Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-03-19
THE NEWSPAPER.
Jefferson's Pessimistic Remarks Upon thu
Fourth Estate of the Republic.

Jefferson's Pcssimistic Remarks Upon the
Fourth Estate of the Republic.
The London Times has just COM
pleted it's hundredth year. But it is
not as old as our Newport Mercury,
upon which DR.. Franklin did Journey
work in his prentice days. 1t is of a
graceful salutation to centenarian
journal to recall Jefferson's remark in
a letter written in 1907, that nothing
can now be believed which is seen in a
newspaper. Truth itself becomes sus-
pic Gus by being put in that polluted
vehicle. The real extent of this misin-
formation is known only to those who
are in situations to confront facts with
in their knowledge with the lies of the
day. 1 really look with commiseration
over the great body of my fellow-citi-
zens who, read ng newspapers, 1--we and
die in the belief that they have known
someth ne of what has been passing in
their time; whereas the accounts they
have read in newspapers are just as
true history of any other period of
the world as of the present, except that
the real names of the day are affixed to
their fables. l will add that the man
who never looks into a newspaper is
better informed than he who reads
them, inasmuch as he who knows moth
ing is nearer the truth than he whose
mind is filled with falsehood and er-
rors. He who reads nothing will still
learn the great facts, and the details
are all false"
These extremely pessimistic remarks
upon a power which calls itself the
fourth estate of the realm, and which,
as Thackeray said of a certain gentle
man, thinks no small potatoes of itself,
occurs in letter to Mr.. John Norvell,
replying to a request to mention good
elementary work upon civil govern
ment. Jefferson mentions Locke, Sid
ney, Priestley. Chapman, and the Fed
er0iist, with Beccaria, Smiths wealth
of Nations" and Says ''Politc cal Econ
omy.' which he says is not yct trans
lated into English. The observations
upon the press are by far the most pun
gent and energetic in the letter, and
they show-for it was toward the end
OF his second term-that Jefferson had
felt the thrusts of the Federal news
papers. But Jefferson had also taken
a hand in the game. While he was
still Secretary of State he made Philip
Freneau translator in the State Depart
ment, and Freneau's paper assailed
Washington and Hamilton. and. as
was understood, not only with the
countenance, but with the aid of the
Secretary.
The reader perceives also that Jeffer-
son winds up this tremendous fen de
joie against the falsity and worthless
ness of newspapers with a letter in
which he recommends. among the few
sources of sound knowledge upon the
subject of civil government, series of
newspaper essays. The Federalist was
composed of the triune "Publius,
whose papers appeared in the hide
pendent Journal or the General Aduer-
ttser, which was issued in Hanover
Square semi-weekly. '.Publius'' was
the giant in the crowd of hundred
names that filled the newspaper
Cate" ''Centinel," '.Brutus;n s'Bru-
tus Junior" and ..Cincinnatus, "a
Son of Liberty observer" "An
Officer in the Continental Army"
Medium, "a Countryman," "a
Citizen can Old Whig.h .'One of the
Common People," and more of the
same strain, whose essays would not
have seemed to jefferson false or fabu-
lous or malignant, because they OPP