Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1888-11-14
SCANDAL AND NoToRIETX.

An Able Discussion Relating to the Nor
bid Desires of Modern Society.
The morbid desire to see ones name IN
print, which invades every rank of modern
society, seems to be on the increase, and,
unless checked, Will, writes Hobart Chat
field Taylor in Amrrica, eventually do away
with the sanctity of private life There is
unquestionably growing impression that
the private affairs of men, and even women,
are public property to be written up" at
will by any journalist who is clever enough
to become acquainted with them. Nor is
the desire for gossip created entirely by the
demands of the reading public; the people
who are written about seem far from averse
to such notoriety, and often themselves aid
the newspaper man in his work. There is
undoubtedly an increasing number of peo-
pie imbued with a desire to live double
eXistence-the private life, which the most
commonplace person must lead, and the
public life, which arises when one becomes
the subject of newspaper notoriety and pub
lie curiosity.
The founder Of the most scurrilous New
York society paper once remarked that
"there were two ways in which a paper
might attain success. One was to praise
people in the highest terms, and the other
W Nell-hDO Tue SlOuBn
of scurrility. If the former course is
adopted, the paper is read by those
who are praised. When the latter course is
followed, every one reads the paper" This
is keen and mordant comment on human
nature, but is in great degree substan-
tiated by the remarkable success of scurri-
lous sheets. Calm and just dignity are
most commendable in a newspaper, but the
journals which adopt this course are apt to
be crushed by the weight of dignity, and die
for lack Of support.
1t is considered the correct thing for men
and women to be Mortified when their
names form the subject of spicy paragraphs
in popular sheets, but not few men and
many women feel sighted when they are
! ignored by the news cleaner Some jour
nalIsts even seek praise for their adroitness
in penetrating the privacy of common
place existence to rescue some NOR
tai from Obscurity. Writers do not
always feel ashamed of the means
they employ in rushing person
into print, but, on the contrary, feel
they have supplied the craving for gossip,
and have conferred lasting favor upon the
! individual whom they bring into publicity.
The devices to which mediocral people re-
sort in order to attract the newspaper
mans attention are only cxcelled in their
aOSuIhtAl ON lltlT anu all I'd w udL
endl That the reading public may learn
that So-and-so is the subject OF newspaper
mention, and is enrolled in the troop of so
! ciety's pariah dogs which hover about the
| social lions heels. Like their canine proto-
! types, they are often sacrificed to the mod
I ern Anubis, who presideT over the funeral
rites of lost regulations.
A French philosopher once stated that
"society is divided into two classes-those
/ who are fools, and those who commit fol-
( lies" The indscretions of the latter class
/ fill the scandal cup from which the eager
/ fools greedily drain the last dreg. Do the
deluded creatures who rush into notoriety
/ feel gratihed to learn that, to the world,
! they are characters far different from what
/ they themselves have the consciousness of
| being! Half the blessing of existence hes
| in having friends whom we can know and
understand; who will recprocate our friend.
ship, and sympathize with US IN success and
trouble. But does the other half lie in build
ing an artificial masking for our existence,
which shall make us appear to the world in
an unnatural character, and preclude the
| possibility of close and congenial intimacy
| with those about uss
Those who serve the public in prominent
capacities must necessarily lead public
and private existence; and though the
public character rarelyreflects the real nat
ure of the man, it often reflects his better
qualities. But the public men who assumes
attributes he does not possess, in order to
pose before his constituents as a paragon of
virtue, is hypocrite of the worst type, and
will sooner or later have the disguise torn
off. Publicity may demand a certain
amount of acting, and make dual char
actsr necessity, but the public character
should be founded upon honest worth,
called forth by popular demand.
The creatures do not belong to the pub
lie, but rather force themselves into atten-
ton, with no other claim to distinction than
the notoriety of scandal and the morbid
craving tor public notice, are but mere
social gnats fluttering about the light Of
fame Unfortunately their numbers are
I increasing. They have no public duty, but
want to belong to the public, and, as a re-
suit, they receive the sting of notoriety
without beng inspired by the stimulus of
fame. The wish of private persons to be
talked about. and written about, and the
public demand for scandal, are desires Of
soul-corrupting tendencies, which, like the
taste for narcotics, become deeper and
deeper with each indulgence.