The sun., 1897-02-22
DIR. RFLANCE ON NEWsPAPERs.
ne says Many Things Favorable to tho Sunday
Edition.

Edition.
Tho Rev. DR.. J. ii. Rylance OF st. Marks
Episcopal Church talked yesterday morning
about The Good and the EVIL Of Newspaper
He said In part:
Newspaper reading does not. and never
can, constitute education in the.truer. fuller
sense of the word. II a man has never Az
piled himself to solid. systematic studies. tho
knowledge he gets from newspapers will be
little more than pack OF shreds. But with
toleraple measure of good culture the good
newspaper will enlarge and illuminate all OF
his systematic attainments, rendering his
knowledge versatile and more apt for daily
use. The world is the best practical school
we can go TO. and the newspaper is certainly
taking us to.-that school and compelling to
ponder its teachings. Tho newspaper pene-
trates the most secluded hamlet In the lAndt
seeks out tie woodsman in his lonely hut In the
forest, letting. light into its sombrs surround.
ings.
1T is largely owing 10 the ubiquity OF the
newspaper that such broad views OF life and OF
human interests ere so general among tho
American people. Tho dull. stolid tone OF
mind and feeling which generally character
lies the peasantry OF the Old World Is scarcely
observable here. There is q cosmopolitan OUT
look on the affairs Of nations quito commonly
encountered among our people. with q wonder
full intelligence in their estimates Of those af-
Iairs.
has done for civilization has been the creation
Of an iEarticuate feeling OF kinship. OF brother
hood. among peoples. Nations secl uded from
they are hampered IN their judgments and
feelings by preiudices due largely to igno-
rance. But widely sundered peoples meet in
newspapers. and thus come TO know each other
as OF one blood
.sThe no.ition of nsw.nanar u,r,,ar. Ia yaror
able TO a large observation. the chiefs watch
Ing carefully the currents Of public opinion
a threatening danger or the inexpedtencj OF
some PROPOSED measure. the editor often sees
clearly ,h how things are tending and sends forth
The newspaper does moro than any other
power in fitting the masses OF the people for the
The printed word goes whore speech cannot go.
silently leayening a community with its spirit.
for there is a vast amount OF hard. intellectual
work done upon them In Cigglng out all that
Isyst is valuable from books which busy men would
were we'll they should know something.
objection Is heard from many good Chris
they would fan see abolished. But though
greatly needing TO DO reformed in the service Of
paDer cannot be suppressed. there being no
predominant public conviction or sentiment
ealing ca for its - nor 4 there Likely
The objection to the sunday :nowspaper:rests
upon the assumption that tho Issuing OF news
papers on the Christian holy day is a desecra-
ton OF tho Sabbath. people being thus tempted
to sit ut homo reading their papers instead OF
going TO church.
Tho argument is vitiated. however. BY the
impli alton that the old Jewish Sabbath is bind
ing In all its rigor upon Christians; whereas.
Christianity has no Sabbath. 1t has the Lords
day, day for rest and refreshment and wor-
ship; for the proper observance Of which day
we have no riHidly defined rules from The
Lord jesus Christ nor from tho Church.
IL would 10 a very difficult matter to prove
that the issuing of a newsrapor on tho Lords
DAY constitutes a serious sin against the spirit
aud design OF the day. Then. too. tho work
on sunday paper Is done ON Saturday. and
in the early hours of Sunday morning; but tho
Monday morning paper Is almost wholly tho
result OF work done on Sunday; consistency,
thefsfore. should direct tho. crusade OF. our
saboatnrian friends against. the preparation
OF the paper that comes forth with the dawn
on Monday. II does not follow that II men
ana women were not reading newspaper,
thev would be In church. Very likely they
would DO doing something worse. Preachers
err IN supposinR that II this, that, or the other
temptation were taken out OF the way all tho
world would be good
The man who babitually prefers newspaper
reading ON Sunday morning TO the Worship
OF God would not be likely 70 get very much
good from church-going could pen him In
church pew every sunday In tho year"