A country that admits into citizenship all people and all nations must naturally produce a polyglot press. The English language is our lawful inheritance; French or Spanish were bought, or annexed; German, the Scandinavian tongues and some others came with immigration; and Indian languages are indigenous. At the beginning of 1880, there were of journalistic publications in the United States, besides English, about 320 German; 35 French; 25 Spanish; 25 Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish; 10 Bohemian; 10 Hollandish; 5 Welsh; 2 Portuguese; 2 Polish; 1 Hebrew, 1 Cherokee, and 1 Choc taw; and, we believe, a journal in raised letters for the blind, making 16 or 17 different languages, to which may be added old Irish, or Erse, to which some journals devote a portion of their space.
The burden of the press in such a land is naturally political; and a great majority of the newspapers are committed to one or another party; a few claim to be independent, but absolute independence of parties is a difficult position to maintain, and the only really independent journals, politically speaking, are those and those only which never meddle with politics, parties, or candidates at all. Next to political journals, in number and importance, are those devoted to religious or sectarian interests. Of these there are in the United States about 450, and. many of them have very extensive circulation. Every sect amounting to a " denomination," except the Shakers, has its voice in journal ism. The city of New York may serve as a sample of the whole country. There are issued in that city about 50 religious or sectarian journals and magazines; of these 9 are Roman Catholic, 8 Union Evangelical, 7 Protestant Episcopal, 3 Baptist, 3 Methodist, 3 Jewish, 2 Presbyterian, 2 Congregational—or Union under Congregational management, 2 Dutch Reformed, one each for the Disciples, Swedenborgians, Lutherans. and Unita rians; 4 "non-sectarian," and 1 freethinker. Religious journalism, now of great extent and importance, is of recent origin, dating back only to the beginning of 1816, when the Boston Recorder was started, with 8idney F., Morse as editor. The Recorder was long ago merged in the Congregationalist. The Christian Watchman, now The Watchman. and Reflector, also of Boston, was started in 1819 by Baptists; the. New York Oinerrer (Presbyterian) in 1820 by Morse, who had left the Recorder, and one of his brothers; Zion's Herald (Methodist) in Boston about the same time; the Christian Register (Unita rian), 1821; the Christian Intelligencer (Dutch Reformed), 1830; the Erangelist (Presby terian) in 1833; the Christian Adrocate and Journal (Methodist Episcopal), by the 31. E.
Book Concern in New York, about 1835.
Illustrated journals have in late years greatly improved, and in some notable instances, such as Harper's Journal of Civilaation, have taken the front rank in perfection of artistic workmanship and in extent of circulation. Others are the Christian Weekly, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, and among magazines the monthlies issued by Appleton, Scribner, and the Harpers. Distinctive comic journalism has never flourished for any considerable time, though at present it is fairly under way. A hundred Punches have been born, but very few lived to celebrate an anniversary of their natal day. Business and trade have a strong showing journals, there being scarcely a calling of any importance that has not from one to a among typographic mouthpieces. There are hundreds of journals devoted exclusively to finance and commerce in general. Special branches have their organs; as banking, life, fire, marine, and accident insurance, real estate, mining, railways, milling, engineering, building, upholstery, lumbering, prices current, mechanics in general, glass, crockery, iron, leather, boots and shoes, tobacco, cotton, gas, wines and liquors, telegraphing, brewing, chemistry, microscopy, phonog raphy, photography, bricks and pottery, carpet trade, drugs, harness, carriages, watches and clocks, car-building, plumbing, sewing-machines, publishing, printing, etc. Journals are devoted to legal affairs, to sports and games, to art and music., to the fashions, to the army and navy, militia, etc. Agriculture and horticulture engage the attention of more than a hundred journals and magazines; medicine and surgery of about seventy. affairs concerning colleges, schools, and education generally, of more than a hundred; about forty are intended for children and youth; masonic and other secret societies have their organs: indeed, it would be difficult to find any business, association, or prominent enter prise that has not its journalistic means of communication with the world. In all this maze of purposes one business is never overlooked—that of criticism. Every interest, business, profession, party, sect, searchingly criticises every other purpose, act, person, and thing. Not only the regular literary and critical publications, but every news, political, and trade journal considers criticism among the first and most important of its functions. Unrestrained by any other will than his own, every writer is free to arraign, try, convict, and condemn everybody else—and it must be admitted that the privilege is most literally and liberally used.