The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1899-01-10
CITY PAPERS
No Longer Lead Public
Opinion.
Owned and Controlled by
Syndicates of Mil|ionaires,
Their Course is Determined by
the Money There Is In 1t.
The Able Editors of Former
Days Have Given Place
Ito the Managing Editor. Who is Con
II troIled by the Syndicate
The Able Editors of Former
Days Have Given Place
To the Managing Editor. Who is Con-
troIled by the Syndicate
Which In Turn Knows No Principle,
But Put Monev In Thv Purse"

our country 10, that the great metfopon-
tan dailies will be controlled by the
Political Bosses and great Trusts. that
are alike . menace to the best interests
and the liberty Of the country.
In the days before city newspapers be-
came such profitable plants, they were
edited by men who were veritable watch
men upon the walls, who stood for right,
and purity and honesty, and the best in
erests Of the country. Az result they
were . great power in the land for good.
But times have changed. As popula-
ton and wealth have increased, great
city papers have waxed rich. and syn
dicatss Of capitalists have bought them
out, one after another, till they are all
huge moneyed corporations run for the
money there is in 1t, and that ie the first
confederation in their management.
Az . result Of this, they no longer
have the strong men ct the head Of their
editorial force. With most of them
their editors are unknown to the public.
They have no personality. They have
lost their great leadership. They are no
longer guardians Of the peoples rights.
But they are not without power. Their
immense circulation, gives them tremen-
dous power. Every day they are sowing
the seeds of good or evil in millions OF
minds. Crafty men who seek to promote
their own schemes RECOGNIZES this fact,
and they do not hesitate to utilize their
knowledge.
u A "boss" In the political arena has
"money to burn" II from its ashes
he can sec ten dollars arise" for ev-
Iery one he has burned. He seeks noto-
riety, . great name, that he may see the
people fall down and worship him, and
that he may promote his own selfish
ends, which are almost always destruc.
.. tive of the country's best interests. and
he buys block Of stock, or buys the in
fluence in ono or more of the great
.. papers in his State a. far % he car
control, and he hires the letter writer
of these great papers who write from the
State and national capitals and from the
metropolis Of the country, to keeE
0 him before the public, to tell what grea
: things he has done, to tell what intlu-
. ence he has at Washington, to claim fol
0 him personally, work that has had the at
tention of the party leaders for years
{ These stories oft repeated in the grea
Q dailies, make public sentiment, and th'
: "boss" realizes heavily on his invest
!. ment.
o One Of the great Trusts is threatened
Q by legislation or by suit to collect it
r taxes, and 1t ct once begins TO work tn
d city dailies. and long articles with grea
Q head lines appear % editorials, in de-
0 Tense Of Trusts, showing that Trusts ar
: . great blessing to the country, ant
+ therefore, they should not have to ps.
all their taxes, and should not ::be com
PEELED to obey the laws of the country
Officers Of the people who fearlessly d
their duty are assailed as posing 70
n popular favor and az persecuting grea
: business corporations. All this is re
4 peated daily to the public, and the pub
! lie ear is poisoned against righteous Of
4 forts to defend the people and the Stat
|. against great wrongs.
q These are but . few of the forms {
= evil that this subsid .zing Of the metrope
. Titan press assumes. The evil that ma
# grow out Of it, can hardly be estimated
\ But We are not hopeless. There ID
4 great battle ahead Of Us, against the op
= pressions of trusts and monopolies, an
: the corruptions Of bossism, and th
venality of the press, but We believe tbs
the honesty and virtue and patriotism
Of the people will triumph. But th
people must not permit themselves
be deceived by the character of th
y metropolitan press, or be misled by
Q. It il not what it once was, except ]
power. And 1t 10 we'll that the pet
z. MA shou1d undoratand khAao facta