For in the absence of debate unrestricted utterance leads to the degradation of opinion. By a kind of Greshams law the more rational is overcome by the less rational, and the opinions that will prevail will be those which are held most ardently by those with the most passionate will. For that reason the freedom to speak can never be maintained merely by objecting to interference with the liberty of the press, of printing, of broadcasting, of the screen. It can be maintained only by promoting debate.

Popular government has not yet been proved to guarantee, always and everywhere, good government.

Men fall into a routine when they are tired and slack: it has all the appearance of activity with few of its burdens.

Ideals are an imaginative understanding of that which is desirable in that which is possible.

There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and to shame the devil.

There is but one bond of peace that is both permanent and enriching: The increasing knowledge of the world in which experiment occurs.

The press is no substitute for institutions. It is like the beam of a searchlight that moves restlessly about, bringing one episode and then another out of darkness into vision. Men cannot do the work of the world by this light alone. They cannot govern society by episodes, incidents, and eruptions. It is only when they work by a steady light of their own, that the press, when it is turned upon them, reveals a situation intelligible enough for a popular decision.