The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1917-05-12
THE CENSORSHIP DEBATES

Congress has wisely eliminated the most dangerous fea-
lures of the proposed censorship, if the reports coming from
Washington are not misleading as to the form in which the
espionage bill will finally reach the president. Another day or
two will probably tell, but the debates have not been credHable
to a large element of our law making body.
It would appear that the recent decision of the supreme
rourt, in which it was held that the house of representatives
did not have the right to punish Mr.. Marshall, United States
district attorney of New York, for alleged contempt of the
house, should have had its influence, but apparently it did not.
Mr.. Marshall had refused to answer some of the questions of a
preiudiced investigating committee, and events of the last few
days in the Rintelin case show his justification.
The house, as most people felt, not only committed an
act Of folly in sending a preiudced smelling committee to in
vestigate Mr.. Marshall, but it went further in its folly in trying
to intimidate the hard working prosecutor when, outraged by
the clumsy attack on his competency and by the violation of
all prophecies of procedure, he told the committee exactly what
he thought Of it,.
As "a matter of fact, the country rose to Mr.. Marshalls sup
port, and the house was really in contempt of public opinion.
The committee which looked into the Marshall case did not hes
itate to coHate even the malicious grievances of the usual riff
raft that are apt to be involved in the nets of federal justice,
and in doing so made Il spectacle of itself that will not long be
forgotten. The supreme court, however, went further than
10 mere issue of Mr.. Marshalrs alleged insubordination, for
i'll upholding the right Of citizens, whether in office or out, to
criticize freely those representing them in congress or in legis-
latures, as it might be, the court is true to American ideas and
ideals. 1t would strike at the whole system of representative
government as the court pointed out, if congress could hale
anybody before it for criticism of its acts or debates or the in
dividual acts of its members, who are answerable not only to
their constituents, but to that greater constituency, too, the pub
lie at large, the country as a whole.
Congressman and legislators would like to forget all this,
and when held up for some folly would like to choke off criti-
clsm, just as those VINO are before the puDllc as pfOpagandlStS
believe that they, too, are above the indictment of those who
do not agree with them. Fortunately, the supreme court
thinks otherwise and has not set up the congress as a privileged
body. The Marshall decision should prove to be a very effec-
tual warning at a time when freedom of speech from tribune
and rostrum and in print was never more important to the well
fare of the community and the citizen.
And it now appears quite probable that the member of con-
gress who was responsible for the attack on Marshall and who
is himself now under indictment, will meet at the hands of a
jury of his peers a fate much worse than any he had planned
for the victim of his unholy wrath. Congress should put the
soft pedal on the censorship advocates.