Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1885-02-06

effect a blessing 10 the righteous.
This roll finds a fitting type 81 f's
modern newspaper. With almost on
niscient power the newspaper brings
ten thousand hidden things to hght
and is indeed q curse to wrong doors.
II is a sort Of universal police. ny
which crime is driven into close quar-
tiers, and the saying OF tie psallnIst "
verified, that there Is no place where
the workers OF iniquity can hide them
selves. In making this application,
do not mean to ignore the fact that
some newspapers are in league with
wrong. No form of iniquity exists
which has not its organ that aims to
make wrong appear right. But these
things are not newspapers. l know
of no achievement Of man that lnl-
presses upon Inc greater admiration OF
the powers of the human intellect
than a great daily newspaper. con-
fess feeling of awe in its presence
No other agency is SO powerful IN
shaping the progress of events. The
newspaper does the thinking for
large class in every community. Pop
ular religion takes its tone from it. 1t
can bring down success to fraud, and
bring honesty down into the dust.
And while no power in this nineteenth
century is SO great, it is true also that
no power is SO nearly despotic. The
London Times has far greater influence
in England than Queen Victoria. The
fact of boundless power is one we can
not change. / do not know as we
need or desire to. The question for
us is, How shall we as a Christian
people make a Christian use OF this
fact ? This power so mighty is sure to
become mightier. Its wing grows
more fleet, and its vision penetrates
new solitudes every hour.
The first use of the newspaper is to
furnish information, to make my ear
telephone and my eye telescope, so
that shall not be blind to the doings
of the great human family. 1t fur
nishes a camera where the whole
world presents itself under the eye.
This first object of the newspaper stlli
comprises its chief value, although
the office of editing now goes beyond
and aims to interpret and present the
significance of the facts printed. Ev-
ery man should learn to edit his own
newspaper; to judge for himself what
events mean and what they signify.
1t is a great art to know how to get
from your newspaper all you need
without loss of time. An ordinary
daily paper presents you annually not
less than $4,000 duodecimoi pages. 1t
is all intended to be read by some
body or it would not be printed. Now
consider that three fourths of the pa
per is taken up with advertisements
and matter of no use to you; if you
read only one quarter OF the paper
you accomplish in u year $500 duodec-
imo pages, equal TO five volumes OF
Macaulays and twelve volumes OF
Froude's History of England. Provid-
ed paper prints facts honestly. and
honorabIy, l care not what the poll
tics or religion may be. l can utilize
for myself the information which it
presents.
We should make an economical use
of the newspaper, not only as men OF
the world, but using what it presents
of interest to us in our particular call
ing. 1t ought to help us in our work.
If it does not, it is not the paper for
me. do not need to dwell on this
point, for men will be prompted to do
this by self interest. l have long EN-
ployed plan that enables me to get
the cream from my paper and keep
it. have habit of reading with
scissors in hand and cutting out what
ever bears OH my work. Then Il keep
a series of 100 or 200 envelopes prop
erly labeled. In this way have gath.
cred a great encyclopedia of inforrna-
ton about my line of work, and can
lay my finger IAN instant uponsany-
thing referring to..Aitopic infhand.
Then there is a social:use OF news.
papers. 1t is very.easy to contract q
passion orshunger for news solthat We
forget the great and serious signifi-
canoe underlying the array of facts.
If our newspaper caters only to our
self interest it isl more harmful than
helpful. The newspaper should be
the expression of the one life which
flows throughithe veins of sthe whole
human family. There is a tendency
noticeable iniother parts of the world ,
and beginning to. threaten this scouD-
try, which tends to array classes
against each other. Against this dan
ger the newspaper is the best: safe
guard, and we should help make it so.
The instant the newspaper makes it,
self the organ of u class, that instant
it becomes the enemy of all humanity.
All men belong to us, and newspapers
are the nerves that distribute sorrow
as we'll as joy, and make the woe Of
all.
The social use is very much the same
as the moral use, which should enable
a man to be a better Christian. Who