The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-06-21
HOPKINS COMMENCEMENT
OUETURED AUDIENCE AT NORTH SHEFFIED HALL, YESTERDAY.

ton on "The Limits of Party Allegiance'
 -Declamation by l.. w. Hall.
 The graduation exercises of Hopkins
 grammar school were held in Nortf
 Sheffield hall at o'clock yesterday af-
 ternoon and were attended by large
 number of the friends and relatives ot
 the members of the graduating class
 It was an audience composed of some
 of the most cultured and refined people
 in New Haven. This old and historic
 school, whose history has been closely
 Identified with that of New Haven since
 early colonial days, maintains its high
 standing as one of the best schools in
 America to prepare young men for Yale
 university.
 N The exercises opened with prayer by
 Rev. H. R. Miles, assistant pastor of
 the United church, after which the glee
 club sang the Vocal March" by Beck
 CT.
 Henry Killam Murphy of this city
 then delivered an oration on "The Ideal
 Newspaper" It was as follows:
 THE IDEAL NEWSPAPER, BY
 HENRY KILLANG MURPHY.
 What institution of modern times has
 a greater or more far-reaching influence
 on the thoughts and actions of the
 world than the newspaper? What con
 sternation and confusion there would
 be throughout the land if every news
 paper should suspend publication for
 the space of one month! Business men
 would be totally ignorant of the doings
 of congress and the state legislatures.
 A law might be passed laying tax on
 incomes; but the first intimation that many would have of It's passage would
 be the appearance of the collector. No one would know the state of foreign af- fairs-the situation in the Eastern
 question, or the latest difficulties in
 South America. The president of the United States might even be assassin ated or whole cities destroyed by earth quake, and no one would be the wiser It might be suggested that the tele- graph would prevent any such condition of affairs as this; but what could the telegraph accomplish without the news paper to announce it's messages to the world?
 LPuI IhlelS llt d pL ColOCutlcil ClCNLlOil without newspapers! How would the common people know what principles were embodied in the different party platforms unless they would read them in the papers? How could they obtain any idea of the characters of the candi- dates? The election day itself-the whole week, in fact-would be a time of the greatest confusion. Nearly all business would probably have to be suspended; and if the election were known to be close, the most serious consequences might arise from the in- tense popular excitement which would be inevitable.
 The importance of honest manage l ment of these great organs cannot cas- fly be oVerestimated. If false report | of some violent outbreak in Europe | should be circulated by an apparently reliable journal, it might make and lose fortunes by its effect on stocks. 1 And this brings to mind the great evil | of some modern newspapers-the un- quenchable thirst for notoriety, at any 1 cost which has been aptly styled fake l Journalism The ideal newspaper | should never print wild stories of sud l den revolts, and the like, for the sake | of making a sensation, and bringing | its name before the public. While it | should always strive to keep abreast | of the times in reporting all matters of | it should never be led to | rumors for which there was no sure foundation It should be | accurate in it's reports, re- eording events as they actually hap exaggerating them to bene- fit or injure some friend or enemy of the paper, When we consider to what an extent the ideas of the people are moulded by the utterances of the great Journals of to-day we can see what a it must be to the editor to deviate from the paths of strict truth For this very reason we must all the more respect the edi- .or who does succeed in confining his paper to reporting the truth, the whole ruth and nothing but the truth. Ham, cts advice to the player is quite pat to he newspaper, Whose end, both at he first and now, was and is, to hold. IS 'twere, the mirror up to nature to ,how virtue her own feature, scorn her l ,wn image, and the very age and body l if the time, his form and pressure"
 Perhaps the most notable difference ! ,etween the ideal newspaper and the l cal newspaper would lie in the field | if politics. To read the papers of the | present. time, during a hot political l anyone not familiar with ! modern journalistic methods might be 1 ed to believe that the only fit place for he candidates of the opposing party . would be states prison; but if the can- idates of the party to which the paper elongs were put in office, the country c Jould be absolutely certain of enjoying I he most unbounded prosperity It is eedless to dwell upon the utter folly a such political methods as these. A a aper should never stoop to an at [ smpt to injure the reputation of ublic man for political reasons; nor Il hould it wilfully conceal the truth in olitics, any more than in anything a se, for the furtherance of it's own d r it's party's ends. p The ideal paper should always give, s nearly as possible, the facts of the ase; and then express it's own honest U pinion in the matter-it should never, AS nder any circumstances, allow any @ ling approaching perversion of the '" 'uth What better illustration of this