The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-01-18
EuE PRESS AND TH2 rULPiI


PAYABLE ~ ADVANCE.
rEIE PAEsS ASD TEE. PULPIT
4 New York preacher, Ta.mlge, in
bis sermon a week ago, said there are
pnly two kinds Of newspapers, the one
good and very good, and the other bad
and very bad. Anewspapcr may start
gith an undecided character, bu. after
- been going many years every
ody finds cut just what it is and :; is
ery good or very bad. The oae paper
A the embodiment Of news, Of hight,
virtue: the foe OF crime, the dcicc-
- Of elevated taste, the migh,.c=,
on earth fJr making the world
Ter. The other paper is bri"ana
id moral forces; IL l. q b,a.imc' Of
putation IT is the night arm Of death
and hell; it is the Ulsnucst agency in
the universe Tor making the world
.goS.e md battling the cause Of God.
lhe one is an angel Of Intelligence and
Virtue, the other feud OF darkness.
Between the archaugcl and the fury Is
to be fought the great battle which Is
to decide the fate Of the world. II
Eou have any doubt rs to which is 20
the victor, ask the prophecies, ask
This battle is to be fought, Mr..
ngc said, not with swords, bat
- steel pens; not with bullets, but
4 with types; not with cannon, but .dth
Hoes tcn-cylindcr presses; and the
hmr1rs AMI Moultrics and Pulaskis
and Gibraltars OF the conflict are to be
the editorial and rcportorial rooms Of
our great newspaper establishments.
Men Of the prcs2, he added, under
God you are to decide whcthci tho
human race shall be saved or luss. God
has put more s.upcuGoUs responsibility
-upon you than upon any other class OF
persons, and il there any doubt about
my being right this m ming in adj
dressing myself especially TO you! Mr..
Talmagc dwelt upon the lon" strides
the 'prOiessisnn had taken since thu
dag when Peter SchaclICT invented cast
metal types, and the fact Of two book,
being found alike was ascribcd Il
witchcralt The press and the tc!e
graph, he said, have gone down into
the same great harvest field 10 reap
and the telegraph says 20 the ncwspa
per, al will reap while you biud;' anc
thc'iron teeth Of the telegraph are sen
4 down Mt one end of the harvest field
and sweep clear across, and the jour
nalst gathers up the .hcaycs and set
down one shcaf on the breakfast tabl,
in the shape Of morning newspaper
and another on the tea table IN tn
2 shape of an afternoon newspaper. AnC
that man who neither reads nor take
newspaper would at the great Ccntcn
NAL exhibition have been Il create
curiosity than the big engine. (LuuSh
teri
Notwithstanding all tins which yOl
have gained in position and influence
men of the press, how many words o
sympathy do you get during the cours
OF year2 Not ten. How many ser
mons of practical hclpfulncss for you
profession are preached during tn
twelve monthsl Not one. How man,
words of oXcoriation and dcnuuciatiol
and hypcrcritiCism do you get in tina
same length OF time. About 10, 0O0
Plenty of abuse, but no sympathy.
One of the great trials of the news
paper profession, he said, is that it
members are compelled to see more O
the shams of the world than any othc
profession. Through every ucwspapc
Office, day after day, sand he, 20 al
4 l. [ oil l.
vanilics that want TO be pulled, all th
Ieveugcs that want to be rcupci, n
the mistakes that want to be corrected
all the dull speakers who want to l.
thought eloquent, all the muauucss tina
wants to get It's wares noticed gratis /
the editorial column in order to saw
the tax of the advertising column, nj
the men who want TO be set right VIII
tver were right, all the crack brainc
philosophers with stories MS long a
heir hair and as gloomy rs their iingc
calls in mourning because bcrcft {
GoGp- laughter all the borcs VIII
PComo TO stay five minutes, but tai
five hours. Through the editorial an
rcportorill rooms all the fullics an
shams of the world are seen day aftl
day, and the temptation is to belicy
neither in God, man nor woman.
is no surprise 20 me that in your pr,
fesson there ars some scepucal men
l only wonder THAI you believe an
H. ng.
Another trial of the newspaper pr
fcssion, the reverend gentleman sal,
was inadequate compensation. The
were no ha-dcr worked people Z
earth thyn the newspaper men OF tn
country. The public had 80 idea
the toll and exhaustion Of the nowsp
per press. They grumblo at payir
five cents for paper instead of thr,
or, paying three, think they ougl
only to pay one. While few new
paper proptictors had become lich, Il
vast maj ri;y Of newspaper people
this day had 30 Struggle for Il iivcl
hood, and il amid their hardships IA
corporations they sometimes wro
- rhiugs they should not write, their q
cums;anccs ssCuld mitigate the q
tense. Another great trial If the new
paper profession was The disease app
lite OF the public for unhealthy into
- ligencc. Yen blame the ncwspap
press, said Mr.. Talmagc, for gavin
such prominence 20 murders and sea
dals. Do you suppose that 50 ma
papers would give prominence to ,he
things II tie people did not Gcmal
itl People take ho.d OF the uowsg
n pers, aud il there are no ru1aw.
'-IsatChos, no divorces, no corruption
men in sch position, they say. 1T
paper is shockjnsly dull tonight"
believe it is one of the trials OF new
paper men in this country that the pc
Pile demand moral s,ush /, stead Of j
tellcctual food.
Now you are an intelligent man, CO
tinucd the preacher, addressing an "a
stract member oi his church, and whit
paper comes into your hands and y,
open il and there axe three columns
splen6idly written editorials rcccI
mending some moral sentiment
evolving some scientific theory, and
the mex; column there Is q m,soral
contemp,iblc divorce case. which
you read fTsii Laughter You d
into the editorial .o-g enough TO 81
well, that is ably written" bu; v