Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1897-12-04
Moro and More Sunshine.


If some evil of society is depicted in
one column, in the next show the Cos
pei machinery that is to drive it back
into the perdition from which it ascend
ed. More and more sunshine let there
be in religious journalism. Publish in
it more sermons on texts like "Oh, give
thanks unto the Lord, for be is good, Z"
and fewer on texts like, "Out of the
depths of hell have cried unto thee, 0
Lord. - If any one has anything gloomy
to say, let him say it to himself. If he
must write it, let him not send it to ed
itorial rooms, but put it i'll the pigeon
hole Of his own desk for his heirs and
assigns to read it further on, for prob
ably they can stand it better than we.
once gave 81 to hear Jenny Lind sing.
l never will give cent to hear man
groan Up with the blinds and throw
back the shutters and let the morning
light come in. There is not so much re-
ligion i'll the dampness of a cellar as IN
the breath of all apple orchard in bios
sol. week. What a victory David got
over himself when he closed the Psalms
with six chapters of praise ye the
Lord" saying it over and over again.
until, in any other book, it would have
become monotonous. If in our diaries
and our family records and our religious
newspapers we would write two honest
catalogues, the one catalogue OF bless
ings and the other catalogue of trou-
bles, the former would be five times
larger than the latter.
Pray for the religious newspapers OF
America, because of the fact that, II
they have the right spirit, each one does
as much coed us ) OF so or 200 churches.
What are tie eco CT 5000 people max
ing up q Sabbath audience compared
with tie TO-. Geo or $4,000 or 200, 600
that the religious journal addresses:
Such Journals are pulpits that preach
day and night. They reach weekly those
who, through invalidism or through in
difference never enter churches They
reach people in their quietude, when
their attention is not distracted, as in
church, by the fine millinery that ap-
peals to the eye or the rustic of attire
that attracts the ear. 1t will always be
our duty and our privilege not to for
sake the assembling of ourselves to-
gcther, but | believe the consecrated
printing press is the chief agency under
God to save the world.
Pens Dipped In Vitriol.
Pray also for the religious newspapers
Of America, that they may resist the
temptation to become acerb, harsh and
damnatory of those who think different
ly from themselves In all denomina-
lions there are disappointed people who
put mean things in religious newspapers
aEout ministers and other prominent
Christian workers. Unsuccessful men
and women never like successful men
and women. There are editors and re-
porters who, instead of writing with
ink, dip their pens i'll oil of vitriol or
lampblack. When religious newspaper
does lie, it beats all secular journalism
in contemptibility. AS Adam Clarke,
the commentator, said, Some people
serve the Lord as though the devil were
in Them" That only is helpful news
paper which, as we fold it up after read.
ing, leaves us in mood to pray for all
men and in spirit that wishes prosper
ity for all Christian workers, whether
they work our way or somo other way,
and we feel as though the angel, flying
through the midst Of heaven, having
the everlasting gospel to preach, had
with the tapping Of his wing stirred
the air on our cheek and forehead.
Pray also for religious journalism,
that it may be alert-not abreast of the
times, but ahead of the times. In this
day, when by cablegram we seem to get
from Europe news five hours before it
starts, we do not want in our religious
columns information scissored out OF an
old newspaper or information sent by
means of q letter which comes to us
through the dead letter postofice be-
cause it was misdirected, nor do we
want it to take the pace of religious
journalism as it was in 1915, when Ma
thaniol Wilson started his religious pa
per called The Recorder, or when The
Watchman was bern in 1919, or when
The Christian Register made its first
appearance III 1921. The canalboat
drawn by mules on towpath did well
III its time, but now we prefer the YES
tibuled limited express. Because a
thing is pious it need not therefore be
dull. The printing press may beat the
Argus of mythology, for that fabulous
being had only 100 eyes, while the
newspaper has 1000 eyes and 1000
ears and 200 arms. The secular news
paper gives the secular news and does
not pretend to give its religious mean
inn The relioious nrass ought to put