Star of the Kanawha Valley. [volume] (Buffalo, Va. [W. Va.]) 1855-1856, 1855-02-21
WEDNESDAY,, FEB. 81, 1855. !
SPECIAL AGENTS ron TnE "srAE.'
Newspaper influence.

MuhA has been suil and w4i,ten on the.prac-
teal Influence q newspapers, by men oecu
pyine high positions. in lheyarious professions
Of life; and probably muclrremains 4, be said,
and still more to be re Vi ell; bnt II is not our
present purpc Sc 70 enlaisc on the sabiecs.-
There are some limited Yiews Fiat are too ap'
t3he oyerlooEed, involving the immediate an
tercstS DC my communisyin which newspa.
per is phblished; provided always that such
nahcr IA az a strict moral character. There
cst he no system Or means instituted that are
calculated 10 Lraw out the latent energies 81
the mind, and develop the native talent OF .
= eommunity, as a uewsraper. Il is rs natural
and certain 10 itsprocess rs the order by which
infants frst earn to speak their ae'her tongue
Theyiearn not b. intuition but Gy imitation
f. |ThefeIafe no doubt much larger humber o.
Jrii,n whip possess natural capacity 10 write
shan is generally opposed, many Of whom
live and die without ever draining knowl-
edge of {her own powers. FoEiti impossible
tdrsany Bsnto know anything definite Of his
own cap acit9es only bytle degrees in which
they areIgradually developed; and, as certain
ss thought ELECTS thought, it reqpires some ac-
tive neiatve agent u draw out and expand
the facGItie Of the mind The mental facni-
+ ties maybe justly illustrated bYsthe hidden
fires that are deeply concealed in the slesl,
which never sparkles until it is smtl en-.
TIE rdtlrning question thenis, how docs a
newspaper operate in drawing cut and level
oping TIE talent Of community The first
+ step in tiIs work consists in familiar associ.
alton with pnGl' she's, which gives assurance
Of ftyotl and f9rchearance; and as weekly
sheet5 arb looked upon as merely floating and
broken fragments of literature, mary Gre
prompted 10 write for paper who world nev
er entertain on idea Of writing book; nor
even for paper under any other coHSidera.
tons than those assigned. And when some
tinld geuius ventures forth TO- tie light, Others
are inspiteh with laHhable spirit t1try their
hands; al the result often is that communi-
ghceonlFs as'onishel to learn that they are
surronad{d wi,hsu2h WEIGHT Of talent. Sm
ibrexpressions have been made. in regard 10
this community since The Star commented s.
suing IN ibis place. ~ -~=--
But il iF due to observe that a community ID !
which paper issues regularly, is INST liable
to b. cyet- stated, from tie fac. tla. wha,tYs:
appears through the columns Of such pepper is
generally supposed to originlte n tin' same
community. Such prevalent noti9nissas.r NC
that is simeiimeS INDUCED ofainSt tile ey
pressed declarations 6f communications " hich !
give the local residences Of their suthoEsi OF
places where they were writtcn. Anitem il
evidence pf thiS-s'Fons tendency, is addacel
from the last weeks Issue OF 1.-THE t1ndepen.
: deaf Republican," in regard to one OF orr Ma.
son county correspondents who signed himself
- "a friend Of Tie Cnion," which says, -"From
the time, place and position Of the Article, we .
ere led totthink thatit was not written BY a !
citizen Of Mason county, but was prepared ID !
another qafter,tI &c. In regard to The three |
predicatei out of.whlch ia equestion is raised,
We can seq no force in unyreseept the term
''time," and !: this a!lhdes to the date Of the
article, c4r:explanation is, that it came to the
j, Office withea; any date, and was dated by. US
on its arrival 70 prevent the censffeY that has
been instituted. We would give frtrther ex.
plaaatiopFa we thought il was necessary tS.f
: do SO. BIZ in another article OF the same is,
sus IN review Of the article of"A Friend Of
the Union" and over the sgnitnre of-"sam,"' |
the significant. terms "Mcssrs. EdiiassS,' "we'
and t'us, so frequently occur, that we will |
: simply quptethe Grl sentence OF the second
paragraph j, and hope that il will give entire
satisfaction. lis the following: 'In the first
place, MkssrS. Editjts, It IS unaccountobly
strange ID US, that gentleman wtitnga com-4
muiicat'1 n from the very toy in which your
parer sHu blshed, Should send the same to
roper published,in . different county-tRat
communication containing the reques, tia,
you<copy his article mo the columns Il your
phps',,"'a, H... ..I:> /.