Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1896-12-03

In looking over his paper at night.
sees an account of railroad accident
in New York. mining horror in
Pennsylvania. a murder in the noun
tains of Kentucky. a suicide in Chica-
go. riot 10 London. a fire in San
Francisco and a ship wreck on the
Florida coast. events that happened
the day before without pausing to re-
feet upon the enormous expense and
the vast machinery necessary to place
him in touch with places thousands of
miles distant from his residence.
The great army of operators, cores
poudents, reporters, carriers, press
men, the editorial staff, the use of the
mails and other matters too numerous
to mention, involve a daily expendi-
ture of money, so immense as not to
be easily comprehended by ordinary
men. 1t follows that such journal
can exist Only in a great city and only
when some one man of great means
puts his money behind it or when one
of the combinations of capital now so
common takes hold of it.
The daily paper has another func-
ton besides the distribution of news.
It is vehicle of public opinion. Un-
til very recently the average citizen
read the editorial page of his party or
gan without questioning the sediments
he found therein; the political battle
which has just been concluded has IN
settled his confidence in bis party or
gan and has brought him face to face
with conditions lie is hardly prepared
to meet. He finds that the money
power OF the whole earth is one and
indivisible. He has seen the bank Of
France go to the rescue of the bank Of
England, he understands that the bust
| ness man of Vienna is interested that
the business man OF New York shall
not be pressed TO the wall IL is plain
to him that during this administration
our treasury was drained of its gold
through the ma1ipulaCion5 OF the
great banking houses of the old
world, and that gold was restored
through the same agency when it be-
came necessary TO influence an election
ours to him at once that a power so
far reaching would not fail to attempt
to control the avenues of communica-
tion and the vehicles of public opinion.
He has seen men who have occupied a
large place In the public eye abandon
opinions they had spent the best por-
ton of lifetime in advocating and he
thinks he knows the reason for their
late conversion. He has seen trusted
party leaders turn their backs upon
their past and endeavor to force one
OF the great parties of this country
from its moorings and cut it adrift
from its most sacred tradition. He
has seen great daily papers with a
vast influence change their position on
vital political questions between the
setting and rising of the sun. Is it
any wonder if his mind is filled with
doubt and distrust, and that be begins
to look with suspicion upon the utter
ances of his party organ? If he can
not have party organ over which the
money power has no control he feels
that it is almost impossible to keep up
party organization.
In the Mississippi Valley one great
paper has espoused the cause of the
| common people. The P0st-DtSpGtch,
under its present management, has
been found trustworthy. but he has
seen the Post Dispatch involved in cost
ly litigation, its editor maligned, and
when all efforts failed to destroy its
Influence he witnesses an attempt on
the part Of a combination of business
men in St. Louis, men of great wealth,
to embarrass it financially by with
ment which its circulation entities it to.
The battle of the Post Dispatch is the
peoples battle. If the money power
can destroy the Post Dispatch that pow
er can prevent the Democratic party
as now organized from having any
metropolitan organ, whatever. 1t, is
therefore, the duty of every purchaser
to scar the advertising columns of the
POst-Dispatch before starting on a
shopping tour, quite as closely as he
does his ticket before going to vote.
This is an issue the money power has
made. and Democrats. as much As they |
may dislike it. are forced to meet it.
The Republic is not regarded as Dem |
ocratic organ. Every one knows the
Influences that control it. With Dem,
ocrats its word has no more weight
than the word of lying Dick Talbot
had with the puritan of his d9v