The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-02-15


been exceedingly rapid since the invention of the
printing press. :
Zone of the marvellous things in these days
in which we live, is the power of the press for
good as we'll as for evil y x
81 lament more than | can tell you the sad in
teigence that now the devil has for the most
part captured the printing press. < : x
God gives up a good thing, and the devil
forthwith goes away and manufactures it in such
a form that it becomes bad thing x
IF truth is to triumph, x then the press
must either be completely reformed or entirely
abolished. It cannot be abolished as things stand
today. Then the only thing is to capture it for
God, and use it for God
Friends, I want to be practical Throughout
the whole earth, it is evident to you and to me,
that the daily press has become an absolute neces-
sity of modern life. x x
Il want to tell you this have set before my
self this aim among others, that Zion must have
its own city and its own daily paper. x x *
"Is it not fitting that we should have paper
that could lie on every breakfast table of every
honest man, who would not need to blush for the
news on the front page and push it into his pocket
lest wife or daughter should read its filth y :
Then is it not time to pray God to give the
| control OF daily newspaper to ZIoN?"
In preparing matter for The Theocrat, espe-
care is used to present facts; and while we do
not say that we may not be in error at times
for no one is infallible in judgment, we would
not be afraid to submit the articles so far as facts
and accuracy are concerned, to the most rigid
analysis.
In gathering material for single article, of
ten dozens and scores of newspaper dispatches,
editorials and statements by the best speakers and
writers of the day are scanned. Then, in dctat
ing we aim to condense it all into few sentences
or paragraphs, giving the reader the benefit of
few facts cleaned from all the mass of rubbish
presented each day to the American public
We will just say in passing that there is one
compensating fact in the work. and that is that a
person who is used to sitting out these facts of
real worth usually can detect at glance the por
t1ons which are suggestive, hlppant demoral-
izing. Usually, only the headline and few
words Of the opening sentence are necessary and
a true Zion man who loves purity and righteous
ness and who has the love of God in his heart
will not waste one second in reading them but
will pass them by with disgust
1t is Our aim to reject everything which bears
the imprint of mere newspaper sensatonalism or
guess-Work. In making assertions or quoting
statements, we usually give Our authority. Our
object is to be careful and painstaking as it is
possible for one to be- The person who is trained
in the selection of reliable usually can detect
the marks Of untruthfulness. At least, if he
is not sure about matter he will regard it with
suspicion and wait for official confirmation
Some dispatches are absurd and contradictory
almost on the very face of them. For instance
when we read one day that the ex-kaiser is broken
down in health irritable and deserted by his for
mer servants, and then day or two later that he
IS swinging a cross-cut saw with an attendant at
the other end and that he is in the best Of ruddy
health, we conclude that, in all probability, both
reports have been manufactured
Moreover the thoughtful reader will not swal-
low at a gulp cablegram to the effect that Eng
land has decided to cede Gibraltar to SPAIN or
that President Wilson, upon his return from the
peace conference, contemplates visiting Carranza
at Mexico City. He will at least regard all such
reports with great big question mark.
1t would be foolish, because lot of question
able matter appears in the daily press, to go to
the other extreme and reject it all as unreliable
There are some reports which one instinctively
feels to be incontrovertible For instance, no one
doubted on the morning that the papers reported
that Ex-President Roosevelt had passed away at
Oyster Bay, that such was the fact No one
doubts that there is Peace Conference in ses-
sion, or that the British Isles of late have been
distracted with strikes, although we have other
proof of these facts than press reports.
The very fact that there is SO much unreliable
matter printed and SO little that can be accepted
as true is all the more reason it would seem to
us, why we should have Zion newspaper which
carefully Sits out the true from the false so far
as it is possible to ascertain it and present it in
condensed form to its readers.
We believe there never was time in the
worlds history when Gods people could profit
more by close observance of the signs of the
times, as shown by the great outstanding events
of the world, than now. News dispatches fairly
briste with occurrences of the most far reaching
consequence. There is not day but that proph-
ecy is being confirmed and fulfilled.
While this means nothing to the thoughtless,