The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-07-16
THE INDEPENDENT PRESS.

John Swinton has been . writer on the
New York Sun for many years. X Is one
OF the most independent newspapers In
the United states. lie is only one OF the
many writers engaged on that paper and
his duty is 20 write on a given line OF sub
5ects lie thought ne knew how TO run a
Newspaper better than Charles A Dana,
so he put al his savings of years into a
newspaper. ran IL his own way. lost ali
his money. stopped the paper and re-
szrrrsed 10 a sa-ar5. Nobody was under
any particular obligation 70 pay Mr.. Swim
ton a salary, but he accepted IL, and now
he snaps az the hand which hires him In
q published speech wherein he says: II
am paid $50 a week for keeping my
connected with
We have no hesitation IN denouncing
this as untrue II Is quite possible that
Mr.. Dana declines to allow every man he
employs TO run the paper according TO his
own particular views. Mr.. Dana would
bs bankrupt fool instead OF the clever
and courageous editor OF the most pros
porous paper In the United States II he
did. Tf Mr.. Swinton does not find him.
self In harmony with the paper on which
he is employed he can leave 1t. There are
tens of thousands OF newspapers I'm the
country: surely there Is one on which
his transcendant egotism may be given
fun scope Why not in his own paper?
Tt seems pretty conclusive that the people
were not so fearfully hungry to have Mr..
Swinton's honest and exclusive opinions
or they would have bought his paper and
so kept II alive.
II is no doubt true that every man On
every newspaper does not express his own
views. The managing editor CT the ST.
Louis Globe Democrat, Republican
paper, is Democrat; several managing
editors of the New York World, a Demo
cratic paper, have been Republicans. The
owners of these papers-of any paper
do not employ men in order to give those
men an opportunity to air their views at
the expense OF the owner: they employ
newspaper men as a matter OF business;
they dictate the policy themselves. No
man need buya newspaper unless he wants
to: but no newspaper owner Is under OBJ
LEGATION to let every man in his employ
run II as he wishes. Any such folly
would bankrupt the best newspaper in the
country.
IL does not cost much to start an organ;
any man has the privilege of starting one.
and IL his honest opinions are desired
by sufficient number of people the paper
will be success. Otherwise it viii not
Suppose a man having one or two hun
dred thousand dollars concludes that he
will start a newspaper. He puts his
money into the venture; he depends upon
his good judgment for success in
pleasing the largest number. If he finds
them subscribing year after year, would
he not be dolt to change his policy in
order to please a noisy minority which
never numbered enough to sustain paper
representing their views? We can point
to a large graveyard filled with papers
whose mission IL was to fill those long
felt vacuums.
IL newspaper attempts to delude the
people, 1t cannot succeed long. But
newspaper has often, when 1T feels itself
I'm the right, TO. submit to a great deal of
abuse from those who differ with II. That
Is the privilege of the dissenters. An
honest newspaper will not shrink from its
convictions because all men do not agree
with II. II must take the responsibility
of its own acts