The herald., 1898-02-04
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PRESS

The natural, proper and accepted re-
Iation of a public journal to the people,
aside from the collection and dissent
nation of current news, has come to be
that of watchman, guardian and pro-
tector. Idealized. the journalist OF to-
day is stationed in lofty watch-tower'
overlooking the people and all that
concerns them, intellectually, morally
and materially, prepared to give warn
ing of approaching danger come from
what source it may. The people expect
their paper to extol the good and expose
evil; to laud merit and condemn wrong;
to commend righteousness and denounce
rascality: to uphold the truth and
mathematics falsehood-in word, to
hold up to popular appreciation those
who are leading blameless lives, and to
pillory the morally weak, the degener-
ate and the vicious.
Upon the vigilance, discretion and
constancy of the public journal in full
filling this self f-imposed mission largely
depends its status with the people it
serves. Reward being certain to fol-
low true allegiance, alertness is quick
ened and fidelity stimulated.
That injustice may not be done to in
dividuals however, and that public
Journals may not resolve liberty into
license, certain limitations have been
placed upon the privileges and prerog-
atives of the press in its advocacy Of
popular rights and its denunciation OF
public wrongs. 1t may not needleSSlY
and unwarrantably assail private char
acter; it will at its peril characterize as
false that which is papably true; it will
not be justified before the law, or at
the bar of public opinion. in wrongfully
and maliciously holding up to public con-
tempt, obloquy and ridicule the man
who has not merited such castigatiOn.
whether he occupy public or private sta
ton. Liberty to go beyond these rea-
sonable limits may be said to be unre-
strained, but penalties attach, and these
serve to stay the impulse of passion and
restrain the temptation to injure or de-
stroy.
Publishers are we'll advised Of these
limitations. and Of the penalties, as well
those imposed by statute as those which
take the form Of popular disapproval,
loss of respect and prestige. When,
therefore, as in rare instances. conserv-
ative limits are oYerstepped it may be
safely assumed that the attacking
journalist is not only reasonably sure
of his ground, but at the same time con-
vinced that the occasion demands and
justifies the departure, He is fortified
and sustained by the information in his
possession and by a knowledge of the
fact that the substantial truth of his
allegations is in law held to be COM
plete defense. On this point the highest
legal tribunal in this state has just held
that the identical thing charged need
not be proved; that the injury resulting
from a publication is in the sting, and
that if a newspaper alleges that a per-
son stole a horse, and it is shown that
the animal stolen was a mule. the de-
fense is established. It also held. wise
ly and justly, that proof need not be
beyond the probability Of doubt" pre-
ponderance of testimony being suhi-
cient
So much by way Of prelude
The Herald, in the Legitimate pursuit
of its mission as public journal thus
defined, took occasion, in its issue of
Jan. 81 last, to announce the possible ap-
pointment to a position of grave rospon-
slbility in the public service Of a man
whom it deemed to be utterly unified
for such a trust.
That the person referred TO has long
been allied with the party whose prin-