The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1908-11-14
WHY Such DnnlicitY z

pers of Louisiana aid other southern
states have confessed since the election
that they doubted the wisdom of MIR.
Bryan's nomination at the timesit was
made and have all along felt more or
less firmly Convinced that be would
meet with third defeat at the polls.
Yet these self.same papers, almost
| without exception, have not only con
cealed their true opinions on this sub
| jet from their readers, but have re-
peatedly declared with every appear
ance of candor and conviction that
| they considered the Democratic candi-
date for president the best man who
could have been nominated, and re-
garded his triumphant election in the
light of a foregone conclusion.
| What reasonable excuse can be Of
fered for such glaring duplicity? Are
the people of the southern states so
hide bound, SO STEPPED in partisanship
and prejudice that they must be fed on
the pap of political representation
like spoiled infants because their tenn
pers and paIates rebel against the solid
food of wholesome but i'll tasting truth?
Is it to be assumed that Intolerance
has grown to such degree among
Ifsouthern Democrats thatthey will not
brook caudor and truthfulness on the
part of their party newspapers, or
have the latter sunk to so low plane
that they prefer to deal in deception
and Misrepresentation rather than ad-
nit anything TO the disadvantage CT
their party or its candidate? Is there
a popular demand for duphcity of ibis
character, or are the papers that prac
tiee it aetuated merely by political ex.
pediency?
There can be no objection to news
paper putting the best possible face on
the facts and issues Of campaign in
behalf Of its own party and its favor
tie candidates, but even the Influencing
of the floating, weak kueed and unde-
cided vote cannot justify the deliber-
ate misstatement of conditions n d
perversion of honest beliefs and opin.
ions to which many of our Democratic
contemporaries are pleading guilty in
connection with their course during
the recent campaign.
Law Fees In the NeWc0mb Will Case.
The Chief takes the liberty of ques-
tioning the propriety of the comments
of the New Orleans daily papers on
the fees supposed to have been ch arged
by council in the Newcomb will CON
test. The liberty of the press, above
any other liberty, ought not 70 be al
lowed to degenerate into license. To
publish the facts is entirely proper
To make comment on them-especiall
comment derogatorv to the character
only impairment, but in a high degree
improper. The Chief does not pre-
tend to Judge the propriety or other
wise of the amounts said to have been
charged. It is not IN possession of
sufficient facts even if it felt competent
to pass on the question at all. The
question of newspaper propriety it
does feel reasonably competent to pass
on, and it feels that the tone of most
of the comments ithas seen is unworthy
the dignity of its metropolitan eonteul-
poraries.
For headline writer with his snap
shot view of the situation to stigma
tie. counsel fees as excessive" as
was done in one Instance, is not only
an improperly, but is little short of
an outrage. The offense is agra
waited By the fact that the injury is
well nigh irreparable.
There is no real excuse for this sort
of thing and it ought to be stopped.
It does and cap do no good, aud be-
sides operating grievous injustice to
the Individual rejected on, jures the
standing of both the legal profession
and the newspapers as we'll. The
truth is that the injurious effect is
even more far reaching, for the indul
gence in such license will by an infal- |
lible psychologicalrule lead to more or
less moral degeneration in the ipdivid-
uals who indulge in it.
10 the particular case it is entirely
that the largest sum so
Tar mentioned might be exceedingly |
moderate compensation for the SER
vices actually rendered.