The record-union., 1899-02-19
THE PRESS AND LEGISLATURES.
Expressions Concerning Proposed
Anti-Newspaper Hesitation.

Anti-Newspaper Liquidation.
Los Gatos Mail: If Senator More
houses editor killing bill should be-
come a law til will be necessary for pro-
tecting the species and propagation of
his kind to have closed season Of at
least two months in the year; this
would enable him to do a little COL
lecting and settling up and allow him
to catch his wind.
NTT-CARTOON BILL.
The County Paper: If a mans feas'
lures are SO exclusively his own that
they cannot be portrayed, he should not
be allowed to expose the same to pub
lie gaze. Private documents spread out
before the public become public prop
erty to the extent that copies may be
made and. the application of the same
rule to all public expositions seems en-
inently consistent. A mans name is
public property and can be made pub
lie use of, within prescribed limits; why
not his face?
REFRESHING PUBLICITY-LIBEL
LAWS.
Winters Express: Considerable in
terest has been aroused throughout the
State, and especially among the news
paper men. over what seems to be a
war on newspapers being waged in the
Legislature by a coterie of lawyers and
certain State attaches. To be sure, the
outrageous conduct of certain of the
San Francisco press has given excuse
for some of the bills introduced, and if
the members abused had gone down
there with a shotgun and used it indis-
criminately, there would have been few
to find fault with them, but that does
not seem to be any reason for attacking
the press all along the line.
The libel law should not be amended
by striking out the bond clause. That
would make it possible for any ire
sponsible citizen to put newspapers to
great cost and trouble without himself
mourning any expense. The bond is
the publishers only protection from no.
toriety seeking blatherskites and black
mailers.
Warehouses; bill allowing the killing
Of an editor under stress of great men
tai excitement or fancied grievance is
too absurd for denunciation.
Another class of legislation which
seems to be popular is that which cuts
down charges for local publications or
make them unnecessary altogether. AS
the Woodland Democrat" remarks:
''Curiously enough this class of legis-
lation is also urged by lawyers. No
body ever accused lawyers, as a class,
of excessive modesty in the matter of
fixing compensation for services. It, is
the men who charge hundreds and
many times thousands of dollars for
a n tot y1n
ing to devise some method of cutting
down the newspaper charges from s. to
$50 for official publications in such
cases. Newspapers that receive less
ray for official patronage in a whole
year than the most ordinary lawyer fire.
quently receives in one case, are
charged with being exorbitant in fix
ing their prices
1t is not an uncommon occurrence for
lawyer in a probate case to charge
a fee of 500 to 500 for work of no
more time orl value than that for which
the newspaper gets So to SIS, and yet
nobody here is trying to cut down the
lawyers fee.
Another scheme which seems to ne
popular with would be reformers is to
print constitutional amendments and
kindred matter on slips" or in pamph-
let form and mail them to voters. The
scheme is faliacious. Nobody reads
pamphlets, but every man Of sense
reads a newspaper. Everything of in
terest to the people should be printed
in the newspapers. 1t would not be a
bad idea to limit the price or the num-
Der of times such matter is to be print
ed in costly daily papers, Ten inser-
lions in daily are as good as thirty
and would serve the requirements At
the same time such matter should be
published more generally in the coun-
try press. With proper limitations it
would be found that this would cost
less than the mailing scheme, and the
money would go where it would do
some good. In connection with this
we quote the Democrat" again:
We are quite sure that the taxpay-
ers of the State do not believe that the
country newspapers are excessive in
their charges. The best evidence that
this is not true is that none of them
ever accumulate any wealth. The pa
pers in California that are making
money can be counted on the fingers of
both hands. Many of the country
newspapers are in debt, and all of them
are struggling along under conditions
and circumstances that would dis
hearten most people. There is no legit
innate business in the State in which
the opportunities for advancement and
accumulation of wealth are so few as
IN country Journalism and there is no
class of people who do so much work
for so little pay as the country editors"
HAMPERING THE PRESS.
Fresno Enterprise: The legislators
at Sacramento who are endeavoring to
put up legislation to hamper news
papers are sowing seed for bitter har-
vest. They do not realize, perhaps, in
their blind egotism that the people to
whom they owe their brief Importance
know how to- deal with newspapers, and
when the people are outraged they
know how to retaliate. Newspaper ex-
aegeratiOn and sensationalism may be
ar evil, but not an unmitigated evil.
The light of publicity better be an
Xray than be darkened by giving
nickle-in-the-slot politicians license to
shoot the man on sight who turned the
light ON his by-ways
AN UBIQUITOUS MEASURE.
Monterey New Era: The legislators
at Sacramento appear to bear grudge
against the newspapers, and nearly
every day some measure is introduced
with the object of abridging the liberty
of the press or working hardship on
forbiddlng the interviewing of legis-
MI