The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1894-05-18
PRESS AND PEOPLE. =

The editor of the Pensacola News
says the matter as well as the occasion
of its deliverauce makes the address
the editor of this paper delivered be-
fore the State Press Association at
Key West worthy of notice and open
to criticism.
The first paragraph the editor of the
News marks out for criticism is the
following:
If public office is public trust" how much
greater the public trust" of newspaper, be
cause its power for good or evil is SO much great
er, and it is in large sense the custodian of the
public morals, the character of the people and
the life of the nation. This being true each
member, however small his paper and limited its
circulation should be aroused to the full measure
of his responsibility and discharge his trust as
sacred obligation The smallest newspaper is as
great in its sphere as the largest are in theirs.
To this paragraph the editor of the
News makes the following criticism:
The man who writes this has in his time played
many parts. In each he must have learned ex-
perience at least. Has he practiced what he here
breaches? AS custodian of the public morals
has he not supported the prize fight anddefended
the lottery
For the third. time the editor of the
News makes this charge and for the
third time the editor of the Banner
makes answer by a positive denial.
About the time the prize fight was
in progress in Jacksonville the editor
of this paper furnished an account of
the Single Combat Champions of
the World," beginning with David,
in his illustrious victory over Goliah,
and ending with Corbett's victory, the
then hero of the hour. But giving an
account of things is not endorsing
them nor upholding them.
Some years ago we argued that the
right to operate the Louisiana lottery
in the state of Louisiana was guaran-
teed the Lottery company by the con-
stitution of that state; that the mat
ter embraced principle of sovereign
ty that had been guaranteed the states
upon the adoption Of the FedeI al con-
stitution; that the maintenance of
this principle had been upheld at the
cost of a gigantic civil war, and al
though the states upholding the doc
trine had been suhjugated, the courts
of highest jurisdiction had held that
the principle survived the conflict.
UNFOLDING the principle of the SOW
ereign right of the states does not
make us the champion of the lottery
company and such accusation is
groundless.
As a later period we said the crusade
against the lottery in this state was
sham and intended to blind the eyes
of the people to the existence of real
evils, and as The crusade has continued
our first opinion instead of being
changed has been strengthened. I'm
der the constitution and laws of this
state it is impossible for the lottery
to find lodgment here, hence there
was no foundation for the crusade on
the lines on which it was prosecuted.
And what spectacle has this crusade
presented to US? As we understand
the story a certain young man in a
certain village in this state, purchased
liquor saloon from another young
man. In certain draw of certain
desk the incoming proprietor found
certain number of lottery. tickets, per-
hapS as many as two, that were not
included in the sale and hence belong
ed to the outgoing proprietor, who in
the meantime had gone to a distant
town. With no intention of dealing
in lottery tickets, but actuated by an
honest purpose to restore to his friend
what belonged to him, he sent him the
tickets through the mails. For doing
which the lottery crusaders had him
arrested; he was tried before the
United States court, was convicted,
and now languishes behind prison
bars as a common felon; (oh, moral
ity what wrongs are committed in thy
name!) while Mr.. Plant, through the
extraordinary grant of powers given
him by the legislatures of the states,
regardless of public sentiment, carries
millions of these tickets to all parts of
the country every month, and his en-
trance to any town or city in which
he travels is a signal for the people
lottery crusaders and ALI to meet him
with some sort of popular demonstra-
ton, and the express company, which
alone gives life to the lottery compa-
ny, is approached with all the tender
ness and caution employed in hand
ling the fretful porcupine. Oh, consis-
tency, thou jewel
In making war on the lottery, if the
Citizen, or any of its allies. have de-
clared war on the express company,
we have failed to observe it. Hence,
we say, the crusade is sham and
pretense and is carried on on sham
lines, and we are willing to rest under
the moral obloquy that this criticism
may subject US.
The next objection Mr.. Harrison
finds to the address is the following:
he not eulogized the base in high position know
ingly and willingly As guardian Of the poor
does he not appiaud the powerful when trying to
deprive negro, defenceless and poor, Of the