The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-12-05
Wendell Phillips on the Power
Of the Press.
THE EVILS OF VENALITY
Papers. Which Are Subservient
to Money and Party.

When the orator was introduced and after the ap-
plause had subsidized he began:-
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN-I have been asked to
speak upon the power of the prcss-its power for
good and for evil. 1t is fitting topic to be dis
trious for the ability OF its press, its marvellous
enterprise its massive strength and generally speak
ing r Ish Sa na na that
has such infamous Ones (Applause) our press Is
of growth sudden, the product OF the
last fifty yeary-and it hardly goes behind that
date-that although we may measure It's ditnensions
1t is verydifhcult to analyze fully It's relations. II
know how the power of the press will finally affect
the interests of civilization No man can adequately
tell that, but no man can doubt for
moment its wonderful power-its almost om-
impotence. There fifteen millions OF news
1aRers' masazi anwn before the ewes of the
human race. Fifteen millions! 1t would not be
large estimate to say that at least from twenty to
twenty.fve millions of people daily and hourly
subject to the government OF this great power 1t
seems it there could be no limit to such power.
There is such an understood faith binding humanity
together that men constantly and in great numbers
repeat assertion, requires capacity such as is
power ones sole and individual belief. When you
think those imprints can drop an idea into
way they please. put every form upon
1t for 800 successive days. you see how
resistless to ordinary strength must be such
power. remember cousin Of mine who
stanch federalist in the war OF 1917. was so i'm
pervous III his political opinions that on the LIST OF
paper just for the fun that would provoke at his
breakfast table. On the 4th day of November he
voted the democratic ticket. CLaughter.)
POWER OF REITERATION.
Lord Palmerston said in his most vigorous days.
II never dare contradict a journal. no matter how
personal its statements nor how far removed from
truth. know that they have three hundred more
days in which to print the same thing again."
So he remained silent rather than subject himself
the rejoinders of the press. 1t Is not to be
gone by. The libraries Of Mesopotamia and the
journal of Rome 1000 years later prove that the
power was then known to considerable extent.
Il..t had tn
and down. forward and back again. So the press
what 'is M is soday The battle Of Waterloo that
greatest event in the history Of the time received
Why, imagine brawl to-day half dozen soldiers
numbering AN Indian. and the HERALD will
recently two oSGsa BACK m the
of 1880. when the great riots threatened
common destruction. and Garrison was driven
through the streets by angry mob, and had
hard work finding connected history of those
events. 30 meagre was the journalism of that time.
The press in the sense in which we speak of 1t to-
night is almost creation of the last fifty sixty
years. Its effects, therefore. which We are to dis
must BIZ confined to that period.
ALMOST oMNIPoTENT.
The press Is almost omnipotent and such power
srraiag the pressf How can it 30 arrested and how
tudged2 II editors not jealous of one another.
but were united. the contemplation OF their power
thousand newspapers to entirely agree you would
end to anything like individual freedom
or opinion. 1t undertakes SO much and achieves
much that the fear is shall leave everything to
it, and therein lies one of the greatest dangers that
besets young Republic What we should aim at
is progress. constant progress; something higher.
somerhlng better, something nobler But the nature
the press is to stereotype matters and stop
the lines of progress. Samuel Johnson said
'Let empty our minds OF can't" 1t was . good
studying the elect OF the press to empty our minds
OF cant. When the members OF the press come to-
Eshsr mean the frde sent. sov members
themselves that all were gentle, well nurtured.
highly educated. having only in view the common
veal in fact the second saviors OF the human race
But these only paid agitators. When
speak of journalism in it's general scope. it IL .
press of ideas and life aud power, but spoken Of
In the concrete it is simply u dollar subscribed
for SO much commodity. You hear
the clink of the dollar and the snap Of
the party whip in every editorial they write. am
not describing all journalists in these terms. There
are some high minded and independent ones among
them; but we can look into another's faces and
not smile at suggestion that these men any
thing than the retained leaders OF one section
WONDERFUL ENTERPRISE.
Immense resources and wonderful enterprise be-
long to the daily newspapers. We may take up the
HERALD and read the words OF the Queen of England
to Parliament hours before they delivered
We may take up afternoon paper and read what
Bismarck SAID just before his dinner. The man who
reads to-day has teiegraphic communication with
all parts the world. The man who don't read
might as well be Robinson Crusoe on his island.
The press is the literature OF the Masses To
tain class of men it is literature church and col
lege. Fletcher sAid:-"Let me make the bal
LADS and don't care who makes the laws" To-day
he would have said LET me make the newspapers
and / don't care what IL spoken from the pulpit
or enacted at Washington" Applause.) We must
give the press credit for great and undeniable re-
suits America to her press one-half. If not
more, of her great development. But the press is
the agent of the well-to-do classes. ana when
sns spa got r s S wants hits to
tons the poor editor is lett in
fold Sidney Smith said to O Frenchman: There
are only two things in the world worth talking
about. religion and politics, and you can't talk
about either" (Laughter.) There are only two
tall
and politics, and ninety-nine out OF one hun
dred newspapers in the land dare not say
not to say any thing about them. Applause, am
not maligning the newspapers. know their power.
the newspapers until he has studied tho history Of
the age that had not any For the protection Of in
dividual liberty the power OF tn" press il indspen-
sable; but go beyond that-ask the press to 20
forward to meet the advancing ideas, to go
outside of the weodo class and assist the masses.
and then comes the cruciixion. The average editor
gets has living out of his subscribers. He might
well pelt them with bullets with ideas.
Laughter) lie could not afford the luxury. laugh
tori While the press represents the we'll
TODD classes 1t can never be the or
gan of social change, the organ of
masses. In the hard days just past, when society
over the country. then Beecher Numbered from his
pulpit. Bread and water are good enough for any
man." Then the leading paper Of Chicago repub-
tramp is to shoot him." and added. ''The best
thing to do for a tramp is to give him
q ulnner-anu put polbon III H. linen the
Times OF this city said to suffering laborers .Come.
You must submit to the rch." and the Tribune CRIED
iCapital Is organized at last Let US Congress
defy i'll" All this happened IN 1876. years after tho
Saviour said 1.-THE poor ye have always with you.
Give to him that asketh thee. and from him that
would borrow of thee turn thou not away"
NO FEEILSG FOR THE MASSES
No the press has no feeling In its heart for the
muses.. Tue press is intellectual but intellect is
not goodness-far from 1t. England would probably
be called the most intellectual nation now upon
EARTH aud once Tocqueville said of the British Par
lament, at has only member, and ho does not
ask this right is this wrong but how will this
affect the British government
Disraeli has said in 'vivan Grey" that the people
are not often wrong, and may add that the
people mean the masses. are always just. When
the autslavery started we found all the
papers, all the magazines, all the book publishing
houses bought up aud closed against us-evory
gun spiked. The richest publishors In the
world whose books go ~ the world, living in
your city II need not mention names), did not dare
to print word on anslavery for fear 1t should 70
ANIL md MIN f,fIa