Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1907-09-28
NEWSPAPERS GODS AGENT
FOR SALVATION or THE WORLD,
PREACHER DECLARES.
ITO Shackie the Press Is To Destroy
Our Country" Says Rev. .. w.
Moody.
MoodY.

TPittsburg, Sept 19.--In an address
before the Baptist Ministers associa-
ton in the Fourth Avenue Baptist
church Tuesday. Rev. j. w Moody
made an appeal for free ana u1tram.
melted press. His remarks were receiv-
ed with close attention on the part of
every minister present and were Wig
orously applauded. He denounced
those who would muzzle the press, de-
clariag them to be undesirable eiti-
zens.
Taking for his subject The News
paper as Pulpit Of Democracy" Rev
Moody said: Chain the press and the
nation is enslaved Democracy can
live only where there is free press.
The press has a mission second to
none in the country.
"The greatest part of every live
newspaper is its editorial page and
unless newspaper has vigorous ed
itorial page it has not as much right
to exist as tadpole,' said he. There
is little complaint to be made about
the large city papers in this respect,
but it is deplorable that many of the
country papers use plate editorial mat
ter when they might devote their col
umns to local matter and accomplish
a great deal more good.
"Cut out the right of the newspapers
to write editorials and you shackle
the Goddess Nof Liberty. No church
has as many listeners as there are
readers of newspaper and the opin-
ions set forth in their editorial col
umns do more to mould the sentiment
of the people than it is possible to
imagine.
"No one fears the power of the
press so much as the wrongdoers.
They know that their shady schemes
will be exposed and once a newspaper
has put its mark of disapproyal on
anything it is going to be the hardest
kind of a task to get 1t before the
public in any other light The public
is lulled into insensibility by mislead-
ing words which, however, are soon
dissipated when a strong vigorous ed
itorial puts the true facts before the
II esl,D 10
amy person who tries to muzzle the
press certainly has no good motives
There is always a strong reason for
their wanting to do this and that rea
| son can generally be found pretty
close to their own private affairs
which could not stand disclosing.
"Shackle the editor and you destroy
the strongest breastwork of American
| liberty. What was it chased Tweed
and thousands of other rascals to their
lairs and lassoed them? The public
press. What influence sends terror to
the heart and mind of the criminaloid
that is to be found in almost every
community of any considerable size?
It is tne pubic press. These fellows
have a wholesome fear of the pulpit,
and well may they. but they have a
perfect terror of the press.
When you see a politician, gov.
ernor, legislator or any other fellow
an daavori-,u 70 ,,,p11la tLa ,..1cn 49,,
may safely come to the conclusion
that he has very good reason for il
and that reason is founded on some.
thing not very far removed from him
self and his own actions, pubic or
private.
1T will be dark day for this fair
land of ours If ever the press ceases
to be what during all our national his
| tory it has been, VIZ: The Pulpit OF
Democracy. look upon the press as
one of Gods chief agencies for the
salvation of humanity. Maintain a
free and clean pubic press and this
nation vii I've as long as the world
shall live. Chain the press, obliterate
the vital spark of human liberty, and
the first strains of national disaster
and ultimate death will hove through
the valley and over the mountain tops
of the most gloriously beautiful land
hat God fashioned out of chaos and
gave as heritage to the liberty-loving
sons and daughters IF the nations M