New-York tribune., 1909-06-15

! tells much about King William, Count Benedetti,
| Count Bismarck and that famous Ems dispatch.
but nothing about the bloodgutiness of either the
| French or the Prussian press Nor has the press
| been convincingly charged with bringing about
| the Russo-Turkish War. the Greco Turkish War
! the Servo Bulgarian War or the Russo-Japanese
| War Perhaps our own war with Spain has been
attributed to newspaper agitation more than any
| other that ever was fought. but we believe that
| the mature Judgment of history will place greater
| responsibility upon other agencies than upon the
| press
But it may be said that Lord Morley was
speaking not of actual wars but OF preparation
| for wars. in inflated armaments. If So the an
swer is equally ready and. think. con-
elusive That is, that military preparations and
the military spirit are greatest in those coun-
tries where the press is least free and least iii
fupptial and conversely least where the
press is most free and most powerful. In Eu-
rone-and it was to Europe that Lord Morley
nar;icularly referred-the greatest military ma
ton is unQuestionably Germany But it can
scarcely he contended that the press is more in
fuentiaI in Germany than elsewhere. Indeed, it
must be confessed that It is far less so. Again,
Russia has long been q coflspcuOusly military
country. given over 10 1.-The preparation to use
arms" yet there the press has been little more
than a nulty. And in the United Kingdom.
where the press is by far most widely read and
most influential militarsm land has been
all but abolished, while for some years naval
strength has relatively been steadily declining
On the other hand. he must be a strangely un-
observant reader of the press who does not per
ceive in it a conspicuous and active agency for
peace. The tone of the great majority of papers
throughout the world toward the conferences at
The Hague. toward treaties and acts of arhitra
tion and toward all irenic influences has been
and Is distinctly sympathetic. Whenever some
incorporated -tongued minister or legislator. at
Washington or elsewhere, camOrs for warlike
measures or predicts war, he Is promptly con
demned or ridiculed out Of sight by the press
and whenever statesmen speak for peace or set
tie peacefully some international controversy
which might have been cause for war, the
press commends them and applauds them. We
are not unmindful OF occasional utterances in a
certain section Of the press which are calcu-
lated 10 engender i'll feeling among nations. but
nowhere are they more deplored or more sternly
rebuked than In the great majority Of news
papers and after all we doubt II they are more
numerous and we are inclined to think that they
are less mischievOus than the similar utterances
which are made by ministers and members
of parlaments. It is true that too often some
newspapers in their news columns exploit the
belIicose utterances Of public men TO a regret
table degree and thus provoke among the pub
lie feeling which the more thoughtful words
But even then the primary responsibility rests
not upon the papers which publish but upon
the ministers legislators or diplomats who
utter the offending speeches. The press has
faults enough 10 answer for, but cannot
admit the wholesale indictment of il for po-
tentia bloodguiltness which is reported 10 have
been made by Lord Moreley Of Blackburn.