The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1874-03-20
Garfield on journalism,

The Hon. James A. Garfield, member
Of Congress from Ohio, has been col
lege president, lawyer, a general, and
a politician and now, in Congressional
speech, he essays to become q critic of
newspaper art Despite the fact that
political leaders, as a rule, are unwise
wneAeyer they attempt to indicate how
a newspaper should be managed, Mr..
darneld has approached the subject
phliosopmS>uy. If hehad really known
anything aDot the practical workings
OF Journalism, We would more nearly
nave toucned the ruth and in fact, If
we take his descrlpo1en of journalism.
not as what the latter o~qbt to be. but
as it really is, he may n6V he so very
wrong, after all.
Mr.. Garfield thinks that the h,a tbons-
and weekly newspapers of the osuntrv
are far more truly the photograph of
the public mind than the great daSy
journals are.
The "city editor" as Mr.. Garfield
chooses to call the editor of metro
politan journal, is likely to make his
newspaper mere reflex of his personal
opinions. There can, of necessity, be
very few men in New York, or in the
country at large, whose individual opin-
ions on any and every subject the peo-
pie will choose to buy.
What opinion, then, is of most worth?
Mr.. Garfield says the opinion of the
country editor, because he sees every
body in his county, and he will naturally
reproduce their sentiment. And we are
inclined to accept Mr.. Garfield's belief.
In multitude of counselors there is
wisdom. Your man of one idea, whom
Mr.. Phillips praises, may be good re-
former, but he would make bad editor
Given man of considerable understand
ing, with an original pen, and a crowd
to back him, and he will make better
| journalist than Thomas Carlyle would.
In these days of independent journal
ism it may sound like bigotry to say that
one believes in the good old-fashioned
doctrine that q paper should be rep
resentative. But Mr.. Garfield is right.
Crowd journalism is more likely to rep
resent the truth than an expression of
individual opinion is. In opposition to
this statement the Washington Repu6-
lican says that William Lloyd Garrison,
with public opinion against him, was
the founder of the Republican party.
On the contrary, William Lloyd Gar
rison, manful as he was, had no pSlSti-
cal influence, until the Republican party;
maddened against the South, and see
ing its peculiar institution weak and
prominent for attack, hurled slavery
into the past. Garrison and ,Republi-
canism never touched until the day of
Tincoln'S prOclamatiOn
Some men are naturally sensitive to
public thought. Horace Greeley was
called an Eolian harp upon which every
gentle sentiment made music. William
Goblet was representative because he
lived the daily life of the masses, very
much as monks assume sanity tenn
per by looking at nothing but the heav-
ems. Voltaire was popularity strong be-
cause France was century In produc-
ing him. He himself was France. No
editor can be great without representing
his community.
We can no better end than we began
this article, by saying that Mr.. Gar
fields estimate of journalism is correct.
The country weekly papers represent
the public mind. They come to us la
den with stories of defalcations by coun.
try officials, of the clamor of the PEG,
pie against unjust extortions and OF
country criticisms on nominations oil
local officers by the controlling powers.
-Fraaak Lesiie's Newspaper.