The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1913-06-07
The Great EOdngel
find the Modern Press
Synopsis of address delivered Ahson
(kan) Congregational Church.

cal attention to this second great
function.
But in its third and greatest func
ton lies the tremendous power of the
press for good or evil. And it is in the
exercising of this function that the
newspaper must accept or reject a
very important obligation to the cause
of the Master.
IN the daily routine of recording
events, the newspaper unconsciously
! becomes the herald of human progress
toward the Final Goal Every day
the newspaper is found chuck full of
information deeply significant to the
man who believes in the existence of
Divine Director of human destiny
To such man, the Japanese situa
ton, the movement for worldwide
/ peace, the conflicts in the Balkans, the
struggle for equal suffrage in England
the peaceful gathering of powerful
and hostile war lords to celebrate a
simple romance of love- the anxiety of
a great public man to brand as false
the charge of personal inebriety-these
and ten thousand other events are all
regarded as agents for or against the
promotion of Gods work
AS an exponent of the worlds
thought, the newspaper keeps its read.
ers in touch with public opinion. It
acts as a barometer Of. the worlds
moral sentiment. 1t registers the prog
ress of religious influences.
The newspaper cannot avoid this
service to God. In the infinite order
or things it seems to have been ar.
ranged that the world by its own de.
mands has made the rendition of this
service as essential to newspaper sue.
cess as the use of clear, readable type
No newspaper which attempted to ig-
! more the existence of strong religious
influences was ever known to flourish.
AS a noted writer has said: Religion
Is an essential element of human ma.
ture and insists upon expressing itself
IN all occupations of mankind"
So it is in the performance of the
third great function that the newspa
per is brought face to face with the
issues of Gods work on earth.
by their fruits, ye shall know
them," says the. Good Book and it is
interesting to note the extent to which
the press has been able to withstand
the temptation of being overcome by
evil and how far it has gone in over
coming evil with good.
In the 22nd chapter of Mathew, the
9th verse, we are told that the great
commandment is Love thy neighbor
as thyself." And again in the 2Stb
chapter and the 18th verse another
commandment from the Master says,
Go We therefore and make disciples
of all the nations"
These two great commandments
still are in force today. God holds this
generation even more responsible than
he did those early disciples of the
time of Christ. His commandments
are drafted alike for business men,
preachers, lawyers, journalists, labor.
ers. in fact, for all men who ever have
been told the wonderful story Of Jesus
Christ.
And how well does the newspaper
keep these commandments?
What is the press doing to bring
about universal obedience to them?
Publicity is one Of the greatest fac.
tors in the promotion and upbuilding
of any business, whether it be Gods
business or John Smiths business.
God can and has used publicity with
wonderful results. Through the
agency of the press humankind has
been brought closer together.
There is new spirit of brotherhood
afloat in the air. Men are taking keen