Christian Daily

A score of years ago religious people turned to their church weeklies for interpretation of current news, for leadership in opinion. Church weeklies are still abundant; their aggregate circulation great. But their influence is gone; a fact of which the Evangelical Churches have become acutely aware in their fight against liquor. As far back as 1928 the Methodist Episcopal General Conference of Kansas City recognized by official resolution the need for a national newspaper of church goers. Again, three months ago, youthful Stanley Hoflund High, Methodist editor of the nondenominational Christian Herald, was quoted : "The time is overripe for the establishment of a Dry newspaper, and lots of people are thinking about it." Last week the subject again became news when the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, meeting in Pittsburgh, commended the efforts "of a group of substantial citizens . . . to establish and maintain a national daily newspaper to be published in metropolitan New York, the same to be distinctively Christian in its spirit and outlook. . . . The proposals . . . that it stand squarely for Prohibition, support every cause of political, economic and social righteousness, keep its news columns clean and trustworthy and its advertising space open only to unquestion able products are worthy of hearty recommendation. . . . The General Assembly believes that such a national daily news paper, if adequately financed, ably edited and managed . . . would be of great benefit to the cause of righteousness."

To the last sentence, all-wise Arthur Brisbane added this amendment in his Hearstpaper column: "It would, of course, and it would have to be VERY adequately financed."

Finance is the first obstacle which has been engaging much of the attention and energy of Stanley High for the past year. Some $6,000,000 or $7,000,000 must be within sight before action is taken. But, according to Editor High, the paper must sustain itself on its own merits or it will be abandoned.

Therefore it must have an extremely able publisher. Who? One name appeared last week to be the key to the situation: Frank Ernest Gannett of Rochester, N. Y., Unitarian, Dry. Most famed of 17 Dry Gannett dailies (fourth largest group in the U. S.) is the Brooklyn Eagle. Probably the new paper would be published in the Eagle's plant but in no other way would the Eagle be affected.

One morning last week Publisher Gannett rose very early to open the doors of the Elmira (N. Y.) Star-Gazette himself. It was a gesture of sentiment. Twenty-five years ago he, onetime newsboy, bought a half interest in the old Gazette from the late U. S. Senator David B. Hill, on meagre savings and smart financing. High-minded but not pious, Publisher Gannett built himself a great newspaper fortune not alone by the cleanness and honesty of his papers, of which he is so proud, but also by shrewdness, good sense and uncommon business nerve.

He would never undertake the "Christian" daily unless it made sense as a newspaper.

Publisher Gannett's Dry convictions he accounted for in an article written last September for Editor High's Christian Herald. As a youngster he worked his way through high school as barkeep's assistant in a hotel. ". . . After watching booze ruin men, I made up my mind that if I ever got a chance, I would fight it . . . [now] I think that the eighteenth amendment is an asset to the folks who read our papers."

Aside from the question of who is going to put up how much of the money for the proposed "Christian" daily, there is the question whether Publisher Gannett and the religious sponsors will agree on publishing actualities. Both Messrs. Gannett & High agree that the paper should not be primarily an organ of propaganda for Church or Prohibition.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.