Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-02-03
A WHITE pERIL

recently published volume containing
"etters rom John Chuamun" 10 whict
the author severely crucizes western
! civilization in the following tetms
Your rlumphs In me mechanical
arts are the diverse OF your failure In
AN that calls for spiritual insight Ma
! chInery ~ every Kind you can make
and use 10 perfectl0n but you cannot
huild house or write "a poem on paint q
! picture sim less can y0u worship OF
aspire Look nt your streets. Row up
on row Of little boxes, one Ike another
lacking In all that Is essential loaded
| win all that ~ Huperfu0us this Is
| what passes among YOU Tor architec-
! tutc. Your literature IN the daily press
| with its stream Of solemn faulty vi
| anecdotes, puzzles, poems ana police
| court scandal Your pictures are stOr-
| les In paint transcripts of all that is
| baual, Cumslly botohed by amateurs as
! devoid Of tradition as Of genius. Your
outer sense as well rs your inner Is
| dead you are blind and deaf Ratio
cinati has taken the place Of percep-
| tlon; and your whole life Is an Infinite
| syllogism from premises you have not
examined, to conclusions you have not
anticipated or wlled
This is q sweeping ana severe ar
raignment but Mr. Treveyan seems to
be Of the opinion that il is but too well
merlted Speaking OF our literature par.
ticularly he asserts that the Philstines
have cantured the ark Fifty years ago
those who could read were In some
sense educated, The press then APP
poaled TO the educated nublic. Now the
MASSES can read though comparatively
few are educated The press now, rs q
rule, appeals to the uneducated OF all
classes. Bad or Indifferent literature
abounds The vulgar feast ON nothing
but yugarity, and the man and woman
with more refined taste NO often read
what ls really dlstasteful. that they
gradually become Indifferent and take
no care 20 guard AGAINST their children
imblbing that which debases their
taste and blunts their moral sense,
Until" says the author, THE reading
of nonsense comes TO be regarded by
respectable families in the same light
as dram drinking, the press win do
more universal harm than the public
house"
He who viii reflect upon the present
situation, viii admit that the subject
touched upon IL OF the greatest import
ance. II cannot be argued that II Is
imnaterIaI what you read, because to
the pure everything Is pure It Is not
true that bad publications that revel
IN scandal and crime have no influence
over the reader The fact Is,
that the person whose chief
reading is SUCH gradually win
lose the faculty for discovering the
Injurious elements II he sees moth.
Ing but what Is ugly he win lose his
sense Of beauty There is, in fact.
nothing that Is more injurious, morally
and mentally than bad reading. It
cannot be too often or too emphat.
cally urged upon those who have a
serious purpose in life and who know
something about the object for which
man has been given an existence, TO be
careful IN the selection Of their read
ing matter
For long time this question has
been treated with leylty by those who
profit financially by catering 10 de.
prayed taste, But we believe a reac.
tlon viii come sooner or later. There
was time when 1t was considered re.
spectacle to take lntoxlcants on every
possible occasion, funerals not ex-
cepted Few thought Of the eyll lnnu-
enccs Of excessive drink, and II they
lifted their voice IN warning, they were
looked upon as "cranks" but a reac-
ton has get In, The evils OF drunken
ness have been recognized 10 Is nov
regarded as degrading, and society has
taken stand against g. This has
been brought about by earnest and per-
slstent efforts Of public spirited men
ana women, who We're claar-seeing
enough to perceive to whot perious
shoals we were drifting.
Something similar we expect win take
place with regard to literature. There
viii be a reaction, Classical reading
viii be revived. Laws win be- enacted
to aid the Efforts for pure literature.
The worthless novel and the worthless
journal win die for want OF patronage.
Commerciallsm and literature win br
separated How long Il win take be
fore this reaction sets In, It Is impos-
sible to say But that It win come
may be safely asserted, on the GROUND
that nothing but what Is good Is really
permanent Errors are temporary
Truth alone remains forever Al pres
ent nothing more can be done than "a
call attention TO the threatened danger
As Il is approached, It will be seen more
clearly and recognized for what & is.
And then public opinion viii turn, and
the rubbish OF the past VIII be swer,
|