Year: 1874

| NuANA1Os NOEs 0.~1 1uc 1TIONILS Cnlk
morning contains Joseph Medill's salu
tation in which he defines his position
as follows


"The Tribune hereafter will uni
formily, as under my administration, be
an Independent Republican journal. I.
will be the organ Of no man. however
high no clique or ring, however influ.
ential, or faction, however fanatical or
demonstrativc. While giving to the
Republican party and its principles a
hearty and generous support, it
will critcise the actions and
records Of the Republican leaders as
freely and fearlcssly as in days Of yore.
but 1t has seemed to me unwise for a
great representative journal, for the
purpose of correcting some alleged
abuses Of administration to desert it's
party organization and turn it's guns on
its old friend, or help into power and
place the leaders Of the organization
whose political record and whose official
conduct show that they arc insincere in
their professions Of a desire for demon.
strative publication.


The government Of the nation must
be conducted through the instrument.
ality of parties. l know of no other
agency which has succeeded in free
countries. The party in the majority
must assume the responsibility of gov.
crnment. A party is simply volun-
tary organization Of citizens, united to
carry into effect certain principles and
purposes. 1t must employ and instruct
individuals to collect and disburse the
taxes, to perform executive and police
duties for the protection and security
Of person and property. Men must be
engaged to construct public works,
carry the mails, administer justice, and
make and execute the laws, and do a
thousand other things which
the public we'll being requires, and the
individuals will often prove careless or
corrupt. But party whose aim and
purposes are good in practice, whose
record is grand and glorious should not
be condemned and thrown out Of power
on account Of the defective work or
misconduct Of few in its employ, in
order to make place for an antagonistic
Organization whose record cannot be
defended but is regarded with
sorrow and shame by its best
members, and whose conduct when in
power failed to show that its reforma.
tory expressions when out Of power are
anything but delusion and a snare.


''Such being the case in regard to the
necessity and machinery of parties in
free countries, the press, to be useful,
cannot avoid being partisan in a great
er or less degree. If an editor under
stands the role of supporting both
sides, his position is
equivalent to a double affirmative,
which amounts to negative. If ht
habitua]ly censures and condemns both
he is soon regarded as a common scold
and nuisance. TO be entirely -nnpar-
tisan he occupies tho condition Of a
cypher. And when a newspaper un.
dertakes to be wholly independent of
its party and yet discuss politics, it is
on the high road to the camp of its po-
litical opponents, wherever its conduc.
tor may stand at the outset; unless,
indeed, he takes refuge in the coward
plea Of neutrality and abdicates his du-
ties altogether, which is a most con-
temptiblc and despicable position.


But it is not essential to the pros
perity or influence of party paper
that it should wilfully misreprescnt its
opponents and behold nothing but evil
and depravity in all their actions, OF
discover only treasonable designs i. all
they propose to do. Candor and fair.
ness in the treatment of political op'
ponents will detract nothing from the
influence Of paper, nor will it injare
the prospects of its own party"