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Show JOURNALISM. I Before us is a paper containing an article on fl "Personal Journalism," the burden of which is to H show the apprehension of the writer of the arti- cle, lest journalism as a high and honorable pro- H fession is losing the respect of mankind. The H article points to a great number of most promi- H nent newspapers, charges that each one is owned by some rich man or syndicate and declares that I they have ceased to be "teachers of the people," H and are but poorly disguised advertisements of ' H the business of their owners, or are but. poorly , H disguised advocates of their owner's ambition. , , This is partly true, but only in part. i )M Rich men over-estimate the influence in their 'H own behalf of the newspapers they own. They H can employ gifted men to run and write for their yl organs; they can, with their wealth, enable the newspapers to supply useful and pleasing attrac- I tions for their papers, but that is not all that is I required. The brains of men can be purchased, m but not often their hearts. With a curb put upon I a writer, his whole intellect can be enlisted, but I when his productions appear there is a some- H thlmg lacking which men cannot understand, I though it is but a simple thing after all. Tho I heart of the writer does not shine out through the fl types, hence the impression does not satisfy the fl public. In such a position an editor is like a H Kjft1 i wife who has married a man because of his HH; I wealth or his position, and has determined to fill HB perfectly a wife's place, though she has no real ffiP f affection for the man she calls her husband. The Km: benediction of a perfect home never comes to her, B i and though she may struggle ever so hard, her H j fuller inner self never finds expression. HH' I Wo see plenty of great journals; they are HH jj most valuable for the news and information they HKf ; give the public, but every year the editorials of W ) such journals are esteemed less and less, and V ' this is so manifest that we suspect it will not flt he long until rich or ambitious men will cease H to purchase personal organs. They could do bet- Hk I ter by spending their money in other ways. Hjj I ! They would the more quickly understand this He i ' fact, were there not, sometimes, another motive K"j j behind their purchase. Some men are not so Hy )' ,' x anxious to be lauded for what they are, as to f t draw the veil of silence over what they have b " ! been, and a part of the money they pay for news- H r , papers is hush money. This will be the case, for K yet a good many years until the rage for gold Bm I shall a little relax and until, by a stern public Hfif opinion, men .will be taught that the honors of the Kf country are no longer for sale to the highest E i bidder. That brings us up to the real point He I which is that journals now are fully representa- Hj I tive of the people, and corrupt work on newspa- Bl pers will cease just as soon as that work is re- Kjj ) ' pudiated by the public. The whole business is in Hfi the hands of the people. They will get just as HMv , good newspapers as they deserve to get. So long H I ' as thy are so cowardly as to elect a known liar I! and thief to office for fear that, if they do not, he f will scourge them with his newspaper; or are so depraved that they are ready at any time to imi- ( tate the action of the Israelites under Sinai, to ! . give their jewels that a golden calf may be cast t for them to worship journalism will not much Improve. If they want better newspapers, they must be more worthy to have them. |
