The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1888-07-12

t1nle damnlnS newspapers.
Again, in this effort to secure the secu-
lar press as a mightier reinforcement of
religion and the pulpit, let US make it the
avenue of religious information. If you
put the facts of churches and denomina-
tions of Christians only into the columns
of religious papers, which do not in this
country have an average of more than
10000 subscribers. what have you done
as compared with what you do if you put
these facts through the daily papers,
which have hundreds of thousands of
readers. Every little denomination must
have its little organ supported at great
expense, when with e-half the outlay a
column or half column of room might
be rented in some semi omnipotent secu-
lar publication, and SO the religious in
formation would be sent round and round
the world. The world moves so swiftly
to-day that news week old is stale. Give
US all the great church facts aud all the
revival tidings the next morning or the
same evening. My advice, often given to
friends who propose to start new paper,
is: "Don't! don't! Employ the papers al
ready started"
Again: II you would secure the secular
press as a mightieI reinforcement of
religion and the pulpit, extend widest and
highest Christian court estes to the repre-
sentatives of journalism. Give them easy
chairs and plenty II room when they
come to report occaslons. For the most
part they arc gentlemen of education and
refinement graduates of colleges, with
families to support by their literary craft,
many of them weary with the push of
business that is precarious and fluctuat-
ing, each one of them the avenue of in
formation to thousands of readers, their
impression of the services to be the i'm
preston adopted by multitudes. They
are connecting links between sermon,
or song, or a prayer, and this great
popul alton that tramp up and down the
streets day by day and year by year, with
their sorrows uncontrolled and their sins
unpardoneG.
But" some one might ask, "would you
make the Sunday newspaper also a re- en-
forcement? Yes, would. Ihave learned
to take things as they are. l would like
to see the much scoffed- at old Puritan
Sabbaths come back again. l do not
think the modern Sunday will turn out
any better men and women than were
your grandfathers and grandmothers
under the old fashioned Sunday. To say
nothing of other results, Sunday news
papers are killing editors, reporters, COM
posltors and pressmen. Every man, wom-
an and child is entitled to twenty -four
hours of nothing to do. If the newspapers
put on another set of hands that does not
relieve the editorial and reportorial room
of its cares and responsibilities. Our
literary men die fast enough without
killing them with Sunday work. But the
sunday newspaper has come to stay.
1t will stay good deal longer than any
of us stay. What then shall we do? I'm.
plore all those who have any thing to do
with issuing it to fill it with moral and
religious information, live sermons and
facts elevating. Urge them that all
divorce cases be dropped, and instead
thereof have good advice as to how hus-
bands and wives ought to live lovingly
together. Put in small type the behavior
OF the swindling church member, and in
large type the contribution of some
Christian man toward an asylum for
feeble minded children or a seaside
Urge all managing editors
to put meannesS and impurity in type
pearl or agate, and charity, and fidelity,
anu Christian consistency in BREWER or
bourgeois. If we can not drive out the
Sunday news paper let us have the Sun
day .wspaper converted.
The fact is that the modern Sunday
newspaper is great improvement on the
old Sunday newspaper. What beastly
thing was the Sunday newspaper thirty
years ago! 1t WAS enough to destroy o
mans responsibility to leave the tip end
OF 1t sticking out of his coat pocket? What
editorials! What advertisements! What
pictures! The modern Sunday news paper
is as much an improvement on the old
Time Sunday newspaper as one hundred is
more than twenty-five; in other words,
about seventy-five per cent. improve
ment. Who knows that by prayer and
kindly consultation with our literary
friends we may have it lifted into a posi-
lively religious sheet prented on Saturday
night and only distributed, like the An,er-
scan Messenger, or the Missionary Journal.
or the Sanddy- School AdUOcate, on Sabbath
mornings. All things are possible with
uoa, and my faith is up until nothing in
the way of religious victory would sur
prise me. All the newspaper printing
presses OF the earth are going to be the
Lord's, and telegraph and telephone and
type Will yet announce nations born in a
DAY. The first book ever printed was the |
blple by Faust and his son-in law Schoef- |
fer in 146O, and that conservation of tyne
TO the Holy Scrip lures was prophesy of
the great mission of printing for the |
evangelization of all the nations. The |
father OF the American printing press
was a clergyman, Rev. Jesse Glover. and |
That was prophesy of the religious use
that the Gospel ministry in this country |
were to make of the types.
Again, we shall secure the secular nress
as mlghtier reinforcement of religion |
ana the pulpit by making our religious |
atterances more interesting and spirited. |
and then the press will reproduce them.
On the way to church some fifteen wears
ago journalist said thing that has kept |
me evaS since thinking.
Are you going to give us any points to- |
1ayy'
What do you mean?" 1 asked. He |
said:
i mean by that any thing that will be |
striking enough to be remembered
linen l said to myself: What right have |
we In our pulpits and Sunday schools to |
AXE the time of people if we have nothing |
10 say that is memorable. David did not |
nave any difficulty in remembering |
thrust: Thou art the man,
lor fellx In remembering Paups point