Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-06-20

| from Inem tEC IISC SCnDlanCC OF I'D
erty.
If, then, the printed page and the
printed column have given the world
the higher civilization Of these later
times-if civil liberty, self govern
ment, universal freedom, universal
ity of education, and the spread of
the gospel, are the sublime results
of our art, how high is our mission,
how mighty our power, how over
whelming our responsibility! 1t is
scarcely possible to exaggerate the
magnitude of the field in which we
labor. The Newspaper now monop-
olizes the eye and car Of the world.
1t follows men everywhere. No
matter how palatial the residence
how mean the hovel, it is ltal
for the advantage and enjoyment Ul1{
the inmates, male and female, old
and young. 1t goes into every store,
every Office, every shop. 1t pen
etrates the dark abodes Of sin and
sorrow. 1t furnishes mental pabu-
lum for every grade of cul.ure and
capacity. 1t is-startling as may
seem the suggestion-rapidly su-
perceding all other methods of
reaching the public mind. 1t has
substantially taken the place of the
forum, and there is reason to fear
that it may yet crowd too far upon
the province of the pulpit.
THE PRINTED PAGE.
The printed page, what is it? 1t
is little piece of paper, and on it
are few characters in ink, stamped
bv the press. We look at it for a
moment, the eye glistens, the heart
hastens it's rapid beat-we laugh,
for it is a humorous touch from the
pen of Mark Twain or Charles Dick
ens-we weep, for it is recital Of e
story of wrong, OF outrage, or sor-
row-we exult, for victory has
been won by patriotic arms, or
power wrenched from the hand of
despotism-we are depressed, for
defeat has come to some cherished
cause or purpose. What is it that
exerts this mighty power over the
human intellect? 1t is thought in
fluencing thought-mind in contact
with mind-thc coming together of
two currents Of that subtitle agency
which we cannot see nor handle, but
which sets in motion the whole
framework of each individual man,
and propels him to the accomplish
ment Of whatever is done in the
world. O! the potent power Of the
printed leaf! for by it we talk to each
other when far apart, and through
it famous man may speak into the
ear of every reader on the globe.
EFFECT ON LITERATURE AND INyEN-
Printing has been called the cart
prcscrvativc of arts. 1t is equally
true that it has been the prolific
mother of invention. The stimulus
applied to the thought of the world
by the printed page, who can csti-
mate what it has accomplished in
the department of letters and sci
encc? But for this advantage, how
many names, now immortal in lit
erature, might have been lost to
mankind. Who can doubt that
Shakespeare and Milton, Burns and
Scott (not to speak of others) whose
genius has given majesty to the En-
glish tongue, and illuminated the
earth, owe all their eminence to our
useful art, and their
"Thoughts that breathe and words that burn"
are now lifting unnumbered mil
lions into higher intellectual
sphere who would otherwise, for
lack Of the same great agent, be
groveling in darkness and isno-
rance.
The influence of printing upon
invention has been greater than all
other agencies combined. In diffu-
sing knowledge it has awakened the
dormant energies Of millions of
minds, and sent the inventive facul-
ties at work in a thousand direc-
tions. Hence the comforts and lux
uries of civilized life find their
way even into the dwellings of the
poor. Every article of furniture,
and even of the fabric of our APP
parcl every domestic, mechanical
and farming implement, has either
been invented or immensely i'm
proved and cheapened, since the
discovery of printing. 1t is hardly
possible to realize how we are
blessed in these respects over our
ancestors, only a few generations
back. In the comforts of home
especially in the northern latitudes
all who have gone before us have
had no conception of what we en-
Joy. But all this is dwarted into
nothingness when we look at the
triumphs of steam and telegraphic
communication. How these have
stimulated production, and inten4i
fed the operations of tradc-how
they have brought city and country
togethcr-shortened up the great
ocean gaps between continents
consolidated the interest Of distant
nations-dissipated jealousics and
antipithics of race, and are hasten
ing On the period when liberty
shall he universal, when one Ian.
guage shall be spoken around the
globe, and all shall acknowledge the
common brotherhood OF man! Who
doubts that these great civilizing
agencies were developed through
the influence of the printed page?
that the brain of q Watt, Stephen
son, and q Morse land Of their myr-
lad co-workcrs,) achieved their
several triumphs through informa-
ton placed within their reach by
our art of arts?
RECIPROCAL ADVANTAGES.
But it must be admitted that
these benefits have been reciprocal
that the light which printing has
shed upon the arts and sciences has
been reflected back upon itself, and
that each has progressed in some
thing like a geometrical ratio from
advantages thus borrowed. If print
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