The Washington herald., 1910-05-18


ciaied Press Of Canada. Toronto MAY H. 1910
There is more written and said. and
less thought. about the profession OF Jour
nalism in which we are engaged and 10
which we have dedicated our lives than
about any other topic Of familiar dis
cussion.
! assume it to be a profession. Yet It
Is without any code OF ethics or system
or seh-restraint and self-respect II has
no sure standards either Of work or duty.
It's Intellectual landscapes are anonymous.
us moral destinations confused. II not i'm
palpable- The country doctor the village
lawyer knows his place and keeps it. is
held by certain obligations and inspired
by certain traditions; modest and holding
within bounds. though he may be learned
and skillful, having the consciousness Of
! superiority. The journalist. be he OF city
or town. has few n any mental perspec-
tlves TO fix his professional horizon. no
canon laws 70 guide his hayward foot
! steps, neither chart Of precedent nor map
/ Of discovery upon which his sailing lines
and travel lines have been distinctly
marked. He IS a law unto himself. too
often a free lance only the more self
assertive because he lacks assured posi-
ton and is without authority.
There are those who even profess 10
disdain the name Of journalist while pro-
claiming the power OF the press. The ar
fectation Of infallibility. assumed by the
more pretentious 20 hide the sense OF in
Isuiliciency II not Of inferiority. communi-
Gates itself 20 the obscure and initiative
4 sometimes degenerating into foolish and
childish bOmbast According 10 a once
received opinion, anybody could keen A
hotel and edit newspaper. Our reading.
IKE our victuals, was addressed: the
polnt-of-view. like the bill-of-fare. want
ing discrimination and variety, with fire.
/ queut changes Of editor and landlord
agree that We have reformed this meas
urably; though the newspapers have
scarcely made as great progress as the
hotels They are vet what Dr Push
called them. vehicles Of dlsiointed
thought" carrying the curse Of Reuben.
unstable as water thou shalt not exec"
There seems continuity nowhere. The
panegyrist q yesterday becomes the critic
~ to-day. the assailant o. Tomorrow
and as the average purveyor for the
press measures his words no more than
the average dairyman the water he nuts
into his milk. newspaper lucubration de-
creases In importance in the proportion
that IL Increases in Carelessness. the space
writer having his daily grind 20 do. and
pursuing lines OF least resistance not
always In his worry and hurry ree5f,,r
OF Justice and accuracy. As am rnvsAIf
an old offender and have I'm nv career
perpetrated all the sins enumerate. Ter
me az one and the same time serve my
warrant and crave your pardon.
The press everywhere. in England and
in America, even I'm Germany and IN
France. where the personal equation sim
sets the pace has deterlorated in weigh,
while celebrating It's methods and aug
menting IT'S enterprise; has. as we vouId
say IN Kentucky. lost in bottom what r.
may have gained In heels. We hear II
said that it gives the public what &,
wants. Taking that public as its own
creation, 1t has either overeducated II or
undercut itself But Il seems TO me that
this is an incident Of a period u transit
ton The old order Of personal journal /
ism. with its ideas Of individual account
ability, often mere egotism and vanity.
has passed away. The new order Of i'm
personal journalism, with its ideas ~
commercial honor and OF public obllpa-
ton, has not quite adjusted itself 70 its
enlarged habitation and richer appareI.
II is, 20 take another Illustration from
my beloved Bluegrass country. as a thor
oughbred yearIing, that feels his oats
and kicks and bites his trainer. vet has
the sure making OF a Derby winner.
We hear a deal about yellow Journal |
ism. II IS much like the pot calling the
kettle black. OnenseS against decency
are more or less relative and qualified I
More and more viii newspaper owners /
and makers discover that integrity and
cleanliness pay the best dividends. The
scandal-monger will IN time be relegated /
TO the category OF the unprOsperous as |
well as the disrepUtabIe and the detec- 4
tive be driven out OF the newspaper
service, where he should have no place. /
10 the company Of the police. where he 4
alone belongs. We can as little expect F.
that each newspaper worker shall be n I
gentleman as that each lawyer and each /
doctor shall be a gentleman; but manly \
conduct and aspiration should fix the /
rule. the brutal and vulgar the exception, /
the journalistic brand no less accepted !
and honorable than that Of physic. divin- |
fly, and Jurisprudence.
The newspaper Is the history Of yes
terday. 1t is made TO sell, assuredIy;