The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1896-03-25
Acain. \ Good newspaper is useful

evil when they ought only toreport
the good. They must report the evil
as we'll as the good, or how shall we
know what is to be reformed, what
guarded against, what fought down?
A newspaper that pictures only the
honesty and virtue of society is mis-
representation. That family is best
prepared for the duties of life which,
knowing the evil, is taught to select
the good. Keep children under the
impression that all is fair and right in |
the world, and when they go out into
it they will be as poorly prepared to
struggle with it as child who is
thrown into the middle of the Atlantic
and told to learn how to swim. Our
only complaint is when sin is made
attractive and morality dull, when vice
is painted with great headings and
good deeds are put in obscure corners,
iniquity set up in great primer and
righteousness in nonpareil. Sin is
loathsome, make it loathsome. Virtue
is beautiful, make it beautiful.
1t would work vast Improvement If
ali our papers, religious, political, liter
ary, should for the most part drop
their impersonality. This would do
better justice to newspaper writer's
Many of the strongest and best writers
of the country live and die unknown,
and are denied their just fame. The
vast'public never learns who they are.
Most of them are on comparatively
small incomes, and after awhile their
hand forgets its cunning, and they are
without resources, left to die. Why
not, at least, have his initial attached
to his most important work? 1t always
rave additional force to an article
when you occasionally saw added to
some significant article in the old New
York Courier and Enquirer j. W. W.,
or in the Tribune II. g., or in the Her
aid j. G. b., or in the Times H. j. r.,
OF in the Evening Post W. G. B., or
in the Evening Express e. B. While
this arrangement would be a fair and
iurt thing for newspaper writers, ii
would be defense for the public. 1t
is sometimes true that things damag'
ing to private character are said. Who
is responsible? 1t is the 1--WE" of the
editorial or reportorial columns. Every
man in every profession or occuptior
ought to be responsible for what he
does. No honorable man will evel
write that which he would be afraid tC
sign. But thousands of persons have
suffered from the impersonality O
newspapers What can one private
citizen wronged in his reputation do il
contest with Misrepresentation mul
tiplied into twenty or fifty thousan'
copies? An injustice done in print i
illimitably worse than an injustic
, done in private life. During loss O
temper man may say that for whit
he will be sorry in ten minutes; but
newspaper injustice has first to b
written, set up in type, then the proc
taken off, and read and corrected, an
then for six or ten hours the presse
are busy running Off the issue. Plent
of time to correct. Plenty of time
= cool off. Plenty of time to repcn
!, But all that is hidden in the impersol
atty OF newspaper. twill be a Ion
step forward when all is changed, an
newspaper writers get credit for til
= good and are held responsible for Il
= evil.
i Another step forward for newspapc
"a dom will be when in our colleges al
g universities we open opportunities fl
y. preparing candidates for the EDITOR
o. chair. We have in such inst stitutiol
:. medical departments, law depar
% ments, why not editorial department
+ Do the legal and healing profession
demand more culture and caref
i. training than the editorial or repC
e. torial professions? / know men mi
rb tumble by what seems accident into
,e newspaper office as they may tumt
to into other occupations, but it would
r. an incalculable advantage if those pl
ed posing newspaper life had an ins
er tuition to which they might go to lea
to the qualifications, the responsibility
EFF the trials, the temptations, the da
ys- gers, the magnificent opportunities,
ke newspaper life. Let there be Il
20 tureship in which there shall appe
he the leading editors of the United Stat
40. telling the story of their struggl
o. their victories, their mistakes, how tn
is worked and what they found out to
ore the best way of working. There v
ire be strong men who will climb up wi
INF out such aid into editorial power q
for efficiency. So do men climb up to S
re. cess in other branches by sheer g
ITO But if we want learned institutions
,rt make lawyers and artists and doct
Of and ministers, we much more n,
on learned institutions to make editC
WI who occupy position Of infiuenc
ed. hundredfold greater. do not put
Ige truth too strongly when Isay the m
wi. potent influence for good on earth
inc good editor, and the most potent
IDS fuence for evils is bad one.
The best way to reinforce and improve
lad newspaper is to endow editorial ]
md fessorates. When will Princeton,
the Harvard, or Yale, or Rochester
lies the way?
min When I see the printing-press sta
on, ing with the electric telegraph on
in one side gathering up material, and
lor- lightning express train on the Others
he'd waiting for the tons of folded sheet
hat newspapers, pronounce it the mil
eri- lest force in our civilization. SO C
irst mend you to pray for all those
e's, manage the newspapers of the land
'yd- all type-setters, for all reporters, fol
,lSe- editors, for all publishers, that, sit
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