The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-08-16
The Rntland 9aiIg GInbt.
THURSDAY. AUGUST 10, 1877.
ADDRESS
Of Hon. E. P. Walton before the Vermont Edi-
tors and Publishers Association, at Ben
nington, on Tuesday evening, August 18th.

from the cradle to the grave; llght Ior all
things in earth and heaven; light for the
eyes, the mind, the soul. Doubtless God
can create world of darkness, and people
1t with eyeless creatures, as down in the
depths of the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky,
where no ray of sunlight has ever pierced.
He has created eyelees fish; but the record
is that, in the divine design for man, light
was the fret element that was necessary,
even for omnipotent power, in working
out that design. "And God said, Let there
be light: and there was light. And God
saw the light, that it was good and God
divided the light from the darkness" This
was the first act IN that divine drama which
will not be completed until there shall be
"a new heaven and new earth, where
there shall be no night" aud the jewellers
there shall "need no candle, neither light
Of the sun, tor the Lord God giveth them
light" Light, therefore, was the beginning
and is destined to be the end of Gods work
for man. Without light, the earth would
have had no heat; no vegetation for the
support of man or beast no beauty of sky
and landscape, of form and flower; no
beauty that man should desire it-but utter
desolation. Most fifty, therefore, outer
darkness was Christ's synonym for hell.
Since, then, God Himself gave to the light
the first place aud the highest dignity in
the order of His own work, and is at last
to make it His greatest glofy-for God
Himself is the light and glory of heaven
it 10 not presumptuous to say that the light
Rivers of the earth are entitled to stand in
the first rank among all orders of men, and
TO be honored by all precisely to the degree
in which they honor themselves in the
noble professions into which they have
been called.
And who are the lght-givers? OF old
they were mainly the prophets, priests,
apostles, historians, orators, philosophers,
poets-Christ being the greatest of teachers,
the highest of priests, "the light of the
OF all true knowledge, the preachers OF all
truths, and, l boldly add, the herslds of
good tidings to all men-the editors, pub
fishers and printers-whose duty it is to
gather up all that is good from all light
givers, and send it, as the sun sends its
rays, into every corner of the earth, re-
freshing and gliding all it touches, and
gladdening all who behold it. We have
been won't, after the best authors, rulers
and statesmen, to give the highest honors
to the learned PROFESSIONALISM teachers,
the preachers, the lawyers, and the physi-
clans; but pray tell me what profession
needs SO much learning as that of the edi-
tor? HE field is the world-nay, 1t embra-
ces both worlds; it covers priest-craft and
king craft, all the professions, all arts, all
sciences, all literature; in short, all knowl-
edge-human and divine-all phases of
practical life, all fancies of the ideal, and
all promises of the eternal. The editor
should be walking-dlctionary and en-
cyclop91ia combined; his head should con-
tain all the libraries within his reach; his
judgment should be perfect, his heart pure,
his character spotless, and his hand apt in
pennipg the Hottest thoughts to restrict, and
the lightest trifles to amuse. Many editors
have reached nearly up to this ideal, many
more have approached 1t, and l am glad
to believe that the general tendency is in
the right direction. Journalism has come
to be recognized in some of the colleges as
high profession, and within the last quar-
ter of century the colleges of Vermont
have sent out men which have adorned 1t.
Raymond and Spalding were truly giants
among the editors of New York city, and
both were graduates of the University of
Vermont and to the credit of the pract-
cal printers, who have had no advantages
of high school or college, l have only to
name Horace Greeley. This brings me to
the practical printers, from the highest to
the lowest, az light-givers-from the fore
man down through the compositors and
the pressmen and women to the smutty
little "devil" of the printing Office. They
are all light-givers, and pre-eminsntly 30.
The statesman, the preacher, the jurist, the
author, the editor and the publisher, are
capable of being great lights in the world,
but only through the practical printer
Christ addressed barely few thousands of
people, while by the practical printer He
has spoken to millions upon millions, and
will speak TO them until all shall have
heard the glad news of salvation. Without
the printers, the orator, the statesman, the
jurist-no matter how great-could address
at most but few thousands of people; the
poet and historian could only go from
house to house and inn TO inn and repeat
their tales as did Homer and the trouba-
dours, or write out few copies and de-
post them in libraries; but the printers
make all the world their audience. The
publishers and practical printers, then, for
their great usefulness, are fairly entitled
to stand in high estimation by the side OF
the authors and editors, whose works they
issue to the world, crystalized and perpet-
uated in the printed page to instruct or
amuse not merely the people of their own
day, but of many future generations.
On another occasion this theme may be
profitably developed by some one more
competent than / am into an elaborate dis
cussion Of the dignity, the duties and the
responsibilities of the professions which
this association represents. / have sug-
gested it for your reflection, hopeful that
your own consideration OF it will lead you
TO higher aims, better improvement OF
your great opportunities, and better dis
charge of all your duties to the public.
And now turn to a topic more peril
nent to this historical occasion, to wit, the
earliest printers in Vermont. They were
not large and brilliant lights, but as a can
die set on bushel. Their little light wen
a little way, for there were but few people
then, even within the limits Of the whole
state, and no mail routes, 80 that the sub
scription lists must necessarily have beer
small. Nevertheless, the first light-giver
we're very useful to the state, which haG
been compelled to go elsewhere for thu
state printing, aud useful also to the people
within their reach in giving the news o.
the day and discussing, by their bes
writers, subjects Of the greatest public i'm
portance. But more largely they werl
useful IN stimulating a taste for reading
and a demand for more printers, book
and newspapers, so that in this centennia
year the profession In Vermont ranks fully
as high as In any other section of the coua
try outside of the metropolitan cities. Lei
US then accord due honor to the first ad
venturer In the field of Vermont journal
lem.
The first printing press in Vermont wal
probably brought by Samuel Gale, who wal
married in Brattleboro in 1878, was sur
veyor under New York in that year, ant
appointed clerk of Cumberland (Windhsm
county court in 1774. He was an English
man by birth, well educated, gentleman
in manners, and Tory in politics. A
clerk of the court, he Of course fought o