New-York tribune., 1918-07-06
Hearst and the Con-
troll of the Press
From The Nation
INHE movement against Mr.. Hearst and
his newspapers has plainly become

n formidable one. If proof of this
were needed it would be furnished by the
large advertisements, in such New York
newspapers as accept his advertising, in
which he sets forth not only how patriotic
ne Is. but how his constructive sugges
tions are helping to win the war But
meanwhile the antagonism to him grows;
it has fiared up in New England and on the
Pacific Coast while in the suburbs Of New
York it has become pastime to burn his
newspapers Some Of the New Jersey
militia is apparently taking as a part of
its official duties tho banning Of his Jour-
nails from certain towns in that state. The
only check has been a decision by Justice
,Giegerich, of the Supreme Court Of New
York City. that the city authorities Of
Mount Vernon are without the power to
forbid the sale in their city Of either the
Hearst newspapers or the German
language publications. his reason being the
provision in the Federal Constitution that
there shall be no law "abridgng the free
dom of speech and Of the press" and n sim
liar provision in tho Constitution Of the
State OF New York.
Without having the slightest sympathy
for Mr. Hearst, who has long been amp
thema to us, "The Nation" welcomes this de-
csion, which seems to us sound in law and
morals, if only because since our going
into the war there have been so many cases
IN which freedom Of the press and Of
speech has been abridged 1t is, therefore,
refreshing to get this assurance that there
still are judges who read tA,r constitutions
1t is not reassuring to read of political
bodies legislating against certain newspa-
pers, however Objectionable, and it is en-
tirely disquieting to read of men in uni
form debating what their respective towns
shall or shall not read. This stirs memo
res OF our early Colonial days and Of the
straits to which some of our national heroes
were put to circulate pamphlets in order
TO oppose authority when it controlled the
press But if the parallel should not hold,
we should still be opposed to these methods
Of abating public nuisance.
This Mr.. Hearst is and has been for many
years; we doubt if any journalist in his
tory has backer acts to his dscredit. Ger
tainly no American journalist has ever exer-
clsed such malign influence; under his
example, the whole press Of the country
has been debased. Even if it is true that
his newspapers have become more conserva-
tive than in 1893, the mischief that thew
have done in lowering journalistic stand
ards still remains. To him was largely due
the country's plunging into the Spanish
war, and it is not his fault that we are not
a.
addition to Germany There is nothing
sincere IN any position that he takes, so far
as we have been able to discover If his
political views were invariably sound and
patriotic he would be still a public mem
ace by reason Of the low tone Of his papers
1t Is surely not forgotten that few
years ago he was accused BY "Collier's
Weekly of selling his editorial page for
$1,000 checks to theatre managers and that
no effort was made by him to compel "Col-
lier's Weekly" to retract it's statements. Hc
has long been stencil in the nostrils Of
all decent journalists, who have wished
with all their hearts that the public MIGHT
SO turn from him as to compel his publish
ing different kind Of newspaper or his
retirement from the business.
To them it is distinctly ironica that this
outburst of public resentment, which seems
even greater than that following upon the
assassination of President Mckinley. should
be due TO what may have been the lapse of
an editor or of a makeup man--we refer
10 the omission of part of the Presidents
proclamation praying for victory for the
American arn1swith which Hearst NAV
personally have had no connection at all
1hese journalists look for good to come
out OF this turning upon Hearst, not be-
cause they wish to see aldermen and militia
turned into public censors, but because
they hope that the public will now realize
what power it has over yellow Journalists
and how easily it can exercise that power
merely by refusing to purchase what i, low
and Objectionable.
The truth is that Hearst's present
troubles are due to very clumsy handling
OF his situation as we'll as to the positions
he has taken. 1t is supposed that he was in
opposition to the war up to the time that
it was declared. Had he come out frankly
and said so at that time, had he then stated
that ne would uphold the government, and
had he compelled wisdom and moderation
IN treatment OF leading subjects by his
editorial writer's, he could probably have
carried it off. But his writer's were cara
less and inconsistent; the damaging ex-
tracts from editorials now being circulated
show clearly that there is q lack Of sincere
and consistent editorial control which ;s
perhaps inevitable if one such man choosac
to direct eleven newspapers. AS it ia ha
has pleased nobody except the few ONT.
and-out pro-Germans; his bad record Of
the past and his notorious lack of sincerity
have returned to plague him.