The Irish standard., 1903-11-07
PREACHERS AND NEWSPAPERS.

The preachers ana newspapers OF
New York ought now to realize their
true Importance us conservators Of
public morals. The entire metropoli-
tan press was opposed to the election
Of Mcclellan. The opposition of the
press was bitter and denunciatory
The editorial and news columns were
crowded with appeals to independent
voters to recognize the principle of
-partisunship in municipal affairs
The cry of graft and "red lights"
was raised to scare the timid. Speech
es of the Democratic orators were sup
pressed. Representations were made
to the public that all decent Demo-
Gratis were supporting Low. Yet this
was all to no avail. The conclusion is
inevitable that either the great mass
of the people did not read the news
papers or else reading did not believe
what they read. We think the latter
is true. People do not allow newspa-
per editors and writer's to think for
them as was the case twenty-five
years ago. The old motto, "If you see
it in the Sun it is true" no longer
holds good of the one time great
newspaper, nor Of any Of its contem-
porares. The newspapers of the
country have abused the confidence of
the people so often in political way
that they no longer have the power
that ought rightfully to be theirs.
Money considerations have led great
newspapers to advocate this or that
political principle so often in the past,
that people no longer look to the
newspapers for their political views
The turpitude Of the newspaper may
be the means of cleansing the press.
Party leaders no longer regard the
support of newspapers as essential to
success. In fact their opposition is in
many cases desirable. What has
happened in New York during the
campaign is by no means novel. The
elder Carter Harrison was five times
electer mayor of Chicago with the
papers opposed to him in most of the
contests. The same is true of his son,
the present mayor of Chicago, who
has been elected four times. In Hen
nepin county last fall I'LL the news
he was elected in Republican dis
trct. 1t is generally believed that the
unrrasoning opposition of one of the
Minneapolis papers was II strong fac
tor in electing Mr.. Lind. There are
two ways in which newspapers de-
stroy all power of influence: one way
stances advocating the election of par
ty candidates, the other is by repre-
senting themselves to be party organs
and always and under all circumstnn-
ces opposing the candidates of that
party. All readers know that there
are several newspapers in the city of
New York calling themselves Demo
cratic which have not supported II
Democratic candidate for ten years.
Naturally such papers have little in
tluence with Democratic voters. \
large number of Protestant ministers
for several Sundays howled and
screamed in holy horror from their
pulpits against the alleged iniquities
of Tammany. In reference to these
ministers we must conclude that either
they have no listeners, and conse-
quently no influence, or that they
| were wrong in their statements and
their methods. Both conclusions are
doubtless true. If the overwhelming
success of Tammany means that the
grand majority of the people are in
favor of iniquity as against public
Righteousness (Which is not believable),