The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-24
Children and Newsnaners.

a lady subscriber and admirer at Ocala.
Fla, Ia mother with three sweet little
girls aud little boy, who are Just begin
ming to read the papers, an interesting
letter touching upon that much discussed
but ever recurring question, What shall
the honest, thorough newspaper print3
Can we not asks our correspondent,
do away with the newspapers making
public so much concerning the shocking
crimes that are committed daily! How
are we to prevent our i.e-1e boys and girs
from reading those things Can we
! guard their eyes and minds
from vulgar reading when we
have that kind of matter brought into
/ our homes in the daily newspapers
| Sometimes my face is made to burn with
shame when my children, having read an
/ item in the morning paper, ask me- what
! does that meanN''
Before beginning to discuss the matter
we advise our correspondent to guard
against newspapers that print vulgar
! stories. They are worthy of no consider
alton whatever; they pander to de
| pravity, and are hideous excres-
cences upon the body of journal
ism. Happily, however, there are
! comparatively very few such papers.
Public opinion will not tolerate them in
communities OF moderate population. OF
nearly every southern newspaper worthy
the name, and most of the great dailies
of the country, it may be said that it is
absolutely safe to put them in any hands
In so far as the MORNING News is CON
cerned, nothing approaching vulgarity is
permitted ever to approach its columns.
AS to the duty of the newspaper to
print whatever is legitimate news, and
all Of the news, whether it be good or
bad, there can be no doubt The
thorough newspaper sets itself up to be
the historian of the world for the day,
therefore it cannot afford to slight any
thing that is news. But to quote the
New York Sun on this identical question,
the newspaper is guilty of crime
against society if it purveys impure liter
azure. Acting in its rightful function,
the newspaper is most powerful agency
for the prevention of crime and impurity.
The publicity it gives to offenders, in the
pursuit of its duty of chrouicling the oc-
currences Of the day, is most efficient
deterrent from crime and vice and i'm
purity. Wickedness is afraid of the light
of publicity which the newspaper casts
upon it. In the performance of that
duty, however, newspaper is never JUS
titled in pandering to dcpraved tastes. It
is not excusable in printing scandal
simply because the people like scandal.
ic Ia anil.
pure literature of any kind or for any
purpose"
AS to boys and girls being allowed to
read the daily newspaper, there is no
medium through which they can better
study the lesson of life. In its columns may
be studied the weaknesses and failures of
men and governments, or their splendid
successes. The pitfalls set for the un-
wary are uncovered in the daily press and
shams and frauds of all kinds exposed, so
that the youthful reader who reads in
diligently, and applies what is taught,
learns from his paper to avoid traps and
despise deception.
The newspaper should be put into the
hands of children by their parents, by all
means. And if, perchance, a boy or girl
should read something in the paper that
he or she may not understand-some
thing that an evil-minded person, not in
terested in the moral development of the
child, might peryert into mental poison
let the mother or father make an expla-
nation of the matter, taking pains to give
the explanation in such terms as will con
vey Il correct impression, including a
wholesome horror of the evil referred to
in the news item, to the child's mind.
Is it not UNNECESSARILY preferable that a
child should take its impressions from a
parent than from an irresponsible out
slider?
1t is a fallacy, still fondly chung to by
some parents, however, to hope that
children can be reared to puberty in alb
solute ignorance of evil except in the alb
stract-a fallacy the following of which
has resulted in some Of the most disas-
trous failures in life Wise parents,
therefore, do not seek to bring up their
offspring in darkness, but to let in the
light and implant in their minds correct
impressions of the good and the bad. And
their most useful aids in this is reading
matter, taking care that the children get
right ideas from the reading. The Bible
is one of the first books put into the
hands of the young, and there is no parent
who would think of restricting his child's
reading in that book Yet there are
whole chapters in the Bible that a nine
teenth century newspaper could not pub
hsh. Following the Bible, long list of
accepted standard books that are allowed
free circulation among the young, yet
contain matter that would fall under the
blue pencil OF the daily newspaper editor,
might be named.
The danger to the morals of the youth
of the country is not from the matter pub
lished in the columns of the conscientious
and clean daily newspaper, but rather
in parents permitting their children to
grow up in ignorance of subjects not
taught in schools, or to take their impress
sions from vicious acquaintances or COM
panions.
Senator Harris, of Tennessee. denies
that he ever said. with reference to the
Vice Presidents forcing a vote in the
Senate He would never live to do it,"
What he did say, he explains, was chat