The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-10-23
OF a difference of opinion.

OF difference of opinion.
Very much is said about the liberty of
the press. 1t often is advocated that
under that rule man who runs news
paper has liberty above all other NOR
tails. He does not; he has the same
liberty that any free agent has. Jour
nalists as well as individuals in their
social capacities are or should be gov
erned by principles. Law as much APP
plies to journalism as iJ does to social
intercourse. The journalist may be pros
ecuted for libel, the individual for
SANDER. The journalist may guide its
readers in the way of truth, and incline
them to a life of virtue, or it may incline
them to strife and contention and to be-
come regardless Of the welfare of So
ciety.
While the newspaper is largely relied
upon in this country for the spread of
intelligence it should be realized that
the daily paper is ephemeral. The pa
pers are read as they come out and that
is the last of them. They are issued to-
day and produce senSatiOn-to-mOTro
they are gone. If the citizen must have
his newspaper, and he should, he should
be prepared to take it as it comes by an
education that prepares him to take what
he reads with candOr and to use his own
Judgment and not take everything for
truth which is asserted as truth in the
sheet before him. 1t may be political
newspaper, and certainly the civil affairs
of this country need looking after, and
all men who go to the polls should pre-
pare themselves to cast their votes I'M
derstandingly. They should not, when
they read the newspapers of one party
and find it therein asserted that all of
the opposite party are dishonest scoun-
drels, take that as proof that they are
such. There is no argument in that.
Arguments found IN pointing out rea-
sonably and fairly the issues on which
the parties differ and examining the
reasons pro and con.
1t is not at all probable that the circu-
lation of newspapers will ever be much
less than now, but | would if | could
bring about reform that would secure
their more careful reading. would not
have the reader take for granted all he
reads, but to weigh it all as he reads,
and adopt that as truth which is not
found wanting. The proprietor OF a
newspaper, if he is the right man in the
right place, has a field in which he may
do much good. He talks to all of his
subscribers instead of his neighbors as
/ he meets them III social life. lie may
talk in such II way, if he will, that his
talk will be needed and remembered.
He gives his talk to his subscribers in
writing. What appears as news is soon
forgotten, lost and gone, but important
things of practical life will every day
suggest themselves to his active mind
which may be thrown off and find their
way as useful suggestions to his sub
scribers. The daily newspaper has to be
pushed off in hot haste, but for the
weekly paper and the magazine time is
given for reflection and for the editor to
summon lps reason and deliberation to
assist him. If he has valuable matter in
him, he has time to bring it out. Maya
zines and labored weekly journals are in
creasing, and this is favorable to the
literary interests of the country. The
daily paper we must have, but we need
the other journals full as much; we need
kind of literature that is not ephemeral,
something that will not go into oblivion
the day it is written, but the kind that
will be treasured up and saved for refer
ence for weeks, months and years in the
future.-BarneS FriSbie, in Poultney
Journal.