Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-03-17
THE STATE AND ITS PRESS.
From clinton Democrat.


From Clinton Democrat
Dnripg the past few years several of as
good citizens as there are in this county
have been arrested, humiliated, put tC
much cost, and finally fined as law.
breakers.
And yet these men, in the instances Oul
readers viii remember in several parts O
this county land the same in other counties
are strictly law-abiding citizens They
are taxpayers. They are producers They
are the States best conservators. They
attend diligently to their own business
They would be the last to either wrong
fellow-man Oh to break law of their land
And they are intelligent They take and
read the papers.
Then why did these men break laws
Simply because since The Legislature stop
ped publishing IFS new laws there hav,
been some very new fashioned laws passed
laws which took away mems rights OF
their own land. and at the same tint
created new officials to pluck the people a
every possible point
The printing of session laws in pamph
let's has proven the very abortion 1t wa
expected 10 be-worse than a sheer vast,
of public money, profting only the junk
dealers, while leaving the great mass of ths
people uninformed of the laws put upor
them
We are glad to see that Senator DAILY
lawyer as he is, and no doubt glad to have
people come to his law-ofice for information
and advice, has so broad and just view o
the duties of legislator to his whole State
that he has introduced a bill to provide fol
making the legislative acts an open book
and at the same time recognizing the news
paper press of every locality as the true
medium of official publicity.
The DAILY hill cuts off all needless pub
fishing, such as the use of remote paperi
for printing the long laws of large cities :
which was an Objectionable feature of tht
old plan Of publication. in making its cos
extravagant.
The bill removes the opportunity TO favor
papers as an aid TO the personal or party
purposes Of any appointing power. 1t re
quires only that locality have an estab
iished press properly equipped the loca
institution it pretends TO be, that has liYeC
long enough to prove that its locality hal
use for it sufficient to have put it there anC
kept it up. La fact, under the Daily bill
there would not be enough in the Law
publishing in any one point in the State t
induce the starting of paper with the re
quired plant for the purpose.
There seems no good reason why any
! honest legislator, who wants the Legislative
acts put plain before his people. should OPP
pose the passage OF this bill.
It. is not merely the right of the people
of all parts of the State to have all new
laws plainly made known to them but i
is the true public policy to use the home
papers of the people for the purpose.
Has the State any more serYiceable insti
tuition than its press? Is it not an ever
working educator? A promoter of every
cause tudt OpCB OloCOOoiOus q
developer of the localities and of the whole
commonwealth A defender of local inter
ess and of the general good
We speak of the home press of the Stat'
as whole. Can there be any doubt that
Free Governments true and only publ,
policy is to promo g its press and contribute
to its freedom and strength by recognizins
and using it for any public announcement
its officials have TO make?
Certain papers of New York and Phila
delphia may want the local press of New
Jersey weakened but they want it so fo
their own gain, and not for the good of on
State.
The small bore lawyers may oppose TIKI
publication OF laws; but it is IN their owl
small interest and directly against that o
the people
Certain State officials may not want tht
publicity of the press; but it is the very
best reason why the people should want it
Enough of the undue salaries of sucf
officials could be cut off to pay for all tht
ACCOMPLISHING And the salaries are The
least of the extravaganza they wish bidder
from the public view.
We are glad that at least one of the pres
ent Legislatures leaders is broad minded
and manly enough to demand the reinstate
ment of the press of the State in its right
ful place as an institution to be fostered
rather than ignored, and as having a legiti'
mate public function which should be EN-
ployed by the State that the local press sc
freely and constantly benefits at every
point and in every way. Senator William
D. DAILY will have the intelligent voters o
the State with him in this movement
whether or not the anti-public influences
succeed in controlling this Legislature tt
defeat the bill.