The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1875-07-01

Wisconsin newspaper who would al
low a child of his access to the cheap
literature that floods the country.
He would guard it against the story
papers and sensational novels as he
would against bad people. They are
full of mind-poison. There are hun
dreds of daily and weekly newspa-
pers that contain mind-poison. TITS
found in its moss deadly form in the
horrors they furnish up. The art OF
presenting awful scenes in flash col
ors; of making horrors more horrible
has been brought to g remarkable
degree Of perfection by the press.
Such work exerts baneful influence
upon society. Especially with the
young is it injurious. 1t units them
for any good reading. It becomes
to them q necessity. Without BALI
a-dozen accounts of murders, with
dimensions of gashes, forms of pro-
truding bones, and crushed skulls
with ooziug brains and bloc !, and
eyes goQged out, set off with a few
graphically described saloon and
brothel rows, a paper is quickly
thrown aside as uninteresting. A
readers interest in such things, is, [
believe, largely the result of cultiva-
zion, like the love Of tobacco. Such
reading furnishes neither food for
thought, nor news.
We claim for the press that it is
The greatest educator in the world.
The paper that, like Commander
Bunsby, has opinions, and consist
emily stands by them, succeeds in
course of time in making large
portion Of it's readers think as it
does. People think as they are taught
by the press. Now the teacher of a
country school with twenty scholars
is supposed to bear tremendous re-
sponsibility. The responsibility rest
ing upon a newspaper teacher is as
much greater as his field is larger,
and his term longer. That no per-
nieious doctrines are set afoat by his
effort should be his constant care.
The responsibility resting UPON the
publisher ofthe weekly county paper
is PROFESSIONALLY greatly undercstima.
ted by himself as well as by Others.
L. is his work tn make the only fresh
reading matter seen in hundreds Of FAM
lies from month to month. His paper,
coming oEce week, furnishes the only
influence felt by the boys and girls in
those families the only incident to a
better life, What their life shall. be de-
pends 200 often more than it ought upon
the influence of the paper. The people
who have saddled upon them a paper
which has no care for the moral influence
it may exert, are more unfortunate than
they would be with all the teachers in
their schools persons of bad character.
Too many papers are conducted With
an eye to gain the praises of the worst
classes. Perhaps there is an inducement
TO this. Editors are only boys of a lar
ger growth, and like, as all do, to hear
their work commended. There is moth
ing that tickles the vanity of an editor
more than to hear his productions
praised. Now what is it that makes a
paper praisewortby ? That it contains
something that it will make grocery
store lounger carry it in his pocket
to show it TO the Other vagabonds who
congregate around the stoves in grocer
les and saloons, that it contains a smutty
joke or an indecent s!lusion, or story
only fit to be read in such places, or that
it contains the quality that Intelligent
and respectable people can approve :?
1t is not high compliment to an editor
to see knot of scalawags gather round
one whs is reading aloud from his paper,
hear the loud laugh and the exclamation
that those are deYilish good things.
1t looks as if he had been guilty Of pub
fishing something low and mean. But
there are hundreds who are more highly
dattered by praise of this kind than any
other-and praises from such people
come much more freely than from any
other, and toe many editors try to in
crease their popularity with them. They
cultivate beastly knack for dressing
indecent things in more indecent gar.
ments, devising new styles for numbering
jokes and attempts at jokes, which are
by no means to be overlooked-in which
something good people hold sacred is
ridlculed in which virtue receives a.
stab TT Ia not holieva too ranch t0I