Daily Arizona silver belt., 1909-10-06
THE CLERGY AND THE PRESS


 There has always been tendency for differ ent classes of people with similar or identical aims to fail to unite for the realizing of result Most of the men and women who belong to any particular cult or clique become so engrossed in upholding the particular virtues surrounding their own class that the object of their organz- aton, if 1t has any, is partially or wholly lost to view
 This condition of restricted viewpoint is well exempifed in the relations between the clergy and the press. Already, we can hear someone protesting in no indecsive language that the aims of the church and the public prints are as far apart as the two poles. We maintain, how ever, that if this condition is reality, it is ow- ing to total inability of the religious and the newspaper world to understand each other The number of those who will deny to the press any desire whatever to cooperate for the moral salvation of humanity is legion. But the people who take this attitude belong to the class that makes business of denying to the point of eliminating everything that does not conform to their own snug standards, which, by the way are usually fashioned out of such stuff as drive and platitudes are made of.
 We are ready to admit that the chief business of newspaper is or should be to get the news and present it to the public in readable form We fly to arms, however, at the accusation made by the thoughtless or hopelessly ignorant that a newspaper is a thing without conscience and devoid of any moral leaning. If this were so chaos and consternation would speedily ensue in the minds of the dear people when they read some of the things that come to every editorial room and go thence into the waste basket as not being fit to print. It is. safe to say that if a newspaper should exercise the God given priv iege of relating in perfectly frank and unvar- nished Anglo-SaxOn whatever facts it became possessed of, the reading of the riot act would be regular, but unscheduled weekly occur renee on the streets of every town where such a publication was issued And also, the head quarters of the newspaper in question would be transformed into citadel for refuge from the storm that the erstwhile placid public would un- doubtedly raise
 AS further evidence that the average newspa- per takes decided stand on questions directly affecting public welfare, there is the editorial page which orthodox news publications general ly have. Now as to whether newspaper edi- torial is any factor for moral improvement or maintenance of expedient standards of living is a question concerning which modesty forbids any argument here. The newspaper with it's finger on the public pulse, metaphorcally speaking, is in position to comment in fairly intelligent manner on current events. On its editorial pages certain amount of stuff con- taining let us hope a few ideas arranged in something approaching logical sequence, is dished up. The collation. may arouse the ire, the laughter or the approval of the people who partake of it. But whether newspaper edi- torial is read for entertainment, from pure curi- osity, or as joke, it at least indicates that the publication in which it appears has, in various lucid intervals, an opinion on something, and so is not wholly indifferent to the moral tone of what appears in its columns.
 It can not be denied, furthermore, that a newspaper from the very nature of its work in conveying to the public the happenings of ev- eryday, which are read by almost everyone, has a marked influence, either for good or evil. And in this fact lies suggestion for the men who have as their particular charge the spiritual life of any community.
 Granted that the newspaper is an instrument that may be yielded for the public veal or woe, there would not be anything ncongruous if the church, embodying supposedly the highest ideals of the race, should figure more conspicu- ously in the public print A sermon is not cheapened by being given to the people at large