Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1884-05-19
HELL's GUIDE BOOKS.
The Impure Literature Of the Pres
ent Day S
TALMAee ON FOUL PUBLICATIONS.
Philippe Against Prurient and Indecent
Newspapers---The Trashy Novel
and Its Nctims---Cheap
Children's Papers.
s,-eisr % a, R.0iser.

BROOKLYN May lS.-Dr Talmage
preached today in the Brooklyn Tabernacle
in continuation Of his series Of sermons on
the popular questions of the day. Before
the sermon he read about the flying roll in
the Prophecies, The opening hymn was:
Jesus shall rvign where er The sun - u.
Does his successive Journeys run"
The subject of the sermon was, "Pestifer-
Gus Literature and the text was Ecclesias-
ties xii, -: "Of making books there is no
end
True in the times so long B. c., how
much more true in the times so long A. D.!
We see so many books we do not under
stand what book is. Stand it on end.
Measure it, the height Of it, the depth oft,
the length of it, the breadth of it. You
cannot do it. Examine the paper and esti-
mate the progress made from the time Of
the impressions on clay and then onto the
bark Of trees. and from the bark of trees to
papvruS, and from papyrus to the hide OF
wild beasts. and from the hide Of wild beasts
on down until the miracles of our modern
paper manufactures, and then see the pa
per white and pure a. an infants soul wait
iug for Gods inscription. A book! In
anime the type oft Examine the printing
of it and see the progress from the time
when SOlonS laws were written on oak
plankS, and HeSiOdS poems were written on
tables of lead, aud the Sinaitic commands
were written on tables Of stone, on down to
Hoe : perfecting printing press 4 book!
Il took all the universities of the past, all
the martvr fires, all the civilizations, all the
battles. all the victories, all the defeats, all
the giOOmS. all brightneSSeS all the centur-
les to make it possible. A book 1t is the
charm Of the ages-It is the drawing-roOm
in which kings and queens, and orators, and
poets, and historians and philosophers come
out 10 greet YOU. If | worShipped any
thing on earth | would worship that. If |
burned incense to any idol would build an
altar to that Thank God for good books
healthtul books, inspiring books, Christian
books, books of men, books of women
books Eof God The printing press is
the mighiest agency on earth for good or
evil. The minister Of the Gospel standing
in the pulpit has a responsible position, but
| do not think it is as responsible as the po-
Sition of an editor or publisher. Take
the simple statistic that our New York
daihes have a circulation Of 10000 per
DAY and add to it the fact that three of our
weekly periodicals have an aggregate cir
culation of about l.O00,O0 and then cipher
if YOU can how far up and how far down
and how far out reach the influences of the
American printing press. believe the
Lord intends the printing press to be the
chiefmeanS for the worlds rescue and evan
relization. and think that the great last
battle of the world will not be fought with
swords or guns, but with types and preSS-a
purified Gospel literature triumphing over.
irampling down and crushing out forever
that which is deprayed The only way to
fight a bad book is by printing IL good one.
| The only way to overcome unclean news
PAPER literature is by sCatt ring abroad that
which is healthtuL May Col speed the
cylinders Of an honest, intelligent, aggrr,-
>i,r ChSistian printing press.
Uuclean journalism.
| have to tell YOU this morning that be-
lirve that the greatest ScOurge mat has ever
come upon this nation has been that of un-
clean journalism. 1t has its victims in all
occupations and departments. II has helped
70 I'LL insane aSylums and peuitentiaries and
dcnS of shame The bodies of this intec-
ZION lie in the hospitals and in the graves,
while their souls are being tossed over into
u lost eternity, an avalanche of horror and
despair The London plague was nothing
TO il. That counted its victims By thousands
but this modern pest has already shoyelled
its millions into the charnel housesOf the
morally dead The longest rail train that
ever ran over the Erie or the Hudson tracks
was not long enough or large enough to
carry the beastlineSS and the putrefaction
which have been gathered up in the bad
books and newspapers OF the last twenty
wears. Now II Is amidst saeh cir
cumStanees that ] put the questions of
oycrmaStering importance to yOu and your
families. What can We DO 20 abate this
peStilencc? What books and newspapers
Shall We read? You see | group them to-
gether. \ newspaper is only book in
swifter and more portable shape, and the
same rules which apply to book reading will
apply to newspaper reading. What shall
we read Shall our minds he the recepta-
Gle Of everything that an author has n mind
to write? Shall there be no distinction be
tween the tree Of life and the tree of death?
Shall We Stoop down and drink ont Of the
trough which the wickedneSs Of men has
filled with pollution and shame? Shall we
mire in impurity and chase fantastic will-o'-
the-wispS across the SwampS when We might
walk in the blooming gardens of God2 Oh,
no. For the sake of our present and ever
lasting welfare we must Eake an intelligent
and Christian choice
some Pure Novels.
Standing as we do chin deep in fictitious
literature the first question that many Of the
Young people are asking me is Shall We
read noyelsY reply that there are novels
II -,