The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-12-02
THE INDEPENDENT PRESS.


ture has made Its appearances In our journal
ism. We refer to the independent press.
The independent press Is not, as 1t claims
to be, spontaneous creation Tn the con-
trary itsorign Is easily traeeable, and though
1t is sort OF woods colt and therefore has
no legitimate parentage, 1t is clearly the der
scendent Of that disreputable breed OF poll
ticians, old as the ruling instinct OF little, or
INSCRIPTIONS. or tilnid men, TO keep in with
all parties, known as trimmsrs.
Trimmers In politics have existed In every
age and State, and they have always been
objects of contemptuous criticism. There Is
nothing finer In the whole range Of English
literature than Bolingbroke's reference to
Cioero's weakness In exile, who, he says,
incurred the criticism even of Attcus,
the meanest man in Rome who had no virtue
save his riches and who would have been
noted with infamy at Athens because he kept
well with all parties and ventured with none.
| Edmund Burke, referring to the class to
which Atticus belonged, said in one Of his
most splendid speeches: "They were race
of men q hope In God the species Is extiact)
who when they rose In their places, no man
| living could divine from any known ad-
herence TO parties, to opinions, or to
principles; from any order or system in
politics. or from any sequel or connection in
their ideas. what part they were going to
take In any debate Butler has displayed all
the briliancy Of his wit in describing the po-
| Itical trimmer, and Macauley quotes with
great gusto the trouncing that prince Of
| trimmers, Shaftesbury rec:Tsd at the hands
| OF the author Of Hudibras anti from the lofty
pen Of Dryden. Some Legislators went SO far
as to make neutrality in party crime against
the State, and In the purest and most vigorous
age Of the Roman Republic the independent
newspaper" like the independent politician,
would have been looked upon as an Infamous
institution.
The contempt with which the public Of the
present day regard the independent press"
is not much less than that with which the
Romans would have treated It, And this Is
not because the people do not esteem, honor
and applaud real independence Of thought
and action, both in politics and journalism,
but because the independent press Is q
wretehed fraud. The party organ, If It is
conducted by men of conscientious oonvic-
tions and integrity Of purpose, will always be
In the true sense Of the word an independent
newspaper, because 1t will utter what its con-
ductors believe to be true, and 1t can never be-
come anything other than the representative
Of certain political principles and policies.
The so-called Independent paper, on the other
hand, processes to have no political convie-
tion, and holds itself free to advocate and sus-
tain any interest, fraud monopoly or scheme
which its conductors may find profitable.
The independent journalist il sort OF BUSH
whaeker who hangs on the skirts OF hostile
camps and plumbers unfortunately the UNI
protected districts of both sides. "All is fish
that comes to his net" He does not possess
even the virtue of the redoubtable Capt.
Duga'd Dalgetty. That hardy soldier was
ready To light on any side that would pay
him. but he stood by his party through thick
and thin until his contract expired, when he
Was ready to again sell his trenehant blade.
But the independent journalist Is like the but
termilk ranger, who never makes fight UNI |
less some unsubmissive farmer or indom-
table housewife resists his depreda- |
tions in the farm yard; and though
he Is always for sale he is never to be relied
on. No man Is SO subservient to power as
the so-caled independent journalist The
more Ubiquitous the power the more subserv-
up courage and talk in swashbuckler style |
against honest men and administrations, for |
these never regard him fit to buy. But let
a scoundrel like Kellogg be put In office, and
the independent journalist Immediately |
becomes the meekest and sweetest of men !; |
his "old paper" may be dragging heavily |
now" you know, and the rascal may be will |
ling to aid the enterprise.
There are lions and iackalls amongst party |
journalists, we have heard, or seen it written |
somewhere. We shall not dispute 1t. There
are men In nearly all professions who resem-
BILE the lion in their character, and there are
men in nearly all professions who in their
habits take after the meaner beast. But
which of the brutes of the field or fowls
Of the air Is so devoid of all courageous, no.
BILE or generous instincts that we may liken
the independent journal" to it Even the
foulest of birds, to which that institution as
1t exists amongst US might most justly be
compared, he's e sense ef fidelity te It's ewn
kind. But the independent journal" devoid
of honesty and courage is ready to rob or
betray its people, or to become the apologist
or tool of their oppressors.
That illustrious statesman and philosopher
Edmund Burke, whose pages we never open,
even In the most casual way, without falling
upon some sentiment or expression full Of
wisdom and nobleness, says there is nothing
that crawls upon the earth so mean that is is
utterly deserving of contempt We venture
to add except the independent journal
when 1t is crawling under obligations to KEEL
logg or grabbing for State contract.
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THE SENATORSHIP.