given to the multiplied millions who read. Such an opportunity to be heard is accompanied with grave responsibilities; therefore, to faithfully echo the voice of others is among the first and most important duties of the journalist.
The journal that simply seeks to attract, without a due regard for truth, justice and fair play, dishonors itself and the journalistic fraternity; is unworthy of public support, and will eventually be crowded out by more worthy contemporaries. The columns of a public journal should never be used as a sewerage for that which is harmful and degrading. Such matter may tickle the ear of the gossip-seeker, and by attracting a large class of such readers, enable its editor to boast of "the largest circulation;" but it is the prostitution of a high office, which, in the end, will meet its just deserts. In these days, when sensational and degenerate literature is doing so much to corrupt our youth, I say to every journal in the land, "Keep thyself pure."
The journalist is the people's attorney. He has every man's case, and can rightfully have but one purpose, which is, justice to all. It is no fault of his, if justice itself makes against his client; his only business is to be a faithful recorder of the facts in the case. As a public recorder of facts, then, our work as journalists is to make faithful entries, in all cases, and we are not at liberty at any time to so change things as to make them suit our fancy.
The journalist is a molder of sentiment; or, as it is, perhaps, more frequently called, "public opinion." It is a mistaken idea for a journalist to suppose that it is his business to take the "public pulse" and then adapt himself to whatever condition he finds to exist, It is his business to educate and to elevate public opinion; and if he is true to his trust, he will find himself equal to the task. Public opinion is an organism, and must have something to feed upon, in order to live. True to nature, its development will be after the
