Litchfield enquirer., 1868-04-30


 multuous applause, the whole company standing up and cheering again and again. I fdentlemen,s cannota thank your President enough, or you enough, for your kind re- ceptlon of my health and of my poor re- marks; but believe me, I do thank you with the utmost fervor of which my soul is capable. Loud applause.)
 MR. GEO. W. CURTIS SPEECH.
 As now look around on the cheerful company, l like to think that this pleasant feast is not merely a tribute to an author whose books have made all his readers his friends, but 1t is a fraternal greeting of well come and farewell from us, who are all, in varlous ways, reporters, to our comrade, a late proprietor of the London lNoynino Chronicle, who shall here and now, and at no other time, and nowhere else in the world, be nameless. He has ceased, indeed to write for the Morning Chronicle, but he has not ceased to be reporter. He is a famous story teller; but ask this table of experts whether that shows him to be no longer reporter? He is 8 great novelist, , but what are novelists? They arc men commissioned by nature to see human life and the infinite play of human character, ! tain Spaniard inspected the grotesque as- pect of decaying chivalry, and wrote his famous report Don Quirote. So certain Scotchman beheld the romantic spIendor of the Crusader, and called his report Ivaa- hoe. So sad-eyed countrymen of onrs saw tragic aspect in early New England life, and called his marvellous report the l iSc0''iet Letter. And so our nameless friend of the Morning Chronicle, with the same commission as that of Cervantes, of Scott. 1 of Hawthorne, observing the various as- poets of life in his own time, has written his prodigous series of reports which have 1 become Household Words AN Me Fear Round They have not only revealed wrongs, but have greatly helped to right l them. One he called for instance, Nicho- lds Nickelby, and with hilarious indigna- tion Dotheboys Hall was laughed and cried away. Perhaps he called another Offer Itcia and the cold poorhouse was turned inside oat and warmed with the sun of hu- man charity. Upon another read Bleak House; and, as turn the pages, the long bitter. winter of the laws delay lies exposed. He turns his eye backward, and it seems to me nobody truly understands the terrible form and spirit of the French Revolution, although he may have read all the histori. ans, if he has not read that wonderful re- port. 1he Tale of Tpo Cities. And still, thank Heaven! the good work goes on. The eye and the heart and the hand are un- turing. The eager world reads, and reads. | and reads, and the reporters genial magic makes 1t great, good natured Oliver, ask ing for more. If, in the pursuit of his cal ling, he came to Us who loved and honored him, he still faithfully and frankly report ed his observations. The old proverb says nobility obliges. But genius obliges still EEsaasiE Es aa asR s ba f a ever grateful he may be for our hospitality, we cannot insist that he shall pour our champagne into his eyes so that he cannot see, nor stuff our pudding into his ears so that he cannot hear. He was obliged to see and hear, and report many things that were not pleasant or fattering. It is the fate of all reporters. do not remember that those very competent observers. Mr. Emerson and MT. Hawthorne. whom wa sent to England, represented that conn try as altogether paradise and John Ball as saint without bemish. They told a great deal of truth about England as it seems to me our friend told great many wholesome and valuable truths about us, Naturallywe did not find every part of his report very entertaining; but either, SUD- pose, did Lord Dedlock find Bleak House very amusing, and am sure that to this day neither Sergt. Buzfuzs nor the Tord Chief Justice Stareleigh have ever been able to find the least fun in Pickwick For my undivided thirty millionth part of fbe population I thank the reporter with all my hoosk and I dn naI c--5-I -...sso LUuCn, like the ray of a detectlve's lantern, spark led for moment upon some of our defects, the full splendor of its light has been al- ways turned npnn tho si.as and follioo of his own country. If seem to have wan seems so. The members of the Weekly Press to whom have the honor of speak ing, pursue literature as profession; and I know not where we could study the fideli- ty, the industry, the conscience, the care and the enthusiasm which are essential to success in our profession more fitly than in the example of the editor of AN the Fear Round. M. Theirs in a recent speech says that the world now needs new book written every day. Hence the news paper. The responsibility of the authors of that book is enormous. The world is governed by public opinion, and nothing moulds that opinion more powerfully than the Press. Its great divisions as we know them are two: the literary and the political. The paramount duty of the Literary Press is purity; of the Political Press, honesty. Our Copyright law, as you are aware, Mr. Chairman, inficts a fine for every repeti- tion of the offence, so that the fine is mul- tiplied as many times as there are copies of the book printed. So the man, who, as a writer for the Press, says what he does not believe, or defends policy that he does not approve, or panders to base passion or mean prejudice for a party purpose, is so many times traitor to the craft rep resented at this table as there are copies of his newspaper printed. And as honest or even dishonest difference of opinion is en- tirely compatible with courtesy,as even de. nunciation is thousand-fold more sting ing and effective when it is not yitupera- tion, decency of manner becomes the Press no less than decency of matter. When the manners of the Press become those of Tombs pettifoggers. or Old Bailey shysters, or the Eatanswill Gazene, it's influence up- on society will be revealed by course and brutal public opinion. While we boast of the tremendous power of the Press, let us remember that the foundations of it's DOW CT as truly civilizing influence are, first, 1