Los Angeles herald., 1892-02-28
A DANGEROUS INNOVATION.

n
Without the slightest tincture of ex-
aggeration it may be truly said that we
have reached in the United States a
stage at which it is very essential that
we should return to democratic-repub-
lican principles. We are rapidly reach
ing point at which we are threatened
with sumptuary law despotism. The
number of people who are willing to
prescribe what their fellow citizens
shall wear, eat or drink is alarmingly on
the increase. In addition, the old CEN
sorship idea, which grew to rank luxur-
lance in England under the Stuarts,
menaces the press of the United States.
Under the old system in England the
lord high chamberlain was the
absolute dictator OF what should
be placed upon the stage or what
should appear in print. This system
still prevails in the North German en-
pre- and in Russia. The English peo-
pie, who are characterized in their rela-
ti0ns with all matters except the Irish
question, by supreme good sense, have
allowed the censorship feature of their
laws to fall into an ''innocuous desue.
tude." 1t is only too true, and pity tits
'tis true, that, in these United States,
ostensibly dedicated to personal liberty,
we are picking up the cast-off garments
of despotism, and strutting about in
them to the derision OF call the world
and the rest of mankind,' to employ
the language of William Henry Harrl-
son, the transmitter Of the sombrero un-
der the shadow of which our able presi-
dent now serenely reposes in the White
House.
There has been introduced into the
present congress bill which proposes
lowest in the postmaster general of the
United States-in the present case per-
sonified by disgraced and perjured
man-powers of most dangerous de-
Hcription--powers which not only smack
of despotism butexemplify it in a most
dangerous and reprehensible form. I'm
siei the guise of furthering morality and
decency, it is proposed to SO extend
the statute referring to the circulation of
obscene literature in the mails as to en-
power the postmaster-general to exclude
from the mails anything which he may
consider detrimental to the public
morals. Under this statute the prying
myrmidons of the federal government
may break into package of news
papers, and if they find in any
portion of any of these journals
from the New York Herald to the Shaw
angunk Bazoo-a medical advertisement
which they may choose to consider in
decent or immoral, they may incontin-
entity seize these journals and deny them
the privileges of the United States mails.
Here is most dangerous and unlimited
departure in the line of despotism. It
is the old English censorship revived
with multiform ills superadded. With
few such laws on the statute book, the
last pretense that this is free country
would have vanished into thin air.
Invested with this attribute of autoc-
z0cy, what is to prevent partisan post
master-general from constituting any
attack upon his political chief into an
immoral or indecent outbreak, and
denying to the assumed delinquents the
privilege of the mails Nothing is clearer
than that the federal government was
not established to regulate the morals
of the people. The constitution had
certain clearly defined objects, which
are particularized with great perspi-
eacity in that instrument. In order to
guard against the unco good, some
fimes rendered the goody-goody,
the mention even of SUI
preme being, was scrupulously excluded
from that matchless compilation. One
of its explicit provisions was that con-
gress shall pass no law abridging the
freedom of the press. Such a statute
as that contemplated would be sweep
ing and invidious violation OF both the
spirit and the letter of our national
organic law.
Thomas Jefferson once said that, as
between government without news
papers, and newspapers without gov
ernment, he would prefer the latter. Al
free and unfettered press is an inestima-
BILE boon. To employ word which has
been consecrated by Daniel Webster, it
is the palladium of our liberties. 1t is
the best and surest guarantee Of repub-
lican government. Better, hundred
times better, surrender the handling q