The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-08-27
RETALIATION OF THE PRESS.
A recent issue of the journal called

| too well the value OF printers lnk W VFoi'
| look the possibilities OF the reading matter
| and the fact that bis ads are inserted free OF
! charge il not calculated 10 deter him from
pushing work in this direction, We refer
| now more particularly To the column upon
column of space which the newspapers de-
vote 10 creating and extending the notorsty
OF criminals. -.
There cannot be the shadow of doubt
that these newspaper accounts DC more 70
stimulate crime than almost any other one
cause. Not only does it act by appealing TO
the love of notoriety OF those woo are
already criminals. and so encourage them
ON 10 worse and worse deeds, but itappeals TO
those who are too ignorant to attempt crime
| by themselves but who. on reading OF the
doings of others in the papers, find here ex-
amples ready set for them. and which they
can easily follow
Moreover. constant contact with vice
| blunts the moral feelings. and constant
reading of the acts of criminals 10 apt 10
| have the same effect and so iamlliarlze the
minds OF the people with crime that 1t loses
| its first repulsiveness. We must not forget
| that one of the greatest safeguards against
| crime Is the instructive feeling OF disgust
which il inspires-a disgust which arises
/ from education amid fine surroundings
! and that without this first feeling many
/ crimes would have been committed which
/ are now unrecOrded
What the newspapers print touching no
| torious criminals is not the only matter
! they send out to the world tending to the
the decentralization Of the people. Many
newspapers live wholly upon the cultivation
OF prurient tastes and in indulging their own
appetites and those Of their readers for gar
| bage. There can be no question that they
arouse vast andl most injurious influence
upon public morals. A question which con-
stantly forces itself upon all reflective minds
is whether or not the true good of society
calls for some restriction upon this whole
sale license OF the Press.
The Press is entirely free in the United
States and Great Britain and measuraoly So
we believe. in all the countries OF the CONT
nent except Russia. Not only go, but IN
this country and in Great Britain there 10
great popular jealousy against any sort OF
governmental control of the Press. This.
like the prejudice of our people against
law protected monopolies is the outcome OF
struggles between our British ancestors and
their tyrannically disposed sovereigus. After
the invention of printing the Kings were
naturally disposed to repress any use of the
Printing Press that resulted in criticism of
their own acts Acts Of Parliament there
fore followed. prescribing conditions upon
which publications could be made. The last
one of these expired in 1895. In a contest
over its renewal it is significant
that the Lords contended for ito renewal
while the Commons opposed it, but It IS
most curious that none of the reasons given
by the Commons touch the question
whether an entirely free Press is on the
whole for the good or the bad OF society.
The reasons they gave were that suspension
of the Press causes many petty grievances to
the people on account of the many exacuons,
Jobs. commercial restrictions and domi-
ciliary visits that were incidental TO It, 1t
is pronounced mischievous. because it en-
ables the Company of StatiOners TO extort
money from publishers. because it en-
powers the agents Of the government TO
search houses under the authority Of gen
eral warrants. because 1t confines
the foreign book trade to the port of Lon
don. because it detains valuable packages Of
books at the Custom House till the pages
are widowed. These are the reasons against
renewal of q censorship of the Press given
by the Commons, but not one word is said
Of the influence of a free Press upon free in
stitutons II is also noteworthy that the
very Commons which for these reasons
refused TO renew q censorship of the Press
and all Commons thereafter for hundred
years would have committed any person to
prison who dared publish one of their de-
bates or the ayes and noes on one Of their
votes,
The disposition of the Crown to suppress
freedom of the Press existed naturally. The
annoyances to the people that censorship
of the press caused aroused a propensity
for freedom in printing, but it was reserved
for the arbitrary conduct Of George the
Third in prosecuting for libel whoever
criticised the acts or policy of the King to
preciptate popular sentiment on the sub
ject and to solidity IT into a canon of consti-
tutional government Our Constitution was
formed just at the time when the popular
mind was in state of fermentation over such
prosecutions as those Of Wilkes and when
the letters of Junius were ringing in all mems
ears. As we write we have before us a copy
of The Virginia Gazette and Independent
Chronicle, issued in Richmond on the 22d
October, 1876, and its motto or main head
line is THE Freedom of the Press IS One Of
the Great Buiwarks of Liberty and Can
Never be Restrained by Despotic Govern
ments." Astrong movement was made for in
cooperating in the National Cons titution a
provision in favor of free Press. but the
movement failed As soon. however as the
Constitution had been adopted the States
came forward with a demand that an
amendment should be added forbiddipg
Congress to abridge the freedom of the
Press and this amendment was at once
adopted. The sentiment was so strong in
the minds of the people that it was at once
incorporated in all of the State Constitu-
tions. The result is that whilst we can have
no general law regulating the press in all
the States, each State may enact such laws
on the subject as it chooses to enact.
The question arises then. which is prefer
able TO endure the detestabls abuses which
sensational newspapers make OF the liberty
Of the press or seek to correct them by
statute law? In the face of all that can be
said about the abuses of free Press We
think there can be no doubt in the mind of
any lover of freedom that it is the lesser of
evils to endure the vicious newspapers. and