Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-06-04
MUZZLING THE E
i~baiators Results i'm ConfOund-
ing the ~BriEands.

For nearly half a century the state
of Pennsylvania has been ruled by
.onfederated ~scoundrels in the service
of co~nfederated monopolists and in
the name of the republican party.
Political conditions have grown steadi-
ly worse and worse, until the entire
country has been shocked by the
enormity of the corruption and plum
deriLgs of the Quay machine. 1t be-
came necessary, therefore, to prevent
publicity in order to perpetuate the
power of the brigands, and hence the
Quay majority in the legislature at
its last session passed a bill for the
protection of corruptionists against
criticism and the suppression of truth
by means of radical changes in the law
of libel.
The object of the new libel law,
which was signed by Gov. Pennypatk-
er on the 18th of May, is clearly two
fold-to %terrorize the press and to re-
ward blackmailers and shysters. 1t
creates a new artificial crime by re-
quiring under a penalty the name of
the editor and the proprietor of every
periodical or newspaper to be con-
spicuously printed therein. 1t pro-
vides for compensatory damages to
any person who may be made the VIC
tim of mental or physical suffering"
by reason of any negligent publica-
ton whether true or false. II thus at
tempts to abrogate the established law
of libel which allows the truth to be
given in evidence on the plea of justi-
f%cation; which requires malice to be
shown except where falsehood is
proven-in which case m;ilice is pre-
sumed-and which gives no damages
for mental or physical suffering, but
only for injury to reputation" which
is treated as property. This remark
able change is the result of that part
of the act which gives punitive dam
ages" to anyone who has been SUBJ
jected to mental or physical suffer
ing by reason of cartoons, or head
lines in large type, OF other device
calling special attention to any al
legged delinquency of public officers.
The entire act is a penal statute in dis
guise and was born of the same princi-
pies and aims which gave rise to the
sedition law passed by congress in
1898 by the federalists. And not since
the great campaign against that ORR
II act, conducted by Jefferson and
Madison, has there been a more uni
versal or indignant protest against
any act of an American legislature.
Even the republican newspapers de-
nounce it as an outrage. Gov. Penny
packer has been excoriated for sign
ing it, and ridiculed for his absurd at
tempt to justify its enactment. But
the governor is no more guilty than
the legislature which enacted it. He
has done no more than the federal
administration has done along the
same line. The odious Philippine Sc
dition law, adopted by congress and
approved by the president, is indeed
far worse than this Few Pennsylvania
sedition law. Gov. Pennypacker's rea-
soning in his remarks on the necessity
and utility of the act might have been
borrowed from the answer of Secre-
tary Root in the mandamus EAST Of
Taylor vs.. Root, or even from the
opinion of the court in that case. The
general trend of the official class un
der the republican regime is indeed
better exhibited by Gov. Pennypacker
and the Pennsylvania legislature than
it is by those newspapers which criti-
else them. In national politics Charles
Emory Smith has shown himself to
be precisely what Pennypacker is in
state politics. The medieval, mon
archical and federalist spirit which
dominates the entire republican ma.
chine is simply the essence Of the
new Pennsylvania libel law, as it is
CT all the federal laws passed by the
same machine. 1t is fortunate for the
country that Quay and his cousin, Pen.
nypackcr, have given us an object les.
son in Imperialism which ever the
Philadelphia press can understand;
and it is reasonable now to hope that
the entire country may have its eyes
opened to the corrupt, domineering
vicious policy of the republican party
1t is reasonable, indeed, to hope that
in 1904 we may witness such a revul.
sion of public sentiment against fed.
eralism and its methods of suppression
and fraud as that which carried a dem,
ocrat into the presidential office in
1900.