John Harrison Wilson, The life of Charles Henry Dana

[433] the Sun which will be forever memorable in the history of the American press, and which gave to Dana unequalled prominence as the fearless champion of its freedom. The administration and some of its friends, who had come under the special criticism of the Sun, resolved to silence it, and to that end resorted to an unusual and extreme exercise of despotic power to compel him to answer in Washington for what he had said in New York.

It is needless to say that Dana resisted this scheme with all the resources at his command. He employed able counsel, and, thanks to the deeply founded provisions of the law, to the almost universal support of the newspapers, and to the decision of Justice Blatchford, of the national judiciary, the case against him was dismissed in an opinion which declared that the vicious plan to make newspapers criticising the administration answerable at Washington could not be tolerated. This was undoubtedly one of the greatest episodes of Dana's life, and, without reference to the merits of the case against him, his part in it must be set down as a public service of the highest value and importance.

During the whole of this year, and, indeed, ever afterwards, as occasion seemed to call for it, the Sun kept Kemble's formula of corruption-“He understands addition, Division, and silence” --before the public. It exposed and denounced the Credit Mobilier gang, the Washington Ring, the Louisiana carpet-baggers, the Central Pacific contractors, the congressional “salary grab,” and the plan for the annexation of Santo Domingo. It opposed the confirmation of Caleb Cushing and George H. Williams for the Supreme Court of the United States, and had the pleasure of seeing their names withdrawn. It denounced the weakness and incompetency of Richardson as Secretary of the Treasury, the corruption of Creswell as Postmaster-General, and of Robeson as Secretary of the Navy. It