The Washington herald., 1910-01-03
Public Libraries.
he Washington Herald

Editor TIE Washington Hersld;
With good intentions. many wealthy
persons. not always conspicuously other
wise gifted. have favored extensive public
libraries, wherein are gathered all sorts
Of reading matter supposed to be cure
ais for all human woes II diligently and
/ constantly perused. What q mistake was
/ there!
II We are to be an inventive and pro
| gressive nation we must be thinkers and
| tinkers. No chronic reader was ever
yet the person 70 give US great new ideas.
I inventions, or blessings. Some OF the
most wonderful accomplishments. as
Economical, mechanical. and scientific,
are due To the thinking and experiments
Of persons who were unread, as we est-
mate learning to-day The brains Of those
persons were not smothered with much OF
such worse than useless trash as fills the
heads OF many chronic novel and maya
zine readers.
! Reading to a limited extent. which
stimulates thought, rather than browns
! IL. is To be commended Short stories.
short sermons, and short other news, In
tellectual productions which have pith
and point to invite more thought, are the
right things, and TO be used as little as
| possible beyond absolute necessity, to
/ keep in touch with the stream Of life
! 1t was a great blessing when news
papers came for human enlightment. II
/ is the truthfulness and brevity Of them
which is pushing the old aside for new
and better things. You gain from the
paper in a few moments all the world S
I doings-an immense advantage Of the
brains over the old second, third, and
even fourth-handed, dOctored and cooked
information designed to smother the
brains in some cases. no doubt, or foster
Il designs which would not bear the light OF
free daily paper. conducted on the prin-
c!pIes supposed to underline our republic.
Cramming the brains of other people by
the expIOiters of the human race has been
a great business for long and dismal CEN
turtles. It seems to me "Old Nick" ran
things. And a cute old sharper he was,
TOO. to have known that the brains are
limited in storage capacity, extensive, to
be sure. but capable of being filed up
with special poor. or false stUffs so moth
ing else could be admitted
Yes. It is absolutely essential for human
advancement that our brains be filed
with only small amount Of other mems
works or thoughts Or we should sift our
reading matter to suit our best progress
sive ideas or genius. And we should not
over-read-should not contract chronic
habit Of book reading. We should get
knowledge nrst-hand by observation, con-
trasts, and travel, rather than from the
writings of professional book-makers who
may have little regard for our time.
brains, or souls, so long as the books go.
Books are behind always. and in many
directions The paper is abreast, present.
and accountable, comparatively honest
and Indispensable. There is no time to
waste on useless or unneeded books. The
paper must be read There was a book
age Now there is the age of pictures,
dramaties, electricity, flying machines, and
newspapers. All the world is brought to
our door In condensed parcels. You are
/ quickly informed of all passing things
without wading through big stores Of
brain-wrecking books. Your brains are
free for problems and inventions such as