The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1894-10-11
7.,me. Shopper year. in advance.
'Gnmo' Six Months 5Ocents.

items and articles are the life of the
sheet. In this, they cater to the public
wish and stand out boldly, fair meas
ure of the nations morals. Now, the
study of crime, and criminals, is in
teresting to a great many; but, are we
all to be confronted with the immoral
and unhealthy chronicles of misdoers,
at breakfast and at supper, and from
Monday morning till Saturday night?
Is it necessary to digestion, to the
welfare of the soul or the happiness OF
the heart? Verify, such an intimacy
with the depraved acts and actors on
this stage, tends to make the educated
and virtuous mind unstable; and i'm
poses on the refined and intellectual, a
degrading sympathy for all wrong and
wrong-doers. To the few whom it does
not affect, or who are strong enough in
right and honor and purpose to success
fully resist it, it lends clammy, putre
flying touch, uncomfortable and dis
gusting.
The causes of this state of affairs in
literature are plain: inexperienced writ
ers: fashion; the demands OF a crying
public for something unusual and
flashy; the desire to blend the sympathies
of the readers with the ideas and incli-
nations of certain cliques or classes;
the eagerness to further the interests OF
political parties, unions, and even secret
societies and trusts. All these are in
strumental in the birth of this frightful
lot of assorted reading in the press OF
today. The pity of it is, that it has
continued so long that now there is no
apparent redress, save a mighty revival
of journalistic methods and morals.
The spider spins his web to catch the
hv. but is unable to atterward tear it
down. So the newspapers today court
the favor of the public, until now it is
too late to recede unless radical change
is effected either in their management
or in the misguided clamorings OF the
people.
!,
records of history and fact. History is
public matter. 1t treats of the public
acts of nations, and of the movements
,, of men and women who are prominent
in governmental work; whose lives
> either blend or conflict with the man
agement of public affairs. Instead,
. however, of being confined to these
, modest and proper limits, the press OF
q TODAY conspires with the detective; the
. LAWYER, and the politician; the gambler
and even with the criminal himself, IN
f order to present fetching scoop" to
;, the subscriber. Private affairs are
+ dragged before the public; disgusting
q divorce cases are ushered into the home;
e sensational tales of love and marriage
o are introduced to the reader; and the
v public organ, instead of being dlssem'
= minator of healthy news, and arecord OF
l. clean history, becomes tarnished sheet
- of profane and vile reports calculated
\ to attract and sell. Let the public dis
: courage such cases of caves dropping
r. on the privacy of their 1eigbors; ano
- the need for reform in this direction
;, will dwindle into the reform itself. LIE
20 some moral or social society be organ
ID lied to protest against such an extrava
,~ can't use of the freedom of the pres
;o as our laws allow. Illicit and sen
,r- sational reading are doing fully as muc
n. today to make Prendergasts and an
. . archists of our youth, as the cigarett
~, evil and the liquor traffic are doing t6
nd ward filling our hospitals and asylum
We are accustomed to speak of Ru'
nr sia as nation of no liberties, the birtf
,s. place of anarchy. But in these latte
nc. days of reason and foresight, it is
nd unestion in the minds of our deepe
nd thinkers, whether Russia is right
in wrong in her limitations of liberty.
the this country, it is evident that one
two things must soon take place. IL
o+c morals of our children must be so pu
in and clean that all demand for excitil
,sa. literature will cease; or, restrictions
aca the press shall be so regulated a.
wv severe as to shut off all supply OF harl
hes full reading. Let us have one or t
the other. then indeed may this nation bt
NAL monument of pure literature. VIC