On the whole, the idea of secret and systematic plottings against the liberties and institutions of the people of the United States was extensively promoted by clerical agency during the autumn and winter of 1798–99. For it is not to be lost sight of that such pulpit utterances as have just been noticed were considerably more than _mere_ pulpit pronouncements. Issued from the presses of New England, these sermons were scattered widely through the country[733] and, no doubt, were widely read. Some representatives of the clergy, as we have seen, spoke out with distinctness regarding the Illuminati, asserting that this organization would have to be reckoned with by their fellow citizens. Others committed themselves no farther than to emphasize foreign intrigue of the French stripe, and to characterize it as a vital thrust at the country’s peace and prosperity. The total effect was to invite a general airing of the issue which Jedediah Morse had raised in his fast day sermon of May 9, 1798, and to render imperative a sifting of evidence. The part played by the newspapers is less easily interpreted, since it calls for the survey of a much less solid body of opinion. Some journals adopted an attitude of discreet silence, apparently waiting for the mists which enveloped the subject to clear. Others opened their columns impartially to champions and antagonists, willing to be used to let light in upon a dark and perplexing matter. The policy (the word seems strangely out of place in connection with the average New England newspaper of the period) of several of these journals can best be stated in terms of their own behavior. The course pursued by the _Columbian Centinel_[734] left nothing to be desired as respects impartiality. As early as August 11, 1798, there appeared in this paper the following sarcastic “epistles”: Epistle from Professor Robison, in Scotland, to Professor Morse, in America: “_Dear Brother_, Will you scratch my back? Yours affectionately, J. ROBISON.” Another Epistle, from Professor Morse, in America, to Professor Robison, in Scotland: “_Dear Brother_, I’ll scratch your back, if you will scratch my elbow. Yours affectionately, JED. MORSE.”