Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1881-11-17
ALMAGE ON NEWSPAPERS.

WIFI CaSK OF Dutter.
ALMAGE ON NEWSPAPERS.
Their Cylinder the Front Wheels OF the
Lords Chariot-the Sorts of Eyes That q
Newspaper Has-Some of the Blessings of
a Free Press.
Rev. DIR. Talmage of New York, took
two texts on Sunday morning for sermon
about the newspapers. One was ''And the
the wheels were full of Eyes," His second
text was, For all the Athenians and strang-
ers which we're there spent their time in
nothing else but either to tell or hear some
new thing" He said: I address you on sub
iect you have never heard presented
unreasonable, everlasting blessing of good
newspaper. Thank God that their wheels
are full of eyes. give you this overwhe m
ing statistic: that in the year 1870 the num-
Der Of copies of literary and political news
papers published in this country was
/, 500. 600, 900! What church, what reform
or, what Christian man, can disregard
these things? tell you, my friends, that
a good newspaper is the grandest blessing
that God has given to the
people of this centurymthe grandest
2emporal blessing. The theory
is abroad that anybody can makea news
fact is that fortunes are swallowed up every
year in the vain effort to establish news
papers. The large papers swallow up the
small ones. The big whale eats about fifty
minnows. We have 1000 dailies and
weeklies in the United States and Canadas,
and only thirty six are half century old.
The average life of newspaper is five years.
Most of them die of cholera infantum.
[Laughter.l 1t is high time that it was
understood that the most successful way to
sink fortune and keep is sunk II to start
newspaper A man with an idea starts the
Universal Gazette or the Millennium Ad-
uocate. Finally the money is all
spent and the subscribers Won
der why their papers do not come.
[Laagtter.] Let me tell you that if you
have an idea, either moral. social, political.
or religious, you had better charge on the
world through the columns already estab
lished. If you can't climb your own back
fence, don't try the Matterhorn. If you
can't sail slot p, don't try to navigate the
Great Eastern. To publish a newspaper
requires the skill, precision, vigilance,
strategy and boldness of a commander-in
chief. To edit newspaper one needs to
be statesman, q geographer, statistician,
and o far as all acquisitions are concerned,
encyclopedia! If you have a notion to
start and publish a newspaper, take it for
granted that you are threatened with soften
ing of the brain. Take your pocket
and throw it into your wife's lap. Rush up
to Bloomingdale asylum and surrender
yourself before you do something desper-
ate. [Laughter.l
Our newspapers are repositories OF
knowledge and are constantly lifting the
people into the sunlight. Newspapers
knowledge makes up the structure OF the
worlds heart and brain, and decides the
fate of churches and of nations. Adams,
Jefferson, Franklin, Clinton, all had then
hands in printing press. Most of the
periodicals. Macaulays essays, Carlyle's
ESSAYS, Ruskin's, Talfourd's, and others
have first appeared in periodicals. If one
should see in life nothing in the way OF
literature but the Bible, Shakespear, die
tionary, and good newspaper, he would
be fitted for all the duties of this life ano
for the opening of the next A good news
paper is mirror of life as it is. Com
plants are made because the evil is re-
ported as we'll as the good. But news
paper that merely presents the
| fair and beautiful side of society il
a misrepresentation. If children come in
| to the worlds active life and find it differ
emit from what they had believed, they vii
be incompetent for the struggle. Com.
plant is sometimes made that sin is set uI
in great primer type and righteousness ir
nonpareil. Sin is loathsome make it so. Vir.
tue is beautiful; make it SO. A great i'm
pro, ement in newspapers would be to drol
their impersonality. 1t would add poten
cy to articles to see articles signed. 1
seems to me that no honorable man would
write an article that he would be ashamed
to put his name to. What is private citi
zen to do when misrepresentation is null
tiplied 90, 900 or so, 900 times? A wron,
done mans character in a newspaper i
more virulsnt than one done in private life
1t seems to me that it would be great ad
vantage to the literature Of this country, il
men could get the good they write, and b.
held responsible for the evil they write
Another improvement would be univer
sity education for journalists, as for tn,
other professions. n, profession require
more culture and education than that O
journalism. There must be editorial pro
fessorates in our colleges.
@The newspapers serve an importan
function as the chroniclers of passing
events. They describe for the benefit o
future historians all events-ecclesiastl
literary, social, political, international
hemispherical They are the reservoirs O.
history. They are also blessing in thei1
evangelizing influences. The Christian
newspaper will be the right wing of tn
apocalyptic angel. The cylinders of tn
Christian printing press will be the frop
wheels of the Lords chariot. The must
that it makes mark not in diminuendo
but in crescenao!"