The record-union., 1898-03-06
THE MORAL USE OF A DARK
THING.

The New York Evening POST says
that the blowing UP of the Maine illus
trates ''the moral uses Of dark things"
as the late DR.. Bushnell put it, by bring
ing into light the perfect sanity, under
trying circumstances, of the great bulk
OF the American newspaper press and
people. The Post" says:
But there is no doubt that when this
Cuban news first arrived, not every
one felt sure how either the public or
the press was going to behave, largely
owing to the enormous development
within a few years of what is called
the sensational press" which is real
ly euphemism for Lying press" and
is, strange to say, almost confined to
a few cities on the Eastern coast. Co
ing westward, we encounter more and
more dignity and sobriety in the news
papers. 1t is in what we are accus
toned to consider the headquarters of
civilization on this continent that We
encounter the most boorish Mayor and
the most unscrupuIous and mendacious
journals. All observers of democracy,
since it came fully into power, fifty or
sixty years ago, have been deeply i'm.
pressed with the rapid growth of the
reckless and shameless newspaper
But while it is not here, as in
France where the mendaeious press
can lash the mob into fury and lead it
to revolution, or at least to violence,
we treat it largely as buffoonery. Our
New York contemporary declares that
solutely harmless, so far as inhuenc-
ing the public mind is concerned; that
for war-making purposes it is value
less. The journalistic mendax may
exhaust his ingenuity in concocting
storis of bombs and mines," and con-
spiracies and secret bands and treach-
cry and all that, without producing
any effect on our politics"
But there is a serious side to the
subject, and the Post" discovers it as
1t proceeds In its argument, a seri-
business that the Record Union" has
more than once pointed out, namely:
Our sensational papers have, for
the first time in human history, estab-
lished mendacity as a domestic indus
try Of very profitable character. The
lies of our two New York lying jour
nails have really been a source of enor-
nous gain, as far as we can learn. 1t
has been found that the more wonder
full and incredible their stories, the
fouler their imputations, not only on
Spaniards, but on the human race-the
more absurd and delusive their car
toons. the more eagerly they are bought
and read. The world they describe
cannot be found outside lunatic asy-
lun1s-its existence for a single day
would destroy modern civilization: and
yet this only stimulates sales" and
encourages SPECTATORS to go into the
lying business. That familiarity with
lying. and even amusement over lying.
must in some degree, especially among
the rising generation, cause loss of re-
spect for truth and disbelief in its value
for the purposes of national progress.
we think can hardly be denied
The Record Union" as our readers
remember, has repeatedly held that the
chief mischief the yellow press accom-
plishes is the lowering of moral values
among the people. and especially among
youths. The influence goes to even
greater extent than that; it as directly
corrupts what ii touches that is sus-
ceptible and impressionable as does
foul literature of any kind debauch,
debase and animalize.
We confess. however, to surprise that
so cultivated and clear-seeing a paper
as the New York Post" one of the
cleanest and most able journals of the
world, should so fail of suggestion as
to ask why capitalists and philanthro-
pists do not take steps to crowd out the
indecent press. with its debauching
text and pictorial illumination, by sup
plying popular reading that is not de-
moralizing. Such lame and impotent
conclusion on the part Of such an in
telligence is more than surprising-it is
ludicrous.
What. eradicate the tares by sowing
wheat among them? No, indeed; the
way TO any reform in that direction
is to root up the tares There is good
wheat enough in journalism already
Does the Post" for. a moment con-
cede that its issues. with such as
come from the Sun the Tribune. .
the Mail and Express" the Times"