St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-02-21
THE SUNDAY PRESS.

The best argument in reply TO the attacks
Of the pulpit against the Sunday news
paper is the newspaper itself. The fact
that the Sunday newspaper is growing in
popularity until now it is almost as indis-
pensable to the newspaper reader as the
weekday paper is the best evidence that il
has place TO fill and is filling it accept
ably. But in addition TO this argument in its
favor is that the pulpit itself is modifying
its views with reference to the Sunday news
paper. The New York Star recently pub
lished a very interesting collection of written
opinions from clergYmen of VARIOUS denom-
nations representing such a wide theolog-
ical and geographical range as to give genu-
inc value to the collective opinion. While
many Of the clergymen are so fixed in their
religious convictions that they refuse to
listen to argument. and consequently will
yield none of their prejudices still, strik-
ing feature of the Stars collection of cler-
zeal opinions is the disposition to recognize
the existence of the Sunday newspapers as
a part Of the life of the period that must be
accepted. 1t is generally recognized by the
clergy as one Of the forces of our
civilization, and consequently they regard 1t
as useless to try to talk it down. Now and
then some fanatical preacher like the Rev.
JOE Cook will fire off a senseless TRADE in
which the Sunday journal is spoken of as ''a
craylish in the dykes of misrule' and ''an
industrial nuisance" Still the bulk of the
clergy take the more rational view that as
the Sunday newspaper has come to stay
and 10 be permanent feature of our civil
ization it is the part of wisdom to recognize
the fact and to aid the Sunday paper TO
conform its work as far as may be possible
to the character of the day. When the
clergy take this view Of it and make an APP
peal of this character there is no reason
why they should not be listened TO and
thus the pulpit and the Sunday press can
meet on common ground.
But what is still more singular in this
connection, the Eastern pulpit is falling into
line more rapidly in its recognition of the
status of the Sunday newspaper than the
Western pulpit. The West has always had
the reputation for more advanced and lib
eral thought than the East where Puritani-
cal influences have always been more pO-
tent. At a convention of clergymen held
at the Sherman house in Chicago last week
the denunciation of the Sunday press was
more bitter than has ever been heard in an
Eastern pulpit. This may be accounted for
from the fact that only such ministers who
held extreme views met In this assembly
while the more liberal minded STAYED away
from it.
The general argument against the Sunday
newspaper is that it has general tendency
to what is called 'the secularization of the
Sabbath" This is tue to a certain extent
Yet it does not follow that it is necessarily
irreligious If the Sabbath was made for
man it ought to follow that man should EN-
JOY it in a rational way. There is no rea-
son why reading newspaper on Sunday
should deprive the day of any of its spirit
ual benefits, nor will it damage popular
reverence for the day. The Rev. JOE
Cook says that he reads his Sunday news
papers on Monday. Now Mr. Cook ought
to adjust his religion so that it will fit in on
one day of the week as well as on another
If a newspaper is good enough to read on
Monday, it ought to be good enough to read
on Sunday. Newspaper reading is no more
immoral than idleness. 1t is better to read
the news and the discussion of current
topics than to sit around Sunday doing
nothing. The social gossip OF the average
Sunday paper is no more immoral than the
gossip which fills up Sunday conversations.
When the pulpit gets fully aroused, as it
will do, to the realization of the Sunday
papers power and accepts it as an import
ant agency in promoting good, the old-time
union of forces of pulpit and press will be
potential in molding higher civilization.