Tombstone weekly epitaph., 1882-11-11
THE NEWSPAPER.

class of thoughtless and superficial people to deride the power and in. fuenee of the modern newspaper. Especially is this the case with de- feated candidates, but occasionally we hear of man, intellectually wise, but Tn worldly wisdom a mere child, who finds fault with the great edu- cator of the day. Generally they are ministers of the gospel, and upon investigation It will be learned that they also oppose the opera and drama. Among the latest of these is the Rev. NJ. J. Savage, of Boston, who recently took the newspaper for the text of his sermon, which he began by saying:
 'When we consider the place that it occupies in modern industry and in modern thought; when we consider how it is scattered broadcast all over the civil. ized world; when we remember that one of these white messengers is dropped every day at almost every door in the civilized world; when we consider that it touches society, education, morality and religion, that it colors anl shapes all these Tn the popular thought, and thus becomes one of the mIghtiest forces to guide the move mcnts of the modern world, shall we not say that it is of immense import nee for us to study carefully its nature, to know its positioG, to mark out it's drift, to see what influence it is having on the world, and to crltlcise, when we may, that which in it is evil?"
 He then condemns the newspaper as in part an evil, for that which constitutes its greatest virtue-the gathering and dissemination of news. Without that it would cease to be newspaper. It is its duty to gather all facts that are important to be known; to slft, arrange and simplify them, that they may be readily un- derstosd and digested, thus render ing the public service and benefit. The earnest and thoughtful reader of tbe present day is not slow to recog. nize that an attentive study of the newspaper is in itself liberal edu. cation. What is there that it does not touch Is there department or discovery in the great field of science but what it invades, and in clear, plain language explains. Is there a subject upon which the thought of man has rested, from the depths of the sea, the caverns of the earth, to the shifting clouds and beauteous stars of heaven, but what it touches upon and gives to the intelligent mind knowledge and food for reflection? It is not beyond the range of possibility to assume that should the entire press of the conti- nent become consolidated upon one idea and urge with all the eloquence, the sophistry, the far reaching power 1t embraces radical change in our present form of government, but that it would succeed. Consider for moment that there are enough newspapers issued in America to furnish every man woman and child with at least one copy every week Tn the year, that more than forty million newspapers are printed every week, and one will begin to realize what an incalculable power they would wield if united upon any one subject. There is not a quarter on the civilized globe but the news. paper shapes and moulds public opinion. It is channel for open debates upon all the great and vital questions which affect human life and happiness, or the destinies of nations. The minister breaches to a few hundred people on Sunday; on Monday his sermon is published and his words of hope, of cheer, of CT. enlargement, are read and pondered upon by thousands, and the good seed falls by the roadside and in the by'paths, where the sound of his voice would never be heard. The statesman, the philosopher. the poet give utterance to lofty thoughts, and the captive lightning transmits them through raging seas, over mountain barriers and desert plains, that they may be read in your newspaper the following morning and ofttimes the same day. In short, it is the em- bodied spirit of the resistless energy, the untiring progress that has con. summated in the unparalleled civili. ration of the present century, the great lever for the enlightenment and and elevation of mankind.
 THE Republican, speaking of Oury's election, attributes it to the