The Iola register., 1886-04-23

Win swords, bus Win ssesl pens; ~ Win
ballsts, bab with type; not With cannon,
but With lightning psrfscsing presses; aud
Tie Sumtsrs, and the Noultriss, and the
Pulaskis, and the 0ibraltsrs Of that con-
flfct win b the editorial and rsportorial
rooms Of our great newspapsr establish
ments. Men Of the press, under God you
are TO decide whether the human race
shall be saved or lost. God has put .
moro stupendous responsibility upon you
than upon any other class Of persons.
What long strides your profession has
made In influence and power since the day
when Peter Sch9Rer invented cast metal
type, and because two books were found
Just alike they were ascribed to the work
of the devil: and books were printed on
strips Of bamboo; and Rev. Jesse Glover
originated the first American printing
press; and the Common Council Of New
York, in solemn resolution, offered forty
pounds to any printer who would, come
there and live: and when the Speaker Of
the House Of Parliament in England an
nounced with indignation that the public
prints had recognized some Of their do
ings; until in this day, when we have in
this country about five hundred skilled
photographers, and about thirteen thou
sand newspapers, printing in one year 2.5O0,-
1900 copies. The press and the telegraph
have gone down into the same great harvest
field to reap, and the telegraph says to the
va avn 10 Il l.SD
and the iron teeth Of the telegraph are set
down at one end of the harvest field and
drawn clean across, and the newspaper
gathers up the sheaves, setting down one
sheaf on the breakfast table in the shape
ofa morning newspaper, and putting down
another sheaf on the tea table in the shape
of an evening newspaper; and that man
who neither reads nor takes a
newspaper would be curiosity.
What wat FYosress eincs the
day vixen Cardinal wclsey declared
that either the printing press must go
down or the Church Of God must 60 down.
to thi: time, when the printing press and
pulpit are in combination. and a man on
the Sabbath day may preach the Gospel to
five hundred people, while on Monday
morning. through the secular journals, he
may preach that Gospel to millions.
Notwithstanding all this that you have
gained in position and influence, men of
the press, how many words of sympathy
do you get during year? Not ten. How
many sermons Of practical helpfulness for
your profession are preached during the
twelve months?" Not one. How many
words of excoriation, and denrnciation,
and hyper-criticism do you get in the
same length of time? About ten thousand.
If you are type-setter and get the type
in the wrong font the foreman storms at
you. II you are a foreman and can not
surmount the insurmOuntable and get
the ''forms" ready at jnst the time,
the publisher denouncss you. If you
are publisher and make mismanage.
ment, then the owners of the paper will be
hard on you for lack Of dividend. If you
are an editor and You announce an un-
popular sentiment, all the pens of Christen-
dom are flung at you. II you are a reporter,
you shall be held responsible for the in
of public speakers. and for the
Of type settlers. and for the fact
that you can not work quite so well in the
gaslight and after midnight as
you do in the noonday. If you are proof
reader, upon you shall come the united
wrath of editor, reporter and reader, be-
cause you do not properly arrange the
periods, and the ssmicolons. and the ex-
points, and the asterisks.
Plenty Of abuse for You, but no sym.
pathv. Having been in q position where
I could see these things going on from
year to year, I have thought that this
I would preach . sermon on
praying that God may bless the sermon
to all those to whom this message may
come, and leading those not in the pro-
fession to . more kindly and lenient bear
ing toward those who are.
One of the great trials Of this newspa.
per profession is the fact that they are
to sse more of the shams of the
world than any other profession. Through
every newspaper Office, day by day,
20 the weaknesses Of the world, the
vani:ies that want to be puffed, the re.
venges that want to he wreaked, all the
that want to be corrected. all the
dull speakers who want to be thought
eloquent. all the meanness that wants to
get its wares noticed gratis in the edi-
sorial columns in order to save the tax
of the advertising column, all the men
who want to be set right who never were
right, all the crack-trained philosophers,
with story as long as their hair and as
gloomy as their finger in mourning
- Ill A,u -
,ores who come to stay i've minutes and
top an hour. From the editorial and
'eportorial rooms, all the follies and
hams of the world are seen day
" day, and the temptation is to believe
leither in God, man nor woman. 1t is no
urprise to me that in your profession there |
re some skeptical men. / only wonder |
hat you believe anything. Unless an edi.
or or a reporter has in his present or his |
arly home a model Of earnest character,
r he throw himself upon the upholding |
race Of God, he must make temporal and
ternal shipwreck.
Another great trial of the newspaper |
rofession is inadequate compensation.
ince the days of Hazlitt and Sheridan and |
ohm Milton and the wailings Of Grubb |
treet, London. literary toll. with very few
has not been properly requited.
Vhen Oliver Goldsmith received friend
, his house he, the author, had to sit on
he window, because there was only one
hair. Linacss sold his splendid work for
ducat. De Foe, the author of two hum
red and eighteen volumes, died penni-
IS. The learned johnson dined behind
.reen because his clothes were too shabby
allow him dine with the gentlemen who,
a the other side Of the screen, were ap-
lauding his works. And 10 on down to
10 present time, literary toll is q great
rnHple for bread ThA world seems fo |