The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-10-08
THE n
AMERICAN LETTERS
Literary TESTS Applied to the Daily
Newspaper-A Word About News
paper Standards
BY S. OH. DICKSON.o

picture for :. moment what it
what courage, what %audacity.
Think Of the tons upon tons Of
papers that are issued every morning,
ana the other tons every evening in
the United States, ana then think
OF the millions Of homes they enter,
and the multiplied millions Of hands
into which they are taken.
Think Of the brains and the Drawn
employed, OF the whirr Of the mighty
printing preSSeS-the ceaseless Whirr
by night and by day-those presses
which p this vast deluge of pa
pers that's threatening to bury us
In papery, rather than watery graves.
| have had to think Of all this, and
of the mighty invention Of printing
as a sort Of mental preparation for
the task that has been set me, and
now | shall give a few minutes to
some curious facts about printing
It's origin and the birthplace Of an
invention that has enabled the news
paper to become such a mighty force
in the world.
1t is curious to know tina block
printing was invented in China as far
back as the sixth century, nine hun
dred years before it was known in
Europe-that to the Koreans is at
trlbuted the invention Of copper types
I'D the fifteenth century. At least they
used them then If they did not in
Vent them.
The name of John Gutenberg. OF
Mainz. Germany, is doubtless more
familiar to us, in connection with
printing. for il is to him we are in
debted for the first important work
OF printing with types and the prac-
teal application of his invention to
the preservation Of thought, which
up to that time had been dependent
on the pen and brush.
let me mention one pathetic fact
about his man hafnrn ua Iooyo Ejo,
lie died poor, childless, and almost
endleS in lass, after having laid
the foundation Of al art which was
soon TO dominate the world. What
a confirmation of the wise SAYING Of
n Preacher: Vanity of vanities, all
is Nan*tN'"
81 course we are not surprised
10 know that the first authentic his
tory OF newspapers begins in Ger
many. The earliest periodical cOllec-
ton Of the news of the day was The
trankfurter, started in 1888.
Boston has the distinction of hav-
ing had the first newspaper in Amer
lea. for neither Mexico nor French
Canada, though both had printing
presses in the seventeenth century,
employed them for print
ing.
\ London bookseller. who had been
put in the pillory by Charles II, issued
the first Boston paper in 1890, but
he never got beyond the first num-
Der for the vigilant Puritan author
tiles suppressed it. not because it con-
tanned anything reasonable, but be
cause it might! He vainly promised
10 suppress all false repOrts-but al
in vain: he must cease printing news
and in a few Years he returned &c
London.
And now we come face to face with
our subject: the place of the news
paper in American literature, and in
tn YDrnC y 1nOttaCt Mn
Of it we had best begin by defining
literature.
What is literature? The Students
Standard Dictionary defines it thus
Written or printed productions: II
the eminent sense, such as are mark
ed by elevation. vigor, catholicity o,
thought, purity and grace of style. anC
artistic construction"
Let US see how the newspaper con
forms TO this definition. If we stoI
at the first clause: Written or print
ed productions then We may bold.
claim for the newspaper a promlnen
place, for what vOlumeS upon volume
are printed under the title Of news
papers. but, when We proceed a stel
further and find that in the "eminen
sense" which | presume means tn
most important sense literatur
means. such productions as ar
characterized by elevation. vigoT
catholicity of thought, purity an
grace or style and aruStic conStIuc
tion"-then we begin to wonde
where the newspaper comes in.
There is surely "vigor" in many Q
them-especially as elections draV
near. In q few courageous ones 70
may find "catholicity Of thought,
which is but another name for broad
mindedness, but us to purity and grac
Of style, and artistic construction, W
can hardly expect to find them IN IN
newspaper proper, which. AS a rule.
too busy keeping up with the news
the reports Of criminal courts an
sensational stories, to pay attentlo
To style. even if it did not seem lk
wasting sweetness on the deSel
sir'-for the vast majority of reader
And yet editors, especially those O
the great city dailies, should feel the,
rGSnnnSihilitN from a literary StanC