The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-11-11
THE NEWSPAPER OF TODAY.
1he relper of Religion, Science, Educe
ton and All Good Works.

1he Helper of Religion, Science, Educa
tion and All Good Works.
No publisher or editor pretends that h,
risks his capital, gives time, labor, thought
and care to the making of a newspaper
for charity's sake He publishes his jour
nal as the book publisher publishes his
book-for profit as a means Of living oil
making fortune. Publishing a newspaper
| is strictly business, though there is nc
other business on the face Of the earth OF
which philanthropy and patriotism are SC
large part
The newspaper is the helper of the
church and the school, of religion, science
! literature, art, industry, agriculture-of
everything which concerns the good of So
ciety and the state. 1t is the very prop and
stay of charity and public spirit; the most
| potent enemy of public wrong or injus-
tice; and it must be so necessarily, as it is
! but public sentiment reflected in type. The
newspaper depends for its success upon
| popular favor, and the aim of every one
connected with it is that ofwinning popular
favor by running upon parallel lines with
| public morality. To say that the news
paper is published for money is to say no
harm of it.
1t has passed into a universal maxim
ttat ''the church lives by the altar''-by
the contributions which the faithful Law
upon the altar. And it is true, and il is not
discreditable. The newspaper press is gen
orally as high in morals and intelligence as
the public conscience and mind; higher
than that it can never De permanently, as
it must be what society demands it shall
be. AS a matter of fact, it frequently runs
ahead, temporarily, of public morality; it
often creates the public sentiment that de-
stroys public wrongs; it often secures JUS
tice by proclaiming the injustice.
The press is not without its faults. but
venality or untruth for moneys sake * not
one of them. Its worst fault is its parti-
san prejudice, its inability to perceive that
the newspaper that serves its country best
serves its party best. 1t does not lie for
peif, but it does for political expediency's
sake too often fail TO recognize the truth
1t is not unclean for moneys sake, nor sen
satiOnal for profits sake. though It may
too often blunder into the mire or into
sensationalisn through want of good iudg-
ment. The press OF the United Suites
and we speak, of course. of that great
body of reputable newspapers which really
constitute inc preSS-lS Just what readers
of high or average intelligence and morals
make it, and it rises day by day to higher
planes Of intelligence and morality.
To make the best, the truthfulest, the
cleanest newspaper, all other things being
equal, is to make the most profitable one
That is the experience of every publisher
and responsible editor of great and pc
cunarily successful public journal The
press will always have its adverse critics,
who if run to earth win be found to be
some unworthy, discarded members of it.
or those with whom the press has had to
deal more in justice than in mercy As to
its defense against mendacious criticism,
it is making it daily; for ii is compelling
the testimony of scores of millions of read
ers to its usefulness. its public spirit, its in
telligence and its morality.-Philadelph
Telegraph.