New-York tribune., 1879-12-21

One of the abest as well as the most con-
sstent of the religious press, The Chicd3o i'd
rance has a considerable article on the
subject Of TRIBUNE on Sunday. 1t deplores
the publication mainly on the ground OF ten
dency to the yet more general secularization
OF the day; aud concludes:
We prefer rather think THE TRIBUNE has been
gradually weakening under the drift of popular senti-
ment and that our best people themselves are TO
blame In NOT making their convictions on
this subject known aud felt more emphaticaly.
While we regret that The TRIBUNE could not stem the
tide we regret more all the Christian people OF the
land do no. wake the importance OF this matter and
turn the tide they might and ought, In the opposite
direction.
The mistake of Tie Adrance is IN its belief rs
to what the convictions of our best PEN ID" "
are. If the people who maintain our
churches, and constitute the best part OF
New-York, did not want Sunday news
papers, The TRIBUNE would never have
been printed Oh Sunday, nor would sew
eral of the other journals that preceded it
in that course. 1t is solely because 1.-THE
"Christian peoplen of New-York read Sum
day newspapers, sustain them and in
sist upon having them, that several
of them are printed. 1t is an entirely safe
statement that the church members in New
York who do not read Sunday papers are the
minority, not the majority, and the same
thing is true (in many of the denominations,
at least) of the church officers. A num-
ber of the warmest letters of cOngratulation THE
TRIBUNE has received on its Sunday issue have
been from ministers. Within the past fifteen
years the whole temper of the Christian commu-
nifty here on this subject has changed. One of our
most respected townsmen, Gov. E. ID. Morgan,
NAV be mentioned as "A type of thousands who
never thought of looking at q Sunday paper
then, and never think of getting along with
out one now.
We are not now discussing the right or
wrong of this change. That is the
business rather of the religious than
of the secular press; and the result
of their teaching thus far is that a
majority OF their constituency read the Sunday
papers, We have been quite in the
way. for years past of receiving kindly
expressions from prominent church people
who were glad of the example we were
setting in not publishing on Sunday.
We made it a rule to reply by ask
ing, "What Sunday paper do you
Tread n In not three cases out OF a
hundred did we fail to get the admission
that the very person who had been praislng
our example himself bought and read
from one 10 three daily papers every Sunday.
We have not thought it needful, we may re-
peat to argue to such people the right or
wrong of the publication we have been finally
forced to undertake. We may venture. however,
to close this brief article by printing few
sentences from a private letter recently re-
ceiyed from the surviving sister of Mr.. Greeley.
OF course, it was written without q thought
Of publication
must tell you how I rejoice in THE SUNDAY
TRlBusE We all anxious to sea H.
IL was real delight 10 my aged eyes. You
know that l should have been the first TO
complain OF any departure from the plan OF the
dear Founder, out 1 could almost see the
face of the dead light up with Joy his eyes ran down
the interesting eolumns- Yes. II he knows, he is
.a.A