The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1902-03-25
SOME OPINIONS ABOUT NEWSPAPERS.

recalls an incident which occurred IN years o am which was very inauen-
daily pess In a private circle of friends. made u largely of ministers the
daily newspaper became the subject of converzahon-manly of severe criticism
inc condemnation. Among that ompany was al Ex-Governor. a man of arge
experience in public life, able, honOreda an revered ad familiar for fifty active
years with journalism. Finally, after patiently listening to the criticisms, he
sale, gently, but firmly:
s. rGen5sneo Of y ,o3o2 as ndta AIKEN for h t eu anse2 2gess d5 Pa5Rensa opintd hr is d ahs
to- tbe bottom of things, ad usually it is correct nd "a be trusted"
If all the public men-and by hat v E mean ministers an teachers as well as
81 thm an ma and uorhv rbev have made the renutaton of many public
men, ad they have been trusted with secrets of the highest Importance whc
have been safe in their keeping For one dishonest maj in the profession there
are hundred VIII labor unseen and unknown with 10 reward except the con
siousness of duty lone.
figure in London urnaHsm contributes a thoughtful article or the position of
the press of today. w make room for hi extract:
the o netu sfa "or rnf'" Both OIL frt the glory s eA e 3ad and tnssi Inspiring unEo of me men nDn it G is no no
small and n % slight thing that hat the most , popular ar an md widely nno cad say of AL III r %mans,
ht has, for example, HI faun of ezaggeradon, tbs making of mall things
5%@. hi are :" '' zsus1ry occupied in MAKING gre ssa things small # his VICE. is
mountains out Of nssniHs: sss it it is ss lar NOV sss.m from H., that n,s smsy sRsD'sisn
which an . ssa 80 n 'SS ' tss 5 ssra;a In aa @aA 's n %si;'o of a 9%d sf @'' '1s "'t. Of m
sd ssf sa, 'as %9ss Of hs sssf seeene ! a n n ae az e rssfs oy it sG s assn s% N sns i'a ans
ma asn sas:; s :s9 1s '1 ssst 5ss; 's sf 4 ns s s ;ss %:.: h s1 es:' r 5S ss MIS- his y "a = 's ss2 a q
GENT E9 nt to >, de 5. the he 5 5ewmi st.: but ea[ g%ty doubt, aoaps wn ns fro he r smla not
into av n heard the roar Of the printing wheels weaving the destints of
largest work ever published anonymously since he great Christian athedrals
Mr.. chesterton thinks the public has a high duty to perform, saying it should
encourage and help the honest pubie-sphited journalist; that the public should
help to make him feel the dignity of until a corrupt journalist should
be an antithess as black nd sharp as a corrupt priest
a' sa ns > h hH, " sv 81 4 no nmaana+ Wv se tt thm aa amna
ewspaper some signs of healthy growt n progress evident in 1.-THE increase
of journalistic enterprise generally, thomutipncaton of Independent journals
growth" is more than offset by dangerous tendencies among which he
careless editing md reck1essness of statement; a prurient craving for
spicy reading ad sensaionalsm disregard Of private rights nd loose hand
ling of private character reparaton for which is sometimes impossible; bogus
are worthless; worthless Illustrations the landing of subjects which should
never be used in the public prints nd the frequent parade of them in a coarse
Undoubtedly much tina Mr. connery says is rue, but he has lot enumerated
the most dangerou tendency in modernj journalism. 1t is the change hat has
chiehy owned and controlled the Tribune; Henry J. Raymond the Times; Sam
uel Bowes, the springheld republican Edward J. Hale the Fayetteville obser-
yer; n William w. Holden. the Raleigh Standard, nd the same rule pre-
o oas :" r many n .rn, ." van ms s' ar h mps ~ a. a nwns "E yp puaS NV un nn ue nsp r
write an editorial n do not profess to be journalists, out capitalists, who by
papers for the money they make directly nd the support they obtain frt the
new owners 10 not convert the papers into mere organs, but
continue them N broad lines. But in most instances hi papers
become instdious special pleaders-the mouthpece of men having SELFISH interests
serve' cannot secure thu supper of Stabusned papers, they establish one to 10
their bidding 1t lasts as long as hey ou money into it. and then dies-m-
The dollar has sought to ascend the tripod, writing IN pn@hng a gospel hat
is sweet and pleasant to thos h Cypress h poor, devour widows houses
corner the farmers crops, depress the pre of wages, and monoponze the bless
ns of life is just here wher the chief danger to useful journalism lies
Since the above was in type, the Salisbury Sun me of the states brightest
afternoon danies, contained an editorial on Newspapers m heir Editors"
which contains food for thought W e give place to it in full:
,n .rs s%tsr is lt sseseyssts that n 1s a: a ssst %,,ti a. ys ts :sPpsss ma t nSe sasfs DEF DEF
Tson ss. nc ! 1afsssss Young snd s CLAIR Ssx 3 sy sna mar etSsss rSy
these editors attained great publicity The times nov ave changed nd he
i Sasnti Fs of the 'e s1.o s1e is ' Iars se1S'1 iost "0 Th1 n f~ ' Soesn ot 's setrs etsRa oravsr md md s ss
y worth. '' ft w "n " not b Nosi hs fop su ~v vor thS to be erp p%paS ino :" a n @ mper
'" @4 !, 'ht trs 0n nthat us1aner r9 wr were ne a man hat of m n"se ehan a T a mm abn nmtb,
Circulation et at is to rm s's "ss' and ND 1 nots so n 1as sso' h sith 5esrs nnsn tn he prspeftsn TO Of tn ss
editor in chief was the drawin card of he big dalhs Now, with rare excep-
practically nknoWn save to the newspape world. The write to order-the pro-
ducts of their pens very frequently being at variance with therc onvntons-and
he public knowing this has CON to the point where ditruss.
B this is only true of ropol papers, For the editorial chnf has not
waned in Importance or influence in the lessp opulous sections IN North Caro-
lima the names of Caldwell Daniels Furman and Kngsbury are Ill associated
with heir respective papers ad the personal following of any of hese is prob
ahy stronger than the papers which they edit Eemphn of he Charleston
News and Courier md the HoweIs of the Atlanta Constitution, are rauy pig
ger thar their papers and give them influence and powe
Al when w consider the editor of the little country weekly we see the edi-
tor in his full majesty, 50 far as personal feeling is concerned. H e is his
paper ad his paper is him. His advice carries weight and his counse is sought.
Many a politician OF prominence knows hisp power md writes % him lin conf
dence' He may come Up shorts Saturday nights with the pay roll, he nay have
to supply hist table with the inferior products Of delinquent subscribers he may
be familiar with pathes-bt with all thish ne is a power in the mmunit in
which his paper is published. And the editor is never isassociae from his pa
per. he survives or peIEneS VIII IT,
Printers Ink is partly right I'M partly wrong: The man who is transformed
into a machine has supplanted the man O. blood and brain on the metronoltan
paper but the man Of Conscience and IN Individuality holds his Nv elsewhere han