St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-12-24
THE SUNDAY PRESS.
Views of Rev. A. A. Miner to It's In
huence for Good Bad.

To the editor of the Herald: In your
article ,of last Sunday on churches,
Sunday newspapers, ETC., as regarded
by various clergymen, your reporter,
not unnaturally, perhaps, slightly mis-
conceived what said to him about the
Sunday press. SO far as my Observa-
| ton goes land / have seen something
of it), it is not particularly better or
worse than the week day press. It's
nOminally religious matter is scarcely
semi-religious, and, such as it is, it
forms but an insignificant part of the
tended to help church work, it appar-
emily seeks not unfrequently to dis
parage churches and to build mp Sun
day newspaper constituency opposed
to churches. 1t parades the sayings of
anonymous laymen, whose names, if
mentioned, might be sufficient anti
dOte to their speech. 1t is no more
pointed in condemnation of the crimi-
nal enterprises of the hour on Sunday
than on other days, and in neither Case
does it make it's influence felt against
the political denominations that throw
the arms of the state around 5000 sinks
of corruption in the city of Boston
alone. 1t no more follows from this
that | am opposed to the Sunday news
paper, as your reporter represents,
than that | am opposed to the issues
of the rest of the week. [ recognize the
great service of the press in the pro-
gress of our civilization, but | depre-
cate it's low tone on morals and reli-
gion. 1t urges ministers to copy their
Master and go out after the people,
while every day ministers are besieged
by and relieve men and families ruin
ed by the grOgshOp which the press
uphOlds. No compliments touching
the purity of the press can wipe out
this stain. At the same time the com
munity is probably neither better nor
worse for the distinctive Sunday news
paper. People disposed to church go
ing are rot to any extent, probably,
kept at home by the newspaper; and
the -churchgOes can scarcely be
unable, with libraries at hand, to find
reading matter as unexceptiOnable as
the newspapers furnish them. Those
who have little regard for the decen-
cies of life will hardly be restrained by
church or press from the indecencies
for which they will not have far to
seek. And yet it would be shOrtsight-
ed to conclude that those who do not
attend church are in no degree inf1u
enced by the church. Every good in
the community, in whatever form it
presents itself, tempers somewhat the
whole body. Should all the 200 church
es of Boston, after the manner of some,
send committee of runners or solicit
tors into the hotels and restaurants on
Sundays, and into workshops where
females were employed on week days,
they would become an lntOlerable nui-
sance and that can hardly be a wise
course of action for few churches
which cannot be followed by all.
No doubt, the Sunday paper, like
many other things under question, has
come to stay, at least for a time.
Whether that time will be long or
short will depend not so much on what
it is to-day as on what, in it's fuller de- |
velOpment, it shall become.
1 cannot close without specially COM
mending the fairness of those newspa-