The Savannah morning news., 1900-08-03
HUMAN CATTLE.
Some Salty Observations of a Sick
MAN.

Editor of the Morning News: The news
papers-yos, that's so-the newspapers
have got America by the nose and the
corporations led by the railroads, have
got it by the tail, from the President to
the pebeian, and are carrying it to-God
knows where. for nobody else does.
The one goal, the paradise "the fields
elysian," whatever that may mean. is gold.
Get that and you can control everybody
and everything from the present emperor
of America 10 the peasant at the plow-
from the Senate down to the saloon.
The commercial spirit has seized the
bit and is dashipg straight at the chasm
of moral ruin.
And If the preacher objects it takes but
a little time to ridicule him into silence or
starve him into subsection. Southern
paper has set sthe pace by cartooning a
pastor who criticised the bad conduct of
Its favorite mayoralty candidate.
The average editor has no trouble at all
In giving theological instructions by the
column to the preacher, and such knotty
problems as miracles, the incarnation,
providence, etc, ore disposed of as quick
~ and irreverently as Voltaire's denial of
the inspiration of the Bible.
To the average reporter. every pious
that Puritan is an ignorant hypocrite
and every advocate of reform, especially
in the matter of intemperance, is a fa,
matte.
One motto: THE news, all the news
ell the news every day." seems to hang
out the press door, and everything is told
from the diplomatic performance of the
nations to the putrid details of the Police
Court. And when some Puritan" or
fl0atic' objects he ia folI Ia
publishing the details of crime decreases
crime when, surely, If that had been
true we would have had a paradise in
America. Statisticians declare that the
United States lead the world in murder,
and that crimes of all kinds have vastly
increased in the last decade.
The saloon Is known to be by all men
verltable hot bed of inspiration for
crimes of all kinds, and yet the press is
as silent as the grave on the subject
save to ridicule those who oppose the
saloon.
Why did the Mayors OF Huntsville and
New Orleans close the saloons during
me recent riots? Because they were
chief factors of danser-the dynamic CEN
ters of anarchy.
Recently a lengthy article appeared in
Georgia daily, which, after relating the
oid sophistries against prohibition ended
oS declaring IL the Legislature passed
such law the cities of Georgia would not
ooey II. / replied to one point only. viz:
mat the writer was advertising the liquor
uealer as an anarchist. The editor in
formed me that the article was inserted
ana paid for as an advertisement But it
was not so marked.
Inc glories of local option are extolled
as the great panacea for intemperance,
"hen everybody knows that the principal
Oh local option, when applied to all mat
'ers oil legislation and crime. and pressed
70 IT'S logical and equitable sequence.
would end in anarchy pure and simple.
Every man for himself and"
one fact alone will forever answer its
claims. 1t destroys the unit of legislation;
hence the unity of law. and destroys both
Justice and equality. remember
ustinctly when the press fought
local option Just as It row fights
prohioiton, and every step of progress
mas temperance legislation has made has
oeen In spite of newspaper opposition.
IL the press is leading this county 1t
mas nothing to boast of either in COM
merce, politics or morality.
And the railroads? Yes. Sunday desc