The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-02-25

They are nervous, are excited until the least
shuttle in the hall makes them start as though
itwere the pistol shot Of betrayed innocence,
or the death groan of one of Sylvanus CObbs
heroesl Their sensibilities deadened, their
sense ofright perverted, their purity Of thought
the printing press, with Its iron foot, hath
dashed their life out
The bad newspaper would not give penny O
column for one Of Marion Harland's elevating
stories of home life, or Kate Weston's por-
tratture of the drunkard's doom MOI There
must be flash, and scum, and froth and slime,
and fire, and blood, and magnificent sin, and
glitter OF assassin's knife, and agonized look at
the strange missive. and throwing up OF both
hands, and falling back with n dagger through
the heart! While speak there are thousands
OF people with feet on the ottoman, and the gas
and soul, in the perusal of this "God -forsaken"
periodical literature; and the Sabbath hours
will be gone, and the last church psalm float
into the skies, and the last Christian mother
have put the hand of the little child under the
coverlet for the night before they will rouse up,
as the city clock strikes the hour Of midnight,
to go up nervous to their prayerless pillow. ever
and anon twitchtng and starting in their sleep
with moonlight adventures and hairbreadth
escapes.
one OF the proprietors of great paper in this
country gave his advice to n young man then
about to start paper. Ifyou want to succeed.
said he, make your paper trashy" intensely
"trashy"-make It all "trash!' Brilliant adj
vice for young man Just entering the business.
1t is very often that as paper purlfies ITSELF its
circulation decreases, and when a paper be-
comes positively religious 1t very apt to be,
come bankrupt, unless some benevolent and
Christian men come up to sustain IL by contrl-
buttons Of money and means. Not more than
three or four religious papers in this country
are self-supporting.
The reason is. die country cannot stand so much
religion! Reduced to great poverty of circula-
ton, many of our religious papers are very
meagre affairs. Not able to employ able con-
tributors, with their scissors they clip nearly
all their articles from other periodicals. AS
necessary resort to save themselves, they often
step aside from religious news and go to adver-
tising hardware and clothes, and patent medi-
Sunday reading tells us Of rare opportunities
for bargain on Broadway or Market street,
Hear it Christian men and philanthropists!
Many papers that are most rapidly increasing
to-day are unscrupulous.
l have, obeying the Injunction of my text,
"digged into this wall of denominations" and
declare that the facts are momentous and ap-
paling. And to-day 1 put young men and
women, and Christian parents and guardians
on the look out; this stuff cannot be handled
without pollution. Away with it from parlor,
and shop, and storel There is so much news
paper literature that is pure, and cheap, and
elegant; shovel this leprosy from your door.
see in this presence tonight the represen-
tatiVes of nearly all the newspaper establish
ments of Philadelphia. 1 thank you in the
name OF Christianity and civilization, for the
enlightenment OF Ignorance, the overthrow of
iniquiry, and the words you have uttered in
the cause of God and your country. But
charge you, IN the name OF God, before whom
you must account for the tremendous influence
you hold in the community, to consecrate your
selves to higher endeavors. You are the men
to Tight back this invasion ofcorrupt literature.
Lift up your right hand, and swear new alle
glance to the cause of philanthropy and reli-
gion and when at last, standing on the plains
OF Judgment, you look out upon the unnum.
bered throngs over whom you have had intlu-
ence, may it be found that you were among the
mightiest energies that lifted men upon the
exalted pathway that leads to the renown of
heaven. Better than to have sat in editorial
chair, from which, with the finger OF type you
decided the deStinies of empires, but decided
them wrong, that you had been some dun
geoned exile, who, by light of window, IRON
grated, scraps of a New Testament leaf,
picked. up from the hearth, spelled out the
story of Him who taketh away the sin OF the
world. IN ETERNITY DIVES IS THE BEGGAR!!