The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1880-10-30
The Duty of the Press.

The first and probably the most
difficult work Of the true and
Christian Journalist is to correct the
taste Of the reading public, and
thus lessen the demand for and ulti-
mately stop altogether the supply
of the miserable wish washy and
corrupting trash, falsely named
light literature, and the like, which
is now interesting society. The
great want of our times, as we I'M
derstaud it, is lifting up of the
habits of thought, a turning of the
mind to things higher and better, a
breaking loose of attachment to
things which administer to the flesh
only, and recognition of our rela-
ton to purer and unseen realm,
and our consequent obligation to do
right simply because it is right.
The higher and better man and wo-
manhood, which is presented as an
object worthy of the ambition of So
clety, can never be attained while
the mind is feeding on the apples
of Sodom and the soul fostering in
the fevers of lust. AS well might
we hope to sober the drunken by
additional drafts from his cup, as to
purify and elevate the minds of men
and women while they are being
continuously infamed by fuel to pas
sion such as is found in most of the
reading of to-day. Our people are
rapidly becoming areading people,
and with taste unfortunately
vitiated, the public imind is clamor-
ing for food. Brothers of the quill
and sellers of books, the people de-
mand of us bread, shall we s'give
them for bread, stone," or 'Efor
eggs, serpents," which will sting
them to moral death? God forbid!
Let US rather give that which will
impart health, strength to live, to
work, to rise and bless the world;
and let us by showing them the ten
denotes of their arpetites, and by
furnishing good reading matter help
in correcting their tastes.
We should not forget that the press
",
and more than any ether instrument
tality, gives cast to individual and
national character; and we should
remember also that this influence
imposes a correspond ding response
bility upon us. To meet this heavy
and far reaching responsibility, and
to make the press the palladium in
deed of American liberty, the eleva-
ting lever of our advancing civiliza-
ton, it must have moral conscience
and an unyielding spine. Is influ-
ence and patronage must be with
drawn from the market. It must love
the right and deternlinedly stand by
IT. 1t must be no longer the tool of
demagogues to foist them into office.
1t must break its league with a re-
nlorseless money power, and no
longer assist it in blowing its schemes
OF fraud through legislation. 1t must
turn away from charlatans and inn
posters, and no longer recommend
them through its columns. 1t must
stand as faithful guardian of the
rights as well as a trustworthy mon
itor to the minds of the people. And
upon the appearance of harm, be it
from an open foe or an insidious evil,
1t must have the courage to give
faithful warning to the people, and
strike telling blows for humanity
and the right. To do this, we shall
be called upon to thin out our adj
vertising columns, and for a short
time our subscription list may be
cut down and our revenues greatly
lessened, SO that some of us may
have to exchange the quill for the
hammer and pillow handles, but it
will be we'll; our country will have
been saved, and humanity entered
upon the ascending node.
We repeat then, the great want
OF the American press to-day is
conscience and back bone.-Oregon
Cultivator.