The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1898-07-14

f0F they are adept aud sneers4
Their skin IS 50 far-reachiug a
cuse their Ignorance. Their
Of scruple compensates for their
Of ethics. With eommereIalisn Ba5
log Is immoral.
The ability Of the lie-maken
journalism is sublime. They a.
succeeded in reducing public lps.In
gence to their own level; and 81.
who can do that are prodlyes. ~.
reader has become like the lie.mats.
who gives him bis daily bread. r
lie-maker grasps the world. Bels,
in the eleventh story OF a metroaoa.
tan newspaper ohiee at 1880 a. m. +
dates his dispatch from Key We,
from San Juan, from the Venezuelan
coast, from the Azores, from SBlt,.
bergln, according to the exlgenev
He moves the Spanish fleet where.
IHHAA AH
ever he will. He makes them al
accessible as possible In order tbst
the other lie-maker cannot find II Out
He divides the hotllla or concentrate.
it or sends it to the bottom accord.
Ing to the demands Of his fiction ap5
the suggestions Of his bottle. Hio
geography is miraculous, his hydro.
graphy impossible. His impenetrablp
Ignorance Of conditions is BETRAYED
in every line, but that is an accom-.
lishment in a country where the news.
paper disease is raging. Ignorance
is Il the newspaper disease what ART
is to typhus.
"our war correspondent, . who has
just come 10 on one Of the six hup.
dred dispatch boats which Mr.. Ben.
nett has sent out on all the oceans.
flying like SO many a~lbatrosses with
out-spread wings written all over
with headlines, proceeds to fix %
the great international play for Gle
readers Of the midnight edition lis.
sued and hawked before sundown)
just to suit their tastes. He can 40
this, for he is the maker OF their
tastes. He is also the surveyor II
their intelligence. He begins By
putting Cuba in the Bermudas. He
locates the Philippin outside Tie
har50r of Cadlz, The rival lle-makef
however, sets the Philippines Be.
tween Jamaica and Puerto Rico.
He brings the Oregon safely home
by way OF Gibraltar and skager Rack
He sinks a whole armament in the
midnight edition, in order to bring
it up at 2:30 in the morning. tie
scatters men and nations with an
ease and -recklessness which his read
ers must regard as an evidence Of
supreme genius. And yet-strange
paradox the world does not even
know his name!
The newspaper lle-maker presumes
to know the minds and purposes Of
all presidents, priests and kings. To
him all secretaries Of state, all gener,
ais, and particularly all admirals are
50 many open books. He reads them
every day. They tell him everything
for they are his intimate friends.
He hears from them by special mes.
sage and courier, Then he writes
his chapter Of the ideal literature and
sends 1t up to the composing room
with special notes to the headllner.
This done he looks at his watch ana
takes the elevator, leaving Key West,
Cienfuegos and the Yucatan passage
In the eleventh story, There they
will remain in a state Of CESSATION
until tomorrow When the morrow
comes the ideal literature will be con.
tinued.
After all, how do the people Of
America like this kind Of thing? OF
course, If they like It they ought to
have il, In that event "the press
will supply the demand. II the peo.
pie like this kind Of thing they ought
to have it more abundantly; for that
Will bring the matter to a crisis. And
what will the crislsof this disease be?
In the nature OF the case the ideal
literature viii reach d crisis. ana then
the patient will either improve or die
IN a spasm. In either event what
will become Of the lle.makerg
Meanwhile, let us look upon the
ideal literature as something with
q great many people are pleas.
ed and not a few are satisfed-just as
. drunkard IS satisfied with lis last
lnaFt Of spirt@ fymmH.Th Are.
IA.