The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1897-01-14
EDITORS WORK.
THE SECULAR PRESS.
What Il Is and Ought to Be.
BY REV. W. J. SMITH.

BY REV. W. J. SMITH.
Following is an extract from paper
on the influence of the press, secular
and religious, read before recent meet
ing of the Convocation of Tarboro, by
Rev. w. ]. Smith of Scotland Neck:
Our papers with one voice praise
virtue and condemn vice. They pro-
tess to seek the good of their country,
they want to see its laws respected and
its citizens peaceful, prosperous and
moral, and yet their actions often defeat
the very object they have in view for
does not the detailed publication OF
crime often suggest to a person OF weak
mind, or weak morals how to perpetrate
a similar crime? And just SO far as
this is the case, just so far Is the news
paper responsible for that crime.
That such is often the case believe
to be fact, and therefore I say that
the secular press of the day is to be con-
demned for its wholesale publication of
crime Of every description. The ques-
ton to be asked, then, of any particular
paper is, How far is its influence for
good counterbalanced by its influence
for evil? Take for instance the New
York Herald with its daily twenty page
issue. Every one knows that it con-
talns much valuable Information, as
we'll as many news items ofreal interest
and of unobjectionable character, and
yet everyone knows, too, that many of
its columns are filled with a record OF
crime of every description, not only in
this country, but in foreign countries
as we'll. A recent issue, for instance,
contained in one column seyen news
Items, and six of them were detailed
accounts of suicides. Other crimes
figured more or less here and there
through the paper.
Now, 1t Is true that one Is not obliged
to read such records, and many persons,
no doubt, do skip oyer them, but it is
equally true that a great many of its
readers have no taste for the solid and
wholesome food which it offers, and so
they leave it untouched and turn to the
choice bits OF crime with which to salts
fy their morbid and depraved appetite.
Take, again, the New York World
with its Sunday issue of six hundred
thousand. What kind of influence
does it exert? It claims to be Sunday
paper, and its object is evidently to
amuse rather than to instruct. It GER
tainly comes under the head OF Sunday
amusements, but the question is, is it
innocent or otherwise? Take a copy
and examine it. Evidently the whole
idea seems to be to hold up for ridlcule
the follies and vices of human nature.
Not one elevatlng or instructive lesson
seems TO be suggested by any of its
illustrations. Some of the pictures, it
is true, are harmless, but they are so
ridiculous and unnatural that it is hard
to perceive what good they do. The
majority of them, however, to say the
least of them, minister to low, deprav-
ed taste, and certainly are not very edi-
tying amusement for Sunday. Each
issue, for instance, contains a full PACED
colored illustration of 'Hogan's Alley"
Now l would ike to ask, would any
rightminded, decent person like to
spend his Sundays amid such scenes as
we find there portrayed? Would we
like t. have those urchins for our chill
dren's playmates? think not. And
yet too many good Christian people
to-day are welcoming this paper into
their homes to feast their little ones
eyes upon horrid pictures which sug-
gest not one elevating thought. Would
they with equal readiness welcome the
inhabitants of Hogan's Alley into their
homes, and make them their fireslde
companions? / believe not. Then let
them think twice before they admit
this deadly serpent into their homes to
destroy the purity, and vitlate the taste
of their children.
What is said of the large city papers
is also true of the smaller papers in a
greater or less degree. They, nearly all
OF them ,contsin things that are calculat-
ed to do harm to their readers-espe
cially the boys and girls
The little paper published at my OWL
home. the Scotland Neck COMMON
wEALEH, is free from the charge which
I have brought against so many others
and may with safety be placed upo1
the table of the purest home in the
land without fear of working the leas
harm.