The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1906-08-14
TEMPTERs OF JOURNALISM.

District Attorney Jerome recently
delivered a long address in regard to
newspapers as vehicles and guides OF
public opinion The view he took
was not altogether flattering to the
newspapers He declared that the
greatest injustice as we'll as greatest
Justice is sometimes done by them.
He believed that the influence Of the
editorial page had decreased because
'fhe man on the street had learned
to discount its statements and opin-
ions. Moreover, as a narrator of news
1t often does serious public wrong by
wilfully mistating or taking facts. and
coloring the news. He asked how II
was possible to have wise and bene'
ticent public opinion when the sup.
posed facts upon which it is founded
are not facts at all but fictions?" This
he declared is "a real and serious
evil"
Now listen to what a newspaper
man says. In an article in the Annals
of the American Academy Geo. w
Ochs, publisher of the Philadelphia
Pebble Ledger. writes both of the du.
ties and the temptations Of journal
ism. The facts were never better
stated than he puts them. This one
paragraph from his article:
Journalism is beset by many temp.
tiers; they pursue editors and report
ers with Establishments. sophistry.
and lures of every kind to promote
personal. political or financial ends
The seeming politician, the persua-
sive, plausible demagogue; the cor
rupt, base and dishonest scavengers
wallowing in wild orgies OF public
pnnder; the Snug faced hypocrites
who. in the livery of benign beneyo
lence. feed like vultures upon public
rights; the smooth, insinuating pro
moter who would beguile the public
by some lure; the bold. law defying
conspirators who. TO gain political ad-
yantagees or acquire public privi
eyes. will undermine The very corner
stone of our liberties and constitution.
al rights-all must be avoided. stern
ly resilsed. and deaf ear tuEned 20
their specious pleas. The editor. if he
be true journalist consecrates him.
self to the public. He must meet
whatever may arise with serene self
confidence. unfaltering in his fidelity.
unwavering in his determination 20
maintain truth and expose wrong. re
CARELESS of the sacrifice. uninluenced
by all considerations. save what con
science and right may dictate. When
statesmen falter. when administrators
stumble. when popular decisions pre-
vail. the editor is put TO the genuine
test: IL he hesitates in affirming what
he knows TO be right, if he suppress
truth that wrong may come. if he con
nive at injustice. vaciliate. san with
the popular breeze. he basely betrays
his profession and is irredeemably
false to the ideals of his vocation"
With such tempters pursuing them.
the wonder is that the newspapers
are. on the whole. so true to their
high calling. That journalism. in a
measure suffers from the same evil
that corrupts law and other prOfes-
sions. even medicine. namely. the evil
Of commercialism; that there are
newspapers, the whole motive for
whose existence is. 10 use the expires
siye phrase employed by our news
paper owners. that they ARE out for
the efuff-- that there are aeWsDapers
that are corrupt. that sacrifice prin
ciple TO circulation. to partisanship
or TO the stock market; that there are
newspapers whose news is colored
and whose opinions must be discount
ed-aIl this cannot be denied.
This, however, cannot be charged