Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-07-11
A Courted Issue

The New York Sun the morning fol>
lowing the execution of the four prisons
ers by electricity at Sing Sing this week
said: This morning the Sun and every
other real newspaper in the state openly
and deliberately violate that section of the
electrical execution law which forbids the
publication of the details of an execution
No account of the details Of any such
execution, beyond the statement of the
fact that such convict was, on the day IN
question, duly executed according TO law
at the prison, shall be published in any
newspaper. Any person who shall vio
late or omit to comply with any provision
OF this section shall be guilty of a INSIDE
meanor.
This provision, intended by the cranks
who framed it 10 throw around the death
chamber and the death chair q mystery
like that surrounding torture room of
the middle ages, stands in the statutes as
disgrace TO the civilization of which we
are proud. 1t is against public policy,
it is impossible to enforce, and it is de-
fed and will continue to be deied by
every seli-respecting newspaper in New
York on every such occasion as the exc
cution OF Kemmler at Auburn eleven
months ago, and the killing at Sing Sing
yesterday morning of Slocum, Wood,
Smiler and the Japanese Juglro. The
law which vsiniy seeks to restrain the
press of New York in the performance of
public duty of the first importance, itself
defes a higher law, namely, the Constitu>
tion of New York. In the bill of rights
which constitutes Article 1 of the consti-
tuition, and which catalogues the most
precious heritages of freedom gained
by blood, it is agreed and forever decreed
that no law shall be passed TO restrain or
abridge the liberty of speech or of the
press. The free press knows its duty
and its power; and so long as the uncon-
stitutional prohibition stands as part Of
the electrical execution law, that part of
the law will be disobeyed by the news
papers of New York, universally, delib-
erately and rightly.
But the press of this state has another
duty 10 perform, even more important
than its periodical self-objection TO pro-
secution for a righteous misdemeanor. 1t
must bring about the repeal of this IN
constitutional provision, insulting to the
very name of American liberty. To that
end 1t should devote its utmost energies
at the next election. Without regard TO
personal or partisan considerations, it
should support for the legislature and for
responsible executive posts only such
candidates as are distinctly committed
against this preposterous revival of me-
diaeval principles, and pledged to help
in sweeping the press gag law from the
statute book.
Until that is accomplished, a black
stain rests upon the fame of the New
York press. Is there any journalist in
the state. republican or democratic, who
does not account the priceless right of
free utterapce as far above any tempo
rary issue which psrtisanship can devises
For the good name of our profession, we
hope not. The Sun is ready, for one,
to engage itself to support any republican
candidate who shall promise to vote or
work next winter for the repeal of the
foolish, unconstitutional law which
strikes at the liberty of the press, as
against any democrat who shall refuse or
omit to put himself on record for free
speech and free press"
And the Sun is right, just as were the
Minnesota papers which ignored the law
of that state which forbid the press from
following its duty as guaranteed by the |
constitution, The makers of ststutary |
provisions which seek TO muzzle the |
press and the formulators of prohibitory |
laws are cranks in the most properly ac>
cented version of the term, who are |
not capable of making laws adaptable to
the present day, and as long as the peo-
pie elect such a class to the, halls of leg
islaticn, so long will they see their laws
ridiculed, ignored and violated.