Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1876-02-29
OUR SPECIAL NEW YORK LETTER.
Nrw YoRK, February 10. 1876.

New YoRK, February 10, 1876.
Dear DIR. Editor The outlook in Print
ing House Square on the eve of the Pres
idential campaign is discourasing to the fore>
most aspirant. 1t is now an established insti>
tuition to make the canvass for President the
era for blackguardism. Ii an angel from
Heaven should appear on earth and run for
Chief Magistrate he would be painted as
Knaye and declared guilty of the most hor>
rible crimes. This is serious evil. AT one
time it was thought these excuses would
work their own cure, and SO they have been
RENTED to healthy moral tone which was
thought adequate to deal with their authors.
But The moral tone has kept on sinking down
until it has reached zero. while many powerful
representatives of partisan press have held on
so obstinately to a course of SANDER and whole.
sale rufiaDism, that practically there is now
no remedy for honest men who shrink from
suchGa strife, except in retirement to private
life and absolute seclusion from public affairs.
This RIGHTEOUSNESS will never be checked but
By reaction in the peoples mind, rising to
the magnitude of national public opinion in
favor of punishment for every wilful slaaderer
of any mau's character. The press itself is
the best agent to help in forming this reac.
tionary and needed public opinion. The
editor who will keep his columns uncontam-
mated By malicious abuse, and who will prefer
to tell the truth to gaining temporary party
advantage, will undoubtedly mako a more
effective moral crusade than Moody and Sanky
or any other preacher in the country
The admitted corruption which prevails in
many departments of the public service, both
State and National, is rather encouraged than
repressed by the habit of so many newspapers
in attacking everybody and everything with
indiscriminatc violence. Put big sensational
falsehOod in the disseminating current Of the
Associated Press. and every telcgraphic wire
in the country will fash it broad cast, tick,
tick, tick, over the whole Union II the
man or act against which it is levelled is I'M
popular, how many thousand of pens are sent
whirling over the groaning pages of in vectve
carving, hacking and hewing. and fairly de-
vouring the mutilated parts of their victims.
Every art of rhetoric. every appliance of TIE
great irresistible machinery of printing. the
lightning stolen from Heaven, all lend their
thousand voices to proclaim the lie which
kills !
But as a continuation of my last letter 1
intended TO speak Of our newspapers here in
New York, which WELD such influence in
moulding the thought of the country The
most powerful OF the morning papers by virtue
of its great circulation aud great command of
money, is the Herald Young Bennett, who
owns it, RENTS its control to an experienced
literary Bohemian whose single aim is news
Every channel is vexed by the HeralTs ex-
plorers, politics, religion, society, tho dens of
vice, the wilds of Africa. and many ima einary
regions not even included in the Arabian
Nights. And yet it is unsatisfactory news.
paper 1t tries to 'paint the lily and adorn
the rose, aiming to be sensational and sacri-
6cing truth and everything else which is sup
posed to exercise restraining influence on
romsnce>writers as we'll as historians, in its
break-neck quest for news. It's object is no
doubt money, for which it loses character,
excltes disgust, and gathers as in a net the
scattered impurities of the town for publica>
ton in its columns, it heaps up riches for the
young gentleman who owns it. James Cor
don Bennett, the son OF his father, lives like
a nabob sailing yachts, driving four-in-hauds
and sometimes even condescending to smash
street lamps in those happy moods WHICH.
suferinduce soda cocktails ON tho morrow
As he is soon to be married according to re-.
port, it is to be trusted that he has sowed all
his wild oats, and that he at length NAV be
inclined to fumisate the Herald of the moral
faint which now hangs about it
paper in this city has recently called at
tentiOn to the outrageous character of many
of the HeroLFs advertisements. Here is an
extract from the expose referred to- It.peaks
for itself aud as it will occupy tho rest of the
space | have assigned for this letter 1 will
close with it. Yours, &c,
PETER PoRCUPINE, JR.