THE PRESS. 685 



banks throughout the country. The great daily and weekly 

 papers in the United States are owned and controlled by 

 stockholders, who are capitalists, and whose income depends 

 to a great extent in the perpetuation of a system that is 

 robbing industry of its just reward. The only hope of 

 perpetuating this system is to mislead the people, keep 

 alive their prejudices, appeal to their passions, and attract 

 their attention from the real issues which affect their inter- 

 ests. The capitalists of the nation are aware that the 

 newspaper is the most powerful agent to accomplish this 

 object, and with this view he has obtained control of the 

 Associated Press, and a majority of the prominent news- 

 papers in the country. The proper mission of a newspaper 

 is to educate the people, and encourage progress; to stimu- 

 late them to the attainment of a higher sphere in life; to 

 teach them to cultivate the nobler instincts of manhood 

 and womanhood; to encourage them in the cultivation of 

 those noble qualities which will lead men to a condition 

 of universal brotherhood; to admonish them against public 

 wrongs and political corruption ; to encourage the right and 

 condemn the wrong. The newspaper that properly fills 

 its mission is a public benefactor, a blessing to humanity. 

 The newspaper that violates its trust, that misleads the 

 people, and engenders and encourages strife, is- a public 

 curse. They should be looked upon as more dangerous 

 than the deadliest serpent. They poison the public mind ; 

 they stand in the way of progress; they are dangerous to 

 the public welfare and the liberties of the people. Mem- 

 bers of labor organizations who aid in the support of these 

 papers become, unconsciously, perhaps, participants in the 

 great crimes which their influence seek to accomplish. 



At no time, perhaps, does the press do greater injury 

 than during the excitement incident to a political campaign. 

 At this time many papers seem to utterly abandon all 

 regard for truth, consistency and decency. It is during 



