The Waco daily examiner. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 187?-1888, 1878-10-08
THE WAR ON THE PRESS.


izcn ON the Galveston Ne,cs cores
pondent in Houston, and two other
attacks made within week on 9TH
CIR employees of the Neps, is calling
out much animadvcrson from the pa
pcrs. If IL has got to be that a pa
per like the Galveston Nc,cs cannot
carry forward its enterprise without
its agents being put in peril of life
and limb, il becomes pertinent ques-
4 ton, what will be the effect, and
what is the duty of newspaper men
in the premises. OF the first the
ultimate effect will be to deter the
newspaper men from publishing
news which can bring them in an
tagonism with public men or dcsper-
ate characters, 10 glaze over great
crimes and give vanished accounts of
public deeds, the very remedy of
which is, full exposure to the light of
day. The effect will be to hamper the
freedom of the press to make II SER
vile and time serving to pander to the
great and powerful and desperate.
Here is now case in point. A
prominent man has made fierce at
tack on newspaper man. lie has
established a reputation for being
dangerous, and taking the law into
his own hands. All newspaper men
now know him. Let him do what
he will in Texas, and every account
of his acts will be toned down, and
be destitute of that freedom which
should characterize the utterances of
a newspaper. Weare all human, and
no man voluntarily puts his head in
a lions mouth. We know of one
adverse criticism at least that will
not be published since the late at
tack in Houston, for why should a
man make an enemy for life unless
under some great exigency. Who
will be the sufferers.
The mission of the newspaper is
to publish news. This news fur
nishes the public facts on which the
people reason. To cut of those facts
or to duh their meaning must deliver
the State bound, hand and foot into
the power of the scheming and law
less. The people alone will suffer
The newspapers will go on the same
But if the newspapers find them
selves in state of society where
they are expose to dance from pur.
suing an independent publication
of public news without reference
to fear or favor, what is their duty
People will say. II is their duty tC
publish the news at all hazards.
This is mistake, and arises from
the mistaken notions that newspaper
men are peace officers or heroes who
are to sacrifice themselves for the
good of the country. This is great
mistake. There is nothing in the
nature of newspaper to make hero.
ism or self-sacrifice a duty. The
publication of a newspaper is bust.
ness like law or farming. Men fol.
low it for pay. They buy news at q
certain price and sell them at a gain
and that profit makes their living.
| Now If the news cost more than they
sell for, the business is loss. If to
publish the news, and all the news,
without fear or favor, cost in addi-
ton TO money hazard of life or limb,
men will cease to publish that kind
of news, and publish only what can
be procured at a less cost. And that
is right. But whose loss will it be
The communities and not the papers
The Galveston Cicilidn in an article
full Of Indignation, says it is the du-
ty of the Netcs to see that its CORE
spondents have redress if they are
right. But such course would soon
ruin any paper. The only thing the
Ne,cs can do, is to bend to the storm
and say to its agents: "Gather all the
news you can safely, and if you find
you run risk in publishing news
about prominent parties or desper-
ate men, you must he the judge OF
your own duty. The Ne,1s cannot
nor no newspaper can fight against
public tide. The NeWs has no right
to hazard its large capital in endless
law suits" This is the course whicl
the Ne1s will pursue and which
every paper must pursue. The pub
lie will be the losers. not the papers
Newspaper men in the hurried ma
ture of their vocation do sometime
do Injustice, but seldom from malice
Their vocation calls for energy un
bounded, and truth is as highly priz
ed among them, as among others. |
is more to them, it is absolutely nee
essary to their success. A newspa
. per that did not make truth stapl
, article of its reports could not live
, But if the press is to be terronized
then farewell TO the rule Of law, an
open the flood gates of public co.
: ruption. The Neps ends a yer
able article on this subject in the TO