New-York tribune., 1878-01-05
BLACKNIIL.


Without undertaking to PREJUDICE the case Oi
| the Widow Oliver who is now prosecuting ex-
Senator Simon Cameron, we may perhaps be
allowed to remind our readers that the annals
of the police are full of stories Of blackmai
to which this affair bears a more or less acci-
dental resemblance, and that gentlemen
in Mr.. CamerOn's conspicuous position are
peculiarly exposed to the operations OF
the female depredatOr. An adventures is
never dangerous except when the world is
ready to believe in her. Now the world, as
we all know, is especially ready to hear scan-
dalous tales about its rulers; it delights IN
raking over the private lives Of prominent
politicians; it listens with ears erect to all
manner Of damaging reports of their manners
and morals. 1t is no wonder that the most
dcspicable class of women Gnd an easy prey
when society leagues itself with them in the
business OF plumber. They find their prey all
the easier when they know that the reckless
pursuit Of political opponent will lead at least
one half the press into becoming on the
instant, without the least reference to
the truth or falsity of the accusations,
their active alies-spreading their stories,
championing their claims, and making it gen.
orally uncomfortable for the luckeSs politi-
clans they peysecute The capital they
bank on, their whole stock in trade in
fact, consists in many such cases of their GER
tainty (and Of their victims certainty that all
the papers politically opposed to the man they
wish to backmail, will glecfully snatch up the
scandal, and spread it from ocean to ocean.
Is 1t not time for the press to think of Its
responsibilities in this matterl The blackmail-
crs would be almost pOwcrless if the news
papers were not so eager to print their dis
graceful stories. Some journals have n heartier
appetite for dirt than others, but we have all
been offenders in some degree, and all need to
be reminded that to make either merchandise
or political capital ont of private scandals Is
an occupation unworthy Of men-to say nothing
of gentlemen. Let Us conline our controversies
to the public acts and speech of politicians
leaving alone their domestic lives, and we
shall spoil the calling of the blackmailer, be-
sides improving the respectability of our own
The last Of the bodies buried in the 2arcIay-st
ruins has been recovered There are 10 more bodies
there all the facts show that eight were lost with
in the walls and two persons crushed to death
on the sidewalk. The names of those ten persons.
with full evidence that they were lost were pub
llshcd in THE TRIBUNE on the second morning after
the explosion when we announced the total cas-
ualcs at ten dead though all the other journals III
sisted that there were hut two known TO he buried
there Carecssness in the publication ofscl matters
as death lists has long been discreditabc charac-
tcristc of Ncw-lork papers, leading In every IN
stance TO distortion of the facts. In the cases of the
Westfeld disaster and the July riots III 1871, the
number of killed was exaggerated nearly one-half
by all the papers except THE TRIBUNE. II escaped
The same error simply 10y arranging the names OF
the killed wounded ana missing in alphabetical or
der. thus avoiding the duplication of names scy-
cral times reported from different station houses
and hospitals. In reporting the later horror
of the Brooklyn Theatre fire, The TRIBUNE
added the further precaution Of sending re-
porters to the homes of every person re-
ported lost, and verifying the reports made
10 the police before adopting single one rs correct
The result was that the correct name, history ana
circumstances Of each person burned were published
in The TRIBUNE. Our city cotemporaries, the
coroncr5 of Brooklyn at their inquest the flre-
Marshal of Brooklyn in his investigation, and the
Relief Committee of the same city in its division of
the subscription fund to needy survivors, adopted
our Inst rs better even than the official one. The
care taken in reporting the names of those lost IN
tlc late disaster warrants us in asserting that the
full extent Of the catastrophe was told by IuE
TuHINE within twenty four hours after Its occur
renee and Just a fortnight before the authorize
even began an inquest. We take the liberty o.
calling gattcnon to these facts because the accuracy
of its reports is pride and boast of The lRlBUNE
and we desire to couple with it a promise OF con-
timed we-doing in this rather than the sensational
direction.