The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1898-03-31
AN ALLY OF THE PULPIT
The Power of the Newspaper Press
Described by DR.. Talmage.
For Good or for Evil the Power of the
Press Wields Tremendous Influence
Newspaper Men Have Their
Trials and Temptations.

/
| Rev. DR.. Talmage delivered the fol-
lowing sermon in cOmmemoration of
the two thousandth opportunity offered
him by the press for preaching theGospel
to the mighty hosts outside the walls
of his church. The text is:
| They shall seem like torches; they shall run
| like lightnings.-Nah IL. 4.
| Express, rail train and telegraphic
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
have wondered at the process by which
it has come to pass. and for thc first
time in public place l 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 paased, 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
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. l 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, DR.. 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 20,OOO'OoO people on both
sides of the sea. There have been SO
many guesses on this subject, many of
them inaccurate. that l now tell the
true story. l have not improved the
opportunity as | ought, but l feel the
time has come when, as a matter of
common justice to the newspaper press,
| should make this statement in a 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
fluence us for lifetime. Many years
ago, on a Sabbath morning. on my
way to church in Brooklyn, 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.' l said to myself: I'VE 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 of making points all the time
and nothing but points.
And now. how can / more appropri-
ately commemorate the two thousandth
publication than by speaking of the
newspaper press as an ally to the
pulpit, and mentioning some of the
trials of newspaper men.
The newspaper is the great educator
Of the nineteeth century. There is no
force compared with it. 1t is book,
pulpit, platform. forum all in one. And
there is not an interest-religious
literary, commercial, scientific, agri-
cultural or mechanical-that is not
within its grasp. All our churches,
and schools, and colleges, and asylums,
and art galleries feel the quaking of
the printing press
The institution of newspapers arose
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 OF
giving military and commercial infor-
nation to the Venetians. The first
newspaper published in England was
i'll 1888, and called the English Mercury
Who can estimate the political, scien-
tifc. commercial and religious revolu.
tions reused up in England for many
years past by the press?
The first attempt at this institution
in France was in 1851. by a physician.
who published the news for the amuse-
ment and health of his patients. The
French nation understood fully how to
| appreciate this power. So early as in