While it aattered ,caressed and
stimulated, it was noble institution;
when it rebakes, chastises and de-
molishes, it is a nuisance which de-
mands prompt abolition. A journalis-
tic eye is the only one whose glance
the pinchbeck statesman dares not
face; the journalistic lash ia the only
one which can leave its mark upon
the toughened GutiGle Of his moral ma
ture the deliberate verdict of the
journalistic jury is the only edict
which can dismiss him from the place
he 4 buses to the obscurity he is SO
well fitted to adorn. That tae man
who endeavors to build his fortunes
on the sandy foundations Of hypoc-
risy, humbug, selfShness and rascal
ity, should hate this omniscient and
omnipotent agency, is quite natural.
and from his point of view, quite
right. The press is the inexorable,
irreconcilable enemy o. all such.
While he lives it follows him as an
ayenging Nemesis when be dies it
writes his epitaph. ..-. .....
That poftion Of tho journalism
Of the day falls short Of its high mis-
sion, and not unfrequently prostitutes
its mighty energies to base uses, is,
of course, undeniable; butt we as
sert that in spite Of its many faults
and foibles, iu spite of its manifold
sins of omission and of commission,
free press always has been and al
ways will be the strongest champion
of free people. The license it oc-
casionally indulgies in is as nothing
when compared with the liberty it in~
sures the scandle which it too Of
ten circulates is as nothing when
compared with the truth it tells i; the
wrong which it too often winks at is
as nothing when compared with the
iniqaity it exposes and helps to pun
ish-its offences are a mere drop in
the ocean of benefits which it con-
fers. We do not go beyond the
mark when we say that q governs
ment like this Of ours cannot exist
without q fearless and untrammeled
press. 1t is not only the most i'm
portant element of republicanism-
it IS actually the salvation OF the whole
republican system. 1t is the salt
which saves the mass from rottenness
the light which illumes the path
Al tl,1.-,nr,