The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1891-08-28
Camden man be giYen it.

4 Adllucn LILO OS pASSE N'
Run your fingers along the keys of the
party organs of your faith down this way
| Bro. Chew, and hear the notes evolved.
| What Of the refrain? 1t is the clarion pro-
test OF an indignant press calling upon the
people to resist the usurpation of the Iren-
ton man and his minions. and evoking By
fiery invective and ringing words the wrath
Of an outraged public upon its projectors:
Turn on the crank and listen again. What
now? Dat from it's depths in soothing sym
phony comes floating up the woes OF 1.-THE gar
bage cart driver, an appeal from Tom Jones
for better side walks, a wall from some
disgrnntled taxpayer, a column on the
Thundc rbolt races at Salem and twice that
space devoted to the burning question as to
which horse beat at the Cumberland
county agricultural exhibition. Anything
else9 Oh yes, and you may catch it il your
hearing be good. LIS a few feebly uttered
notes in condemnation of the excise bill,
qualified by the addendum, I'VE are glad to
say that the Democratic representative from
this district voted no against the bill"
one not in the secret would suppose that
the Republican press of Cumberland
county would see in this their opportunity
to show up the rum tyranny of the State in
their monstrous travesty upon popular
government, as coming through the dem
ocracy and so make political capital for
their party, but they are not doing it. So
notorious is this that il is become asubject
of very general remark on the streets. A
Cumberland banker, by the way always a
Republican, said to the writer the other
day, what is the matter with the press OF
Cumberland county, that it dare not open
its mouth en- the enormous str reich OF
power assumed by the liquor men il the
scope of the excise commission bill?" and
then after a pause added significantly, 'the
reason as | conceive it is one purely selfish
and without regard to the public veal"
The president of city council in the same
city, speaking of the attitude Of the Re-
publican local press said ''it's about time
we had an independent newspaper here to
voice the sentiment of the people" A
prominent lawyer of the place. and former
city solicitor, despairing of being heard, or
having the cause Of the people heard
through the democratic papers Of the city,
and moved to Indignation by the apathy Of
the Republican press visited the office Of
one of the latter and begged of the editor
to speak through his columns in defense
and for the rights of the people, and was
met by the reply "this is no funeral o fours;
if the Democrats have blundered we will
profit by it, and then supinely settled him
self down to his former clam-like silence.
The late democratic legislature repre-
sentative who expects to succeed himself
this fall has expressed himself as quite
satisfied with the attitude Of a part at
least of the Republican press OF Cumber-
land on the excise commission question.
Now one point we wish clearly under
stood, and we think will be understood
with but little explanation. Our purpose
Messrs. W. ]. Press in arraiguing the re-
publican press of the county for their
criminal silence on this question is for the
reason that the public look to them and to
them alone to show up the iniquity of the
excise commission bill. A party who can
get down so low as the Democracy of this
state has done are not expected to nave
their press champion the rights of the
people against the party, and for this
reason the better class of people over
the state look to the Republican
press for their defence. While however
we may justly c~riticise a faithless public
press, and sternly rebuke the greed of its
representatives it is well to remember also,
that but for the elevation to the high Office
of Governor of perhaps the most corrupt
and p~artizan of all New Jersey Democrats,
and the almost equally corrupt majority
in the late assembly, the people Of New
Jersey would never have been saddled with
this most obnoxious and undemocratic
measure, a measure by which three men of a
county are empow cred to override the will
of the whole people. This same Governor
and assembly manufactures a law, supple
ments a law already existing, as a political
corruption fund which puts a price upon
the head of every political editor of the
State. But for this law padlocking the
voice Of the press, the excise commission
would never have had an existence in New
Jersey.
This, Bro. Chew, is our answer.