, 1874-11-13
AN INEVITABLE RESULT,

H0 naF0 HO 1uaiFol HlLn "ttRG i1 u6lu61FeIY
styled "ntepont1ont journalism" Wo repeat,
howovor, whnt NO sntd fow ttnyB ago, that ''Tho
Press, to bo usofn, canuot avoid bolng partisan
in groater or leHs dogroo. II an editor undertake
the role Of supporting both aides, lia position IL
equivalent to double affirmative. which amounts
to negative. II ho haDltunlly conHuros aud
condemns both, llo ls Hoon regarded as a common
Hco]d and nuisance. To DO entirely nnparstsan
lcavca him In tho condition OF o cipher; and
when a newspaper undertakes to bo wholly 'in-
dnpondent Of ttB pary mud yet tiscuHBca politics.
1t IL Oh tho high roaa TO tho camp Of ita political
opponcnta.'
Tho truth OF thia ia being rapidly illustrated
by tue co,1rso Of tho pnpor which was onco the
organ Of tho Democratic rnr.y III tho Northwest.
Tint paper las alroady passed. through aovoral
Of tho described Btagos, and Is now rapidly
striding towards tho camp Of tho nepub-
lican party. Tho chronology Of its pro-
grcssivo stops does not coycr very OK
tended period. It hnB boon 60 brief
that thoro arc hut few voters who canuot recall
whon that papor was go extremely opposed to
tho Republican party TINT It troated TINT party
aud tho Govornmont as identical, and looked
upon tho Robol army as engaged in the la1dabIo
work Of breaking down tAat purity; when tho
men who. being Democrats, donnod tho Union
uniform wero tauntoi us "Linco1n's Arelings";
aud nauy eau recall Its actual roioioiugs WHOM
the lobel forceH wcro successful In delaying tho
Union triumph. 1t can perhaps bo remembered,
Too, that when Mr.. Lincoln framed an oath upon
taking which any Rebcl in tho accession States
might bo talon under National protection, this
ficrcely Democratic pnpor declared that any
tuau who took that oath ought to be
tlonceforth treated as "dog." We TO-
Gull these thinga, not for tho purpose of
roviying any unploasantncss, but to show tho
extreme Democratic point that papor startod
from. OF course tho editors antipathy to tho
African wua Intense, aud the time When inon Of
dusky compilations would 10 admitted to voto,
mud hold Office. aud become Senators and Repro
scntasivest was commended generally to Domo-
cratH aa good tiuo to die. thereby avoiding tic
Disgrace Of living III land whero such things
wero allowed Gu this grind poiut Of Domo-
cratic doctrine llo waH gorgeous III bis rhetoric;
nnd tho pictures Of what was to follow negro
suffrage woro perfectly appalling. THIS was the
utmost limit Of Democracy, aud thenco begun
tho rotrogralo movement. Straugo Us 1t may
seem, tho editor first weakened OH tbs African.
Having ashed tho question: ",Vou1d you layo
your daughter marry negro" ?" SO ofton, ha
finished by answering his own question In
tho affirmative. For d aeaaon, tho Democratic
organ favored and advocated the unconditional
political equality Of the wlito md black racos.
This was the first attack Of tho disease Of "in-
dependent journalism" !" but Of this tho editor in
time WAS cured. It ia true there was Il rclupse
which at times promised fatal results but tho
typo OF 1iscaso was different, it boing mania
for grecnbaclis to bo Issued by the rcam and
Hot out to tlo people to be distributed cheap ut
tho "dolar stores" mud rotaled lilo peanuts ut
tho street corners. Zen Butler inspired this
idea, and tho nlau who wanted to bo an "indc-
pen1out journalist took it up us ho hal prcvi-
ons1y taken up negro suffrage, to tho horror aud
disgust Of all lis readers. After using III i.,de-
pendent Journal in q vain effort to pa1, of The
national debt with printed rags and to sducato
tic people up to the point OF believing t,at "s
piece Of leather, tin, or eyon wood" stamped by
tho Government with tho dollar mark, waB just
as good money aB gold or silver he again l'oured
on ''indepoudont journalism" uo then lasacd
to tho next staGo: ho begun habitunlly to con-
suro and condemn both parties, finding no good
i ntf tn 111o
deprayity to which ho was tho sole exception.
In this stage ho, Of COURSE, became common
scold aud G 1,uisanco."
Aud now. at last, without ccasing to be the
common scold and nuisance to the Democracy.
that paper proclalms itHotf wholly independent
Of lts Own party, md yot dlscussos politcs, aEd,
in 80 doing, yerilles day aftor day our statymons
that such papor must inevitably 60 forward on
the nigh road to tho camp OF ita former political
opponents. Tlloro is no outcome to tho present
COURSE OF that shoot, except it's hearty and ygot-
GUS support Of tho Republican candidate for
President in 1876. To that point it ia rushing
with tho irrosiatiblo forco Of grayitation. Tl1ore
is not Democrat or Republican who rcads that
movement towards that line whore independent
journalism becomes Radtcal 1topublicani8m.
For tho proaont tho rapor III in tho condition Of
tho ogg not fully matched, Ivory ropulslye. Tho
independent journalism it Affects merely aggra-
yates its character Gs q acold and nuisance;
but it iB only q question OF timo when putting
these aside It will DO hoard crying Justify for tho
Republican candidates for olico, and insisting
that avery nun belonging to the party should
voto for tho regular nominoosI Horet thou, In
Chicago, we have notable instance wl4oro a
party organ, holding tho extreme view thAt
rebellion waa juatiilablo when tho opposing party
administered tho Government. having onco
woakeuod In its party faith. has progressed, stop
after stop, through tho various stages OF public
nuisance and independent journalism, until at
last 1t IL about to fa bodily into tho arna of !s
thu