National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1882-05-27

In the boldest type their printers could Furnish.
aud bid him come ON with his prosecution. Time
enough to give In when Sidney Bartlett had JAILED
10 make Massachusetts jury sec that In literature
We must allow free expressions If we are going to
nave treo expression; time enough 70 owndeieat
when sidney HARTLEY or Charles QConor iule ga
70 make plain, as either would not have FAILED to
make plain TO even Mr. oliver steyens's compre-
heenslon the difference between Biblical courage
o. language nnd intrinsic intellectual impnrity.
But Messrs. OsgoOd & Co. leave their Pavia UNI
fought, and
lose EVERYTHING, INCLUDING HONOR.
They might have braccd themselves with the re-
membrnnce OF Woodmll, standing prosecution
henped ON prosecution in his dark fidelity 10
Junius They might have gathered grit by trying
10 Imagine John Murray flinching from the publ
cation of Byron. ON the contrary, shaking in ab.
iect cowardice at the empty threat OF this legal
bully, they meanly break their contract with the
author, abandon the book they had volunteered
to issue and drop from the ranks ofgrcat publish.
cfs Into the category Of hucksters, Whose business
cannot afford conscience. II only remains to
point the moral and adorn the tale with the name
OF the Boston district. attorney. have called the
transaction In which he appears MS the prime
mover shameful, but the word Is limp ana color
less in It's application to such an ontrage upon The
liberty Of thought MS he has committed. The sense
OF II makes every fiber of ones being seem
INTENSIFIED WITH LIGHTNING.
On such a subject no thinking man or woman In
such country rs ours will reflect with cold com.
posture. The action Of this lawyer constitutes
reef which threatens with shipwreck every great
book OF every great author, from Aristophanes 70
Moiere, from Eschylus TO Victor Hugo aud the
drop of blood that Is calm in view OF such au out
rage proclaims us bastard to the lineage OF the
has become the peril OF Shakespeare, lie knows
well, no one knows II better, that under his con-
sruction of the statutes neither Shakespeare nor
the Bible could be circulated, and no one better
knows than he that neither of those books Is OBJ.
scene He knows well, Emerson and host OF
scholars and men OF letters in both continents
bearing witness, that Walt Whitman's book is no
more within the meaning OF the statutes than
Shakespeare or tho Bible, but he also knows that
the charge le has BROUGHT against the one lies
with Mt asst equal force against the others, aud II
he does not continue his raid upon great litera:
ture Is only because his courage Is not yet equal
10 his logic.
EVEN HIS BoLDER AND BRAssrER ALLY
In the holy war, Mr. Anthony Comstock-even he
tempcrs valor with discretion for the nonce, and
says he will not prosecute the publishers OF the
classics unless they specially advertise them "
There are contingencies, II seems, in which Tie
great works OF the human mind viii be brought
scene literature" Who knows, since fortune iavors
the brave and enterprising but that we may yet,
step by step, succeed IN bringing the fourteenth
century into the nineteenth, and re- erect Mont
mucUn--that hideous edifice of scnffods reared by
Philippe 10 Bel, where the blackened corpse
Of Glanus swung beside the carcass of the
regicido for having translated Plato, and whore
Peter Albin danged gibbeted beside the robber for
having Virgil lfthis fond prospect Is sun
somewhat distant 1t is only, 1t seems, because Mr..
Anthony Comslock lets his dare not wait upon l
would, and delays the initial step until the classics
are specially" advertised. Meanwhile MIR.
Oliver Stevens also waits for fresh relays oil cour-
age, and as yet only ventures to attempt to crush
Walt Whitman.
FOR THAT ACT or DARING
he shall reap the full harvest of reward. We will
whether in this country aud In this century be
can suppress by law the work Of man of genius
and fail of his proper recompense, lie has ar
rested IN Massachusetts the superb book which is
the chief Literary glory of country in the cap
itals OF Europe--the book of the good gray nurse
who nourish.d the wounded and Tended many a
| dying soldier through our years of wRr-nnd for
thut valiant action promise Mr.. Stevens his need
of immortal remembrance. He has the solemn
comfort OF having been unknown yesterday.
can offer him the glorious assurance that he will
not be forgotten Tomorrow. In the words OF
Emerson. greet him at the beginning of a great
career. There IL not State in this Union, there Is
not country In the civilized world In which his
| deed shall not
MAKE HIN FAMOUS FOREVER.
I pledge myself to attend TO bis interests. The
prosecutors of good mans thought are precious
TO such MS !, and we should indeed be recreunt u
duty If we failed 10 let it DO widely known and IN
such form as to never be forgotten, that Massa'
| chusetts has a district attorney, named Oliver
| Stevens true to the blood OF Mather, faithful t
| the darkest traditions, who wrenched the law from
| Its purpose TO crush aud extinguish the most
tfaordinary piece of wit and wisdom America hai
yet contributed the sanest, the largest the mos
| splendid and enduring literary product which the
| Celto.Saxon race has given the nge. Let this
| fame console him even in the sad event of his
being expelled from the otlGe Concord and Har.
| yard may say BIO has disgruccd and polluted