The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-16
Til. sheldon Experiment..

Intrinsically considered, the people most
charitably disposed toward the Rev. Mr..
Sheldon's Topeka Capital experiment
will be compelled to admit that the cieri-
cal editor is making it ridiculous. Start
ing out with the proposition that he would
show degraded humanity how Christ
would run a daily newspaper" he has SO
far merely succeeded in demonstrating how
a sensational preacher would conduct one.
The spectacle, while not particularly pleas
ant. Is not without its value as an object
lesson in practical journalism.
1t illustrates in most forcible way the
adsge that every man thinks he can edit
q newspaper better than the individual
who happens to occupy the tripod. When
the unit of the social multitude thinks in
this way. it only means that he has a fad
&c which. were he in control of a publica-
tion. he would subordinate every ether con-
sideration. He would consult his own taste
and his own prejudices to the exclusion OF
any thought that the smallest concession
was due to the contributory reading and
advertising public for whom he pretended
TO cater. The modern daily newspaper is
an evolution. and not an institution estab-
lished on the strength of a rriori reason
ing. 1t exists under conditions and limita
tons which, while not exact and not with
out some elasticity, still in a general way
are reasonably defined in the experience
of multitudinous failures and a moderate
number of successes greatly varying in
value and degree.
The faddists are mostly ignorant Of this
history or OF the philosophy which explains
it. Yet i is not necessary to impugn their
motives or good faith in thinking that. did
they but enjoy the opportunities so wick
edly wasted by the average editor, they
would be able in short order to elevate
society and suppress vice and crime. The
crank and the fanatic may be conscious of
only the most noble and v-rtuous purposes.
the old gentleman over in st. Elizabeths
who is quite certain that he is Julius
Caesar, and that all other claimants to the
honor are base imitators is as honest in
his ideas and convictions as Mr.. Sheldon
could be.
But when the American citizen buys 4
newspaper he wants the news Of the day.
and he wants it presented in full variety
and with accuracy. He does not want to
be made the victim OF editorial whim. big
otry, or partisarship. as far as the days
history of the country and of the world is
concerned. He would resent the revolu-
tionary action Of the manager who. know
ing and caring nothing for happenings out
side of Wall Street. should devote his whole
first page to stock quotations and disqui-
sitions on the condition and movements of
the speculative market. Equally, he would
buy some other paper If he found his IA
yorite one suddenly devoted to baseball
and pigeon shooting, while matters OF gen.
oral human interest were crowded out
AS we have said. what the American peo-
pie want and will have is the news. AS a
rule. they are more or less religious in
their tendencies, but because some of them
begin the day with family prayer it does
not follow that they want nothing but
family prayer or its equivalent for the en-
suing twenty-four hours. This Is exem
plled in the undeniable fact that every at
tempt in this country to give denomina
tional bias TO daily publications. ostensibly
designed. otherwise, TO subserve the OBJ
jects OF newspapers. has quickly ended in
financial disaster.
In the present case of the Topeka Cant
tal," the old readers Of that journal are
being compelled to purchase other papers
IN order to learn what is going on. Mr..
Sheldon made the famine in India the
piece de resistance of his first edition. II
vas not news. but ancient history. The
South African war. the passage OF the Gold
Standard bill, the effort in Congress to OPP