Show jill EIGHT the alie senate of thu the united states may as t well learn now as later tai that it the status of tile the newspaper profession is is as definite as that of the I 1 law tho priesthood or medicine a aud nd that its rights and ancl privileges x will ill be its as st alv maintained says pays the N new ew york world certain newspaper correspondents have received confidential confident con al coln coin as to facts of vital public interest inte iest they have published the fad facts as it was their duty to do and they have rigidly respected the confide dee of those who gave the news tile the senate is trying to make thee th ee men leveal the tha conri confidential confide denial nial sources of their information lie he cause of their refusal to do s the senate enate has decided to have thern them indicted tried and punished under a law which is pro probably bibly unconstitutional tut ional and certainly monstrous if tile victims of this persecution are honorable and courageous men as there is every every reason to believe that they are they will go 00 to jail if ile necessary cessar y as martyrs to a principle and in defense of the ri right 0 bt of their profession to render public service ervice i meantime Mean timp the lawyers in the senate will do well to reflect upon what they chev are doing 0 they would be aghast at the sti suggest estion iiii that they as lawyers might 0 be compelled to betray the confidence of their clients or that physicians might 0 lio io made to reveal the sect ets of the sick fi cl room or that a priest mi might tit lie be forced to the sacred communications made to him in relief of wounded consciences yet iu in none of these cases is professional privilege 0 with respect to confidential communications more vitally necessary than thac in the cike of the newspaper man mail tile the newspaper is it public servant cr who elioe c service is so essential ial to tho the maintenance of liberty that nearly a century ago jefferson said better it a free press without it a free government overn ment than a affee fice government without a free press if the newspaper is not permitted i to guard its it confidences it must fail in one of its most important butic eions it must be shut off from precisely that kind of ir formation which it is most ili os t imperatively necessary in tile the public interest to secure and publish 1 filled with a high cense of its public obligation the hie newspaper P press ress insists upon a privilege in in this matter as broad as that granted ranted to other professions F for r that privilege it will contend vi without ri t bout flinching and if the sena semite t insists upon making makin the is issue sue the battle may as all aall be fought out now as hereafter we V I 1 e do not charge that the senate en is deliberately trying to des destroy troy the efficiency ot of newl newspapers papers by clo closing ing up important tour sources ces of news r hut ut that must be the effect eq act if tile the senate succeeds in deenon demonstrating Lra tirl its power to compel newspaper p men to betra betray y the conr confidence idenie ot abo se r Y ho at g 0 grave rave pe personal rhonal risk r reveal c cal facts of P public bublic concern but the senate will not succeed the entire newspaper press will oppose and it will have the support of the people in its opposition |