Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1896-09-04
READING or NEWSPAPERS.
BY AMOS K. WELLS.

In front Of me in the cars sat two
business men. They bought their pa
pers, as they had bought them every
morning for the last thirty years, and
at once buried themselves in their vo-
luminous folds.
"Aha" exclaimed one, suddenly.
They've been having a revolution in
Brazil, see"
"Umw grunted the other. "That so?
l hadn't seen anything about st."
That Brazilian revolution, which
knocked poor Dom Pedro from his
throne and overthrow the last monarchy
on the American continent, changing
into a republic the largest nation of
South America and one of the largest of
the world, was, in its character and re-
suits, one of the most interesting and
had taken place six days before. Their
newspapers had faithfully reported each
OF these days the startling occurrences,
but these confirmed newspaper-readers
had just seen it for the first time, and
evidently didn't care then.
The whole world, it is often said, lies
spread out before us in each copy of
daily paper. So it does; but how many
see it? run no risk a. all in asserting
that the last portion of the paper to be
read are usually the columns of foreign
news and the letters from foreign cor
respondents.
Why is this' Because people are lazy.
The newspaper has no space for sec
ton of the lexicon, encyclopedia, die
tionary of biography, and gazetteer
every morning, nor can the world part
of the newspaper be read with any
interest and permanent profit without
these aids.
A law man read newspaper He can
read the murders, suicides, fires, scan
dals, embellishments but he can't read
the news-the really new and fresh and
important things. The first he knows
Bundesrlth? Is it an animal or town."
Or he will strike Moukden, or the Trans
vaal. the Parish Councils, the Centrists,
the Sofas, Ellesmereland, the Kara Sea,
Grey;own.
To read the world in that newspaper,
YOU see, he must do a little work. He
must mark the words and illusions he
does not understand. and the library
> he
once knew group of enterprising
young folks who divided up the world
among themselves, and set ont to con-
quer the newspaper comparatively.
One looked out for Asia one for Europe,
one for America. and one for the rest
of the world Then they kept chang
ing their fields. They met once week
and told each other the news, and soon
they knew more of what was going on
in the world than the oldest newspaper !
reader in town.
There's no royal road to newspaper
reading.
Don't get the impression. though, |
that the meagre columns devoted to
foreign news are all that the newspaper
has for your profit. Don't skip the story !
of congress and of your state legisla-
ture. Do skip therein, however, the
gossip, the empty political Prognostica-
lions the reports of parliamentary quar-
rels and repartee. Notice what bills
are introduced. 1t is at this time that
the newspaper gives an account of their
purpose, henceforth referring to them
merely by title; so that, if you miss
your information from the start, you
are likely to founder in confusion
through the entire discussion of the
bill. Notice what bills are passed.
Read with care the speeches that are
aeported in full, the presidents message
and similar matters.
And then read the comments on all
these that are given in the editorial
pages.
Throughout the whole keep level
head. Cablegrams from foreign coun-
tries are very costly, and therefore very
curt What you read of foreign news
has been padded" and not always
wisely. Fhe editorials are likely to be
biased by personal or partisan prejudice.
Learn to be the Judge of what you read
and not its slave,
Some weekly papers give magnificent
reviews of the weeks news, that will
set in their proper relationship all that
you have been reading and clear up |