The times., 1899-03-17
Last of the Old Guard.

IN tne death OF the Hon. Joseph Mediil
the country bids goodby to the last repre-
sentative OF the Old Guard of editors who.
for fifty years or more, led and largely
nodded public opinion: most of the time
during a period when great newspapers
stood for the right printed what they
honestly believed, and were not justly
chargeable with selling their opinions to
corporations or bosses. When Charles A.
Dana passed from earth, Joseph Medill re-
mainod as the single dropping stalk of the
grand old tree of midcentury American
journalism. He had seen compeers like
Horace Greeley. Thurlow Weed, and Henry
j. Raymond go to their graves. and for
years survived most of them, living and
shining exponent of the old and golden
era OF vigorous. honest newspaper infiu-
ence.
The life of the dead journalist Of
fers a picture of devotion TO duty and
TO country. From time which most
active men of the present generation hard
ly can remember Joseph Medill had been
conspicuous as a stern, answering, dyed
in-the wool American.
and all through the years of the Civil War.
He was not less so when the horrors of
the Spanish war on humanity in Cuba made
the blood of all decent people to boil.
He was for war TO drive Spain from the
Western Hemisphere, and TO give the
blessings Of American liberty and good
government to the peoples who for ages had
suffered under the CALLING yoke of a bar
barous, fanatical. and insane power.
Equally. Mr. Medill was patriotic and
intense in his advocacy of the present pol
icy of national expansion, and opposed with
all his might to the cowardly and treason
able purposes of those who would surren-
der to the enemy, or TO any foreign power.
the fruits of our victory, or the least frac-
ticn Of them. In this; as in every phase of
his sturdy, fearless Americanism, he was
wise, steadfast, and as active and pro-
gressive as any man in the country, and
his later history stands out in noble con-
trast with the conduct of some of his con-
temporaries, who have sought to round out
lives of greater or less prominence and
credit by betraying the nation which has
hopored and trusted them.
Joseph Medill ranked high in the line of
forceful men who have made American
history since the time of the Missouri
Compromise. If it can be said that a great
character like Abraham Lincoln could owe
his elevation to any individual, the sub
ject of these lines is more entitled than
any other to be considered as his sponsor
1t is certain at least that in the Chicago
Convention of 1860 at which Lincoln was
nominated TO the Presidency, it was the
voice and determined work of Joseph Me
dill that turned the tide of popularity
from William II. Seward. the old party
favorite, 10 the little known son of Illinois.
and secured for him a victory the results
OF which are known of all men.
Unlike most successful newspaper men.
MIR. Medill was without personal ambition
outside of his profession. It is true that
after the great Chicago fire of 1871, and in
view of what he believed to be an emer-
gency, he consented to take the mayoralty
OF the city with which the best years OF
his life were identified. On several occa-
sions he might have had a seat in the
United States Senate for the asking For
eign missions and other Executive honors
he had been offered and regularly declined
His sole object seems TO have been to make
the Chicago Tribune" powerful, clean,
American journel, sans peur ct sans re-
proche:" and in that his success was
superb.
Although rock-ribbed Republican and
one of the chief founders of that party,
Joseph Medill never fell in with its pro-
yincial and reactionary Chinese tariff
ideas, and, to the day of his death, he
fought hard to bring it to a sane sense of
the necessity for a liberal commercial
policy-a policy which tardily the party
is showing a disposition to favor
Few Americans have done more to keep
fresh and active the old conceptions of
public integrity and responsibility of gov
ernors 10 the governed. Few have worked
harder in the field Of national education
for the duties which manifest destiny Will
impose upon the Government and people.
None has been more single minded, brave.
or reproachless in the prosecution of his
mission. Peace to the last of the Old
Guard,