The herald., 1897-02-08
AT THE CATHEDRAL
Bishop Montgomery Pays q Tribute to snd
also Criticises the Press

AT THE CATHEDRAL
Bishop Montgomery Pays Tribute to snd
also Critlcises the Press
The bishop took as his text the parable
of the good seed and the cookie, found
in the gospel of the day, Matt. xiii 24-S0
and spoke substantially as follows:
In the whole of the New Testament
there is not declaration that points out
the duties of parent and pastor more
clearly than does the lesson in this day 8
gospel-the parable of the good seed and
the cookie. In fact, it embraces their
whole duty to the child. the teaching of
truth and the preserving of that truth
from error This parable is so plain
| that 1t needs little elucidation. Our
Lord elsewhere explains the same truth
to His disciples, telling them that the
| field is the souls Of men, the sower is
| Almighty God and the seed Gods holy
word. And to emphasize the import
ance of the truth and to know the dam
| gers to which it may be subjected, he
points out that the seed produces a crop
| of varied abundance, according as it falls
| by the wayside, TO be picked up by the
birds Of the air or trampled under foot,
i or upon stony ground, where the blade
| springs up, but witherS and dies on the
barren soil and under burning sun-or
| upon good ground, producing hundred
fold
The spiritual application of the par
able plainly points to the DUTY of parent
| and pastor to plant the sacred truth of
faith to cultivate and guard them
against error
The minds and hearts of innocent
young children, with characters yet un-
formed, but ready to receive any i'm
preston; Inexperienced, uniformed.
yet yearning to know. thirsting for
knowledge, surely offers a fertile field
for cultivation. Today I shall speak of
one single factor that enters into that
formation of character-namely, the
reading matter that is furnished it.
Nothing is more potent for good or for
evil.
Among the many natural blessings
with which God has strewn mans path
way there is not greater agency for
good than the press-and the printed
page But it may be perverted to evil,
and it is of that l propose touching this
morning. 1 shall not speak of the
easy means it affords for the dissemina-
ton of false maxims of life, and false
principles of philosophy, and Of pervert-
ing the facts of history into a lie, filing
mems souls with hatred towards one an
other. These ought to be met with the
same industry and by the same medium
wider range which the daily press has
for its field that I would speak; and
here let it be borne in mind, once for ALL
that this is not to be a criticism of the
press, but a criticism, if at all, of our
selves. the reading public. There are
two distinct departments in the press,
distinction not always made, but
which is true-the editorial department
and the news column local and for
eigO. All honor to the editorial de-
partment of the great dailies. If
we bear in mind the rapidity
with which the editor has to do
his thinking and his study upon
the issues that constantly come up for
treatment, the excellence and the lit
erary finish that characterize his work
is simply one of the wonders of mod
ern journalism. And what is of even
more Importance the tone of the editorial
is almost invariably in advocacy of the
best moral ideals. They become GEN.
sors of the news columns of their own
paper, and are most invariably right in
that regard in their own department.
But the news column is our department.
1t is demanded by the reading public.
and here is where criticism ought to
have its proper place. After all the edi-
torial department does not form char
acter as does the news columns. Cen
orally speaking. men subscribe for the
papers that reflect their own political
views, and when some question of local
interest. of state or national import
ance comes up for consideration they
may read the editorials of their faVorite
per But the great bulk of the read
ing public peruse the news column
that reflects the world S doings of day,
the worlds thought, the worlds action,
the worlds crimes, and so perverted do
our tastes seem to have become that the
lao+ ..f,r T.1a
crimes would hardly be able to live in
that public. Nor are we content with
the bare statement of facts; we demand
details.
And these details are demoralizing.
know the plea under which it is justified.
that the unveiling of crime makes crime
odious and deters the evil doer from
committing it. But l believe it is fall
lacious and specious plea. Crime is a
general term. There are crimes that
ought to be exposed; theft, malfeasance
in office, betrayal of public trust. ought
to be exposed and punished; but there
are crimes which, while they ought to
be punished. should not be exposed in
the deformity of the details often given
Such exposures do not deter the already
evil doer, for he has lost all shame, but
they become the public property of the
world, and lower the moral sense. And
it is this that serves to form the public
character on these matters, far more
than the editorial that condemns them.
Here is room for combination. Faith
ers, mothers, teachers, pastors the
leaders of thought. who see the future
in great principles of action. all feel that
these things are demoralizing, not alone
to the young but to those of every age.
They should combine to create better
public taste than seems now to demand
them No matter how careful those
may be who have charge of the young
these things cannot be kept entirely
from them, and if their minds are not
quite corrupted at least the moral sense
loses relish for serious and spiritual
things, and the grace of God, which
is the true life of the soul, grad
ualy departs from 1t. Here is a So
cial question no less than a religious one.
NO man can separate his social from his
religious life.
UNITY CHURCH
A I1A