Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1884-07-05
NEWSPAPERS AND POLITICS.
Lebanon Herald.

Lebanon Herald.
u The STATE campaign has alread,
begun, ainl The natiOnaI ditto viii
Arln l.e. in fall blast. Ere long
banners will br waving, drum
Heating, cannon booming, and the
perSpiring patriot (numbt'rs of him
will be consuming precious hourS
In The attempt 10 convince the suf.
fraglns that the country is in i'm.
tiilInent danger Of going 10 the devil
immediately, and that he is the fit.
finest man to be entrusted with the
solemn duty ofCsaying IL. Then
after November, whether the dem
Ocrats or the republicans be SUCCESS
ful, things will quiet down, and the
country Will jog along as usual.
In the mean time, however, the
masses of the .people-ihOSe who
60 keep themselves posted, and TO
have accurate and trustworthy ac-
counts Of the progress OF the battle.
TO do this, they viii read news
papers-and 10 do II properly and
satisfactorily, they should read in
dependent Journals instead of par
tisan "organs. The newspapers
which are absolutely independent
ofpaTty dictation are steadily be-
coming more numerous and more
influential in this country. The
reason for this is apparent 1t is
because the people are rapidly
learning that on this class of jour
nails only can they depend for trust
worthy statements of political
events-they are coming to. know
that they need not expect to find
impartial treatment of any party
candidatclor any public -hian in an
"organ'' WHICH is opposed to him
in politics, 1t is not to be under
stood by this assertion, that news
papers are generally dishoneH, and
would maliciously suppress truth or
knowingly give currency 10 ialse-
hood-it is simply a fact that the
majority of them, democratic as
well as republican. are ''organs, In
the narrow and partisan sense of
that term; and the business of an
organ is to print all that is favor
able, and nothing that is unfavor-
able, to its own side. f-..., ..r.
Herein lies one OF the many adj
vantages enjoyed by Journal
which is independent In politics.
Being absolutely untrammelle,l by
party ties, and bound to no particu-
lar Organization, it IN free to print
the truth ON all occasions, no matter
whom it hurts, and il influenced
by no sense OF iealty to party, fan
cied or real, to suppress or distoft
facts aui 80
Your thick-and-thin partisan una.
BILE to comprehend such IL position
as this, naturally looks upon il with
suspicion. Trained, il may be
through long course of years, 10
believe that democracy is virtue and
republicanism vice (Or the converse,
as the case may be), he il naturally |
unable to see any good in II political
Nasareth, and can not understand |
how anyone who does not believe |
as he does can fail to be utterly and |
hOpelcssly wrong. When such a |
man happens to be editor of a news |
paper, he il the most intUlerant of |
men. Ills mimi, By nature narrow
and one-si,led, is not brtmdencd or |
liberalized by the dictatOrial habit |
nature with editors, and he grows
more and more impatient Of contra
diction and less and less inclined to
look with charity upon those who
venture to differ with him in opin-
ion. "Orthotloxy," in politics, sis
his doxy'-heterOdoxy, the other
fellows. lie runs an "organ." |
The organs are yet many and
Virulent. Even now, those ofthe dem
Ocratic persuasion are assidulous-
ly endeavOripS to create the belief
in the public mind that the eminent
who Is the republican
for president OF the United
States as a blackmaler and thief;
and the republican organs are ready
and eager to demonstrate that the
democratic nominee, whenever he
Is announced and no matter who
he may be, is a villain of the deep
EST dye. Genuinely Independent
apers-newspapers whose buS-
mess il is to speak truth aud not
lie" about all men and all parties |
ire, however, AZ we have said, in
rapidly in numbers and in
1uence. A newspaper, To be thor
)ughly honest and worthy OF ere
lence and support, must be thor
,ughIy independent and absolutely
rec from partisan influence and par
Y ties. The true newspaper should
rot be an advocate, hired to in
luence the jury of public opinion in
he interest OF client, and striving
o "make the worse appear the bet
er side" for consideration. II
hould rather he judge, carefully
the evidence on both |
ides, "withOut fear, favor or par
iality," and endeavoring 10 assist
he public to arrive at a correct con-
fusion. ..l