The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1922-11-09
WASHINGTON COMMENT.

a power behind, which uses their in
fluence for private and personal rather
than for public and economic pur-
poses, why is it that none OF them
carry criticisms against the honesty
of the press when such are uttered
by people whose experience and serv-
ices to the country entitle them to
be heard?"
The question is often heard in Con-
gress. Senator Heflin, Of Alabama,
said in speech in the senate recent
ly:
81 am not afraid of the press.
/ am the firm friend Of the honest
press. God knows l would not ham,
per the press in the discharge of its
duty, or take away from it any OF
it's rights and privileges to give the
news to the people, and print the
views of those who own the papers;
but am against the scheme that
some of them have of suppressing
the news of events Of importance that
take place righ. here in this chamber,
around this capitol, that the people
of the country are entitled to know
about. Why is it that you never see
a line about a lot Of important mat
ters discussed in this chamber"
This speech was reported in few
if any Of the great metropolitan
dailies, nor was the interlopation made
by Senator Watson, of Georgia, with
Senator Hefin's permission. Sena-
tor Watson said, in part:
"The time is coming when the press
will have to be free If it wants to ex-
ist. This country can not live and
tolerate a press which it knows is a
hireling press. It will not pay for
such papers. It will not advertise
in such papers. People will not buy
from those who advertise in such
papers, and the worst of the fight
is past.
"When the espionage law was pass
edyand so mary hundreds of newspa-
pers were crushed by arbitrary orders
of the post office department, free
dom of press was more in danger
than it ever had been sice our gov
ernment was established on since
Charles Fox, Lord Grey, and John
Wilkes had made their noble fight
in England for the freedom OF the
press, and Thomas Erskine had made
his glorious fight for trial by jury
instead of arbitrary directions OF YER
diets by judges. That time is COM
ing again. The forces of conflict are
arraying themselves against each 9TH
er again. That battle is irresistible.
Nothing on earth can stop it and
nothing, on earth can silence the peo-
pie. They are going to be heard, OF
we will have a revolution in this
country"
The foundation stone on which
America is built is liberty. Liberty
of speech, liberty of thought, liberty
of political action, liberty of conduct
within the laws of the land, liberty
to worship God, liberty from tyran-
ny, oppression, slavery; liberty OF
opinion. Take away liberty and there
is no United States.
A controlled" press is a blow at
liberty. A great newspaper is pub
lie institution. It's owners, publishers
and editors have the American right
of liberty to their opinions, personal
and political; they have no moral right
to attempt to color the thoughts OF
their readers by SUPPRESSION or altera,
tion of the truth. "A newspaper which
suppresses truth, or one which chang
es truth to lies for its own purposes
is no newspaper, it is merely then a
mouth-piece.
Great newspapers are expensive
they require vast capital to conduct
As such they can be controlled If
there is interest enough behind them
to buy them. But there is not money
enough in America to buy and con-
troll all the papers Of the United
States. The country press, the small
er papers, the weeklies, the county
seat papers,are too numerous and too
red-blooded with patriotic American
owners and editors to be bought.
Against the evils of a controlled
press the American people must fight,
and fight hard; the penalty of losing
the battle is to see this country a
democratic only in name, an oligarthy
in fact. In that battle the field ar
tillery and skirmish line, the trench
diggers and the advance guard is the
country press.
The fame of truth is white hot and