The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1898-03-12
THE NEWSPAPER PRESS.
Rev. DR.. Talmage Disoourses Upon
the Ally of the Pulpit.
Tremendous Influence for Good or Evil
Exerted by the Newspaper - The
Trials and Temptations of News
paper Men Portrayed.

In the following sermon Rev. L. De-
Witt Talmage tells in what manner his
sermons have come to multiplicity OF
publication unexampled in the history
of pulpit literature. The text is:
They snail seem like torches; they shall run
like lightnings. Nahum H., 4.
Express, rail train and Geographic
communication are suggested if not
foretold in this text, and from it start
to preach a sermon in gratitude to God
and the newspaper press for the fact
that have had the opportunity of de-
livering through the newspaper press
1000 sermons or religious addresses, so
that l have for many years been al
lowed the privilege of preaching the
Gospel every week to every neighbor-
hood in Christendom, and in many
lands outside of Christendom. Many
have wondered at the process by which
it has come to pass, and for the first
time in public place / state the three
causes. Many years ago, young man
who has since become eminent in his
profession, was then studying law in
distant city. He came to me,
and said that for lack of
funds he must stop his study
ing, unless through stenography l
would give him sketches of sermons,
that he might by the sale of them Sc
cure means for the completion of his
education. l positively declined, be-
cause it seemed to me an impossibility,
but after some months had passed, and
/ had reflected upon the great sadness
for such brilliant young man to be
defeated in his ambition for the legal
profession, undertook to serve him;
of coure, free of charge. Within three
weeks there came request for those
stenographic reports; from many parts
of the continent. Time passed on, and
some gentlemen of my own profession,
evidently thinking that there was
hardly room for them and for myself
in this continent, began to assail me,
and became SO violent in their assault
that the chief newspapers of
America put special correspondents
in my church Sabbath by Sabbath,
to take down such reply
as might make. never made reply,
except once, for about three minutes,
bat those correspondents could not
waste their time and SO they tele-
graphed the sermons to their particu-
lar papers. After awhile, DIR. Louis
Klopsch, of New York, systematized
the work into syndicate until through
that and other syndicates he has put
the discourses week by week before
more than 2O,OOO'OO0 people on both
sides of the sea. There have been so
many guesses on this subject, many of
them inaccurate, that | now tell the
true story. l have not improved the
opportunity as ought, but | feel the
time has come when, as matter of
common justice to the newspaper press,
l should make this statement in SER
mon commemorative of the two thou
sandth full publication of sermons and
religious addresses, saying nothing of
fragmentary reports, which would run
up into many thousands more.
There was one incident that might
mention in this connection showing
how an insignificant event might in
fuence us for a lifetime. Many years
ago, on Sabbath morning, on my
way to church in Brooklyn, a rep
resentative of a prominent newspaper
met me and said: Are you going to
give us any points to-day?" l said
"What do you mean by points, He
replied: Anything we can remem-
ber." | said to myself: 1--WE ought tc
be making points all the time in oui
pulpits, and not deal in platitudes and
inanities." That one interrogation put
to me that morning started in me the
desire of making points all the time
and nothing but points.
And now, how can l more appropri-
ately commemorate the two thousandtf
publication than by speaking of the
newspaper press as an ally to tn,
pulpit, and mentioning some of thu
trials of newspaper men.
The newspaper is the great educator
of the nineteeth century. There is nj
force compared with it. 1t is book
pulpit, platform, forum, all in one. Ant
there is not an interest-religious
literary, commercial, scientific, agri
cultural or mechanical-that is no
within it's grasp. All our churches
and schools, and colleges, and asylums
and art galleries feel the quaking o
the printing press.
The institution of newspapers aros
in Italy. In Venice the first newspa
per was published, and monthly, dur
ing the time Venice was warning
against Solyman the Second in Dalma
tia, it was printed for the purpose o
giving military and commercial infor
nation to the Venetians. The frs
newspaper published in England wa
in 1883, and called the English Mercury
Who can estimate the political, scier
tific commercial and religious revolu
tions reused up in England for man
years past by the press?
The first attempt at this institution
in France was in 1881, by physician
who published the news for the amuse
ment and health of his patients. TIL
French nation understood fully how t
appreciate this power. So early as i
1920 there were in Paris 1859 journal:
But in the United States the newspape
has come to unlimited sway. Thong
in IT'S there were but 81 in the Who'll
country, the number of published joul
nails is now counted byihousands;, an
to-day--we may as well acknowledge
as not-the religious and secular new'
papers are the great educators of tn
country