The Long Ships (1964).
"Tourism and Violence" (PAGE 19) 
some semblance of sanity
Sanity? No, some sense that it all isn't going to sit well with voters come election time.
He just wants it tamped down and not so out in the open
Simply reading the writing on the wall, as it were. (Belshazzar's feast)
Note also the actual title of the article...The American Press Is Destroying Itself
...will walk to the Razor voluntarily...
This comment brought back the memory of a book I read many years ago though, sadly, I don't remember the name of it.
Basically, there was a long, tall, curved blade built for killing people. They were pushed from a platform onto the blade and were sliced in two as they traveled down the blade. Some people, like a soldier, volunteered to "ride the razor" to prove their loyalty. They didn't need to be pushed.
I wonder if that is what he is talking about.
"Tourism and Violence" (PAGE 19)