National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-08-01
THK LTCENSR az THE PREss

SOlgE6SSlOudl CAQNaSS IN mdIYldUu.
THE LICENSE OF THE PRESS
The opposition journals at last seem to
have come to the conclusion that the
''slangerhsnging" business in which they
have been INDUCING for the last three or
four years does not pay; that the only re-
suit Of it is to disgust their readers and de-
stroy their influence. One Of the class Of
newspapers to which we refer declared
few days ago, In commenting upon case
somewhat prominently before the public ct
the present time, chat the American people
'thEye sense Of fair play, and 9 tolersblyveH
developed sense Of justice. |" and would not
assist at the moral crucifxioa Of q man IN.
less It was pretty well shown that he was
wrong and guilty. The journal which Ut
tered these words has been remarkable for
the persistent and Yenomous efforts 1t has
been making through q course Of years to
morally cruelty everybody connected In Q
prominent way with the Republican party
from the President down to the humblest
tide-Wsiter. The force Of Its confession Is
all the more striking when We look at the
position of the President to-day. For four
years it has followed him and his friends
with the grossest abuse and vilihcation. It
supported Mr. Greeley in the Liberal Re-
publican campaign, wss one Of the famous
quadrilateral which srrogated to itself the
supreme management of the Government
and the dictatlon Of whom the people should
and should not entrust with the making and
execution of the laws. But General Grant
to-day is so strong that II one may believe
ZONE Of the able journalists who profess TO
know everything, he has only to say the
word and the Presidency is his not merely for
another term but for fourth and fifth
and even for life. And, stranger still, the
distinguished editors who would have "cru-
Cited him in 1873 are now ready to sup
port and defend him, to be his captains and
Heutenants in coalition of parties which
shall have third term for its cornerstone
in 1876. The license Of those journals has
defeated itself The strocious charges, the
defamation and SANDER with which they
filed their columns have all reacted upon
themselves because of the sense of fair
''play and well-dsveloped love Of justice Of
"the American people
The journal from which we have q uOted
Is not the only one which has been made
TO see the error Of its ways. The scales
have also dropped from the eyes Of the New
York Ezprsss, and in an issue Of the pres
ent week we find it deploring the publics-
ton of lilies against men, society and the
State" which Is now 50 common, and
which not only "degrades mankind, but
greatly dishonors the country" Twenty
"years ago." 1t says, newspaper editors
"Eould have been heartily ashamed of
"much of the journalism of the present
''time, and public opinion would not have
tolerated 1t; but now the vices of Journal
<'lsm are what they are because they are
$50 largely in accord with the prevailing
sentiment of the day" Our contemporary
is entirely mistaken in its conclusions, shd
the campaign to which we have referred is
the best proof Of its error. During nearly
twelve months the opposition journals filed
the land with storm Of cslumny and men
-dacity which Is without parallel in our his
tory. The President was accused Of all
manner of villainy and corruption in Office.
An effort was made to connect him with
the gold conspiracy in Wall street, which
resulted in the wreck and ruin Of thousands;
he was in league with those who were rob-
bing the Treasury through the agency Of
the custom-hOuses; he was conducting the
Government for purely personal ends, the
advancement Of himself and his friends.
Every Cabinet officer was written down as
no better than his master; every Congress
man who sustained the Administration was
q highwayman; every subordinate officer
of the Government was thief The logic
of the ErprsSS is that these charges were
made because the pablo liked il, because,
in its own language, "calumny especially
if it involves personal virtue, " is demanded
by the public taste. Il may be so in New
York, but the result of that memorable can
vass showed that it was not relished by the
people at large for when the time came to
condemn it they did so with an unanimity
that has been rarely surpassed in our politi-
cal annals. In lesser degree the style Of
falsehood which then prevailed has been
continued since, and with, as we have
pointed out results equally emphatic.
To illustrate the truth of this proposition
in another way it is only necessary to refer
TO the position, character and influence Of
the man who as an editor has outdone all
rivals in ministering to what the Express
calls the demands Of the public. So far as
ability goes, Mr.. Dana is one of the dozen
really great editors and writers In the coun-
try. He is a man Of high culture and I'm
ished education and superb training. he
was leader fifteen years ago, dividing
Greeley's fame with him in the journal
which Mr.. Greeley himself founded. In
the opinion Of thousands whose opinion
is worth having he surpassed his great
chief Is q writer and thinker, certainly as
a student, scholar, and man Of conVic-
tons. When he purchased the New York
Sun, or induced q company &c purchase it
for him, the intention was to make it the
leading Republican newspaper in New
York city. Its mission was to win over
the rank and file Of the Democratic party
there to the Republican ranks, and in that
way hold the Empire State firm In the Re
publican line. Mr.. Dana did his work
falrly ably and earnestly, until the battle
Of 1850 was fought and won. He then
asked or expected that he would be re-
Earded With the control Of the New York