Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-25
POWER OF THE PRESS
REV. DIR. LAWS SAYS IT Is THE
MIaHTIEsa

BALTIMORE, February 25.-Rev. DIR.
Curtis Lee Laws, pastor Of First Baptist
Church. Lafayette and fremont avenues,
preached last night on Choice Literature
and Choice Character" He, said, in part:
The most influential product of tho
printing press is the daily paper. The
mightiest power Of the modern world 10
the daily press Its voice reaches all ears.
1t visits palace and howell alike. 1t goes in
at the front door, at the back door, at the
BACK gate. over the back fence: IT lies\ upon
the breakfast table, upon the library table,
upon the kitchen table and upon the parNpr
table; 1t finds its way to the counter, to thu
oesk, TO the workbench and to the factory.
1t is the companion of the minister of the
gospel. of the professional man. of the
man or AFFAIRS. of the laboring man and of
the society man. Again, the gambler. the
drunkard. the impure. the thief and the
murderer regard it as their boon compan-
ion. Over all other voices it's voice is to be
heard In the land. AS its voice reaches
the ears OF men and pours into them its
varied message Its power becomes manifest
and its influence binds men captive to its
spell.
Power to the last atom Is responsibility.
The owners, editors and reporters of our
daily newspapers are the most influential
men in our country. They are. therefore,
most responsible to society and to God for
the condition in which we find ourselves.
An editor is a weakling who declares that
he is servant Of the public and must,
therefore, cater to public taste. The true
editor must not forget that first of all he is
a man and that 1t is his duty, not to cater
to public opinion, but to mold public opin.
ion.
Journalistic Uncleanliness.
During the last week 1 made a trip to
Louisville. Ky. Several times 1 found
great patches Of newspapers in the seat I
was about to take in the cars. 1 suppose.
all told. glanced through as many as
twenty daily papers. which were published
in all parts of the country. Many of the
papers i had never seen before. l was
astounded and Inundated by what l saw
and read.
Here I saw enacted each day the drama
of the worlds activity; here i studied the
pathology of all manner of things which
concerned humanity-sin in the heart and
sin in the life. Three-fourths of these pa
pers gave three-fourths of their columns
to detailing the stories-the nauseating
stories-of vice, murder, divorce suits.
drunkenness. Righteousness, revelry. per-
sonal vituperatiOn, social uncleanness and
family quarrels. These make up the stock
in trade of many Of our daily papers.
These papers are not newspapers, but
scavengers. and there is a strong tendency
in the best of our papers to this very
thing. No power Of evil is greater than
the published detail of crime. Man is an
initiative creature; put before the weak.
the tempted, the criminaly inclined the
fact of crime. the method Of crime, and
you are breeding future criminals. And
all, forsooth, that the respectable element
of the community may have the pleasure
of wading through rivers of filth and
blood at their breakfast tables This MAUI
seating detail of crime affects every per-
son who reads 1.-THE weak by nerving
him to actual crime, the criminal by maxi
ing him holder. the pure by making him
less pure, the callous by making him
more callous still.
Such papers are the curse of our civ.
ilization. and decent people ought to boy
colt them. If decent people would cease
buying them and cease advertising in
them, they could have an immediate infiu.
ence, for since their editors lack princi-
pie they would be willing to change their
methods If the loss of the almighty dollar
were at stake"