The evening world., 1909-03-06
PRESS IS HONEST,
GAYNOR SAYS At
CLUB DEDICATION
Justice Pays Tribute to Earn
est Energy of Newspaper
Makers.
RAPS. AT DEMAGOGUES.
MCGOWAN and Metz Also
Speak at Laying of New
Corner Stone.
RAPS AT DEMAGOGUES.

The cornerstone Of the new New Yorl
Press Club Building, being erected OF
the corner OF Spruce and William
: streets, was laid at 30 O'Clock this
afternoon by representatives OF the
Grand Lodge Of Masuns OF this State
Justice William J. Gaynor, OF the
4 Appellate Division OF the Supreme
= Court. delivered the Grafton, and Pat
rick F. MCGOWAN, President Of the
:. Board of Aldermen and acting Mayor,
spoke for the city. Comptroller Herman
A Metz also delivered an address.
The New York Press Club was founded
In 1865 and was the first press club to
be organized In this country, 1t has
Its own cemetery, seven hospital beds,
widows fund, a reference library pre-
scented by Andrew Carnegie, and the
bound fies Of the New York newspapers
for fifty years back,
Gaynor's Tribute TO Workers.
Justice Gaynor said. in part, in his
grafton:
THE press OF New York City. and
believe of the country at large, has
vastly improved In the last twenty
years In what / may call its personnel,
To meet a journalist now Is to meet an
educated gentleman, no matter to what
department Of the paper he belongs.
Your calling il now justly ranked as
one OF the professions, and you respect
yourselves and each other.
When l was newspaper writer this
could not be truthfuly said. To be
abusive and rough and unfair was quite
an accomplishment l have seen all OF
that pass away. Journalism has come
10 occupy high public ground or
course there may he exceptions, but
they illustrate by contrast the truth Of
what am saying.
"A scandalmonger OF public men /.
shown the door in newspaper Office
quicker than In any other place. But
in their public conduct public officials
,are justly held up by the press to the
FULLEST publicity.
I'm no other way can low base and
corrupt government be lifted up and
made decent and kept so, And in this
tie press has come on the whole to be
fair and honorable. The men OF your
profession draw a correct line between
criticism and abuse. The exceptions
which occur now and then are so much
out Of line that they are disagreeable
to everybody Criticism may be sharp
and tart but that does not make 1t
abuse. for such are the weapons of
criticism.
Nagging Editor No More.
"The sort Of editor who found fault all
the time and kept picking at some one,
with all the more venom and satisfaction
n he had built that one up, and with
never good word for any one but
vague ideallst, seems also TO have died
ont. He was so impossibly good him
1elt-or thought lie was-that he could
scarcely see merit and good intentions
IN any one or anywhere else,
There is one respect in which free
press in free country ought to be all.
powerful. Il ought to be able by far
aud pungent statement and query 20
give the true size and motives Of dema-
gogues and political humbugs who set
themselves up as statesmen, and nut
them In separate bunch where they
can b. easily distinguished.
They are now, and have been for sew
eral years, going up and down tll,cour-
try, denOuncing what they call trusts
and aggregate ~ Of capital with voices
Ike the bull Of Bashun, without telling
what trust Is, or what the trouble or
the evil or the wrong Is, so that It may
be dealt with and removed. They do
not say concrete thing, Promiscuous
land indefinite dcnuncaton is all We
have ever got from them
None Of them can survive the touch
Of Ithuriel's spear Of trith-the pen OF
enlightened journalism in free cour.
try, governed in the last ANALYSIS nv
those thinking persons WHO make true
and lasting public opinion"