, 1886-04-18

Auu nc NiOultTlt4t anu Tue uhu1kin,
and the Gibraliars OF that conflict VIII
be the editorial and reportoriai rooms of our
great newspaper establishments Men of the
press. under God, you are to decide whether
the human race shnl be saved or lost God
has put a moro stupendous responsibility
upon you than upon any other class OF per-
sons What long strides your profession has
made in influence and power since the day
when Peter Shelter invented cast metal type,
and because two books were found just alike
they were Inscribed 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 $40 TO any printer who
would come there and live; and when the
speaker OF the house OF parliament in Eng
land 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
five hundred million copies The press and
the telegraph have gone down into the same
great harvest field TO reap, and the telegraph
says to the Newspaper: "Tn rake while you
bind" and the iron teeth OF the telegraph
are set down at one end OF the harvest
field and drawn clean across, and the news
paper gathers up the sheaves, setting down
one sheaf on the breakfast table in the shape
of n 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 a curiosity. What vast progress since the
day when Cardinal Wolsey declared that
either the printing press must 20 down or
the Church OF God must go down, to this
tlr.n xwt.o. A. ,~f,tf.~ rrna .rd the r.t1Aft
are in combination; and a man on the Sab
bath day may preach the gospel to 500 people,
while on Monday morning, through the
secular journals, he may preach that gospel
20 millions.
Notwithstanding all this that you have
gained in position and Influence, mon OF the
press, how many words OF sympathy do you
get during the course OF a yearf Not ten
How many sermons OF practical helpfulness
for your profession are preached during the
twelve monthsl Not one. How many
words OF excoriation and denunciation and
hypercriticism do you get in that same length
OF timel About 10000. II you are a type
setter and get the type in the wrong font the
foreman storms at you. If you are a fore
man and cannot surmount the insurmount-
able, and get the forms ready at just the
time, the publisher denounces you. II you
are a publisher and make mismanagement,
then the owners OF the paper win be hard on
you for lack OF dividend. II you are an
editor, and you announce an unpopular senti-
ment, all the pens OF Christendom are flung
at you II you are a reporter, you shall DO
held responsible for the indistinctness of pub
lie speakers, and for the blunders OF type
settlers, and for the fact that you cannot
work quite so well In the Pickering gaslight
and after midnight as you do in the monday.
IN von ara a nrOnfronhar ffnou Won shall
come the united wrath of editor, re-
porter and reader, because you do
not properly arrange the periods, and
the semicolons, and tho exclamation
points and the astorisks. Plenty OF abuse
for you, but no sympathy. Having been In
n position where / could see these things
going on from year to year l have thought
that this morning l would preach a sermon
on the trials Of the newspaper profession,
praying that God may bless the sermon to all
those to whom this message may come and
leading those not in the profession to a more
kindly and lenient bearing toward those who
arc.
One OF the great trials OF this newspaper
profession is the fact that they are compelled
TO see moro OF the shams OF the world than
any other profession. Through every news
paper Office, day by day, 60 the weaknesses
OF tho world, the vanities that want to be
pulled, the reyenges that want to be wreaked,
all the mistakes 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 tho editorial
columns, in order to save the tax OF the ad-
vertising column; all the men who
want to be set right, who never
were right; all the crack Drained philoso-
pliers, with story as long as their hair and as
gloomy as their finger nails In mourning be-
cause bereft OF soap; all the itinerant bores
who come to stay five minutes and stop an
hour. From the editorial and reportorial
rooms all the follies and shams OF the world
are seen day by day, and tho temptation is to
believe neither in God, man nor woman. 1t
is no surprise TO me that in your profession
thoro are some skeptical men. / only won
der that you believe anything. Unless an
editor or reporter has in his 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
s~hipwreck-
Another great trial OF the newspaper pro-
fession Is inadequate compensation. Since
the days of Hazlitt, and Sheridan, and John
Milton, and the wailings OF Grub street Lon
don, literary toll, with very few exceptions,
has not been properly requited- When Oliver
Goldsmith received a friend in his house, he,
the author, had TO sit on the window, because
there was only ono chair. Linaees sold his
splendid work for a ducat. Dc Foe, the
author Of 21s volumes, died penniless The
learned johnson dined behind the screen
because his clothes were too shabby TO
allow him to dine with tho gentlemen who,
on the other side OF the screen were mp
plauding his works. And 80 on down TO the
present time, literary toll Is a great struggle
for bread. The world seems to have u grudge
against a man who, as they say, gets his liv-
ing by his wits; and the day laborer says to
the mar OF literary toll; You come down
here and shove a plane, and hammer a shoe
last, and break cobblestones and earn an
honest living as l do, instead Of sitting there
Ia idleness scribblingfH But God knows that
there are no harder worked men In all the
earth than the newspaper people Of this
country. 1t Is not a matter OF hard times; 1t
Is characteristic Of all times. Men
have a better appreciation for that which
appeals to the stomach, than for that which
appeals to the brain. They have no idea OF
the immense financial and intellectual ex-
haustions Of the newspaper pres. They
grumhle because they have TO pay five cents
a copy, and wish they had only to pay three,
or paying three, they wish they had only to
pay one While there are a few exceptions
and some few do make large fortunes-the
vast mhJor1ty OF newspaper people IN
this day have n struggle for liveli.
hood; and II In their hardship and
evaporation they sometimes write things
they ought not to write, let these
facts be an alienation o, men OF the
press, IL win be a great help TO you IL when
you come home late at night, tagged out and
nervous with your work, you would just
knecl down and commend your case TO God,
who has watched all the fatigue OF those
days. and who has promised 10 be your God
and the God Of your children forever.
Another great trial OF the newspaper pro
fesion is the diseased appetite for unhealthy