The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1909-12-16
CARLYLE's Past and Present, for

OuO AntGAOCtVu al tuiO NCuOOA0Sy
of curs, The book was written at
the period Of the Corn Law agita:
ton id Great Britain. before indus.
try had wwrung any of it's present
advantages from privilege. Carlyle
was one of the few men of bis gen.
Grafton who saw clearly that socie-
ty was undergoing radical altera-
ton. He deplored the change; ex-
alting an obscure medieval abbot
to the position of a type of his age,
he condemned all the developments
Of the nineteenth century. and did
his utmost to dam the food, which
we call progress. While proclaim
ing the gospel Of labor, he foresaw
and condemned the evils of over
production. Believing in the right
Of the strong to rule the weak, he
did not admit that the accumula-
ton of Ca pita is a fair test of
strength. He feared the tendency
which has eliminated in the art or
science of advertisement. It SEEM
ed to him feasible to let the quality
of mans work speak for itself,
and this was in dee reasonable
enough in his day, and remains SO
1T present in some few cases. Some
of his words referring to the pau
perlzation of England make up an
exact description of present condi-
tons there. He foretold the aboli-
ton of the House Of Lords at a
time when it was firmly entrench-
ed, realizing that the ultimate con-
test would deal with the question
of land. One wonders whether his
ultimate prophecies will also come
true. "On the present scheme and
principle" ii. Q. the competitive
system) "work cannot continue.
The eternal stars shine out again,
so soon as it is dark ENOUGH"
The WISE MAN was pointing out
Observation-Disclosures in modern
journalism. "News as news,' he
pointed out, sis giving way to news
as material for explanation and dis
cussion." It was a bold statement,
in view of the disappearance of the
oldtime editorial page, or rather it's
decadence in quality and import
ance. Yet the success of period
icals like those of Reedy and Hub
bard, and more especially the re-
markable development of the pop
ular magazine, lends weight to the
theory. Nothing can be less salts
factory as a means Of obtaining in
formation Of permanent value than
the modern newspaper. There is
no dearth Of information there, but
it is so incomplete and so badly
classified that it cannot be retain,
ed in the memory. Consider for
a moment the amazing success OF
Golfers. Here is a publication,
we'll illustrated, it is true, and we'll
stocked with the inevita BILE fiction;
vet it's circulation is built up entire
Ily on its point of view, which is SO
original and go forcefully present
ed that it compensates two defects.
which would otherwise swamp the
paper: to wit, its excessive cost and
it's lack of balance and restraint
The phenomenon Of Arthur Bris.
bane is another case in point. The
familiar story of the men who buy
the New York Journal and throw
away everything but the editoria
page is illustrative. It is person
atty that counts in journalism, thu
! personality of Brisbane, a Waiter
son, a Lawson or an Alfred Henri,
Lewis. Men of this stamp are no
Z necessarily muckrakers. but the.
: av 9 invariably decided views
: They do not achieve the fine i'm
personality of Stevenson, they ar
Especial pleaders; but from Luthe
g onward, that has been no obstaol
q to success.