ear? Why may we not take the
universe for granted when we get up in the morning, instead of
proceeding directly to measure it over again? Once a year is often
enough for anybody but the government to hear anything about India,
China, Patagonia, and the other flaps and coat-tails of the world. Let
the North Pole never be mentioned again till we can melt the icebergs by
a burning mirror before we start. Don't report another asteroid till the
number reaches a thousand; that will be time enough for us to change our
peg. Let us hear nothing of the small speeches, but Congress may publish
once a week a bulletin of what it has done. The President and Cabinet
may publish a bulletin, not to exceed five lines, twice a week, or on
rare occasions and in a public emergency once a day. The right, however,
shall be reserved to the people to prohibit the Cabinet from saying
anything more aloud on a particular public question, till they have
settled it. Let no mail-steamer pass between here and Europe oftener
than once a month,--let all other steamers be forbidden to bring news,
and the utterance of news by passengers be treated either as a public
libel or nuisance, or as high treason. Leave the awful accidents to the
parties whom they concern, and don't trouble us, unless they have the
merit of novelty as well as of horror. Tell us only the highest facts,
the boldest strokes, the critical moments of daily chaos, and save us
from multitudinous nonsense.

There are some things which we like to keep out of the
newspapers,--whose dignity is rather increased by being saved from them.
There are certain momentary and local interests which have become shy of
the horn of the reporter. The leading movements in politics, the
advanced guard of scientific and artistic achievement, the most
interesting social phenomena rather increase than diminish their
importance by currency in certain circles instead of in the press. The
prestige of some events in metropolitan cities, a marriage or a party,
depends on their social repute, and they are ambitiously kept out of
the journalist's range. Moreover, in politics, a few leading men meet
together for consultation, and----but the mysteries of political
strategy are unknown here. Certainly the journalist has great influence
in them, but the clubs are centres of information and discussions of a
character and interest to which all that newspapers do is second-rate.
Science has never been popularized directly by