Thomas County cat., 1886-10-28
THE GROWTH OF EVIL,

THE GROWTH OF EVIL.
We Know More of Its Ead Doings-A
Scandal Mongerng Newspaper Is the
Devils " RaPid-Transit Means of Going
Up and Down the Earth"
In the life of man serious bewilder-
ments and misleadings result from the
increase of printed gossip. We are
tempted to believe that crime is in
ereasing because we know of-by
newspaper reportS-an increasing pro-
portion of the crimes committed in a
growing population. If men We're no
worse, there might still be twIce~ as,
many crimes in this. country as there,
were TWENTY-FIVE years ago-we have,
doubled cur population II. no more
crimes We're committed, we should in
cvitabiy hear of more in this cnterpri>-
ing newspaper age. Tie newspaper is
Increasing Its grasp on events. and IT
tells Us more nearly the whole of the
wretched story OF crime than it did i've
years ago. Five years from now it.
Will do this work yet more com mpietely.
Ii is possible that bv the tndl
OF the century every newspaper reader
may know something of every crime
done in the land-if he is able to carry
the load. III ere is convenient way
OF testing this matter. Let a Dews-
paper reader stop his paper for a
month; he viii note L great moral I'M
prCyement in the country. He viii
not ER0w Of one-renth of the crimes
which are reported in the press. Oi
some lie will hear in cony nyersation; of
most he viii know nothing. Or let 4
In who HIS read only 4 weekly news
paper takc to reading daily paper.
Crime will probably increase six hum
died per cent. at once-it vii! certain
ly increase good deal. Tris last cx-
pertinent is the one which is in fact
going on. Many people have changed
and are changing from reading week
lies to reading d"ilieS. and the eject
appears in the rapidly "worsen;ng"-
world of their know ledge. Besides
every newspaper is, in matters OF this
sort, more complete each year. Edit
ors of secular papers know that crime
news Is eagerly read.
There is another and lower field in
which increasing knowledge produces
a sense of growth III evil The gossip
OF 4 nation Is an awful aggregate, and
;}S YET but i;t:le Of it gets into lrint.
III il Were All printed, life would not be
worth living if we had to read i. Il:
any man take mp for the first tim, a
paper which @!orie> in printing every
-scandalous social incident. and s..
how bad the world viii be 70 him At
the end of a week OF smch reading.
We could be driven to despair by
satanic press if we had to read it: and
there are people who do read i, and
who believe IN the universal nastiIesS
OF man kind-thcy can not help it.
Every county in the Union has III least
one scandal 1 week. There ar at least
four hundred scandals eVergl seven
days. No scandal : content tc have
lis day. like dog-it lives nine DAYS.
like 4 cat: and if we had to go through
them all We should be able to do Moth
ing else. There are people who do little
else but attend 10 scandal in som e
form. They hsve usually very li;tle
business of their own. and are free TO
attend to that of their neignbcIs Much
study OF social irregularities has quail
fled them TO manufacture AZ olconlar-
inc dairy product scandal. There is
therefore an awful oyerproduc!;on.
which 4 class of newspapers exists to
1.work off, upon the market. A pa
per in New York recently lcaped into
an enormous circulation by developing
Its department of scandal. The infer
cncc from these facts is not that the
world is growing worse. but that the
devil has some improved. rapid-transit
means of going up and down the earth.
A fact may exist Il long time before it
is reported; many any unclean fact
dies in a small circle. II modern
Journalist had heen able TO do business
hundred wears ago in scandal-mon-
gering. he would not have lacked ma
terial. Happily for our fathers and
mothers peace, he was not vet born.
There may be an increased instabili-
ty in the earth's crust; but it is not
proved by new knowledge of old facts.
There may be more crime-the news
paper record does not prove it: there
may be more social scandalS-the
knowledge we get of them by means
of a satanic press. does not prove an
Increase If we wish to know the truth
In either case we shall have to study
the subject in some more thorough
way than that of counting chance bits
of knowledge. Perhaps the most care
full study may leave us in doubt All
we affirm at present is that the proof
commonly brought forward is not good
cate.
q