The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-04-19
NEWSPAPER IDEAS.
THEORETICAL And PRACTICAL
PERFECTION
Discussed Apropos of Memorable
Recent American FiascO.

ideal newspaper is, after all, an eXcus-
able kind of lunacy. We must always
have among us men and women VINO
think they can have the moon II only
they cry loud enough and long
enough Such crying does the moon
harm. and it gives it's innocent We
Tins something to do. The first mis-
take. in connection with such paper
is thinking that anything can De
proved by an experiment six days
long. For six days you can do almost
anything with a measure of success,
provided that it be foolish enough.
could with sufficient preparation for
the EVENT. fill st. Paul's cathedral to
overflow by promising to swallow the
pulpit Bible in illustration Of another
book-gulping already on record. But
what sort of cattle would fill the pews
0he penso and what man Of sense
would come second time to see the
impious trick? If any man wants 10
found fancy daily paper, by all
means let him do it, and pay FOR IT,
and thus find the shortest OF all ways
to the bankruptcy court. But aIter
all, why should an ideal paper fallf
The two reasons are not far to seek
1. Such a daily paper would be
founded on a totally false conception
Of human life. Ostrich policy always
fails. 1t is most foolish to think that
we destroy things by ignoring them'
I have heard of children so monastl-
cally trained that they never knew
there were any bad people, any bad
words, any bad customs. They were
brought up upon sort of patent FOOD
for infants and invalds. Poor, white
faced creatures they were, too. one OF
the boys I have particularly IN view
was. I know as a fact, hanged In MS
native town, enither by his own mana
nor at his own expense. l believe IN
deed. that it may be more criminal to
hide some things than to race tnem
and resolutely to take them IN nailu.
/ distinctly charge some parents WIN
the ruin of their children by WlcKedly
putting false face on the grim anu
revolving facts Of life. Better reailze
such facts, talk them frankly over, ana
show how they can be most success
fuIlv handled. The ''bane and anu
dote'' should both go together Ihat
to me is the vital point. To SEND OUT
the UdIlc diOhC oAiSNAN
crime against society.
d Not only would such fancy daily
paper give a false conception OF hu-
nan life; it would ignore and misrep-
resent the spirit of the Bible itself.
People who want to create fancy pa
pers, Of an ideally moral sort, are sup
posed to be specially in love with b.
Bile teaching. Their sincerity 40 nor
question for moment, but DO as
tinctly question the correctness OF
their conception Of the Bible. Ac-
cording to my reading the Bible IS the
most frank and fearless OF all DOCKS.
The Bible conceals nothing. In one OF
It's main aspects the Bible is the histo-
nv of Sin The Bible is not dainty
tract carefully edited for the speclal
benefit of Infants of all ages. The b.
Bic is d record Of murder, lust, drunk
enness Lying, hypocrisy, prodigality,
and all manner OF evil. The Bible
writes its own black catalogues of sin,
and illustrates itself with concrete in
stances which no hand could ade-
uuately draw or color. The Bible lays
bare the human heart for the reading
of old and young all over the world
and through all ages OF time. There
has never been anything In the news
paper to exceed in horror some OF the
records of human experience to be
found in the Bible. But Is this all that
the Bible does? That is the vital
question. We all know that it Is not
Always. sthe bane and antidote are
both mefore" us. I repeat, this is the
vital point. The netle and the dock
leaf grow on the same Bible page.
Christian churches have yet to be in
nitely more frank and emphatic re-
garding the existence of evil in every
possible social form. Unless this view
Of responsibility is realized there will
he lamentable disproportion in all
Christian teaching, and then no Won
der If the scholars who are thus IN
completely taught should fail to appre-
ciate the meaning, or even the neces-
sity. of the great Redeeming act which
constitutes the central fact OF the Cos
pei.
do not want any newspaper to be
better than the Bible Units record OF So
cial history. Newspapers should De
chronicles of human life as 1t really is.
Always provided that the antidote is
fully supplied 7 would not hesitate to
report divorce cases, police news,
frauds and outrages. l distinctly say,
let us know them all, and let us know
the very worst that the devil can do.
Lay all such cases right out In the
blaze Of the sun. Print the names OF
all seducers, gamesters, money lenders,
secret perpetrators of cruelty, teetotal-
ers who are shareholders in breweries,
together with all protesting Christians
who denounce slavery and yet take
dividends produced by unseen slaves.
But remember my stipulated provision.
Do not misrepresent my view. In all
such cases of exposure keep strictly
within Bible lines; begin where the
Bible begins. end where the Bible ends;
omit no element or feature OF Blple
policy and teaching If cases OF de-
prayity are reported without the anti
dote being energetically administered
then an objectionable crime is done
against the morals of the community
For a time there would be much pro-
test and cutlery against papers that
would thus take the Bible as their ex-
ample To show my fairness | would
prnt the names of all the protesters
and carefully inquire into their indi-
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