THE VALUE OF A NEWSPAPER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 195, 26 November 1910, Page 10

THE VALUE OF A NEWSPAPER.

Out of the Great W T est comes this gem of eulogy to modern newspapers. At Boise, Idaho (says Newspaperdom), an old, illiterate, and inebriated man, named Harry Warbarton, stole a copy of the Statesmen from a subscriber's door. He was arrainged before Justice Davidge for ) the offence and pleaded guilty. Justice | is sometimes peculiarly affected by situations confronting it, and this seems to j have been where opportunity for a | scathing denunciation and the "on to his |! job" met. The petty, miserable man at. the bar was perhaps more completely humiliated by the following lecture than he could possibly have been had the limit of the law been given him:— "The offence with which you were charged, and to which you entered a plea "of guilty, was that of larceny. Th« punisliment under our statute might be a fine of 300 dollars or six months in gaol, or both. The market value or the actual cost of the article that you stole is most insignificant, but to those who need it and to those who appreciate it, it becomes of great value. It is like a ray of light in a sick room or a drop of water to a thirsty flower. The modern up-to-date newspaper to-day is the poor man's friend and the busy man's guide. "We may not be able to teach a man of your age and habits to read it, but we will prevent you and others from depriving us of its' benefits. In stealing it you enrich yourself not at all, for you have no comprehension or appreciation of the wide information and friendly greeting and benefit that it brings. For, although a pity, it is true that a man who has the brass and abandonment to steal a newspaper has not brains enough to read it. 'The newspaper comes to us as a friend; it greets us every morning and every evening, and advises us of the news of the day and of the ships that pass in the night. There is no civilsation and no happy home in our land to-day without the newspaper. "The prospector, the miner, the herder, the forest ranger, and even the criminal who is trying to escape justice, will ride for miles and miles over rough mountain trails to get from the little wooden box nailed to a tree the newspaper. It tells him of home and friends, and if all are well; it tells him of sickness or of fortune, or of the condition of the market. It is food and thought and joy to him; he welcomes it as his teacher and his friend. It gives him and every intellectual man, woman, ana child a sort of hand-hold on the doings of the day and the pulse of the country. And'yet you will steal that little budget of news, and sell it, trade it, 01 exchange it, with all of its teachings and benefits, for a drink of whisky, for that which only blights, destroys, and brings more darkness and more ignorance and more shame. "In all kindliness, Warbarton, and sincerely hoping that the experience will be helpful to you and others, I will allow you to go your- way, for we have no punishment quite commensurate with the offence. And as long as mercy and justice go hand in hand, and this matter presents itself as it does to me, I am going to give you a larger measure of mercy than justice. "T hope your case may serve as a lesson to others, for while you have been let off easy other offenders will not be dealt with so leniently. This matter of stealing newspapers must he stopped, and this Court will aid in preventing acts of the nature which has brought vou into court."