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Fact vs Speculation

About This Item

  • Title: Fact vs Speculation
  • Date: 27 August 1857
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.01176
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 27 August 1857: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Thara Michaelis Kaylen Michaelis Jason Stacy Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Fact vs Speculation." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 16 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.01176.xml (TEI)
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FACT VS. SPECULATION.—

Editors are popularly supposed to know everything, but it seems they don’t. Many papers had elaborate arguments proving that the Atlantic Telegraph cable was certain to be safely laid, on the same day that their telegraphic postscript revealed its failure. So too several journalists had demonstrated that British rule in India was at an end, just as the telegraph announced the probable suppression of the outbreak. It is not safe to meddle much with futurity—with admitted facts editors can deal safely, but in doubtful matters the wiser plan is to wait for further developments, and thus avoid having to eat one’s words and take the back track.

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