The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-08-03
IMPKOPEK JOURNALISM.

few weeks back the New York Her
aid devoted all It's machinery Tor sensa-
tionalism to advising the public that 1t
Z, l"excluslvely"- secured traces or
evidence which implicated certain United
states senators who had sworn before
the investigating committee that they had
had no concern in sugar STOCK specuia-
tions. in such specuauons, and' there-
fore. I'm perjury. With all the parade
which even the Herald can make 1t toid
us that ii had a Photographic copy OF an
order to purcase sugar STOCK, Whlch one
of the senators had given. and 1t gave
very plain intimations that the senator
involved was Mr.. Camden, of West Nir-
ginia.
According 10 the Washington Post the
Uerald's case has turned out in the testl-
mony before the committee to amount 10
tnis: The Photographic copy of an order
TO buy sugar turns out to be the copy OF
the back Of a very much soiled envelope,
across which the following was written
BUY 800 sh. sugar at SO ga.
Buy 800 sh. sugar at So IL.
J. y. CAMDEN"
Senator Camden was examined In regard
to it, and he testified that while the name
on the envelope was undoubtedly his, he
nevr wrote airy such order. never au-
thorized il, never ..eard of II, ana tnat
it was fictitious and fraudulent. No scin-
tilla Of evidence has been produced be-
fore the committee that any such order
was ever placed with any broker, or
was ever executed. 1T was not dated.
and there was nothing about the paper
to show that 1T was genuine. In view OF
all these facts, and Of the absence OF any
trace Of evidence that Senator Camden
was in any way connected with the paper,
the committee has, according TO the Post,
determined TO make a report entirely ex-
onerating Senator Camden.
Now, we have set this case out. from
the Posts account of it, with this par
tcularity, in order to call attention to
and animadvert upon the reckless dispo-
sition of many Of the chief newspapers
Of the day to bring out in their columns
whatever is Of a sensational character
with very little, If any, care or regard
to whether the things stated are true
or false. The leading idea with many
newspaper managers Is TO publish wh2t IS
sensational. not what is true. We had not
thought this of the Herald. We want 10
say that this, in our opinion, is the high
est possible abuse of the calling of the
newspaper Caesars wife should not
have been more exempt from suspicion
than a newspaper The newspaper exists
to publish facts, and not fictions. Moth
ing should so humiliate the manager of
a newspaper as proof to him that a pub
LEGATION he has made is untrue. lie Is the
tribune of the people, when he publishes
facts; he abuses their confidence and dis
honors himself when he publishes what is
false The high calling Of the journalist
is departed when he publishes statements
that he knows 10 be untrue; ii Is blacken-
ed and smirched when he publishes false
statements that he could have ascer-
tanned to be false If he had taken the
trouble to make proper inquiries
No journal could have been more ready
more eager, midlothian The Times 10
convict Senator Camden Of completely I'm
sales Of sugar stock if he had been really
guilty of it, but The Times would have
been Inundated if it had made the in
furious statements about him which the
Herald made without making every pos
sible inquiry before the publication was
made, TO ascertain whether the state
ments were true or false one word Of
inquiry from Senator Camden would have
placed the matter in a shape for the
Herald TO judge whether the publication
should or should not be made