The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1893-11-08
DANA ON JOURNALISN.
Politics and the Bible Both Good for News
paper Men to known.

Politics and the Bible Both Good for Se.s-
paper Men to known.
Charles A. Dana, of New York, de-
livered the first lecture Of the fall
course at Union College, Schenectady,
last Friday. His subject was The
Press and Journalism" Mr.. Dana
said, among other things:
1.-THE number of the intellectual
young men who are looking at this
new profession, which for the want of
better name, We call the profes sion
journalism, is very great. suppose
that I receive myself every day, taking
one day with another, half a dozen
letters from men, many of them COL
lege graduates, asking for employment
and an opportunity Of showing what
is in them. Generally the rule that is
observed in all we'll organized news
paper offices is that the boys who
began at the beginning are taken up
step by step in accordance with their
faculties and their merits. The boys
who begin at the bottom come out at
the top. At the same time these boys
do not all start out with the best outfit,
that is to say, with the best education,
and I have known very distinguished
authorities who doubted whether high
education was any great use to
journalist. Horace Greeley told me
several times that the real newspaper
man was the boy who had slept on
newspapers and ate ink. Although I
served him for several years, and We
were very near in our personal rela-
tions, I think be always had little
grudge against me because I came up
through college.
''Give the young man first class
course Of general education, and, if l
could have my way, every young man
who is going TO be a newspaper man
aad who is not absolutely rebelious
against it, should learn Greek and
Latin, after the good old fashion. I
had rather take young fellow who
knows the Ajax of Sophocis and who
has read Tacitus and can scan every
ode of Horace-I would rather like
him to report prize fight or spelling
match, fo. instance. than to take one
who has never had those advantages.
l believe in the colleges. I believe in
higher education.
1T is indispensable to man, who
means.to fill an important place in
Journalism to know politics, and in
order to know politics there must be in
the man some natural disposition for
politics. I have often been appealed to
by friends, who said: Cant you take
this young man and give him employ
ment?' Then I will watch that
young man for month or so, and see
what it is that be takes up in the
morning. If he takes up the news
paper and turns the political part of
the paper, and is interested in that,
why that is good symptom Of his
intellectual tendencies; but if, instead
of that, he takes up magazine and
sits down to read love story, why
you cannot make newspaper man
out Of him.
"An American who thinks another
country is better than this should not
60 into journalism. You must be for
the stars and stripes every time or the
people of this country won't be for
you, and you won't sell enough
papers to pay your expenses.
"There are some books that are
indispensable to the kind of education
that we are contemplating, and to the
profession that we are considering; and
of all these the most indispensable, the
most useful, the one whose knowledge
is most effective, is the Bible. There
is no book from which more valuable
lessons can be leaned. I am consider
ing it now, not as religious book, but
as manual of utility, Of professional
preparation and professional use for
journalist. There is perhaps no book
whose style is more suggestive and
more instructive, from which you
learn more directly that sublime
simplicity which never exaggerates;
which recounts the greatest event with
solemity, of course, but without senti-
mentality or afectation, none which
you open with such confidence and lay
down with such reverence; there is no
book like the Bible. When you get
into a controversy and want exactly
the right answer, when you are LOOK
ing for an expression, what is there
that closes dispute like verse from
the Bible? What is it that sets up the
right principle for you, which pleads
for policy, for cause, so much as the
right passage Of Holy S:ripture?'