The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1876-02-05
rHEPREss AND rHELEe1sLArURE
tFrom the Sacramento Record Union.l

THE PRESS AMI THELEGISLATURE
From the Sacramento Record Union.l
The expulsion of the San Francisco
Chronicles reporter from the State Sen
ate has naturally led to considerable dis
cussion regarding the relations between
the press and the Legislature, and some
papers have hastily concluded that the
liberty Of the press was threatened. 1t
is time, however, that a clear understand
ing was reached concerning the rights of
journalism, aud while we are not in
clined to attach much Importance to this
episode, regarding it as possessing no
general BEARING whatever, we embrace it
as affording an opportunity to point out
the rational aspect of the question. The
press has been degraded and brought
into disesteem by the abuse of its power.
for SO long q time that many people for
get the principles which ought to control
it, and many more have come to concede
to it a mysterious privilege, above and
beyond what is permissible to individ-
uals. Nevertheless it is very certain that
the press has not and never can have a
right to discuss publicly measures or
men less temporarily, fairly. courteonsly.
or truthfully than individuals are COM
PEELED to do, or than the rules of parlia-
mentary bodies prescribe. In the expo
sure Of wrong doing, in criticisms of the
blunders of public men. in denunciatlon
of any kind the newspaper must proceed
upon it's own risk, and if it exceeds the
courtesies of society, or offends the can
ons OF good taste, or INDUCES in %scurril-
u or defamatory language, to the extent
Of such an excess it is guilty of an abuse
Of its power. and to the same extent
should it be amenable to censure or to.
punishment. The journal which de-
sends habitually to personalities. which
abuses legislators who may have intro
duced Objectionable bills, and which en-
ploys expressions and terms such as All
individual could not employ openly to
another without inviting an assaults
recreant to its high trust and calling, and
deserves whatever rebukes may be passed
upon it. With such journalism we have
no sympathy whatever, nor certainly do
we admit for a moment that the dignity
or safety of the press is in any way i'm
perilled By or concerned in such scrapes
as it may involve itself in by overstepping
its privileges. We shall moreover be
very glad to see the principle generally
recognized and acted upon. that a news
paper has no rights of discussion or crit
iclsm higher or broader than those of the
individual. Whatever influence the
press possesses must ultimately be due to
its capacity for truth-telllng, to its can
dor. its honesty, its culture. and its self
respect. If a publisher chooses to dis
gard his duties to society, and imagines
that because he owns a printing-press he
possesses O prescrlptive right to abuse,
vilify. maligR and misrepresent whoever
it pleases him to %assail, it is only the fault
of society if be is allowed to continue in
this course, but assuredly he has no right
to- continue, and assnredly society rs per-
fectly justified in rebuking and stopping
him il he has not the ability to do so.
AS to the Senate. we do not know n
valid reason why it should sit down pa
tiently under the gratuitous virulence
and vulgafabuse Of press correspondents,
and we are disposed to think that it's res
dilute action in the case of the Chronicle
will have a salutary effect. and produce
an abatement of evils which respectable
journalists are very hear lily ashamed Of,
and which they certainly will not defend
or countenance. For the rest, it will be
time enough to talk about the liberty OF
the press being menaced when the Jour-
nals which recognize and act up to their
public duties make complaint.