St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1900-04-11
nvNsTER sHELDoN's PAPER.
s.ru,er st. JOhnsbury Pastor calls il
~" an Absolute failure.

a
= iO an Absolute failure.
Rev. Thos. lyric, now of Attleboro,
Mass, spoke as follows on recent Sun
Law evening, concerning Mr.. Sheldon's
journalistic venture:
"a great Improvement is to be noted
:, the literature and printed publica-
IONS of the world, presaged by the
Enormous popularity of the religious
looks and papers of today, and ex-
|,Ia;ned by the fact that the public de-
nandsit. Mr. Sheldon has tried to show
That a newspaper can be run on Chris
ian principles and receive the support of
| he public, and the question rises, has he
Demonstrated that it can be done?
II NAV be conceded that while he gave
/ clean paper, purifying his advertising
|Rs well as his news columns, cutting out
;nuor and tobacco advertisements, and
furnishing much to read that was eIeva-
ling. he made an absolute failure OF it as
Il newspaper; in fact there was no news
| II it.
ut told nothing of what is happening
| South Africa. 1t had scarcely line
m the mighty movements of the world,
|he doings of the governments of the
nations, the events of the great cities,
The very things that have to do with
|the progress of the world. Such paper
|cannot exist. We would never buy it
except as curiosity.
"a paper must be attractive. 1t must
he we'll headlined to save the busy man
| he greatest possible time. 1t must
have the news OF the world, though it
NAV leave out many things which are
|n sense Objectionable and are now
printed. Its editorial columns should
discuss the great movements of the day;
| This the Ca pital failed to do.
True it touched on the curse of liquor,
but it left untouched the great inter
national question, the settlement of
which must be right or the nations may
| be plunged into war. 1t was neither a
newspaper nor tract, as some one has
said. 1t was completely dull and un-
Interesting.
"No man was the wiser for its ap.
pearance. 1t might be good for Sunday
| or devotional reading, but we are talk
ing about daily newspaper. Judge not
| ali newspapers by the Objectionable few.
| Is there mightier miracle on the surface
| of the earth than great metropolitan
daily? Do we think what it means to
print every morning Of the year from 16
to "a pages containing the news from
every corner of the world?
1--WE are not newspaper men; we can
| not understand the herculean task it is,
| the system it involves, the immense cost
| it requires. We receive it each day as
matter of course and think nothing of
| what it means to create the great daily.
| 1t is a marvel. Have you ever thought
| oft?
1T is easy to make sweeping charges
against the press. Some papers certainly
are yellow, so much so that they are
excluded from reputable libraries and
reading rooms.
Eliminate the liquor advertisements,
| the long detailed reports Of the prize
fights, the needless scandals, and they
would be as good as could be expected
| in this day and generation.
-"There must be inaccuracies in all
newspapers. News comes rushing in
from presumably reliable sources all
over the world, and there can be no in.
fallibility in either editors or reporters,
but no newspapers print what they
know to be inaccurate merely to fill
their columns.
ut is argued that undue prominence
is given to reports of crime and evil
| that enough prominence is not given to
| deeds of heroism, Of self denial and inrsg
| rity But in the end is this very wrong
| Should righteousness be Haunted before
mems eyes? Jesus did not do so.
I'm justice it must be said that large
4 space and generous attention is given BY
! all the papers to religious movement:
and events. How shall we improve oui
newspapers? Charles Dudley Warner
said that the people were to blame thai
the largest papers in circulation were TIL
lowest ia moral tone, the smallest thos
with the purest and cleanest tone.
What would Jesus do? No man cal
answer this for another. Jesus laic
down principles, not laws; his acts il
Illustrated principles, not taught perform
ances; the spirit, not the act, interested
him. Let us get his spirit, and when thu
world does, and demands better papers
It will get them"