Northern Ohio journal. [volume] (Painesville, Ohio) 1872-1896, 1874-02-28
THE DULLNEss OF THE PRESS.

IT is by no means uncommon to hear
the remark that this, or that, or the
other paper is "really growing dull
not half as good as it was "-but it is ex-
ceedingly rare that the critic pauses to |
realize what his criticism, in fact. i'm
plies.
Asa rule, American Journalists write |
too much. With only occasional ex-
ception the busy pens that edo " the
papers of the country, are over-taxed,
and consequently rarely able to do JUS
tice to themselves. And while this is
true respecting the metropolitan press,
it is especially so as regards the average
writers for the country paper, who COM
bine, far too often, the duties of editor,
compositor, proof-reader. makeup and
business manager. No man, whatever
the vigor of his intellect, can secrete
more than given amount of thought,
or perform more than a given amount
of labor, and the more of the latter the
less, as rule, of the former. If
writer tries or is driven to produce more
than his proper quantity, then follows
one of two consequences-he throws
his mental apparatus into an unhealthy
condition, not always durable and
always dangerous; or he learns to take
the superficial view of things, making
the butter of his brains cover as much
area as possible, and so becomes unfaith-
full alike to the dignity of his calling
and to himself, and as nnwholesome
morally, as in the first case he becomes
physiologocally. The mass of American
journalists do one of these two things,
and, undoubtedly, it connot but be re-
garded as very unfortunate for the prog
ress of the profession, as well as for the
interests of the reading public, that this
should be the case. But, after all !,
nothing can be more unjust than to
blame individuals for the fault of sys-
tenn, or the necessities of that impecu-
ninousness which is too apt to be the
portion of literary men, as class. The
true reason and cause of complain lies
back and below ofthese.
The men who write for their daily
bread are apt to be sanguine respecting
selves to perform-forgetting that they
may labor at the bar to long and too hare
and that, in attempting to crowd ths
work of ten years into five, they may
break down and be unable to spur t.
further action the tagged brain, th'
poor misused eyes and the neglected di
gestion-eyen by the aid of stimulant
often 80 Unfortunately used in the strug
gle.
OF course this is all wrong, sil
against nature, loss to the public ant
an injustice to the journalist himself
But after all it is, and must be, remedi
less until such time as the public recog
nizing their responsibility, shall work
reform by demanding that class of arti
cles that can only be written deliberate
ly by writer's carefully educated TO
their calling. The writer's of leaders 70
the London Times write but three arti
cles, sometimes but one, each week-an
this is enough for an individual to d
who writes tor cultivated and intelligen
readers. If the readers OF our American
dailies and weeklies would discourag
their hurried inaecuricies-.Often writes
by men vino could do much better be
remembered--and if the pabiie, knOwin
their own true interest, were willing t
pay for as we'll ds to read 3 difieren