Page:History of Journalism in the United States.djvu/424

398 the fetters from discussion, and therefore from deliberation and action for the rights of the people.

"This verdict in New York was an achievement for the freedom of the press, and so for the liberty of man, of which the colonies soon began to reap the benefit, and for which the thought and speech of mankind all over the globe are braver and more affluent of noble life."

The merging of the New York Herald in the Sun has brought to a dramatic close the story of the Herald and that chapter of American journalism which deals with the two Bennetts. Frank A. Munsey, whose ownership of both properties led to their combination, has, unlike most of the great editors of the country, been associated with no one great newspaper. Indeed he has reversed the process by which most editors have obtained influence. In combining the Sun and the Herald in one sheet, both Dana and Bennett become the pedestal for his fame. At a time when patriotic utterance is much needed in this country, the Sun has assumed a conspicuous leadership. It can hardly be expected that the addition of the Herald will do aught but strengthen its position.