The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-04-19


house is an unpretending white struc-
ture of wood, and in fair preservation.
Jones.
The New York Herald tells us that
Jones's Chicago paper, the Religio-
Philosophical Journal, still appears with
the murdered Jones's name as editor,
his son-in-law and other heirs being
acting and associate editors. Jones
himself from the spirit land has made
some startling and more or less salts
factory communications, with a
promptitude that does him honor as a
spirit representative of the American
press. His body was hardly cold on
earth before his spirit was warm on
the scent OF sensations and relations
in the summer land, and with the in
quisitiveness and pertinacity betitting
disembodied Vermont Yankee and
Chicago interviewer had sought and
found out its son George, and its old
friend Ira Day; received calls from
Robert Owen, Joshua Giddings, Theo-
dore Parker and John Pierrepont; OBJ
tanned tlattering testimonials as to the
soundness of the doctrine advocated
in It's latest publication (Which is for
sale in this winter land to material
gulls for material greenbacks) and read
in the Chicago papers that were to be
printed the next morning the reports
of the assassination of its late corpO-
real partner, which it denounced in
advance for their partisanship and un-
truthfulness. This was good days
work for the spirit of Mr.. Jones, con-
sidering that it was a stranger in the
place and not yet accustomed to go
about, so to speak, in its spirit-sleeves (;
but it did not rest till, in reply to the
question
Dear Brother Can you do as much
for the Journal and reform in spirit
life as you could in this 2"
it had returned the gratifying an
swer:
eyes, dear Francis, I shall be able
to do twice if not thrice as much as
when with you in office, if can have
the proper medium through whom to
| advise. 90 not want tho paper
changed IN tone, size or price. ,,
We hope that our contemporary-if
that Is the proper name to apply to
him or twill succeed in securing the
proper medium. The present medium
of communication is one CDR" Mans
field, through whom lady, whose
death in the Brooklyn catastrophe had
been announced, gave u graphic &C.
count of the horror, and of the Life
Beyond, which her surviving friends
received with deep interest at the time,
and which her surviving selfread with
even deeper interest u few days after
ward. .... ...- ...
This new departure IN journalism
seems to us to offer remarkable advan
tages. The spirit editor will hereafter
be as important a member of the staff
as the commercial editor, or the city
editor, or the dramatic editor, or the
fighting editor. Whenever the print
er's devil with whom the readers OF
newspapers are so much better &C.
qualnted than the writer's of news
papers) appears and clamors for "mort
copy" there will be the spirit editor
prepared "to do twice if not thrce al
much" as when he was in the flesh
When a son of Anak appears, tC
paraphTase Crabbe- .....
Wrath in his eye and in his hand club
and demands "Who wrote that arti-
cle2" with what satisfaction will no
the managing editor reply that he can
not tell -lie-the spirit editor did i
through his little teapotG There vii
be no more thin excuses or failures Il
fix responsibility, and the current form
of the paragraph apologetic will be
lowing to provoking physical error,
or Through the inadvertence of |
writer in the summer land. I" For sucl
purposes the disembodied contribute
will be as handy as Is the cmnivorou
and omnimaleticent cat to the servan
girl addicted to cousins and breakages
The spirit editor will have most of tn,
immunitIes enjoyed by corporate bod
les, for If it cannot be SAID that he ha
no particular soul (being all spirit, i
is certainly true that his hinder part
will be found intangible by an un-
friendly foot. His position, however
will entail its Inconvenience. No mat
ter how early he may nominate q can
| ly he may work for him, he cannot ex
pect to hold postofiice or receive 1
foreign mission in the event of tina
candidates. being elected or cOuntec
in. Though, if the paper should
prove q failure, his miscellaneous un
real estate and imperBonal property il
the summer land would be exempt from
process and seizure, the application o.
the same rule shows that, in the cas-
OF its success, be could draw no ma
terial salary, neither could his doing
the work OF five men through as many
mediums put q penny in his spirit
pocket. Then, too, suppose there
should be a discussion as TO the policy
of the paper on q given point, nigh
not the paper founded by" the spirit
editor, 10 obedience 10 the behest Of ID
material young editors, depart from hi
teachingsi He would be powerless tc
give force to his protests; he could moi
even frigh:en his wicked partners by
threatening to appear TO them at mid
night, for they would long have been
familiar with his ghost a. that hour,
communicating miles OF copy for the
next mornings issue, and familiarity,
even with ghosts, breeds contempt.
On the whole, the subject presents 50
many curious and contradictory as.
poets, all, however, Of interest, that We
really wish that some Of our contem.
poraries which have editors gone be-
fore TO summer land of greater or les.
intensity would try the experiment oi
securing their services through spirit.
ual medium.
Moreover, we can't help thinking
that there are several editors, like Mar.
tin, who would be greatly improved
in taste and force by this sort Of trans
position that Jones has undergone.
In any event, the chances for improve.
ment are 30 varied and numerous that
we can't help thinking that when Mar
tin learns all these facts be will get
Murray to knock him on the head.