Evening star., 1943-12-26
On Restraining
Press Freedom

W. Noyes, editor in chief OF The Star,
is reprinted here in condensed form.
Written many gears ago, some OF the
points made haze peculiar applica-
tton to current discussions OF free
dom OF the press.t
Public opinion in respect to the lati-
tude which should be granted by law to
the press has varied greatly At time
when the privilege of printing ones
thoughts was obtained, In theory, only
by favor of ecclesiastical or secular rul-
ers, who claimed the control of the press
as one of their prerogatives, Milton, in
his "Areopagitica," written against
system which is said to have nearly
caused the suppression Of Paradise
Lost" because of a supposed political al
lusion, argued that the liberty of the
press consists in printing without any
previous license, subject to the conse-
quences Of law. The oppression which
caused mere relief from censorship to be
viewed as freedom was not confined to
the Old World.
The first American newspaper, Pub
lick Occurrences 1890, was suppressed
as unlicensed at a tender age But by
Milton's definition the press would be
free though the slightest libelous publi-
cation were punished by the torture or
IF fLn 1t,
would be happier fate The captive
rat would doubtless prefer the safety
OF confinement in a cage to liberty with
certain exposure to the teeth of the ex-
pectant terrier. Authors might we'll
consider themselves less harshly treated
If restricted in their right to print to
those publications which the censor pro-
nounces to be free from danger to the
community and to themselves, than If
told to publish what they please with
the prospect Of losing liberty, or hand,
or the nose, or the ears, for an lncau-
tlous word. There Is no freedom un-
less one may print to certain extent
with impunity. The persecution on
slight pretexts of early American editors,
with some of whom Imprisonment be-
came matter of routine, taught the
New World this truth. Zenger lay in
Jail nine months before his trial and
acquittal, and his paper meanwhile was
burned by the common hangman. Sc
we're punishments for trivial offenses
were inflicted by the republic, also, un-
der the alien and sedition laws.
broader view of the liberty of the press
was formulated in 1904, when It was
said by Alexander Hamilton to consist
"in the right to publish with impunity
truth with good motives for justifable
ends" In this second stage of public
opinion 1t came to be recognized that
precisely the same principle is involved
In the rights OF free thought, free speech
and free printing, and that similar priv
ileges and responsibilities should attach
to the disclosure of one ideas whatever
method of communication is adopted.
With the growth of the modern news
paper, public opinion has shown a ten
dency to still greater liberality. 1t is
a duty imposed upon newspapers by
custom and public expectation to record
the events Of each day to comment freely
upon them in the interests of the COM
munity, to expose corruption and oppres-
sion, to scrutinize and, II necessary, to
criticize the acts OF public servants and
the workings of public institutions; to
act, in short, as censors as well as re-
corders.
In the honest discharge Of these func-
tions 1t is held that newspapers should
be defended. by confining the import Of
libelous defamation within narrower
limits, or by relaxing the rigorous re-
strictions which hamper the plea Of
truth, or by enlarging the bounds Of
privileged publications, or by extending
the borders of nonlibelous criticism; and
this protection should be given even
though it involves the grant of greater
latitude to the press in printing than is
permitted to individuals in speaking
The benefit to the community arising
from the fearless performance of the
duties of this new public Office is thought
to outweigh the evil Of occasional In
advertent injuries to the reputation Of
citizens.
fourth view Of newspaper privileges
not countenanced by the law, but acted
upon by some journalists, may be for
mulated in the words of John Phoenix,
who held that, as temporary editor of the
San Diego Herald, he had the liberty of
saying anything he pleased about any,
body without considering himself at all
responsible" Desirable changes in treat
ment of newspapers do not involve the
adoption of the Phoenix notion of the
freedom of the press
X X
The entire absence of restraint would
tend to nullify the influence of news
papers both for good and evil Hallam
says that "for almost all that keeps up in
us permanently and effectually the spirit
of regard to liberty and the public good,
we must look to the unshackled and
independent energies of the press" If
this high anticipation be disappointed, If
the press abuse its powers, grossly and
universally, either to crafty personal
malice, or to feed with a daily allowance
of defamation a depraved public appe-
tite which it has itself created, an in
glorious end awaits it. Indiscriminate
libel supplies its own antidote. The pub
lie becomes hardened, as did the Athe-
mans under the constant lashing of the
licensed comedy. Men lose all feeling of
shame, and with no delicate sense of
honor, become impervious to insult.
They grow Indifferent to attacks upon
themselves and attach no weight to
assaults unnn others Wbere oil ore