Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-04-12

II , Ou nave any uJuDL AS 10 Wultn IN W ub
victor, ask the prophecies, ask God; the
chief batteries with which He would
vindicate the right and thunder
down the wrong have not yet been
unlimbered. TIE great ArmageddOn of
the nations is not to be fought with swords,
but with steel pens; not with bullets, but
with type; not with cannon, but with
lightning perfecting presses; and the
Sumters, and the MOultries, and the
Pulas6is and the Gihraltars of that. con-
fict will be the editorial aud reportorial
rooms Of our great newspaper establish
ments. Men of the press, under God you
are TO decide whether the human race
shall be saved or lost. God has put a
more 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 Shelter invented cast
metal type, aud because two books were
found just alike they We're ascribed to the
work of the devil; aud books We're 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 $40 to any printer who
would come there and live, and when the
Speaker of the House of Parliament i'm
England announced with Indignation
that the public prints had recognized
some of their dOings: until IN this day,
when we have in this country about five
hundred skilled photographers and about
thirteen thousand newspapers. printing
in one year two billion tiye hunded million
copies. The press and The telegraph have
zone down into the same great harvest
field to reap, and the telegraph saws 10 the
newspaper: "PN rake white y0u bind"
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 ta5le.ain the shape
OF morning newspaper, and putting an
other sheat on the tea table IN the shape
Of an evening newspapeg, and that man
who neither reads nor takes Il new paper
would be a curiosity. What vast progress
since the day when Cardinal WOlsey de-
clared that either the printing press must
go down, or the Church Of God must 90
down, to this time, when the printing
press and the 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, be may preach that
gospel TO nj illiOns.
Notwithstanding all this that you nave
gained Imposition and influence, men of
the press, how many words Of sympathy
do you get during the course of a year?
Not ten. How many sermons of pract-
cal helplulness for your profession are
preached during the twelve mouths? Not
one. How many words OF eXcoriatiou
and denunciation and hypercrihcism do
you get in tnat same length Of time? About
ten thousand. III you are a type-setter.
and get the type IN the wrong font, the
foreman storms ut you. If you are fore
man, aud cannot surm0unt the insur-
mOuntable, and get the -slOrms" ready at
lust the time, the publisher denounces
you. Ii you are a publisher, and make
misman0geme ent, then the owners OF the
paper will be hard on you for lack OF divi-
dend. If you are an editor, and you an
nounce an unpopular sentiment, al the
pens OF ChristcndOm are flung at you. II
you are a reporter, yoa shall be held re-
spOnsibie for the indistinctness of public
speakers, and for the bunders OF type
settlers, and for the fact that you
cannot wor4S quite so well in the flickering
gaslight and after mldnight as you do in
the MONDAY. II you are a prOofreader.
upon you shall come the united wrath Of
editor, reporter ana reader, because you
do not properly arrange the periods, and
the semicOlOns, and the exclamation
points, and the asterisks. Plenty Of abuse
for you, but no sympathy. Having been
in position where | could see these
things going on from year 10 year, ! have
thought that this morning would preach
sermon on the trials OF the newspaper
profession, praying tnat God may bless
the sermon to all those 10 whom this mes
sage may come, and leading those not in
the profession to "A more rindly and lenient
bearing towards those Rho are.
One OF the great trials Of this newspa-
per profession is the fact that they are
.Hs.H
world than any herprolessi5n. Through
every Newspaper oiHue, day by day, 90
the weaknesses ot tue world, the Yanities
that want TO be pulled, the revenge. that
want To be wreaaed, all The mistakes That
want 10 he corrected, all tne dull speakers
who want to he thought eloquent, all the
meanness that wants to g9J its wares no
ticed gratis in the editorial columns in
order 90 save the tax ei line advertising
columns, all toe men wbo Want 70 be SET
right VINO never We're Ferighb ali'the crack
Drained philosophers, with story as longs
as their hair, and as ebony a. their I'm
ger nails, In mourning because berelt Of
soap; all the itiDerant D0fes who
come TO stay i've minutes aud stop
an hour. From the editorial and
reportorial rooms. all the fOllies
and sbams Of the world are seen day by
day, and the temptation is 90 believe
neither in God, man, nor woman. 1t rs
no surprise 20 me tn8t in your profession
there are some skeptcal men. only
wonder that you believe anYthirg. I'm
less an editor or a reporter Ens Ia ms
present or his early home, "a model of
earnest character, or he throw himself
upon the uphOlding grace Of God, he must
make temporal and eternal shiDWreck.
Another great trial Of the newspaper
procession is inadequate oOmpensa zion.
Since the days Of HaZlltt, and sheridan,
and John Milton, and The wailings or
Grub-street London, literary toll, with
very few exceptions, has not been prop
erly requited. When Oliver Goldsmith
received friend in mis- house, he, the au-
thor, had 10 sit on the window, because
there was only one chair. Linaees sold
his splendid work for ducat. DE Foe,
the author OF two hundred and eighteen
volumes, died penniless. The learned
Johnson dined behind screen be.
cause his clothes were too shabby 10
allow him to dine with the gentlemen
who, on the other side OF the screen, were
applauding his works. And 50 on down
TO the present time, literary toll is great
struggle for bread. Tine world seems 70
hayo "A grudge against man VINO, as
they say, gets mis- living by bis wits; and
the day lab0rer says 10 the man OF lltera-
ry toll: "YOu come down here, and shove
a plane and hammer a shOe-last and
break cobbestOnes and earn an honest
living as do instead OF sitting there In
idleness scribblingw But God knows
there are no harder worked men IN all the
earth than the newspaper people OF this
country. 10 Is not a matter OF hard times +;
IL ia characteristic Of all times. Men have