The Pacific commercial advertiser., 1903-12-12
INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM.

Thirty or forty years ago the politica
newspaper was always an organ, COM
Enitted to persons or dogmas for better
or worse, but the growing catholicity OF
ed a new journalism which finds its
goal in impartial public service. There
are few if any old-time organs left save
in little country places where the pub
Usher crooks the pregnant hinges of
the knee that job work may follow
fawning. True the party papers re-
nands influence and at the same time
is known to be irrevocably committed
to any party platform or TO any party
man.
Where, for instance, is there a Re
publican or Democratic paper of stand
ing in the United States which does not
maintain wholesome independence
within the party? Take the San Fran
cisco press, for example. The Call and
Chronicle are Republican yet they both
opposed the effort of the Republican
organization to send Dan Burns to the
United States Senate and both fell out
with the administration of Governor
Gage. II they had not done so they
would have won the contempt of
honest men. The. Examiner has never
hesitated to oppose the Democratic
bosses on occasion and was at odds
with Mayor Phelan at times and with
Democratic Senator Stephen NJ. White. |
Crossing the continent to New York, |
not a single thick-and-thin organ, of |
any consequence, is found en-route. |
Not leading paper of Chicago, Dem
yer, st. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland |
or Buffalo permits itself to be called /
the adjunct of any party machine: and
there is not one which takes orders
from outside political manipulators.
Ali of them try to win confidence by
proclaiming the independence of their
editorial opinions.
In an experience of New York jour
nalism extending over many years the
writer of this topic does not recall but
one out-and-out, bred-in-the-bone and
tattooed-in- the-fesh daily organ of
major significance and that was the
New York STAR the organ of John
Kellysand Tammany Hall. Lieutenant
Governor Dorsheimer was it's editor
and c. P. Huntington was it's finan-
cial hacker. Brains, enterprise and
capital were concerned with it, yet not
even Tammany would read the Star
and when the paper died itlhad taken
5000. 900 to prepare the way. This enor-
nous loss was incurred in paying Sat-
urday night deficits.
The New York papers are iall inde-
pendent. The Republican Tribune op-
poses the Platt machine, the World and
Sun oppose Tammany the Hearst pa a
Ders stand for any form of independ- ]
ance that pays. the Herald was al s
ways ndependent-which accounts for t
Is phenomenal success-the Times, t
,nce Independent Republican is now in l
dependent Democrat-and the Evening Z
Post is free from any kind of political t
The most influential e
paper in Brooklyn, the Eagle, is Demo r
sratic when the Democracy is right t
and liberal and broad-minded always.
So marked is the public dislike of the t
newspaper organ that there is today no t
great paper in America bearing the \
name of it's party and living up to the h
aame. New York and Chicago Demo {
rats and Republicans have been II
started often enough, only to fail. i
Even minor Republicans" and Demo
Gratis" do not do well unless they are t
practically alone in the field. The only Y
way to take the hoodoo off the name is I
to make the principles of the paper t
the title. Hence the Spring /
field Republican, (Mugwump). the
Rochester Democrat, Rep.), the St. {
Louis Globe-Democrat, (Rep.). and so t
on to the end of a long chapter. 1t t
takes but the bare announcement by G
paper that it is irrevocably committed {
to certain line of ideas, to deprive it
OF popular confidence. The public will c
have independence, hospitality to new 8
Ideas, elasticity of mind, freedom to do /
what is best, in all it's public teachers, I
whether they are journals, colleges or I
preachers. The disciple of stagnation, 6
the man of one narrow idea, gets left. !
That this journalistic independence a
IS not liked by party leaders is mat
ter of course. But the paper which has r
no enemies has no achievement; and it Y
is better to win the confidence of the S
public than that of the few men who, d
In the name of party regularity. would Il
abase Journalism to their personal t
ends. T
V