The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1876-05-25

syllable he has ever breathed, SHINING IN
the heavens where each word, as it is
uttered, sets its eternal seal. And so,
out of his own mouth, shall every man be
judged. 1t is an appalling thought, and
the realization of it is had, in measure,
by the journalist Assemble the blanch.
cd pages tugethefj display them Id the
plains, for no valley of Jehoshophat
would hold the army Of silent witnesses; {;
and the journalist has before him the story
of his life. There stand the undying
words. Each one has done its work. Of
each one must account be given. This
accountability, whether here or hereafter,
near or remote, cannot be escaped and
in the degree that the journalist realizes
this truth must he be imbued with deep
sense of personal responsibility. 1t is his
first debt to the public.
This responsibility is not sentiment.
1t finds practical expression in every de-
partment of newspaper; in conscien-
tious working, in doing nothing and
writing nothing that is not, in him who
says or writes It, generous and just. It
forbids whatever can defle or debase j
any dalliance with impurity, any gloat-
ing over sickening stories of crime. The
newspaper must give the news. Little is
gained by attempting to suppress it.
But between the coldly exact statement,
which is assumed to be indispensable,
and the highly colored pen-pictures of
which some journals are fond, there is
the difference that we see between nude
antique and the meretricious suggestive
ness of Opera Boufe. And in editorial
writing, in expressing the thoughts and
opinions Of the newspaper; the sense Of
responsibility should be even more keen
and constant than in determining what
shall 60 to counting room or fire-side in
the guise of news. What is said by any
of us in the streets has little effect upon
the fortunes of a people; it is heard and
remembered only by the few. But what
is printed in a newspaper becomes known
to thousands; and for it, the community
known to read and support that news
paper are held accountable. 1t matters
little, in these disjointed times, whether
the community approve or disapprove of
what is written; whether the newspaper
represents or misrepresents them. Their
enemies take their approval for granted /;
the wish again is father to the thought.
For this reason harsh and bitter words in
the public prints are sins against the
public. They are made the excuse for
new wrongs and fresh expressions. They
thrust peoples asunder, and are the
breath in the nostrils of the demagogue.
Blame not the Southern newspaper if it
speak less hotly and defantly than the
private citizen is tempted to do. 1t
counts the cost to the public. A day
will come, perhaps, when lips need not
be sealed when manly indignation and
bold rebuke will not be misunderstood.
That day has not come yet, and until it
does come the conscientious Journalist
must think first of the welfare of his pub
lie, and last of own inclinations. There
is another day that will never dawn the
day when it is wiser, as it always is easier,
to be headstrong and needless than tenn
perate, judicious and full of thought.
The sense of his responsibility will
govern the journalist in small things as
in great. No recognized cheat or fraud
should be allowed to make the press its
instrument or decoy. The ingenious
knaves who prey On the public have little
scope, unless, through unaccustomed or
unsuspected channels, they can reach the
public ear. Close against them the col
INNS of the press, and the biggest swim
dies of the day will plague their inven-
tors more than they will harm the public.
A corollary of this axiom is that adver-
tisements- announcements of any kind
for whose publication money is paid
shall be so printed that their true charac-
ter is known and cannot be mistaken.
A particular part of every newspaper is
allotted to paid announcements. Shrewd
advertisers always prefer that their ad-
vertisements shall 60 in some other part
of the paper than in the regular advcr-
Using columns. Their object is, to give
to their announcement weight that
they would not have if their true charac-
ter were known. Their reason for con-
cealing the fact that these announce
ments are paid for, and are neither more
nor less than advertisements, is sufi-
cient reason why these announcements,
and all of the same class, should be
marked and designated as advertisements.
Then the advertisers can yaunt the mer-
its of their wares as they please, and the
public read and judge for themselves.
This rule applies to all purchased or
purchasable praise or censure OF any per-
son or thing. The newspaper is expect
ed to give the public its candid views /;
and when we print for price any opin-
ions, however just or honestly enter
tanned, we must be open to the imputa-
ton that we have sold our influence with
those who only trust us because of our
fancied disinterestcdness.
It is hardly necessary to say that an
nouncements that are evidently against
good morals should not be taken at any
price. The journalist who prints such
notices as those which are faunted in the
wealthiest journal in America, is no bet
ter than pander.
These are illustrations enough of the
application of that sense of practical re-
sponsibility which is demanded of the
journalist; and with that responsibility
must be associated its handmaidens
Fearlessness and Independence.
The truth is seldom welcome; the
whole truth is commonly unpalatable.
To dare to tell the truth is, generally
speaking, to dare to be unpopular. I'm
truth is more attractive at the first glance
than truth; and not in the 10Th century
more than in the 18th. Wise Bacon
said: "This same truth is a naked and
open daylight that doth not show the
masques and mummeries and triumphs
of the world half so stately and daintily
as candle-light. Truth may perhaps
come to the price of a pearl that showeth
best by day; but it will not rise to the
price of diamond or carbuncle that
showeth best in varied lights"
1t is not, however, the place of Jour-
nalist to play the pedagogue, and treat the
public, in administering the naked truth,
as children who can be "kept in" or
birched, if they murmur or sulk. 1t is
his duty to demonstrate, to rebuke, and
to condemn, when pernicious plans are