The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-10-20

We Know More OF lts Had Doings--A
6 scandal-MongcrinE 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
creasing because We know of-by
newspaper reports-an increasing pro-
portion OF the crimes committed in
growing population. If men were no
worse, there might still be twice as
many crimes in this country as there
were twenty-five years ago; we have
doubled our population. II no more
crimes were committed, we should in.
evitably hear of more in this enterpris-
ing newspaper age. The newspaper is
increasing its grasp on events, and it
tells us more nearly the whole of the
wretched story Of crime than it did five
years ago. Five years from now it
will do this work yet more completely.
1t is possible that by the end
of the century every newspaper reader
may know something of every crime
done in the land-if he is able to carry
the load. There is a convenient way
of testing this matter. Let news
paper, reader stop his paper for a
month; he will note great moral inn
provement in the country. He will
not hnoao of one-tenth of the crimes
which are reported in the press. OF
some he will hear in conversation; of
most be will know nothing. Or let
man who has read only weekly news
paper take to reading daily paper.
Crime will probably increase six hun
dred per cent. at once-it will certain
ly increase good deal. This last ex-
pertinent is the one which is in fact
going on. Many people have changed
and are changing from reading week.
lies to reading dailies. and the effect
appears in the rapidly ''worsening"
world of their knowledge. Besides,
every newspaper is, in matters of this
sort, moro 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
sense of growth in evil. The gossip
of a nation is an awful aggregate, and
as yet but little of it gets into print.
Ii it were allprinted, life would not be
worth living If we had to read it. Let
any man take up for the first time
paper which glories in printing every
scandalous social incident, and see
how bad the world will be TO him at
the end of week of such reading.
We could be driven to despair by a
satanic press il we had to read it; and
there are people who do read it, and
who believe in the universal nastiness
of mankind-they can not help it.
Every county in the Union has at least
one scandal week. There are at least
four hundred scandals every seven
days. No scandal is content to have
its day, like dog-it lives nine days,
like cat; and if we had to 60 through
them all we should be able to do moth
ing else. There are people who do little
else but attend to scandal in some
form. They have usually very little
business of their own, and are free to
attend to that of their neighbors. Much
study of social Irregularities has quail
fed them to manufacture an oleomar-
garine scandal which resembles genu-
inc dairy product scandal. There is
therefore an awful overproduction,
which class of newspapers exists to
''work OFF, upon the market. A pa
per in New York recently leaped into
an enormous circulation by developing
its department OF scandal. The infer
ence 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 long time before il
is reported; many any unclean fact
dies in small circle. If a modern
journalist had been able to do business
hundred years ago in scandal-mon-
gering, he would not have lacked ma
terial. Happily for our fathers and
mothers peace, he was not yet 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 AL
we affirm at present is that the prooi
commonly brought forward is not goot
and sufficiently W. Christidn Adro
cate. 1r r f3il