The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1897-12-10

sCialntS With Which 1t was lncumbered,
that the power Of determining what was
true and what was false, what ought to
be published and what to be suppressed,
might no longer be intrusted to a few
illiterate and illiberal individuals who
refused their sanction to any work
which contained views or sentiments at
all above the level Of the vulgar. -
With varying fortunes the fight for
freedom Of the press continued in Eng
land. The history of that conflict is one
OF the most interesting in the life of
man upon this planet, but I cannot
even refer to any Of it's details within
the brief limits of this article. Should
write other articles, may tell some of
these inspiring stories.
In framing new system of govern
nent with the object Of avoiding the
lschief Of the old system and with the
nlclous operations of the censorship
IDLY before them it is not strange
the founders of our American con-
stitution should have been impressed
with the necessity of carefully guarding
the freedom of speech and of the press
against mischievous legislation as we'll
as against judicial tyranny. Hence that
clause Of the first amendment which ex-
pressly precludes congress from making
any law "abridging the freedom Of
speech or of the press was set in the
forefront of our national bill of rights
as the cornerstone upon which our free
constitution was to rest for all time.
General M. NJ Trumbull better
known to the plain people of this coun-
try by his writings over the signature
"Wheelbarrow, than whom no more
valiant or loyal soldier of liberty ever
lived, used to say that the federal con-
stitution was very good thing for
Fourth of July speechifying purposes,
but as guarantee of civil rights it has
become practically worthless, and in
this he was right, for not only has con-
gress actually made law abridging the
freedom Of the press, but that law has
been made use of in the most wicked
way to terrorize progressive thinkers
and to threaten those who speak and
write and act for the further emancipa-
ton of mankind.
l cannot stop here to narrate the fla
grant outrages in the cases of Bennett,
Haywood, Hartman and others. At an
other time I may write Of these But as
l now write there are under arrest in
Portland, Or, three men, Abner j.
Pope, Henry W. Adds and Henry
Isaacs, who are charged with violating
this unconstitutional law in that they
have mailed "obscene" matter. The
matter complained Of is circular orig
inally written in Spanish which has
been translated into every European Ian
guage and widely circulated throughout
Europe telling the story Of the fiendish
fortunes practiced by Spanish officials
upon the prisoners at Montjuich.
The fact that some of the tortures
were practiced upon the sex organs of
the victims furnishes the only basis for
the suggestion of obscenity, but will
any honest or humane person justify
the arrest Of these editors or contend for
a moment that they have exceeded their
constitutional rights in printing and
mailing such facts? How is the civilized
world to be called upon to stop such
atrocities if the facts cannot be told? 1t
is intimated that Spanish influence is
behind the arrest Of these editors, but
even the degraded Spaniard should
know that it is no more possible for him
to suppress these facts than it was fol-
Cardinal Wolsey to suppress Martin
Luther. Is a document circulated al
over Europe to be suppressed in free
America? Already the arrest of these
editors has stimulated the circulation Of
the matters they are arrested for mail
ing, and the distribution of them goes
briskly on, and justly SO, for if either
of the United States is to be imprisoned
his fellow citizens are entitled to know
what for, and America. false and treach
erous as her judges and Legislators have
been, is not yet delivered over to the in.
QUESTION.
Wendell Phillips once said, "They
who try to suppress free speech are tam
pering with something more explosive
than gunpowder. Let the officials who
cater to Spanish influence be taught
that the constitution must and shall be
maintained, and that America is coun
try of free speech, free press and free
mails. There must be no censorship, ne
inquisition. no Montjuich, in America.
ED w. CHAMBERLAIN.
New York.
Chicago Live Stock.
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