The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-28
DR. TALhAGE'S SERMON.
THE NEWSPAPER PRESS AN
ALLY OF THE PULPIT.
] a flying roll. "-Zachariah,

WI.
The winged sheet of the text had proph-
ecy written on it. The flying roll of to-day
| is the newspaper. You can no more ignore
it in calculating the forces that affect society
than you can ignore the monday sun or the
Alta, tic ocean 1t is high time that preach
sermon appreciative of what the newSpa-
| per press has accomplished and is accomplish
ing No man living or dead has been, or IS
! so indebted to the newspaper press as myself
because it has given ME perpetual audience
| in every city, town and neighborhood OF
Christendom, and publicly, in the presence
| of God and this audience, express my thanks TO
editors, publishers, compositors and type
settlers, and give fair notice that shall in
every possible way try to enlarge the tied,
whether by stenographic report on the Sab
bath, or galley proof on Monday. or previous
dictation. long ago said to the officers OF
this church, whoever else are crowded, 90
not crowd the reporters" Every Intelligent
and honest representative Of thu press who
takes his place in church amounts to ten or
fifteen other churches built on to this. Ninety
five per cent. of the newspapers are my
| friends, and do me Justice and more than
| Justice, and the other five of the one hundred
are such notorious liars that nobody believes
| them In self-defence, and sixteen years
ago, employed an official stenographer
o6n,ny of my sTenreseDteeons Gwa Dfeaass Of MYSELF self
and church. But things have so miracu-
lously changed that it is just as appalling, in
the marvellous opportunity opened and Tor
which am grateful to God every day. The
newspaper is the great educator OF the CEN
tury. It is book. pulpit, platform and
forum all in one. There is not an interest,"
religious, scientific, commercial, agricultural,
it's grasp. All our churches, schools, art
galleries, asylums and great enterprises
reformatory, religious or secu'ar.feel the
ouaking of the printing press. The hrst
Venice was at war with Solyman
in Dalmatia The paper was pub
lished for the purpose of giving military
and commercial informatlon 10 tne vene- soe
tians The newspaper arose in Englandln 1888.
The first paper was called the Mercury,
and then there came the Weekly Dispatch,
the English Discorerer, the Secret Owt, the
Herachtus Ridens and so on, and so on. In
France the newspaper was first seen in 1851,
and was published by physician for the
health and amusement of his patients, Inc
wrote with his own hand articles for it, s1d
in 1929 there were in ths city Of
Paris 1876 journals. Ths newspaper
press however, has had its chief sway in this
land. In 1853 there was but thlrty-seven
Journals on all the continent. Now there are
$4,000 strong newspapers rolling ouC copies
in the year by the billions and billions :,
have no difficulty in accounting Tor the
worlds advance Four centuries ago, IN
Germany. ATTORNEYS in court fought with
their fists as to who should have the first case,
and the Judge decided for the strongest fist
and the stoutest arm, and if the judges's de-
cision was DISPUTED then he himself fought
with both the attorneys. Some OF the
lords and the wealthiest men OF that day
could not read the titles to their own
property. Why the changer BOO BOOKS ICY you
It is exceptional when men read books. Take
any promiscuous audience in this land, or IN
anv land, and how many treatises on constl-
tutional laws have they read? how many
books of science how many books in regard
to navigation, in regard to geology, IN regard
to botany, in regard to any intricate subject!
How much have they heard of Bayle, of
people of the United States do not average
reading one book a year to the individual.
How. then, do I account for the change
and the fact thai people are able to
talk on all questions of science and
art. anil intelligence is everywhere
as the light, and men are Intelligent on all
subiects2 How do you account Tor 1t? Next
to the Bible. the newspaper; swlft-wlnged
and everywhere present. Flying over the
fence, showed under the door, put on the work
bench, tossed into the country room, hawked
through the cars. All read it, white, black,
German French, Italian, English, American,
Swiss, we'll sick, Monday morning, Saturday
night, before breakfast, after tea, Sunday,
week day. I declare that the newspaper
printing press is to be the mighty agent by
which the gospel is to be preached, crime e4.,
raised, heaven reioiced, God glorified. To
the clanking Of the printing press,
ab the voice cIS of % the Lord God Almighty sayios
to the dead nations of the earth: Lazarus,
come forth" and to the retreating snrges Of
darkness: "Let there be lightw How many
of the newspapers of city and town during
the past ten years have hal mighty pleas IN
,..half of the Christian religion and have
given some Of the most effective interpreta-
tions of Gods providence among the nations!
There are on " two kinds of newspapers.
The good, the very good-the bad, the very
bad When newspaper starts it may for
while have no especial reputation eithes
for virtue or infamy; but in little
while people decide for themselves, and
they say, lit is good" and it is good: and ''it
the embodiment of news, it is the ally of
virtue, it is the foe of crime, it is the delecta.
ton of elevated taste, it is the mightiest
agency for saving the world. The othe" is
q brigand among moral forces it is the be-
sinner of reputation it is the foe Of all. that
is good, it is the mightiest agent of earth
for battling the cause of God and driving
back christianity, if it could be driven back.
The one influence isan angel oflight, the other
influence is fiend of darkness, and between
that archangel and that fury is to be fought
the battle that is to decide the destiny Of the
human race. TIE Armaggedde of nations is
not to be fought with swords
but with steel pens, not with bull
let but with type. not with
cannon but with lightning Derfecting press,
and the Sumpters and the Moultries and the
Gibraltars of that conflict are to be the edi-
torial and reportorial rooms Of our great
newspaper establishments. Men of the press
and men interested in its prosperity, upon
YOU come down the most tremendous respon-
sibilities of the earth Men in all departments
need to be good, and most Of all, men Of the
press. Oh, how great the change from the
time when Peter Shoefer invented cast-metal
type, and because two books were alike taey
were pronounced to be the work of the devil
looks were printed on strips of bamboo,
and the Common Council Of the city of New
York solemnly voted the offer of fort7
pounds to any printer who would come cad
Commons Indignantly denounced the print
ing press becaus, it had dared to notice their
proceedings-or to this time in which we
live, when the printing press is welding such
a vast pow for good or for evil. The tele-
graph and the ,printing press go down into
the the r printng hSir e press s III rake While you
bind" and the telegraph puts its
iron teeth down at one er1
the harvest field and they are drawn
clear across and then the information is
pathered I'D in sheayes. and the printing