The Yale expositor., 1896-03-27

L
Macaulay's essays first appeared in a
review. All Carlyle's, all Ruskin's. all
McIntosh's. all Sydney Smiths, all
Hazlett's, all Thackeray's, all the ele-
waited works of fiction in our day, are
reprints from periodicals in which they
| appeared al serials. Tennyson's poems.
Burns poems. Longfellow's poems,
Emerson's poems. Lowell's poems.
Whittier's poems. were once fugitive
| pieces. You cannot find ten literary
men In Christendom, with strong
minds and great hearts. but are or have
| been somehow connected with the
newspaper printing press. While the
| book will always have its place, the
newspaper is more potent. Because
the latter is multitudinous do not con-
clude it is necessarily superficial. If a
man should from childhood to old age
see only his Bible. Webster's Diction-
airy and his newspaper. he could be
prepared for all the duties OF this life
and all the happiness Of the next.
Again, n good newspaper is a useful
mirror Of life as it is. It is sometimes
complained that newspapers report the
evil when they ought only to report the
good. They must report the evil as
well as the good. or how shall we know
what Is to be reformed. what guarded
against. what fought down? A news
naper that pictures only the honesty
and virtue Of society is misrepre-
sentation. That family Is best pre-
nared for the duties OF life which.
knowing the evil. is taught to select
the good. Keep the children under the
impression That all is fair and right IN
the world and when they go out into
II they will he as poorly prepared 10
struggle with II as a child who Is thrown
into the middle Of the Atlantic and told
70 learn how to swim. Our only COM
plant is when sin Is made attractive
and morality duh. when vice is painted
with great headlines and good deeds
are put In obscure corners. iniquity set
up in great primer and Righteousness In
nonpariel. Sin is loathsome. make II
loathsome. Virtue Is beautiful. make
IL beautiful.
II would work vast Improvement
II all our paDers-religious. politicai,
literary-should for the most part drop
their impersonality. This would DO
better Justice to newspaper writers.
Many of the strongest and best writer's
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 OH comparatively
small income. 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 al
ways gave 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.,
o. in the Tribune II. e., or in the Her
aid J. G. b., or in the Times II. }. X,
or in the Evening Post w. q. b., or in
the Evening Express Il. b. While this
arrangement would be fair and just
thing for newspaper writer's, it would
be a defense for the public.
Once more l remark. that good
newspaper is blessing as an evan
gelistic influence. YOU know there is
q great change in GU" day taking place.
All the secular newspapers OF the day
for am not speaking now OF the re-
ligious newspapers-all the secular
newspapers OF the day discuss all the
questions OF God, eternity and the dead,
and all the questions OF the past, pres
cnt and future. There Is not a single
doctrine OF theology but has been dis
cussed in the last ten years by the Sec
uiar newspapers OF the country.
They gather up all the news OF all the
earth bearing on religious subjects, and
then they scatter the news abroad
again. Tho Christian newspaper will
be The right wing OF the apocalyptic
angel. The cylinder OF the Christian
ized printing press will he the front
wheel OF the Lords chariot. take the
music OF this day, and l do not mark IT
dIminuendo-l mark 1t crescendo. A
pastor on Il Sabbath breaches TO a few
hundred, or lew thousand people, and
Oh Monday, or during the week, the
printing press Will take the same SER
mon and preach 1t to millions OF peo-
pie. God speed the printing press! God
save the printing press! God Chris
tlanlze the printing press!
When 1 see the printing press stand
ing with the electric TELEGRAPH on the
one side gathering up material, and
the lightning express train on the
other side waiting Tor the tons OF fold
ed sheets OF newspapers, 1 pronounce
1t the mightiest torce in our civiliza-
ton. So | commend you TO gray Tor |
all those who manage the newspapers OF |
the land, for all type settlers, for all re- |
purters, for all editors, Tor all pub
fishers, that, sitting or standing in Do |
sitions OF such great influence, they
may give all that influence Tor God and |
the bettcrment OF tie human race. An |
aged woman making her living by knit
ting, unwound the yarn from the ball |
until she found in the center of the ball |
there was an old piece OF newspaper.
She opened 1t and read an advertise
ment which announced that she had |
become heiress to a large property, and