Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1879-03-08
THE LAST OF a Personal MAT


traducers.
THE LAST OF a Personal MAT.
TEX.
For several years past private business
matter of the APPEAL has been made the
subject of public comment. Brought into
prominence, as it was, by the industry of pri-
vate pique, it has been circulated with all
the energy of malice. and made its appear
ahce upon every stage of political existence.
Osten tatiously swaddled at the hastings,
brought squalling into a legislative grafton
by melancholy aspmant, and clothed in a
thousand different details by the street-cor-
ner -gossips, it is AGAIN revived in the col
umns of a newspaper published in this city:
Like the vile straw that's blown about the Streets
The dirty falsehood sticks to all II meets,
Cached, carted, ITod upon, now loose now fast,
And carried OF In some dogs tail at last
The APPEAL has borne with this in pa
tience which was born of contempt. To OPP
pose a simple.denjal to the transaction was
useless, for the facts were indisputable while
the coloring and differences were entirely
false; and to contend with such enemies
was indecent as well as absurd
d" For as coarse iron sharpened mangIes more,
And itch most hurts when angered to a sore,
So when you plague fool to still the coarse
You only make the matter worse and worse"
In few days will be published the testi-
mony of an editor Of the APPEAL in regard
to this transaction, voluntarily offered before
the committee of the legislature. Here. at
last, was al opportunity of making denial
with dignity, and here will be found re-
hearsal of the facts. Without repeating de-
tails in the reach of every one, it is sufficient
to say that . majority Of this committee,
composed OF Roberts, Driskill, Holman,
Driver, Bearden and League, acting under
the responsibility of an oath, after search
ing investigation. have exonerated the AP-
PEAL and utterly failed to find anything to
condemn. But we must beg leave to invite
attention to the testimony and to suggest a
few remarks. A newspaper Is a peculiar
business. On the one hand it is a mere phi
vate enterprise for the sale of space and
news, and pursued only for the actual money
returns upon the investment. When it can
sell its space to advertisers, and its papers to
readers, at greater profit than the ordinary
market rate of interest, it is a paying bust
ness. And in this view the conduct OF a
newspaper is regulated by that course which
will yield the greatest sales and the most
profit, and equally in this view is it absurd
to speak of the patriotism" of a newspaper
more than the patriotism" of banker or
the "holiness" OF broker. That this IS so
is evident from the fact that many newspa-
pers are owned and absolutely managed by
business men upon exactly the same business
principles as banking and merchandising.
To them the editorials are 50 much stock
bought, to be sold to the best advantage, and
they hire those persons to write them from
whom they can get the best article for the
cheapest price. And they adopt that line of
politics which will best aid the business of
the paper. For often the owners of news
paper differ altogether in politics from their
journal, and some papers are owned by stock
companies, with members representing all
shades of opinion. If the most ardent DEM
ocrat were given the New York Tribune to-
day, he would not dream Of changing the
politics of that paper, and thus destroy a
great and valuable property. This is the
financial and business side OF publishing a
newspaper. But there is another, which is
purely sentimental and no less important.
The public press has become a great power
in the land. Ii IL, in this day, the great
vehicle directly of public communication, and
indirectly the great arbiter OF public opinion.
This 3 the extraordinary side of this really
mercantile business; and 1t is this complica-
ton which. giving so much power, has
brought so much responsibility upon the
managers Of the press. For the two things
are, as they should be, correlative. When
much is gwen much shall be required, and
Re who would shape public Thought must Of
hims, ,If be clean and spotless. Ii Is out o
the misc, inception of these two interacting
elements tina the impression of wrong il
the matter we ar discussing has arisen. In
1870 and 1871 the APPEAL made a severe
but Just war upon the fraudulent bonds o.
our State. Our object was to exhibit the
odious Radical party and to cave tax
ridden people from the payment o, an un
Just debt. The following from the Ar PEAL
of June 4, 1870, viii show its general tons
on the question of the payment of the fraudu-
lent bonds.
orr dispatches from Nashville, yesterday, were
highly important, as they Inform Us that lhlense
excitement was created in the legislature ''by dis
cussiOn OF the resolution repudiatiDg the state
bonds and coupons Illegally Issued 10 railroads"
time the people OF Tennessee looking In the
uBon them by Radical rascality. Nobody favors re
pudiation. Individuals dislike to avail themselves
OF the bankrupt law, but necessity is sometimes
tueVor7bie The debt or Tennessee amounts e
ro7rf OFF,. b. . dollars. This debt was created
tu Ds.4 OIL. F-. -r. The people, already tax rid
zen sHog.. %. UGH a debt II they could; they
cauuuL 81 ttes Nudi. The parties who purchased
the Illegally issued Jnds and coupons 70 railroads
are a parry ~ the SHindle. The bonds we're hawkec