Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1903-10-29
cHARAcrRR IN Newspapers.

4
10 something more than composed
type and printed page, written word
and white paper. ANY sort of regular
publication, II ii Ii worth reading, be.
comes distinct entity, possesses a
definite personality and grows to have
y character, whether for good or for
bad, as actual as that OF an individual
There IL tone, . temper, q habitual
way OF treating subjects and recording
events which fuse the most varied con-
tents into one whole. A tradition be-
comes established which surrounds
with Its aura that incorporeal abstrac-
tion which is called the papers stpol-
ICY and every new editor or new
writer feels tug upon him TO get
back into harmony whenever his
copy" IL inconsistent Herewith. No
body outside an editorial Office, per.
haps, ever can realize how customary
way OF doing things controls and modi-
ties purely personal views and makes
the paper an institution stronger and
more representative than any individu-
al, acting solely on his own initiative,
ever could make 1t.
Once upon time the great Daniel
Webster Was defending q man ac-
cused Of forgery. An expert vas on
the stand who declared that the sigma
ture in dispute differed from genuine
signatures OF the man whose name APP
peared. Mr.. Webster went over the
alleged forgery letter by letter, asking
the witness TO point out, in detail,
wherein each differed from the same
letter in the genuine signatures. The
witness was hard put to 1t TO indicate
u difference In each case and the great
advocate cast triumphant looks at the
jury over his apparent victory. mr..
Webster, allow me to use 90 illustra-
tion," said the expert. (which will
indicate how it is that can condemn
the whole as spurious, while not being
able TO show the variation In each part.
/ know you, Mr.. Webster, your feat
ures and your form; can identity you
as = whole without the slightest diff
Guilty yet II you we're cut up into
pieces, and your eyes, nose, mouth,
chin, cheeks, ears, hair, neck, arms,
etc. brought 10 me on platter do
not believe / would be able TO recOg-
nize Daniel Webster; The great ex-
pounder and defender of the consti-
tuition" "Umph. that's all,n said Mr..
Webster as he dismissed The witness.
In like manner although one be not
able to point out the exact items which
make up the visage OF favorite paper,
or 70 identity the separate elements of
its personality, one is able TO detect
the difference between It's whole and
other wholes. II creates psychologist
cal impression which is not like that
created by another-seems to breathe
out q splrir at varlence from that of
others possesses peculiar qualities or
reveals individual idiosyncrasies which
can readily be Disseminated,
Let one know the character OF the
papers read by family and you have,
ready at hand, an index of the real
character of that family. A die is not
more reflective Of its matrix than what
is habitually read is reflective of the
true nature OF the reader. Cheap,
shoddy people like cheap, shoddy
reading, while earnest, progressive
people want their information 10 come
to them stamped with similar i'm
press OF earnestness and progressive
ness. A visionary man wants vis-
ionary paper-a practical man prac-
tical one. Moreover, such Is the UNI
conscious effect OF ideas iterated and re-
iterated, reader tends TO gai0 the
character of that which he reads. Lit
tie drops of water will wear away, We
are told, the hardest stone, and the
steady receipt OF injurious or trashy
ideas will wear away the hardest stone.
and the steady receipt OF injurious or
trashy ideas will wear away the hard
est cOmmon sense. Look to 1t, then,
what kind Of papers come into your
homes. II Is OF infinitely more inn
portance that you censorize periodical
reading than book reading. for. in
these days, the average person reads q
column in q periodical where he reads
q paragraph In book. Consider the
effect on your children from having
the wrong set OF ideas day by day,
week BY week, month by month, flashed
across the delicate retina Of their
minds. After while the permanent
picture left there will be like those
which thlsir mental vision was forced
to see. We advise all our readers to
give the most careful scrutiny to the
character ~ fha nys III iauA{nn nxg n}lssuu