The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-04-19

lions we should find the woman taken
in adultery, the prodigal wasting his
substance on powdered harlots, the
woman whose sins were many, the
Mary out of whom seven devils were
cast, and on an Illuminated page He
would publish the loveliest scent UNI
der the whole shining heavens-the
scene in which He himself took up
wondering little children and made
them rich with the kiss of God.
In His daily print He would scourge
usurlous money lenders. He would
denounce oppressors. He would shame
the indolent, and send into ''everlast-
ing punishment" the self-indulgent
criminals who had neglected the honest
poor, and the hypocrites who gave
guinea to His service where they
ought to have given themselves, Je-
sus would make the times lively. HIS
church would be no place for criminal
slumber. Jesus would make no dis
tnctions between Lords and Com
mons, but would judge them both with
the impartial Judgment of God. II
peer withheld justice from the peas
ant. the Lord would double the great
mans punishment because of the very
coronet which had been disgraced; and
If a working man smoked away nVe
minutes of his employers time, Jesus
would dare. at the risk of being UNI
popular, to say that even such work
ing man was a thief and an enemy OF
society. The honest working man
would ever find friend In the news
paper of Christ, and there the skulk-
ing rogue would find critic who
would tear him in pieces.
Who can answer the question, What
would Jesus do morning by morning IN
His daily paper? Some readers would
keep out all betting and gambling
news; Jesus Himself might possibly
exclude a good deal of church news, or
refer it to the various churches for
careful revision. Some things must
not be told in Gath or whispered in
Askelon lest there should be significant
laughter in the tents of the Philistines
| Conforn1ists and Nonconformlsts
| might alike be condemned for doing
deeds that are never so much as named
among the uncircumsized. Jesus
Christ would not spare the craft, the
sham. the double-dealing, or the We
neered rottenness of any church. 1t
was on the religion of His day that
Christ poured the unfailing torrents OF
His wrath. Her temples and noun
tains, her rituals and traditions, never
saved any Zion that had broken faith
with God.
What would the Apostle Paul do II
he conducted a morning newspaper? IS
question which Paul himself would
frankly answer. Paul never looked
upon the world as a neatly dressed and
innocent looking infant school Hear
his description of the world for which
he would write his morning journal:
when they knew God they glorified
Him not as God, neither were thank
| full; but became vain in their magma
tions and their foolish heart was
darkened Processing themselves to be
wise. they became fools. And changed
fine glory of the uncorruptible God into
an image made like to corruptible
man, and to birds, and to four-footed
beasts and creeping things. They
Ewere filled with all unrighteousness,
fornication, wickedness, covetousness,
righteousness; full of envy murder,
debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
backbiters haters of God This is
the public for which Paul would have
had to cater. Is there anything worse
In the slums or the West End of Lon
don. or anything worse in any of the
great cities in the world? Paul faced
the facts, he reported the news, he
tore off all masks, and having first
done all this he preached, as only he
could preach, the redeeming Cross and
the fount of cleansing.
While an ideal newspaper may be
beyond our present reach, we may
fairly face the possibility of an amend
ed journalism.
Probably there is not an editor in the
world who is not in some degree open
to suggestion as to the improvement
of his paper. Proprietors and editors,
like other men, are always on the out
look for new talent, new methods and
new sources of influence and profit.
For my own part l think l see how
| Some Christian paper could be more
Christian, and how some political pa
pers could be more patriotic. Into that
large question, however, I must not
enter. but content myself for the mo-
ment by respectfully offering sugges-
ton or two about the distribution and
proportion of news in leading daily
journals. l remember seeing long ago
a headline in one of the leading dailes,
printed in the largest capitals Death
of the Rev John Robinson" AS a
minister I was naturally thankful not
that Robinson was dead, but that SO
much respect should be paid to an Of
ten poorly requited class of public SER
wants. J. comforted myself with the re-
Election that this was an approach,
along one narrow line toward ideal
| journalism. Here, in great London
daily. was a lavish tribute to great
theologian and a powerful though an
obscure preacher. I was eager to
know how this favored Robinson gath
cred his stores and exercised his gifts.
I had not read many lines until l dis
| covered that Robinson was a "hang
theology cleric somewhere down in
the depths of the rural districts. and
the most renowned fox hunter in his
county. Not word was said about
Moses and the prophets, but good
deal about Reynard and the hostile
hounds. the best of my recollection
there was more than column about
! Of Pnhit1c 7 at the