Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1879-01-08
CATERING TO PUBLIC NOTIONS.
ls IL Right fer Newspaper 10 critieise
Public Acts!
vermillion Standard

Vermillion Standard.
Those who have never held public Of
fict or have heen 90 fOrtunste "a o escape
ewsp,per nO.Oriety Will not only answer
:h,s question in the affirmative without
b taton, but think the iuierrOgatiJn Q
ve'y s'mp cone hut there are great msby
people 10 the world. and they are not ali
remote from VerniIliOu, who cannot stapd
criticism, whether they deserve II or not
Many M them delight in hearing others
criticised e.ea sharply; hut he who proues
be scts that lie Uncovered in clOse prux im-
ny to their doors IL often thOux ht out
rageously criminal in his design, aud should
1t lie In their power, they justify thrmsel,e es
BY prosecuting The editor KuOw,ng ,b,s
To be human nail urp, the ediiur must xpecl
ibis course, aud ii right. public sentiment
will defeud him, ii wrong he deserves
public censure; ii a man he will
take the cODs' Quences without gtumblinx.
There is no man under heaven, especially
a public servant, but who al rome period Of
His lite deserves ust criticism whether It
GUS" or not, and when. given will be y
better man for it il he il nan at all. 1t Is
unpleasant, 10 be sure, but the world de-
mand- it, and it is the fear Of it that keeps
IN, n within bounds. II ia much more con-
venient, often, to do wrong than have the
moral courage to do right, and were it not
for this tear Of me. 'ling the contempt Of
those we with to have think we'll Of us, socl-
ETY. would be in fearful condicion land the
innocent aud week ,na,ie to suffer.
Personally it il an unpleasant duty for
one to point out the faults of friend, al
though it il The duty Of friend to do 40
yet Oftimes one avoics it. Iu a publ capaci-
10 s}ntv tkof
perform, whether pleasant or not; and some
time in the future even the one
whose acts when made public gnaw
at their pride, will thank
The pen that checked their course from
thoughtlessness TO bad, from bad TO WORST
that is unless he has chosen such career
No editor can bnuorabiy sh,rk this duty
although they all wish that friends and foes
would shirk their faults, and thus furnish
90 occasion for sali log unpleasant things
An .edI,Or cannot ford o cOmpromise him
self by ignoring one public servants fault
without compromising with all When b,
does this bis prestige is lo.t.
Editors do not escape this criticism, ant
Oftlines get sufficlcncy, of it. His urtcle
are too radical tor one. and not enough s,
fur others; he fails to write an editorial vi
the suit ct one reader thinks lie should, q
oftends anO,ber if he does; be praises tb
good acts of one indlvdusl and win
the jealous haze of another 10
80 dong; some subscribers "a
though many who are not subscriber
6"d fully as much fault think certain ma,
tiers just the thing for publication. other,
that it 10 not. Such is the criticism that Ill
editor can depend upon each week anc
while the parties who consider themselve,
aggrieved, work to suppress the sheet that
has independence enough to show theil
faults, no one, even those who know the
editor has done right, cares to uphold him
in it.
Yet while wrong is wrong and exists, we,
for one. believe that it is right to hue to
the lines, let the chips fall where they may y
so far IS public affair. aud public life is
concerned. If We are wrong we will have
to suffer the consequences, and will no doub,
know better in the future; if we are righ,
We will have the satisfac,ion Of knowing
that We have not taken up the pen in vain
Al least the experiment is worth trying.