The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1875-06-15
Corrupt Journalists.

Some interesting information was given |
by Mr.. ii. Ii. Body, well-known rail |
road man, and formerly treasurer of the
Rockford, Rock Island & st. Louis Rail |
road Company, in his testimony taken in
the foreclosure-suit against that company. |
1t concerns journalists and journalistic re-
lations with railroads of the Credit Mobil- |
Ter order. MIR. Body was the financial
agent of the road, and found himself called
upon to place $5,OOO,O0O of bonds before
an inch of the railroad was constructed
He states in his evidence that whoever
endeavors to negotiate railway loan, es
pecially of the character that was hand
ling, must secure the aid of the press in
order to be successful; it cannot be accom-
plished without the influence of the press,
without their active cooperation; that
cooperation is to be purchased" This is
a very general assertion, and it is scarcely
sustained by the revelations that Mr..
Body had to make. We have no doubt
that in the era of Credit Mobilier railroad
ing, one of the first things the financial
agents of such q concern did was to buy
up anybody and everybody willing to be
bought, who could exert any important in
huence IN deceiving capitalists or betraying
the public. Included in this category
would be legislators, journalists, brokers,
and such other public and semi-public per
sons as would deliberately sell out. The
revelations in the original Credit-Mooilier,
in Gen. Fremont's Memphis u FL Paso, and
in all the other bogus concerns OF this ma
ture indicate this much. But in all the
developments so far, the gentlemen who
have confessed to the offering OF the brides
have failed to implicate any newspapers
except those which were without influence
at the time or subsequently lost their in
fuence. Generally, the bribed journalists
have proved to be men OF no power them
selves, and who could only sell out the
trusts they held until they we're discovered.
While it is true that the negotiators of
worthless bonds have generally sought the
assistance of certain class of newspaper
men through brides. they haye almost al
ways thrown away their money, and the
results so far do not warrant the compre-
hensi7e indictment which Mr.. Body
makes in the sentence we have quoted.
MIR, Body says that he distributed
about 100000 worth of bonds among
newspaper men to secure their favors in
disposing of s., 0O0, 900 Of the same bonds.
So far as we have read his evidence, he
accounts for only $4,000 of this amount,
leaving nearly $4,000 worth in the dark
Why does he not tell where the balance
was used? Is it because it was distributed
among obscure attaches of newspapers, OF
whom nobody ever heard? He says that
the remainder generally went to writers OF
money articles in various connections, and
none of them went to the editors of these
papers," Probably Mr.. Body has given
the names Of the most prominent men he
succeeded in bIibing, One is the editor OF
weekly paper of professedly religious
character which has long been suspected
of prostituting its editorial columns toI
money; another is that of a money writer
(now deceased) on New York daily
paper of limited influence the third is the
editor of German paper that is rarely
heard Of on this side OF the water, what.
ever standing it may have in Europe. Il
the list is no more formidable than this
the general aspersion of the Journalistic
profession which Mr., Body makes is by
no means sustained 1t he has other anC
more important names in reserve he should
make them public.
In defending the newspaper profession
generally, we have no desire to shield O.
excuse those who have done so much t,
bring the newspaper profession into con
tempt Mr.. Bowen, the editor and pro
prietor of the Independent, is set down TO
$4,000 of these bonds, in consideration o
which, Mr.. Body tells us, Bowen agreed
that the Independent should indorse tn
enterprise editorially, and print anything
which Mr.. Body wrote in favor of it.
has generally been supposed that MI
Bowen made similar agreement in re
gard to Jay Cookies Northern Pacific en-
terprise, The then financial editor of tn
New York World, and one Morris Never
editor of paper called the Handel $ Zei
tuRg, are said to have made similar agree
ments. Something was said in each cas-
about personal influence" but of cours
this amounted to nothing. 1t was tn
newspaper which Mr.. Body was after il
each case.
The worst of all these; revelations Q
bribery in connection with newspapers an,
newspaper-men seems to be that both tn
bribers and the bribed might better hay