Wilmington daily gazette., 1874-06-30
From the New York Tribune
Philadelphia the Press MuzzIed.

PhIIadeIphia-the Press MuzzIed.
oPSration If tic Pennsylvania Lac of Libel
70 -Ne%SPaper or Correspondent A5ie 10 De.
"o%nee @ C0'e'aI Co'7HPtion-Liabitty to
taets-No Criticism Of tie
Men Ia Office.
PHIIADELPHIA, Jure 2j.-lt will NOT ba nsws
TO any body to be told that Philadelphia IS ruled
by ling, but venture 10 say that there are
very lew people outside of this CITY who know
how powerful this Ring is how defiant of nnhi,,
OPINION and how difficult to attack 1t ia far
better intreuehcd than was the Tweed Ring in
It's pa!inIest days. In New York the tremendous
SnSIneIy o' Tue press, when once turned with its
inii force upon the "TImmany thieves" broke
down all theic deiences and crushed them TO
powder. I-1e the press is shackled by a Libel
Ia" which mikes II criminal oiIensc to print
my lhinS uamlgnS 10 the leputation OF officials,
| no matter no" strong the evidence may be- OF
thciT corruption. Administered by courts con-
sutHtcd by the Ring to do ITS bidding, this law
30 thu@l es Tue newspapers that those desiring to
ue mae pendent ana 70 expose abuses are Obliged
| 10 speak III such guarded, poIntle.s way about
ahk oliehses under their very eyes and noses that
| lhtlt uttefAn"es NE lost upon the the public
| An editor may have conclusive evidence that
certain olhcial has pIundered the city OF thou
sands ot dollars by making contracts at exorbi-
| tnnt prices aud pochetIng a heavy commission
| We may suppose this Clitor to be A man OF hon
| or conscious Of his responsibilities to the public
aud anxious 10 AID III reforming the evils whlch
he Knows TO prevail in tho CITY Government
| NAat dops De- do with those facts in his posses
| SION Publish them amt dcnounce the guilty of
| licta as pubic robber? Not q: all lie know
tAAt Il he should do this he would be the sufferer
while the exposed thief would 90 scot free. Nj
CITY Official would nj once have the editor indicl
| ed Tor lbel-no suit for damages remember but
| a criminal IudiCtment-the case would come ON
ior ttAl before Judge owing his place to the or
lc"H ana his irIeuG- III the Ring a Jury would
] : r F4aIz tt.0F lNf
house, and the editor would speed be sentenced
| to serve out term IN Moyamenslnz Prison IN
| tho society OF telons.
But lie could offer IN evidence proof of the
! truth OF his charges, you will say. 80 he could
not; ana this Is just what makes the Peppsylva-
| MA Label law such a tremendous instrument OF
| terrorism AMI oppression ia the hands of the
King. The greater the truth the greater the
| Huci Is tue theory ot tue law Nor would il
| aVall 10 plead that the publication was made in
the Interest Of plblIc justice. Ii the matter were
IN itself hbcioui and th= sut were pressed with a
hostile judge and jury, there would be no escap-
| ing CONVICTION. lhe only recourse would be an
! appeal for pardon to 4 Governor elected by the
luminous frauds Of the Rug and thoroughly III
| sympathy With all It's purposes. To jail the edi-
tor would he sure to 70, and when the KEYS had
turned on him, Mr.. City Official would celebrate
his victory by a nice little champagne supper
and would no doubt remark that he was really
sorry for the poor devil, but that it was time
those newspaper fellows should be taught not
to meddie with other peop-'s business.
But let u suppose the editors friends, or some
CItzen's fs;Jim Association take the matter up
While he lies III ilil and bring suit against the
Official on the proof he ohtaued. Would not
here be all u.tglulto remedy! Not the fiutest
hope Of II. The unfrendly courts would grant
| pCstponement after postponement and il the case
ever came 10 trll It would lie found that the wit
nesses iJr the prosecution had disappeared or
forgotten all they ever knew and that 4 cloud OF
witnesses lor tue defense had sprang up like flies
from the gutter The verdict would be acquittal
or II 10y some unexpected plan in the working OF
the judicial machinery Justice should be mettd
out 10 the cicnder, pardon would be dispatched
from llarisbutg as soon as required.
knowing how II would all turn out, the editor
prudeutly Keeps the facts TO himself, and talks III
hIs paper way that 1t Is not dEeet Or effective
ot tue eorrupti-ns official life and OF tae impor-
tance Of ovcrhrowiug tile Ring The correspon.
deu- Is IN the same predicament, He is held pei
suntily accountable Tor matter supposed to have
been written by him and printed IN d paper in
another State. prudent and experienced iout-
ulllSt narrowly escaped three months in prison
nc hald labor not long ago Tor an item Of news he
telegpphed TO q New ork paper, evsry word OF
which was true. Here, then, is the power OF
the Riug-it can smother the utterancs Of the
medium Tor the expression OF public opinisn.-
No Philadelphia paper and no CORES spondent in
fhIiadelphiA OF u paper published elsewhere
would Dc safe in banning the members OF the
Ring, and euumerating their misdeeds, nor at the
IlSk OF conviction for felony could 1t be said in
plain terms You, y, B, {, and Dealing by
name the 10 or Il men who compose the Ring
are the worst oligarcby that ever fastened itself
upon city having republican form OF govern
ment; you are piunderIng the taxpayers of mil
lous every year; you have piled an enormous
load OF debt upon the people. and cannot even
show A single well-payed street for the money !,
you collect annually tax OF $3.50 on the Sl00 ou
u :ull cash valuation of property, and spend at
least third OF It dishonesty you have terrorzed
, or corrupted the public press through the infu-
ence OF fear or greed, you have obtained the
support OF powerful moned corporations you
systematically perpetuate your power BY stufiing
ballot-boxes and detauchng election officers,
and you laugh at The righteous Indignation OF an
outraged people in short, you are precious lot
OF r,,scals, and Il there were some Botany Bay to
which you could AL be shipped, Philadelphia
would be greatly the gamer IA reputation aud IN
pocket. The fact that every count IN this in
dictment could be proved, would only increase the
| 40 ~ pnak