or in the elevation of
the masses. It is not too much to say, in this connection, that of the
primary levers to which the race must look for support, none
contribute more toward endurance, permanency, and virility than the
press. We have the pulpit, the schoolhouse, the field of politics, and
the arena of business. Each has its bearing in the development of a
larger life and a more perfect manhood for the Afro-American; but,
conceding all due respect to the noble men and women who stand in the
vanguard of each of these missions, no one of them is more potent or
far reaching in its effect than the press. From the pulpit comes the
precepts that direct moral and religious thought; the schoolhouse
stands for a broader intellectual culture; the field of politics gives
us our practical experience in the science of government, affording us
an opportunity for actual participation in the shaping of legislation
and in giving vitality to public policies. The press, however,
occupies a most unique position with reference to all of them. It is
the fulcrum upon which all these activities must depend for useful
service. The press is the concentrated voice of the masses; the
mouthpiece of the age; the universal censor--directed by popular
opinion--from whose verdict there is no appeal. The press is the
medium through which the great work of the church is disseminated over
land and sea, and gives to the world the sweetening influence that the
spoken word offers only to a single parish. It magnifies the labors of
educational leaders and is itself an indispensable adjunct to the
growth of intelligence. In the political field the press has long been
recognized as an institution more powerful than any individual, and
from the post of messenger or handmaiden of the people--a mere
purveyor of current happenings--it has come to be the master mind in
the economy of nations. To the business world it is a "guide,
counselor and friend," and correctly analyzes the ingredients that
bring material prosperity to the civic organization, of which all of
us are a part. That distinguished autocrat of autocrats, Napoleon,
once exclaimed, with a bitterness born of impending destruction:
"Hostile newspapers are more to be feared than bayonets." And why not?
It holds in its grasp the power of life and death, success and
failure, happiness and misery.

These facts amply justify the assertion that the Negro newspaper is an
all-important factor in the elevation