The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-09-20
A SIGNIFICANT LETTER.

A SIGNIFICANT LETTER.
The Daily Press of the United
States.
1 have no doubt that the honest
farmer or mechanic who reads in the
populist journals, the oft-repeated
statement that the daily newspa-
pers of this country are owned and
controlled by the money-power,
takes it cum graqo salis-he don't
quite believe it. There has been
published, all over the country, the
speech made, a year ago, at a press
club banquet in New York, where
one of the newspaper writer's was
called upon to speak to the toast,
"the freedom of the PRESS" and he
warmed up by the wine, to state
of imprudence,-told them that
there was no freedom of the press"
that they, the editors, were all
slaves;-that they lied for so much
a week; and that if any one of them
uttered his real convictions he
would not hold his place for twenty
four hours;-that the. papers were
run as the capitalists behind them
dictated, etc. etc. But the scepti-
cal no doubt said to themselves
"well; that may be all so; it reads
we'll; but did not hear that speech
made"
The other day / wrote to an edi-
torial friend in Chicago, complain
ing of some articles in the paper he
was working for, on the financial
question; and 1 received a private
letter. from which 1 make some ex-
tracts, because they throw great
light on the condition of the daily
press of the United States, and il
lustrate how completely powerless
the masses are to get at facts. or in
f1uence public opinion.
My friend says:
''This thing is appearing, day by
day, all the more plainly, to be in
all directions struggle of private
interests, and the daily press, with
few exceptions, are with that in
terest which the proprietors find
most friendly to them. Your "Gold-
en- Bottle" philosophy, about the
eternal and universal scramble for
the dollar, is all right. Privately, l
may say to you, that am directing
my efforts towards getting out of this
employment of writer on the daily
press. 1t is getting ''too rank"
Opinions are being too palpably dc
tated from, the outside; and the indie
pendent newspaper, Qike the indie
pendent NAM, must necessarily have
a HI of a time keeping it's head
above water. Considering the close
Identification of the average daily
paper acith banks and banking, and
rich people generally, on account of
the large sums Of money that are needed
dag By dag to meet Expenses, I doubt
the ability of the best man there is
on the press to-day to stand pat
with popular rights and interests.
Leaving out the New York Sun and
the Louisville COurier-J Ournal, there
is not daily paper, so far as know,
which gives expression to opinions
which have the courage and intellec-
tuality of a live man behind them.
The others are the mere mouth
pieces of so many corporations, or
heads of corporations; with as much
of the light of conscience directing
the writer's on them, as their is Of
the element of soul in the conduct
of the business interests Of those
same corporations"
II am sorry for having inflicted
this jeremiad upon you, but l am
FESTIVE at being, even by implica-
tiOn, held responsible for the gist
of the coin.and currency discussions
now in progress in our paper"
This is a startling statement. 1t
shows that those who should be the
guides and enlighteners of the peo-
pie are forced to deceive and betray
them, and lead them into the abyss.
Many of these newspaper writer's are
not only exceptionally bright and
able men, but their hearts are with
the masses; but the necessities of
daily bread constrain them to pub
lish stuff they know to be pernicious.
1t is very much as if some horrible
conspiracy had been formed to bride
all the doctors in the land to poison
their patients:-to give them death
where they looked for life. And
really to destroy ones country is
worse than to destroy ones self.
Hence, brethren, you can see how
hard a fight those newspaper pub