The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1875-01-28
WdITELAW REID.

ton is rapidly increasing in this secton,alll al
most every general reader Of the news OF the
day thrlssfs the Tribune in your face as author
ity for flis and that statement. Sometime ago
It Charged in it's editorial columns THAI Messrs.
Dawes and Beck had been mentioned i'll coafz
faectlon with the Pacific Mail Subsidy, rot very
creditably. White.aw Reid, the editor, was
summoned to Washington to testify before the
committee investigating th;tt business
When asked upon what authority such publca-
ton had been make he stated that it was ''ru-
NOR, and That the ru.tors must have been
brought to the office by tlfe city editors. Two
OF tretn were called, and they denied ever hav-
ing told Mr.. Reid, OF any one else, anything
upoi} which such charges could be fabricated
Eli otlsef Words, it turns out that the assertions
OF the Tribune as to the two gentlemen named
were reckless and unfounled and manufacture
ed in the Office Of the editor. 1t further stated
that prominent menber OF the ssSouthern
Outrage Committee had importuncu, threat
encd and coaxcd Mr. Foster, Of the sub-conl-
mittee, to modify his report and make it more
favorable to Kellogg. 1t subsequently stated
that Hon. Geo. F. Hoar, the chairman of the
committee, was that radical who had annoyed
Alr. Foster so much. Mr.. Hoar being in New
Orleans at this time, his brother, Judge Hoar,
addressed Mr.. ,Fos.era letter asking if there
was one word of truth in this statement as to
his brother. Mr.. Foster responds that there is
not, and that it was a. fabrication from she
ginning to end.'' 1t seems from this that the
Tribune has been devoting its columns to the
ttnenviable task of throwing suspicion upon
honorable gentlemen, who are really abov
| suspicion, and that merely for the purpose of
giving the paper reputation of freshness Mr..
Reid has certainly made bud exhibit in tn y
last two weeks.
But a much more serious complication con-
| fronts him than is indicated in the unsatisfac-
.o:y manner he has acquitted himself in the
instances named. He deliberately made the
charge through the columns of the Tribune
| that Ex.-Goy. Shepherd had plundered and
bankrupted the District, and assaulted his
public and private transactions with such de-
gree OF violence, that if true, should consign
Mr.. Shepherd to the Penitentiary. The asg,-
grieved gentlemen, on the occasion of Mr..
/ Reid;s recent compulsory visit to Washington,
had served notice upon him of libel suit,
laying the damage at 100000. and if the prog
ress of the case develops that the evidence up
4 on which the allegation was made is not more
substantial than that furnished in the other
charges mentioned above, there is not an intel
ligent and impartial jury in the country that
will not award the full amount OF the damage
charged in the bill.
/ Mr.. Reid viii learn, now that public atten-
ton has beer taugfh1y directed to the charac-
ter of the independence OF bis Journal that it
cannot afforded to be independent Of the truth.
He may embellish his writings with the most
extensive resources OF classic literature. and
adorn his periods with the richest profusion OF
fancy and thought, yet the nellfluous flow OF
his sentences and the affiuence of bis erudi-
ton, will not atone for the studied absence OF
the higher, noblcr and more legitimate element
Of journalsin-a strict observance of what is
| true and just. 1t is no part OF the license Of
his profession that he can arraign with impull-
ty before the public the moral character of
1 men, and stain and blacke,f their reputation,
merely to crafty a rhetorical gift, and charm
the admiration by the mellow harmony of his
style. Mr. Reid has, undoubtedly, peculiar at
tributes for the field of journalism, b;1t he will
have to be taught that with the pleasures that
are experienced in daily communicating with
the public in the rosest and rarest figures Of
speech, there are likewise responsibilities. In
diyidual character is not SO cheap that it can be
| ruthlessly sacrificed that lustre may be added
to independent journalism Public senti-
| ment has not yet become so debauched, nor the
| moral senses so blunted, that an unlicensed
privilege can be taken with Reputation, and
| the defamation escape OF retributive Justice
By common consent, great privilege is allowed
the press in the discussion of public men and
| measures, but it is not privilege that justifes
the subordination of all the influences of mo-
| rslity and social standing to the ''bad an1bi-
| tien'' of sensational newspaper notoriety,
achieved in the field Of refined billingsgate lit
| erature.
| Mr. Reid will find that it is a possible thing
to abuse this privilege. and so revolt the scnsi-
bilities of truthful public, as to visit upon him
an approximate punishment Tor the rnwarran-
ted liberty he has taken with individual char
acter. There is even a limit to tile license of
the independent press
SOUND VIEWs.-One' of the best judicial
minds in the state, gentlemen Of high cf1arac-
ter, with clear perception Of tic right, conveys
to us the following sentiment, ht private let
ter Just received. In abiding te tile Louisiana
troubles, he says:
/. II fully endorse you in saying chat it was