MODERN COMMUNICATION：
ENLARGEMENT AND ANIMATION CHARACTER OF RECENT CHANGES -- THEIR GENERAL EFFECT -- THECHANGE IN THE UNITED STATES -- ORGANIZED GOSSIP -- PUBLIC OPINION， DEMOCRACY， INTERNATIONALISM -- THE VALUE OF DIFFUSION -- ENLARGEMENT OF FEELING --CONCLUSION
THE changes that have taken place since the beginning of the nineteenth century are such as to constitute a new epoch in communication， and in the whole system of society.They deserve， therefore， careful consideration not so much in their mechanical aspect， which is familiar to every one， as in their operation upon the larger mind.
If one were to analyze the mechanism of intercourse， he might， perhaps， distinguish four factors that mainly contribute to its efficiency， namely：
Expressiveness， or the range of ideas and feelings it is competent to carry.
Permanence of record， or the overcoming of time.
Swiftness， or the overcoming of space.
Diffusion， or access to all classes of men.
Now while gains have no doubt been made in expressiveness， as in the enlargement of our vocabulary to embrace the ideas of modern science； and even in permanence of record， for scientific and other special purposes； Net certainly the long steps of recent times have been made in the direction of swiftness and diffusion.For most purposes our speech is no better than in the age of Elizabeth， if so good； but what facility we have gained in the application of it！ The cheapening of printing， permitting an inundation of popular books， magazines arid newspapers， has been supplemented by the rise of the modern postal system and the conquest of distance by railroads， telegraphs and telephones.
And along with these extensions of the spoken or written word have come new arts of reproduction， such as photography， photo-engraving， phonography and the like梠f greater social import than we realize梑y which new kinds of impression from the visible or audible world may be fixed and disseminated.
It is not too much to say that these changes are the basis， from a mechanical standpoint， of nearly everything that is characteristic in the psychology of modern life.In a general way they mean the expansion of human nature， that is to say， of its power to express itself in social wholes.They make it possible for society to be organized more and more on the higher faculties of man， on intelligence and sympathy， rather than on authority， caste， and routine.They mean freedom， outlook， indefinite possibility.The public consciousness， instead of being confined as regards its more active phases to local groups， extends by even steps with that give-and-take of suggestions that the new intercourse makes possible， until wide nations， and finally the world itself， may be included in one lively mental whole.
The general character of this change is well expressed by the two words enlargement and animation.Social contacts are extended in space and quickened in time， and in the same degree the mental unity they imply becomes wider and more alert.
The individual is broadened by coming into relation with a larger and more various life， and he is kept stirred up， sometimes to excess， by the multitude of changing suggestions which this life brings to him.
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In the United States， for instance， at the close of the eighteenth century， public consciousness of any active kind was confined to small localities.Travel was slow， uncomfortable and costly， and people undertaking a considerable journey often made their wills beforehand.The newspapers， appearing weekly in the larger towns， were entirely lacking in what we should call news； and the number of letters sent during a year in all the thirteen states was much less than that now handled by the New York office in a single day.People are far more alive to-day to what is going on in China， if it happens to interest them， than they were then to events a hundred miles away.The isolation of even large towns from the rest of the world， and the consequent introversion of men's minds upon local concerns， was something we can hardly conceive.In the country "the environment of the farm was the neighborhood； the environment of the village was the encircling farms and the local tradition；...few conventions assembled for discussion and common action； educational centres did not radiate the shock of a new intellectual life to every hamlet；federations and unions did not bind men， near and remote， into that fellowship that makes one composite type of many human sorts.It was an age of sects， intolerant from lack of acquaintance."
The change to the present regime of railroads， telegraphs， daily papers， telephones and the rest has involved a revolution in every phase of life； in commerce， in politics， in education， even in mere sociability and gossip？this revolution always consisting in an enlargement and quickening of the kind of life in question.
Probably there is nothing in this new mechanism quite so pervasive and characteristic as the daily newspaper， which is as vehemently praised as it is abused， and in both cases with good reason.What a strange practice it is， when you think of it， that a man should sit down to his breakfast table and， instead of conversing with his wife， and children， hold before his face a sort of screen on which is inscribed a world-wide gossip！
The essential function of the newspaper is， of course， to serve as a bulletin of important news and a medium for the interchange of ideas， through the printing of interviews， letters， speeches and editorial comment.In this way it is indispensable to the organization of the public mind.
