ANOTHER WAGE OF SIN

The tendency of newspapers to leature vice and scandal has usually been deplored: but even the yellowest of modern journals finds a defender or an apologist in the person of Dr. James Lee, Dean of Journalism at New York University. Basing his argument on the unusual theory that the "wages of sin are publicity" Dr. Lee apparently suggests that such sheets perform the useful task of rewarding iniquity. No less startling is his opinion that "the more space that is devoted to an erring minister the finer the tribute to the clergy as a whole."

If this general analysis is true there can be no doubt whatsoever that the newspaper world is admirably fulfilling its mission. Yet one hesitates to accept Dr. Lee's dictum. It takes little investigation to prove that publicity's sought and cherished, rather than regarded with that horror which usually attaches itself to the wages of sin. And should this definite philosophy be firmly fixed in the public mind, one might draw the regrettable conclusion that the President of the United States and the Prince of Wales are the most sinful of men. To reward sinners with fame seems the very way to tempt them to further activity; and in fact criticisms of yellow journalism usually hinge on the point that public display of crime sets a bad example.

A more effective, if idealistic, means of using the newspapers to reform a hopelessly wicked world would seem to be the adoption of a policy of rewarding virtue, rather than sin, with publicity. But hither to stories of the award of Carnegie and Congressional medals have usually served as somewhat uninteresting fillers on inside pages. And there seems to be little hope of changing the character of the daily news, for as Dr. Lee aptly said. "It is the taste of the fish and not that of the fisherman, which denotes the kind of bait to be used;" and the reading public shows little sign of changing its taste for scandal and crime exposures. Unfortunately it seems true that newspapers must follow rather than lead, and reflect the morals of the community rather than guide them.