The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1882-11-28

The Newspaper as an Educator.
The newspaper has become the uni
versal literature of our people. 1t is
in itself j library Of knowledge and
art. The man who understandingly
and habitually reads one of our lead
ing journals modesty forbids us Civ
ing lis name-will gradually widen
his intellectual horizon there will be
a erea. quickening Of his power of
thought, and a substantial relation
with the thought and feeling of the en-
tire W ,rId will be created, and after
he has read the journal, if he hes 10
more use for it. he can give it to some
friend who has wife or daughter, and
they can conti,.ue to make it useful
and ornamental in imparting symm~-
try to the human frame in the shape
of hustle.
Many are the uses 10 which a news.
paper can be put. For wrapping up
cheese it has no rival. 1t comes III
very handy to place under carpet,
or to deposit in the corner stone of
some public building. 1t is the best
material for gun-wadding in the world,
when found near The body of the vic
tim, as it furnishes detectives with a
clue, and is wonderful help to novel
writers in bringing the villain TO JUS
tice, and at the same time it rises in
tone. spreads in intellectual breadth
and increases in moral purity as the
reading classes become more numer-
Gus and varied. The newspaper is also
useful to put on pantry shelves.
The live newspaper is really the
most influential educator We have, al
though the circus poster does a great
deal in the way of instructing the
youths in natural history by present
ing iite-size illustrations of animals
that never existed. The amount of
Information in regard to the human
anatomy that children acquire from
perusing circus posters is really sur
prising. 1t must be admitted that one
circus poster goes great deal farther
than a dozen newspapers in gratifying
infantIle curiosity. 1t must also be
conceded that while quite a large
number Of journals in this country are
very ambitious to supply the public
with the most minute details of each
and every social scandal, the press has
never yet been able to compete with a
ladies sewing society. or even with all
ordinary social gathering at fashion,
able mansion.
Editors have romantic and some
what exaggerated idea Of the suprem-
acy of the press in creating or leading
public opinion Because some local
celebrity, on whom the editor has
brought the power of the press to bear,
jams the journalist head first into a
water barrel, he, the editor, is prone
to believe that few caustic remarks in
a country paper with 500 weekly cir
culation. will cause the Gar of Russia
TO grant his people a constitutional
form Of government, or compel Mr..
Gladstone to modify his Policy. Such,
We regret to say, is not the case. and
while a few lines of taffy may procure
the local editor an invitation to take a
fve-cent cigar or something stronger.
yet, at the same time, whole columns
of judiciously worG.i commentators
have no apparent effect on the legisla-
tive bodies. 1t takes actual cash to
make them change their minds.
Still, it is not easy to overrate the
national importance of the press as a
public educator, and We have No dis
position to do so, were we fully equal
to the enengen~y.-Siftings.