The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-08-27
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Lsrs entte2 tue freBcu Gu1Aspt1fSy - tHe
author Of an exceedingly bitter satire upon
that kind Of sensational journalism which
turns every mans private home into .
public spectacle and makes every mans
personal iniirmities subject of public dis
cussion, provided 1t promises to increase
the circulation Of the paper and to swell
the prosperity Of the Pulitzer oftbe period.
whom Balzac painted sin drawing pic
ture of envy ambushed behind the. col
unins Of q newspaper or lurking in the
dark places Of journalism" Here Is Bal
zac's bitter description Of the sensational
Journalism that cursed the Paris of his
day:
"The evil sensational and yenai jour-
nasisml Is incurabie. IL Is getting more
and more malignant, more and more dam
gerous; and the greater the evil, the more
IL will be tolerated, until the day when
confusion shall oyertake journalism as IL
did Babylon. The press practices baser
ingrat:sude than that OF kings, q dirtier
business IN schemes and speculations than
the vilest commerce, sucks orr 1.-THE
writers'l brains out 10 brew its daily
alcohol every morning Look ut that man
over there; he is poet, and what is bet
those places of ilI-fame called news
papers, he'll ding his finest ideas
into IL, he'll dry up his brains,
he'll corrupt his soul, he'll commit those
anonymous infamies which take the place,
In the war Of minds, of plots. pillage, in
csndiarisE:, and the waylaying of guerrilla
warfare. When he has, like a thousand
others, spent his fine talent in the service
Of proprietors, those sellers of poison will
let him die OF hunger If thirsty, or OF
thirst IL hungry"
The Paris of Balzac's day was not diff
ferent from the New York of our own, and
II has grown worse rather than better Of
recent years. The successful fake news
paper, which is described by its manu-
facturers as "live paper" Is q repulsive
conglomerate of scandal and stupidity.
What contrast Is this stupid, imbecile,
rascally, foolish ''fake" newspaper to the
vigorous aggressive moral power in the
land which Horace Greeley created when
he founded and maintained the Now York
Tribune. Mr.. Greeley had keen nose for
news; he was an exceedingly aggressive
man and yet he was an honorable and
humane Journalist. In one Of his letters
to his managing editor, Charles A. Dana.
Mr.. Greeley says: "Let us try to cult
vate a generous spirit in all things. On.
my friend. the wisdom which teaches
what should not be said, that is the hard
est to acquire of ALL / confess my own
Deficiencies therein. but you must gain
more OF IT," Mr.. Greeley evidently did
not like giving precedence to scandals.
for he wrote Mr.. Dana:
"If you received on Friday night my
letter on HaIe's and Toombs' Kansas
speeches, yet allowed il to be crowded out
by the immoral scandal OF the Griswold
divorce case, why, then, you failed to con-
slider fairly what is and W hat is not per-
ishable. My letter would have been mid
ding on Saturday, while IL was sour as
whey and fiat as cold dish water on Mon
day; while the Griswold business would
have been rolled as n sweet morsel under
the tongues of all the old maids of New
York any day you might see ut to print it.
II is nearly twentY-one years since the
death of Greeley. and we have reached q
time when II 10 possible to be just TO Mr..
0reeley's great qualities without doing in
justice 10 other men; without indulging
In the vice of exaggerated statement.
From 1870 10 1890 the trenchant pen of
Greeley did more to clear the fog out of the
popular head and the crust off the popular
conscience than any American of his
time. His genius at bottom was q moral
genius, often unjust, unfair, exasperating
and msrciless. Nevertheless, there was
more injected into the Tribune every day
that was calculated to stimulate noble
thoughts. and make the reader strive to
dwell above the dust of the street in public
duty and private thinking than any other
journal in America.
Greeley challenged men TO think and set
them noble example of courageous, in
dependent thought on all subjects. In
this respect he was the best incarnation of
the very best intellectual quality and
moral fiber that New England has given
the nation. You can't buy conscience,
courage and conviction, and If Won find
exceptional conscience, courage and con-
viction in newspaper you may be sure
that IL had real residence In its editor be-
fore IL was pat in type, for such spiritual
gifts are not drama;ics. nor are they in
vented or bought You can buy an artist.
but no mere artist ever used so rough and
sincere = brush as Greeley.
The Tribune, with all its defects Of tenn
per, vas the man, man true and high.
benevolent and patriotic at bottom, below
all the spleen and scoidlns and sharp
vituperation. Intensely practical on many
sides, he was no cosrse-meated utiIitarian
mind; he tested the substance of cues
tons. like woman's rights. radicalisrn in
religion, temperance reform. politics, al.
ways fearlessly. If not fairly. by prcdding
every place IN their armor with his keen
blade. and he was manly enough TO re-
spect a thought he could not unhorse No
good cause had any need 20 fear him. for
bis very opposition was enlightenment
He taught men how 10 parry by showing
them whose nakedness invited attack.
Without gush. without faint Of sensa-
iion slism IN his composition: with cold
clear head and humane heart, writing
ptthy. iorcibls style that was pure while it
wss popular. he used his zen with the
puEnacisy Of warrior and tue soul OF
philAnthFopiss lie inssinctivelv hated
scoandrals and hypocrite.. His mere
political judgments we're sometimes errc-
neoas, bat bis moral force IN politics.
which IS the test of bis greatness. was i'm.
niense. His paper Was invaluable as an
educator Of growing minds. Iss Eae.lsh
Was admirable In igs vsgor. purity and
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