The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1877-02-13
DR.. Talmage OF the Press.

Eev. T. De W.:t Ta,m.ge. of til,
Brooklyn Tabernacle, i delivering q
series Of sermons 10 the professions
tie fr-t # which was addressed u ,h.
NeNspaper nc:.. from which ~ max,
the following cAttacta-
The pes, aud the telegraph h.v,
gone down into the same great harves'
field 70 reap. al.1 the telegraph says 4
the uew~Iapcr III rake while yo1
bIad, al the iron teeth Of the ,e.e
graph are st DOWN ~ one end OF til,
har.cs; field .ut drawn clean acto..
AMI the newspaper gathers up the
~heayes, setting GoSr ole sheaf on the
breakfast table ia the shape OF morn
ing new spsper. and putting down an
other shea: ou the tea table IN the shape
ot al evening newspaper; aud that
Tnan who Gelther reads Lor takes a
new paper would in the great Cen,en-
NAL Exhibition. at Philadelphia have
been greater curiosity than the big
caglnc. What vast progress since the
day when Cardinal WOlscy declared
that either the printing press must 60
down. vi the Church Of God must 20
down, 20 this time when the printing
press aud the pulpit are III CombIns
ton, and "a man on the sabbath day
may preach the Gospel 10 five hundred
people, while on Monday morning.
through the secular Journals, he may
preach that same Gospel to three hun
drcd thousand
Notwithstanding all this that you
aave gained III position and influence.
men of the press. how many words of
sympathy ID yon get during the course
Of a year Not ten How many ser
mons Of practical helpSulness for your
profession are preached dur z the
twelve months? Not one. How many
words of excorIatioa. and denunciation,
and hypercri,icism 20 you Get III that
same length Of time About ten thous-
and. you are Il type-set'er and Z
the type IN the wrong font. the fore
man swears at YOU. Ii you are a fore
man, and cannot surnount the insur-
mountable. and get the forms ready
Just at the time, the publishe~ denounc-
es you. II you are pdblisher, nLd
make mismauagement, the owners
of the psper will blister you for lack Of
dividend. II YOU are an editor and you
utter All unpopular sent ment all the
pens Of Christen,.om are flung at you. If
you are a reporter, you shall bc held
responsible for the iudistinctness OF
public speakers, aud for the blunders
81
You cannot work quite so we'll in the
tiickering gaslight and after midnight
AS Won DO in the noon day.
Olc of the great trials OF this news
paper profession is the fact that they
are compelled TO soc more of the shame
of the world than any other profession
Through every newspaper Office, day
by day, 90 the weaknesses of the
world, the vanities that want 10 be
puiiod. the reyeuges tat want TO be
wresked, all the dull speakers who want
TO be thought eloquent. all the mean
ness that wants 10 get its =, .res noticed
gratis IN the editorial columns in order
20 save the tx .f the advertising oil
umn. all the men who want 10 be set
right who never were right, all the
cracked-hrained philosophers. with "a
story as long as their hair and as
gloomy a their finger nails. in mourn-
iug because tereit of soap; al! the
itiucrant bores who come to stay five
minutes and stop an hour. FROM the
editorial reportorial rooms, all the fol-
lies aul shams of the world are seen
day by lay. and the temptation is to
believe neither III God. man nor wo-
man. II Is no surprise II me that III
your profession there are some skepti-
cal men. l only wonder that you be-
lievo anything. Unless All editor or
reporter have III his present or early
he throw himself upon the upholding
grace of God, he must make temporal
and eternal shipwreck.
Another great trial of the newspaper
profession Is inadequate compensation.
Since the days of Hazliit. Sheridan and
John Milton. on down to the present
time, literary toll is great struggle for
bread The world seems to have
grudge against the man who, AS they
say, gets his living hy his wits and
the day laborcr says 70 the man of liter
arv toll You come down here, aud
shove a plane al! hammer. a shoe last.
and break cobbles;one,. and earn an
honest living as 10. instead of sitting
there in idle scribbling." But God
knows there are no harder worked
men IN all the earth than the newsps-
per people Of tins country. 1t is not
matter Of hard times il Is character
istic of all times Men have
better appreciation for that which
appeals to the stomach than
fcr that which sppeals to the
brain. They have no idea of the I'M
mense financial and intellectual exhans
tion> of the newspaper press. They
. rumble because they have 10 pay five
cents copy, and wish they had only to
lay three. or paying three, they wish
they had only 10 pav one. While Rogers
ot the Boston Jsraaf dies worth mil
lion and = half Of dollars, and Sasyne
Of the Philadelphia L}gc~ dies worth
three million dollars. and !leary } Ray
snond dies worth five hundred thousand
dollars. and james Gordon Rennett dies
worth five million dollars. the vas: ma
iority of newspaper people Ia this day
have struggle for = livelihood, an! !!
N their harishl = sni evaporation they
sometimes write things they ough. not
T. write. Lex these .acts he An AllSvla-
.,