The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-10-22

] r10sae-TTe TaC0VeTy sJFICKBD
the blight of war. the restoration OF it's pros
ps-jtv the development of its resources, the
resignation of its people TO their hardships and
The kindiDR OF new ambitions and new ideals.
A TYPICAL JOURNALIST.
In this conservation of himself aud in this
concept o. OF his profession, Henry ". Grady
was the typical journalist. OF the more tech
! rical n aracter of his journalistic qualities
others are more fitted to speak than IL know
| that he vas graphic and vigorous writer, that
| he possessed great literary resources and a
| storeIouse OF knowledge. that his energy aud
| ability with sympathetic and intelligent CO.
operation built UP great newspaper AMI revo-
! iutonizei southern lournalISm-but to me. aud
l think to most perso 8 VINO have watched the
! career of this YOU & Georgian the conspicuou
| and absorbing feature of that professional lie
was its constant purp 50 and its unSelisn con
, s-Cration. Without these he might have won
| lasting fame as newspaper editor, but with
| them he raised the standard of his profession,
emphss Jzed its high calling. widened it's sphere
! for good. and earned that worthy epit apn which
| should be the aspiration of every fellow worker
| in this great held-journahst and patriot.
What great possibilities are suggested in that
vocation which Grady honored by his work and
| upifted by his high purpose!
After its birth In Queen Anne's day not CEN
tury had passed before that great Irish states
man. Edmund Burke, could say of the news
paper press-''It is a part Of the reading OF all
| number"
| And yet railroads did not exist. Not one
| wire had been strung to carry power or speech.
! Fast presses were undrea ned OF. Our caemis-
| try was nserer TO the papyrus Of Egypt 900
years before Christ, THAI to the miles OF sheeted
wood pulp whioh make the cheap paper Of our
| modern journals an ever-renewed storehouse Of
a vastly larger body of learning and literature
| than persisted in the flames of the AiexaadTian
| library.
"A part of the reading Of all, the whole Of the
| reading of the far greater number" and the
nineteenth century not begun. We in its
last decade and What is the proportion of news
| pap5r reading nowf Its past history foretells
an uncommon destiny IL one tracks few
| branching lines of its origin back through the
political pamphlet and the news letter, toe pla-
| card. the song aud the sermon the paSQuinade
| and the philippe, to the witenagemote, the
| forum and the pnyx.
FUNCTIONS OF THE PRESS.
| News buying, news selling and the vending
| OF puohcity-to that commerce there are now
joined some higher functions Of the politician
and the publiciet in such quadruple alliance
| that within the lifetime of still active men g he
daily press seems to have created new era
| and TO be remoldng our social and political
| character into its own likeness.
| IL was this larger conception of the possioili
ties of journalism which inspired aud ennobled
Grady IS efforts.
To assemble the people OF a whole continent
togot er in one place at one time, would oe
deemed, iffor any rational purpose of assemb
ling, prodigious achievement. To make pub
lie feeling aware of itself, and known to all
men, upon some pressing point OF public policy,
is an object of the ballot box and of half the
| machinery of government
Yet it passes uno bseryed how the newspaper,
between sunrise and sunset, renews the daily
sessions OF that great convocatiop.
| Vendors of publicity might be expected to
| push its areas over some old areas of privacy
These sesrch-lights OF the modern journal do
sweep the whole horizon of our daily lives.
The novelty is less aggressive than it seems
| OF course every mans house. remains his
castle, his good name is q possession, and all
his rights can be maintained against intrusion
or Invasion from editors or any other private
| persons, as well to-day as IN 1902. Certainly the
newspaper nowadays seems to be giving us
plenty of gossip. But was there no gossip any
| where before newspapers? Does not bright
gossip struggle with dull gossip and the fittest
survivef Does anything worse happen than
| that village gossip has to enter new competi-
ton with the gossip OF the city, the nation, the
world?
Moreover. nobody's attention is taken by
| force. Perussl is consent.
| There Is some cant ia tine current criticism.
A page of trash that b wise reader can skip is
not too high a price to pay for circulating
| Washington's farewell ADDRESS or any later
grave news Of the day, under the eye Of many
| less wise readers.
What our own newspapers omit, rather than
| what they print, is blaneworthy.
| The London Tunes reports Ut political debates
| in par. iament and upon tue stump are incom-
parably superior in every respect TO the cor
| responding reports of any American journal.
| Drivel is excluded Both tdes are presented
with equal fullness aud perfect fairness In the
speeches of tae few real leaders. Not one Amer
loan journal pretends to do its readers this SER
| vice; though space enough is literally given.
but given to Itself and its editors and reporters
taking about and about the matter.
When all American stvtesmen are editors,
however our political parties will cease to SUI
fer from an excu ion of first-rate champions
to put their case to the widest audience
| pay for many American newspaperssto give
me all the news of the world. Such news not
one of them supplies, not even those which are
making colossal fortunes for their proprietors
| ANY journalist at bis best can but show us the
worlds in which he dwells, in which his OWL
Thoughts live and move-nows only from the
worlds which he himself has eyes to see
FUTURE OF THE PRESS.
The future scope of the daily journal il
doubtless vastly further beyond the reach Of
! our present imagination. Every enlargement
{ of its power, on Tee whole, l confess, seems t
me salutary. More and more it is becoming thu
, great engine OF modern progress.
; 'Mightiest of the mighty means.
, On which the arm OF Progress leans
l. Mans nobest mission TO advance,
J His wees assuage, his veal enhance,
His rights enforce, his wrongs redress
Mightiest OF the mighty is the Press
? The press is our bsst security for the preser
| walton of our political institutions. 1t is GU
, | best safeguard against the perversion of ou
. | government-aganst loading IL up with private
"a business we can best cooperate and DO. II
;, that direction lies our great danger. We oiec
Il our Presidents and governors toFs0oth, but mol
4 our editors. Perhaps ballots then need not b.
omnipotent. To our editors we may look wde,
A, socialism and Capitalization sta ID unrebuke(
. by those to whom ballots have intrusted taa
- responsibility TIE freedom aud growth of tn
Dress VIII at last lnvlg )raVe Jnat clause or on
=, | constitution which withholds from government
- all but few specific and expressly granite
"a powers. Better every just expansion OF privat
- freedom than any growth of governments
8 function-still more of governmental usurpa
a, tion.
- In behalf of the workmen in such a calling
a would be presumptuous that l should spea
% here. The journalists of the United State
A. have garnersd up this fame. They know thei
a. | own heroes.
81 81, But among our IS, 600 900 people some ther
,is are whose title to be represented hero is fort
70 | most.
iss Yet who dare summon to this cenotaph tina
~ | visionary presence? In their behalf who ca
~ | presume to speak?
n For they are those among a patriotic an
% united people who are most worthy to
named BY the name OF patriots They are thoS
"a ia both political parties ia every calling aud
m all the states OF our union. whose thought
are emotions and active energies are given ii
Ids most generously to public affairs
It'll BEARERS OF OTHERS BURDENS.
=" They are those who carry, besides the burde
OF their private cares, besides their bushes
household and family burdens. their full shat
bt or more OF the peoples business burdens az
,us cares. Not alone the burden of public office {
i'm OF representation in our legislatures do meal
tu- even when these may be the severest allotment
Of OF such public burdens. They are those privai
raj citizens well. whose patriotic ardor never lei
III fall from an active regard, the public veal