Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1882-11-08
THE POKER OF THE PRESS
Instances in Recent Political
History Where Editors
Have Wasted Their
Labars.


Labars.
Says a Washington correspondent of
the Philadelphia Press: Poor old
Horace Greedy, who was not much
better than other people after all, had
a striking way Of expressing his dis
gust for anything, and he was often
disguised. For example, there was
once a writer Tor the editorial
page of the Tribune, who shall be
nameless, whom Greeley did not like,
and whenever he had occasion TO
speak OF this writer's articles Mr.
Greedy called them hog wash. Now.
II you will permit me to express my
opinion, | shall say that | think there
is a great deal Of "hog wash" written in
regard to the influence of the press"
How stands the record2 Let us take
the river and harbor bill of the House
appropria.ing, l believe, chow DON
these things are iorgotten!) about
$2O,0O0,000 When it first made its
appearance in the House every paper.
or nearly every one, jumped on it. 1t
was clawed and torn and mangled, but
1t finally passed both house. 1t went
to the President. lie vetoed it in a
crisp and sensible message. Then the
newspapers began again, but what
cared Congress, 1t was passed over
the Presidents veto, and the papers
are bowling yet.
Then there's Keller. See how the
papers went for him. Snatched him
bald headed, so to speak, didn't they?
From the time he went into the
Speakers chair, last December. till he
LETT it last July, he was not allowed a
moments peice. They called bin
everything, and, though he used his
powers with high handed disregard of
rights and equities and was roundly
berated by all the decent papers in the
country, he went back to his district
and was renominated and re elected.
lie did not have as large a majority as
before, but there were other causes
than the newspapers.
Take the case Of Robson, of New
Jersey. Never was a man more abused
by the newspapers. Not only did all
the dailies and weeklies assail him.
but the pictorials took him up and
caTicatured him in every guise Of ras.
cality and ridioulo. He was called a
tibet, a robber, a plunderer. a boss. a
tramp, a tyrant, aud | don'tknow how
many more horrid things. Possibly
some of them we're true, but | do not
pretend to judge. This, however, |
know, that he was renominated in his
district and he stands a good chance
of being elected, but he has the news
papers against him all the same.
Did the abuse of the newspapers in
regard to the credit mobilier CHARGES
hurt the men alleged to have been i'm.
pllcated? Not a bit. James A Gar
field was first elected to the Senate
and then to the great Office of Presi
dent. Judge Kelly has as strong a
hold upon the people of the country.
and deserves to have. His constitu-
ents did not seem to care for the petty
assaults. Judge Scofeld's the same
he came back to the House by a big.
ger majority; was afterward made
Register Of the Treasury, and now he
IS on the Court of Claims bench for
lite. He could at one time have been
Secretary Of the Navy. Judge Bing
nam, OF Ohio, was not harmed. Ga
the contrary he was promoted to the
Japanese mission. Hooper. of Massa-
chusetts, remained IN the House from
the Puritan State until he died, vet
he, too, was assailed with the credit
mobilier cry. So on through the list,
Nobody was seriously hurt except
Schuyler Colfax, and we all knowthat
he was hurt by the sneaking manner
in which he tried to lie out of the
matter.
Let US, for another example, take
the subject OF assessments. For INV
part, | believe in them, though that
has nothing to do with the question
Assessments for political purposes are
certainly a most unpopular thing. Not
a dozen papers in the country but de-.
nounce the proceeding. Yet the as.
sessments went on just the same, and
Colonel Henderson, as much respon.
sible as Hubbell, has been nominated
tor Congress in Iowa, and will be
elected BY a big majority. Hubbell
himself has been lett out, but he says
he did not want a denomination. and
we shall have to believe him. At any
rate, the assessments are going on ali
the time. | had to pay one not long
ago myself.
Do you think the attack of the
newspapers on Mr.. Blaine, in regard
to the Mulligan letters, ever hurt him?
Not a bit, Only a few weeks after
the expose he had a majority of the
delegates to the Cincinnati conven
ton for President, and missed the
nomination by the bad management of
one man, Mr.. Edward Mcpherson.
How about Cornell in New York?
Nearly all the papers we're in his
favor, but he was not nominated for
Governor. And so nearly all the
papers were against Folger, but he
was nominated, notwithstanding. His
election, did you say? That is quite
another thing.
All this may show the degeneracy
OF the press, its dishonesty, its lower
ing of tone, if you will. OF course
the political philosophers will account
for il in some way, but what | want to
do Is to set people to thinking as to
whether the press is the great power
In the country that it assumes to be,
or whether the time has come when