The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1897-06-15

majority oil the people are not bad, an
they regret that the papers are SO ful
of the worst news that can be gathcre
from every section OF :he country
Many OF the parents hate to see thei
: children reading much that is publish
, ed in some Of the daily aud weekly pa
perH 1t is suggestive of evil; it i
corrupting; it is dcmoralizing. ant
this reading matter Is sowing evi
seeds, which will bring forth bounti
ful harvest of crime long after the edi
tor has ceased from his labors.
1t is not necessary 30 ill the columns
OF our papers with all sorts OF crime
giving 10 IA disgusting degree the de
tails, and adding TO the description
hideous pictures, sometimes even moro
suggestive than what is written. There
Is great danger OF educating the young
In the wrong direction.
As educators our papers ought to nut
a proper estimate upon persons anG
things. Papers can do great harm ir
creating fictitious values. Th is fre
| q1ently the case in political discus
slon5. For instance, the evils Of SLAYER
were greatly exaggerated by many OF
the leading papers Of the day other
| papers underestimated the abuses OF
the same system, and, SO, many of the
| people who did not know The facts,
were misled. Who believes that the
papers properly and fairly estimated
| the advantages to the country of IA par
tlcular financial policy? The people
were over educated and many Of them
! were bcwildcred by what they read in
the party papers.
The papers frequently overestimate
persons as they do policies. Many a
man OF very ordinary attachments has
! Deen written up, and placed in posi-.
tlons too large for him, by the newspa
per writer's. The people get wrong
ideas Of a man from what they see in
the papers, frequently they are preiu-
diced against him, al, because new sDa
per writer's have not been careful to
properly estimate him. | am conscious
that this l. on!y y another way Of SAYING
Cnat newspapers in order to be fair
educators should tell the truth about
men and things. That is true, but the
ne"spnpers do not intend to deceive
the people and to wrong anyone-they
believe ceI tain things, they wish to
accomplish certain ends, and to serve
certain persons or parties, or interes IL,
and In doing this they forget that they
are creators Of public sentiment, and
'hc educators of the people. |, there
fore, come back to former proposi-
ton, viz, newspaper men ought to
have conscience in their work and he
governed by desire to do the fair
thing, ard 10 help educate and lift up
dll the people.
II the newspapers are to be the cdu-
Gators OF the people the editors, report
erS and other writer's should try to in
form themselves on general topics, cur
rent events and public policy. How
can they teach il they have not learned?
La, # ln III. &
and OF the other countries does the av.
eragc newspaper man have? How lit
tie does he know Of literature, science,
commerce., agriculture, sociological,
chronological, geographical, ethnolog-
lcai ana theological subj scts. He knows
these things only as he reads OF them
IN the headlines OF some unread paper,
and the hcadl ines are wrong as often
as they ave right. Tncsn public teach
ers ought to study and learn some
things. The young lawyer, the young
doctor, the school teacher must under
go an examination before he can enter
upon the work Of his profession the
law requires it. But anybody can run
ncws paper and write for it, there is
no law against it, the great reading
public is exposed and unprotected. The
editors Of our papers have just grown
up," and many Of them had no previ-
iOus preparation, but they are not
afraid 10 tackle any body or anything.
OF course there are noble and notable
exceptions.
Thcrc is much work for the newspa-
pers in South Carolina. Our people
arc newspaper readers. In almost ev-
cry nome some newspaper is found,
and it is read by all-parents and chill
dren-and then handed out ana ex-
changed for some other paper. Many
or our people do not read any thing else,
and it is sad to contemplate how little
some Of them get for their money
Books are plentiful, but the newspa-
per, the county paper and the weekly
edition OF the great daily, and the
mammoth Sunday edition have largely
taken the place OF books. All the pcO-
pie learn on many subjects and of pass
ing events is what they get from the
papers. 1t becomes us, therefore, to
give them something worth reading.
IL should be the ambition of every
newspaper man to help his readers,
and not simply entertain them. To
make the people better and better in.
formed is our high mission. Our peo-
pie are easily influenced and we should
try to influence them for good. They
love each other, and are really one in
aim and interest, and we should try to
help on this good feeling and unite this
mass OF humanity, and have them all
to stlnd for things true and pure and
honest and noble.
a better people than those found in
South Carolina cannot be found any
where they do not believe in hate,
evil speaking, slander, lawlessness and
bloodshed they were not so taught in
their childhood in the homes of their
fathers, and they have not been SO ed :
ucated in the schools taught by long
line Of noble teachers. With proper,
wholesome, truthful teaching on the
part OF our papers the people Of South
Carolina will be in the future az they
have been in the past, u splendid civ
iiizatiOn. But 80 much depends upon
the newspapers, the responsibility of
our editors is so great, and we seem SO
little to appreciate its greatness, that
| sometimes wonder what the future
will bring forth. God impress us with
the grave responsibilities that rest
| upon us as the educators of the people.
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