The people who loved Mr.
Beecher are the people who understand Mr. Bryan.
Foremost among the journalists of the great debate were William
Lloyd Garrison and Horace Greeley. Garrison was a perfect example
of the successful journalist as described by Zola--the man who
keeps on pounding at a single idea until he has driven it into
the head of the public. Everyone knows at least the sentence from
his salutatory editorial in "The Liberator" on January 1, 1831:
"I am in earnest--I will not retreat a single inch--AND I WILL BE
HEARD." He kept this vow, and he also kept the accompanying and
highly characteristic promise: "I will be as harsh as truth and
as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to
think, or write, or speak, with moderation." But there would be
little political literature in the world if its production were
entrusted to the moderate type of man, and the files of "The
Liberator," though certainly harsh and full of all
uncharitableness towards slave-owners, make excellent reading for
the twentieth century American who perceives that in spite of the
triumph of emancipation, in which Garrison had his fair share of
glory, many aspects of our race-problem remain unsolved.
Pages:
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252