Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-05
ADVANTAGE OF A FREE PRESS.
It's Influence in Moral Awakening
Felt Throughout the Land.


No matter what happens. so to speak.
and principally in our great cities, New
York and Chicago. 1t does ones soul good
to read the newspapers OF those cities par
ticularly and of the country in general.
Political rascals and public thieves have
still had their newspaper defenders Though
they have been scarce, but the way in
which most of the papers have spoken out
for honesty and against plumber and have
made their Illustrations concrete warns
the cookies of the heart and renews ones
faith In popular government. Soberly
speaking, IL we go wrong or are going
wrong the fault does not lie at the door OF
the press. While there has been licen-
tious press in some instances and yellow
press in too many instances, the soundneSs
of the press as an institution has never been
more sgnally shown than in these COM
paratively recent days of the moral revolt
In this country that was begun by mani
Testing itself first in politics. Beginning
with Folk, prosecutor in St. Louis, and
coming on down and through various
phases of wrongdoing from municipal theft
to life insurance plundering, wherein did
the press fail of the word In season and
the word with the bark on it?" Next to
an upright Judiciary. and sometimes before
it, Is an honest press.
As q whole, we believe the press OF no
country has given more vigorous proof of
honesty than the press of this country in
these days. And II has thriven on the ex-
erclS0. more ana more the merely paTtlsdu
press has fallen into disrepute We mean
this soberly. The partisan press has It's
place and its use. But long 1t had usurped
a wide area outside these until 1t became
q tyranny over the minds and consciences
OF men, asking them to let 1t do their think
ing and hand their responsibility over to
the fetish of party, whose ritual the party
press daily chanted as applicable TO all acts
of citizen from choosing President or
a congressman to choosing a county COM
missioner or a justice of the peace. We
came in time to the full fruits of this mon
strous assumption In the establishment of
machines on both sides that played into
each others hands: and, with party press
on each side to drive men into voting blind
ly. what more complete slavery could be
devised?
Well. this amazing assumption has been
rudely shaken. In the revolt of recent
months paper after paper has broken away
from such service joining the chorus that
has been led by the President for an inde-
pendent manhood asserted In civic action,
free from national party issues and affili-
atoms. So there has been only a lonely ex-
ample here and there either of newspaper
gag" as of old and drive men to vote Ike
cattle in the name of party on issues that
have nothing to do with party. Accordingly
we have a condition all over this country
with the exception here and there to make
1t clearer--of q press speaking out honestly.
counseling men to vote directly for men;
to get things done by voting for men that
will do them. and not vote for q party
name In the blind dream that what happens
after that Is no ones concern. This great
awakening has only just begun. But no
part OF 1t - more prominent than that
which the press of the country has played
and none more valuable and honorable.