Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-02-25
TALMAGE'S SERMONS.
DISTINGUISHED DIVINE TELLS HOW
THEY ARE PUBLISHED BROADCAST.
An Address Commemorative of the Two
Thousandth Full Publication of Sermons.
Glowing Tribute to the Press-Trials and
Temptations of Newspaper Work.

Copyright. 1898, by American Press Asso-
WASHINGTON, Feb. 90. For the first
time DR.. Talmage in this discourse tells
in what way his sermons have come to
a multiplicity Of publication such as
has never in any other case been known
since the art Of printing was invented;
text, Nahum ii, 4, "They shall seem
like torches; they shall run like the
lightnings.
Express, rail train and telegraphic
communication are suggested If not fore
told 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 delivering
through the newspaper press 2 600 ser
mons or religious addresses, so that l
have for many years been allowed the
privilege of preaching the gospel every
week to every neighborhood in Chris
tendon 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 III public
place l state the three causes. Many
years ago a young man who has since
become eminent in his profession was
then studying law in a distant city. BE
came to me and said that for lack OF
funds he must stop his studying unless
through stenography would give him
sketches of sermons, that he might by
the sale Of them secure means for the
completion of his education. positive
" declined, because it seemed to me an
impossibility, but after some months
had passed and l had reflected upon the
great sadness for such brilliant young
man to be defeated in his ambition for
the legal profession l undertook to serve
him-of course free Of charge. Within
three weeks there came a request for
those stenographic reports from many
parts Of the continent.
Time passed on, and some gentlemen
of my own profession, evidently think
ing 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, but those corre-
spondents could not waste their time,
and so they telegraphed the sermons to
their particular papers.
Organization Of the Syndicate.
After awhile DR.. Louis Klopsch Of
New York systematized the work into a
syndicate until through that and other
syndicates he has put the discourses
week by week before more than 90 OOO,-
600 people on both sides the sea- There
have been so many guesses ON this sub
iect. many of them inaccurate, that l
now tell the true story. have not i'm
proved the opportunity as ought, but
| feel the time has come when as mat
ter of common justice to the newspaper
press | should make this statement IN
a sermon commemorative Of the two
thousandth 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
fluence US for lifetime. Many years
ago on a Sabbath morning on my way
to church in Brooklyn representative OF
prominent newspaper met me and
said, "Are you going to give US any
points today?" l said, "What do you
mean by points, He replied, ANY
thing we can remember. l said to
mvsesj. eve ought to be making
points all the time in our pulpits and
not deal in platitudes and inanities "
That one interrogation put to me that
morning started in me the desire ot
making points all the time and nothing
but points.
And now how can l more appropri
ately commemorate the two thousandth
publication than by speaking Of the
newspaper press as an ally of the pulpit
and mentioning some Of the trials OF
newspaper men?
The newspaper is the great educator
of the nineteenth century. There is nc
force compared with it. 1t is book pull
nit. platform, forum, all i'll one. Anc
there is not an interest-religious, 1T
erarv. commercial, scientific, agricul
tural or mechanical-that is not within
its grasp. All our churches, and schools
and colleges, and asylums and art gal
leries feel the quaking of the printing
press.
The institution Of newspapers aros'
in Italy. In Venice the first newspaper
was published, and monthly during th'
time Venice was warning against soly
man the second in Dalmatia 1t wa
printed for the purpose Of giving mill
tary and commercial information to tn
yenetians. The first newspaper pub
lished in England was in 1888 an'
called The English Mercury. Who cal
estimate the political. scientific, com
mercial and religious revolutions rouse'
p ND in England for many years past b.
/ the press?
The first attempt at this institution
In France was in 1851, by a physician
who published The News, for tn
amusement and health Of his patients
t. The French nation understood full.
how to appreciate this power. So earl
as in 1S2c there were in Paris 1863 jour
nails. But IL she United States the news
, paper has come 10 unlimited sway
Thooah in l775 there were but 81 il
> the whole country, the number OF pub
lished journals is now counted by thou
sands, and today-we may as well ac
knowledge it as not-the religious an
secular newspapers are the great ed1
Gators Of the country.
I Harly Struggles OF the Press.
But alas, through what struggle tn
newspaper has come to its present d'
velopmsntl Just as soon as it began
demonstrate its power superstition an
tyranny shackled it. There Is nothin
that despotism SO much fears and hat'
as the printing press. A great writer