Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1879-03-14
THE PRESS.
Its Efficiency. suficIency and Power
How IL il where AZ
Finds support - EFOthing-
hams Lecture - The
New York Posts
Comments.

hAH'S Lecture - The
New York Posts
Comments.
New York World: Before beginning his
discourse yesterday morniDg-the subject OF
which according to advertisement was The
Press Mr.. 0. Is. rockingham read some
extracts from the Buddhist scriptures IN the
course of which occurred the statement
though fool be associated all his life with
a wise man he will perceive the truth as little
as a spoon perceives the flavor of soup" Mr..
FrothIngham's choir, which Is q quartz /,
then sang a hymn beginning Cast tiny bur
deDs on the Lord, to the tune OF a we'll
known cradle song. By this tune the large
hall of the Masonic temple had become
filed even better than usual. A small table,
behind which IN a large blue velvet arm
chair Mr.. rockingham sits before the serv-
ices begin, and In front OF which he walks
while preaching, was adorned with two
superb punches of flowers. "Iu speaking of
the voices of power that sway modern civil
cation" began the preacher, 81 gave the
first place last Sunday to ths pulpit, and the
second place belongs without doubt to the
press. II the pulpit Is one OF the oldest OF
all institutions, the press is one of the newest.
One hundred years ago there was paper for
every thirty thousand people; two years ago
there was paper for every five thousand OF
the country's multiplied inhabitants. But
the character Of the work of the press Is the
same Its operations are external, while the
operations of the pulpit are internal. The
press addresses tine ear of the world; the
pulpit, its soul. The paper Is stll neI0s
paper It began as a He1CS paper, and such
it continues. When the world was small the
papers were small. With the expansion of
the world and an increase of facilities for
communication among the people, the papers
increased in size and Importance. To-day it
is an enormous enterprise. Corresp Lndents
are sent into all quarters of the known world /;
careful and trained reporters must be sent
everywhere. The money cost can hardly be
expressed IN figures. Time has passed when
one can eulogize the press; 1t speaks fer IT.
self IL q thousand voices. The editorial
page OF the newspapers i, however,
something comparatively new. Sixty
years ago it was unknown. A high
minded practical man in Boston instituted it..
The result is that to-day in the Offices Of all
the leading papers, historians, critics, phIloso-
pliers and fnanclers are busy formulating and
generating upon facts and instructIng the
people. You ask then why, if all this be so,
should not the press become the controlling
influence in the world, dictate its ethics, lay
down ITS moral law and become the author
ity upon all subjects? There are two or
three reasons why. | will tell them to you.
In the first place the press Is a business. 1t
costs money to set up and maintain a news
paper. That money IS expected to bring IN a
return. The press as a rule means money;
it is an investment. 1t is estimated that the
expense of setting up great paper Is not
less than one million dollars. How IS this
immense outlay to be returned? By the ad-
vertIsements; these are the life of all papers.
Advertisements must pay all the expenses of
publishing a Journal except the bare cost OF
the paper upon which it Is printed.
The subscriptions will pay for that
alone. See now the inev table result
OF this. Advertisements depend large
~ upon the length OF the sQbscr.p-
ton list; therefore, a worship Of the sub
scriphon list ensues. No editor who aims
to make a successful business dare run in the
face of tue public. Even though ne knows
that the people are infatuated, made mad
By superstition, he dare not run counter to
their prejudIces. The press as II exists to-
day cannot do other than follow. 1t may
follow unwiilingly and at distance, but fol-
low it must or the wind leaves It's sails and it
dies. No paper can live that defies public
opinion. It Is dependent on the independence
of its constituency. The press Is no longer
a profession; it is trade. A profession
stands upon principle; a trade stands upon
pocket. Business success may come, but IS
paid for by the lowering of high moral
standards and the letting cut of MINDS.
The editorial conscience can answer how
much of this occurs-the editorial Conscience
that stands before the same deity to which
every conscience must kueel. The second
reason why the press does not become the
controlling influence 10 the world Is found in
its pretended claim to infallibihty. It must
be consistent even II 1t Is consistent in error
To IetraCJ Is perIIuus. TO correct d mistake,
TO amend an error, to put the recautation IN
the same loaded type IN which was the assault,
is hard. 1t is hard for an individual to say
4 was wrong but is harder for great paper
with its one hundred thousand readers
swearing By it and pinnlng their faith to If TO
say as much. 1t Is done sometimes. but net
often. This course, Mr. buckingham fur
ther explained, may prosper the business of
the press, but 1t must prevent it from be-
coming great. Another rebate to the inlu-
ence OF the press he found IA what he called
Its necessity to deal with party politics.
An independent paper outside of politics, he
said, cannot exist, aud intimated that no pa
per which Is attac ed to party can exist
with honor. at requires z saint to edit a
perfectly noble paper-a paper that has re-
gard f0f nothing but the truth Where" he
asked. rs such paper to be found?" Mr..
rockingham liners that ''the press Is becom-
ing more and more useful, but less and less
powerful in the intellectual and moral fields"
Another limitation OF the power of the press
Of the United States at large Mr.. Frothipc-
ham found in the fact that most Of the papers
IN the country live and Ieed upon the metro
polltdn press, and generate nothing of them.
selves.
COMMENTS OF THE NEW YORK EVENING
POST.
Mr.. rockingham spoke Yesterday about
the press, a d SAID much Of It's growth, its
energy and Its usefulness, which cannot
Justly be denied. 1t is not strange that in
saying so much he should have fallen into
some few errors. 0ae Of these is certainly
embodied In his statement concerning the re-
lations of circulation and advertising. For
example, you shall print given advertise
ment such as that of the new Qlebec loan,
IN newspaper circulating a hundred thou
sand copies, and, as fruit, sell not a single
bond; and you shall print the same advertise
lnent in jo rnal Of one Eth that circula-
ton, and, as result, cell many bonds. How
much effect would be produced by a raijfi
OF Advertisements OF new book oV ION
or Herbert Spe3cer, if scattSfe1' Darwin
sixth ward? Probably asiir -. about the
distributed in thu S2a6' = more than if
people eitner do 4or oea islands. When
the money t. - want thing, or have not
y 1t, to multiply before them
boggb' , Of where the thing may b.
- - Is about as valable as a measure OF
at water would be a mile below the light
house. No more need, although much more
might, be said to show that the character of
u newspapers circulation is, in relation to
advertising, no less important a factor than
It's numbers. Mr.. rockingham falls into
another error, or half-truth, in affirming that
the press Is never leader or commander In
matters Of public veal and opinion 1t is
probably true that the conductors of news
papers aim IN a general way to be in accord
with the views and hopes of their constitu-
encies. But that they do originate and some
times take great risks IN maintaining special
lines of thought and opinion is susceptible of
abundant demonstration. The correlation
mere bears close analogy to the case of the
pulpit; and that independence of the most
radical sort is sometimes found in the puloit.
or on the rostrum, Mr.. rockingham himself
is what may be described as very compe-
tent witness.
Newspaper Change
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