The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1869-04-09
From wilkes Spirit Of the Times. ]
The Suprem acy Of the Press.

greater already than the Rome OF Cnsars
or tho Popcs, yet only in its infancy. il
is the empire Of the press. The world
has seen many systems, of power THAT
Of the Frccmasons, who have secretly in
nucnccd all Jcsuists: the priesthood,
both Catholic or Protestant the army,
the law: but none Of these possess the
terrible power of the press. The pulpit
is even now II second rate means Of in
| lflucncing the masses Of mankind; the
larlny is at best mere brute force the law
lis now nothing but All umpire in dis
putcs but the newspaper is everything.
! II takes the place of the parliament, OF
the convictions of ma
|tion. of inspiring new ideas and direct
ling popular movements. which compares
with il in mpidity. dircctness and cx-
tent. All other methods arc clumsy or
Imperfect; but this is almost like the
light Of the sun, so swift, electric and
universal is its influence. Yet how
young and developed is the new empire.
journalism rs profession is "a creation
of the last thirty years; as great pro-
;cssion il is 10 older than the telegraph
But to-day il is the supreme power of
the world. Thirty years ago the orators
lrnlcd America; to-day it is ruled by tho
Icditors.
This sway will become far more abso-
intc than any of us can realize. See what
has already been done. We have put a
NEWSPAPER into the hand Of every man
who reads IN the United States. For a
mere tritlc the news of the whole world
liz spread out before him, day after day.
Can the pulpit or the forum do as much !
They, at the most. can but proclaim alb
solutc truths, which were the same three
hundred years ago, but the newspapers
gives the facts. We have brought the
Telegraph, the steamboat and the railroad
into our service. and with other invcn.
ltons will come more varied means Oi
obtaining information and distributing
il rapidly and chcaply. This secures us
the entrance 10 every household, and
then follows the use of the opportunity.
The orator and the preachers have not
this invaluable advantage. They must
ask for hearing, we obtain it by force
The people can avoid the lccturc-room
or the church, but they can not avoid the
newspapers. Thus We compel our au-
dicncc.and may say to ii what we please
And though the speaker has none Of oui
advantages, we have all of his. The news.
Ipapcr can be as eloquent as the orator
and can preach as earnestly AS tho clergy
man. We duplicate all their function:
as teachers Of mankind, and have other.
ofour own which arc forever denied them
Henry Clay or Daniel Webster, in tho
days when their names were on ever!
tongue, did not exert onc-third of til,
influence over men that the newspaper.
of New y York do to-day. Why? Wha,
is the ambition Of tho orator now? Not
to make his speeches, but to get them
published. Mr.. Colfax and Mr.. Seymour
cared very little for the audiences thcil
voices reached at tho recent meetings in
this city. for behind the few thousand
people there they bcheld the million
readers Of tho Tribune and the Herald
The Office of the speaker as the leader 81
men has pcrishcd forever. Demostlenes
is dumb; in his stead is "thc pale silent
man who, writing alone at midnight
holds the fate Of empires upon the point
Of his pcn."
Therefore il will no longer do for tho
novelist or the satirist to present the
Hon. jefferson Brick, or the Eatansvillc
Gazette as types Of journalism. There
arc mean and miserable men in all pro.
fcssions from soldiers to thicving law.
ycrs nj the Tombs, quacks in medicine
and Judascs who bctray Christ in the
pulpit and journalism is no exception
But no ono who is not hopclessly stupid
can revive in this day the old talk about
Bohemia and Grub street. There is class
Of men among bankers and merchants
and lawyers who affect condesccnsion
toward the journalists, which is intense
" amusing. The writer for tho news.
paper appears to their blinking eyes a
h. - l:xx.,.,,. 4 ,,ouf,, s.o, ~,,b., Il tr, H.