The Writings of Carl Schurz/To Pomeroy Burton, June 6th, 1903
TO POMEROY BURTON
| Bolton Landing, Lake George, N. Y., |
| June 6, 1903. |
I thank you for the copy of Mr. Pulitzer's “Appreciation and Apology” which you have been so kind as to send me. It is a remarkable paper, and I have read it with far more than ordinary interest. It has a pathetic note in it that touches the heart. To judge from the tenor of it, its author certainly does not expect me to say that I liked everything I read in the World, and, in retrospect, we might perhaps agree as to the things not to be liked—while we might also agree as to the occasions on which its editorial page rendered great service on the field of National, State and municipal politics. Thoroughly sound and admirably put is his definition of what is and what is not true democratic and patriotic policy, and there can be no doubt that a newspaper constantly devoted to the advocacy of such principles will deserve well of the Republic. The circumstances under which we live and the problems we have to deal with demand nothing more imperatively than independent journalism—that is, journalism honestly and fearlessly treating public questions on their own merits.