The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-04-11
What shall we Print ?

What shall we Print
Never was there a newspaper reader prob
ably, but thought much that was printed was
either vicious. silly or useless. Never was
there conscientious editor who was not often
painfully exercised as to what to omit and
what to print. And thus it will be probably,
as long as there are newspaper readers and
editors. The duty and the province of the
press are differently understood both by the
public and its conductors. With some it is
regarded as simply the vehicle of pleasant
information, the representative of the bright
side of life, ignoring everything that is re-
voting, or CLOSING such over with a sugar
coating that should conceal its deformities
and make it even agreeable to the sensitive
mucous membranes of moral d;ettantism.-
This idea prevails very Largely,
are many j""-,-.'- ooh $50 -u'I'ents are so con-
structed in accordance with it. Nothing i'm
proper or indelicate ever finds its way into
their columns, and no one brought up on
them alone would ever suspect that there
were such things as passions and vices except
among ignorant and ILL., bred people, the
Irish and negroes particularly. Readers of
such papers never heard of respectable peo-
pie shining, and are taught to believe tina,
such thing is impossible. Young men and
women thus newspaporially reared. know
Of vice only as very vul gar or very romantic
very vicious and very vulgar among low
people who get into Jail because of it, bu,
quite another thing. and not to be visited too
harshIy, when performed by people who wear
purple and fine linen, and fare sumptuously
every day.
We do not subscribe to the principle tina,
makes such newspapers. 1t seems to US tha,
the press has higher province than simply
to entertain,-that is something more than a
record of the agreeable events of life, or a
story book for good little boys and girls; or a
religious or moral tract. The papers thai
confine themselves to these things are doubt
less pleasant companions and chief favorite,
with those people who do not like to think OF
to know that this is wicked world we live
in. Yet they but half fulfill the mission of
the press. To write an impartial history, to
hold the mirror daily and weekly up to the
occurrences of the world, in its social, polti
cal, commercial. moral and religious devel-
opments; extenuating nothing. nor setting
down aught in malice not making its vir.
tues or its vices prominent at the expense oc
each other, but giving fair and impartial
view Of life. as it is, not as one would have
it,-this i. our idea of what the press should
do, and what it must DO to fulfill its mission
and perform its duty to society and to histo-
ry. We speak now, of course, of the gen
eral press; those papers which are devoted
exclusively to the party purposes. to religion
and morals, to the records of crime, to agri
culture and science, to reports of Legislative
bodies, &C., are necessarily and avowedly
almost partial, and must of course give only
one aspect or feature in the progress of So
ciety and the history of the world.
Nor do We feel that the journal which full
fills this comprehensive idea, ,reAecting event,
and writing history impartially, thus exercis
es an unhealthy or immoral influence upor
its readers, provided. of course, that its ed
torial spirit and tone are earnest and activ.
for public and private virtue. On the con
trarv, We believe its influence is directly the
reverse. That is not health or we'll guard
ed virtue that grows up in ignorance of the
temptations Of tho world, or sees them onl,
throug the roseate hues of sweet and we'll
spoken books and newspapers, that have c
masculated history 0: its crimes and its vices
We all need to know our passions ard ou
weakness, that we may the more successfully
subdue and control them. Ignorance ant
simplicity are the readiest victims.
! TO know ones self and to know the world i
necessary to fit man or woman to 90 through
! life. Something else is of course necessar,
moral virtues-but this, without a knowl
edge of the strength and character of its en-
emes, is often vain and fruitless. A robus
virtue can only be fashioned by full acquain
tance with the character and forms of its en-
emes, not as written in romances. but a
calmly set down in the history Of life.
To reject newspaper that ful6lIs this ob
ject. because it describes disgusting and re
voting vice, is to shut the eye and ear to
full view of passing history. On the same
principle. the Bible should be rejected frou
the family library. as we'll as every faithful
and recognized book Of history.-SprinqfelG
Republican.
PREACHING.-Dr. Cumming says -" Of
all things, the most pitiable is when man
breaches to himself and when the audience
listens to be pleased with the minister. AND
the most glorious thing below is when the
minister's preaching and the peoples hearing
lead to this conclusion not How we'll the