freedom of the press

— Since the press, commanding the service of every other means of communication, is the common carrier of information, delivering it almost instantly and simultaneously through out a nation, and there is no other carrier a thousandth part so efficient any restriction upon the information it may convey deprives every citizen in some degree of capacity for intelligent thought and wise action. This is obviously of great importance in relation to the affairs of government and that is why since its vital connection with the welfare of peoples has been understood, the freedom of the press has been so jealously guarded no more by its own servants than by the statesman, the publicist, and the enlightened citizen.