Wisconsin tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1847-1854, 1852-10-07
ing article to those in this vicinity who
do not sustain county paper =
Our County Newspapers.

do not sustain county paper -
Our County Newspapers.
We feel inclined to put the question to
our citizens, whether they appreciate as
they should, the value of the local county
papers We do this in no spirit of fault
finding. But we put the question for the
purpose of drawing attention to the sub
ject, and stirring up proper degree Of
public spirit in the matter
Are these papers appreciated as they
should be2 There is not citizen in this
or any other town, whose name ought not
to be on the subscription list of the pa
per published in the town or neighbor-
hood in which he resides Every person
who reads this article, and who is a sub
scrlber to the paper published in the
town where he lives. can answer with an
honest heart, that so far as he is concern
ed, his local paper is appreciated; but all
those who are not subscribers, must an
swer the question in the negative We
fear that this latter class is very numer-
Gus we h5lo1g that it is larger than it
ought to be-
That the publication of a paper in a
town or village is an evidence Of the ad-
vancing state Of intelligence and of pub
lie spirit cannot be denied. Persons at
a distance. generally form their opinions
as to the condition of a town intellect1-
ally and morally, by the fact of the ezis-
teuce of q local paper. 1t is an almost
IntallIbie test; for, wherever there Is suf
fcient intelligence and public spirit to
sustain newspaper, there one viii inva-
riably be found This is just as much
law Of nature, as that grass viii spring up
in fertile soil. A person riding through
waste Of sand where no grass grows, at
once pronounccs the soil to be barren and
unproductiye; so a person finding a town
without a newspaper, pr0nounces it to be
wanting IN those elements, from which a
lone paper can draw its nourishmelt, in
telligence aud public spirit And the
conclusion is as certain and founded in
the very nature of things, as much in
the one case as in the other We wish
this fact would be borne in mind There
is not a citizen of our county, who would
willingly permit his town to rest under
the imputation Of being wanting in public
spirit aud yet there are hundreds who
are pursuing a course, which, if generally
followed. would necessarily result in this !;
hundreds who are not now doing anything
to sustain the paper published in their
town or vicinity In a great majority Of
instances this IS the result of negligence,
and in many cases other papers are taken,
while their own are neglected, This, how
ever, is wrong The influence and means
Of every citizen should, in the first in
stance, be applied to that which is caleu-
lated to raise and elevate the standard Of
intelligence and morality, in the commun-
itv where he resides, to give to it a tone
and character. This being accomplished
he may then expand his field of action.
and subscribe to papers published else
where-but the first duty is at home.
Our citizens all want to be apprised of
what is transpiring in the town and coun-
tv That Is the matter in which they are
peculiarly interested. The meetings of
our courts, and the proceedings before
them--public meetings--political acts
matters of local interest and Importance,
deaths, marriages, casualties, &c, &c;
these must all be chronicled Our citi-
zens all wish to keep up with the time ;
they wish journal published, to which
they can refer for information on all these
points But how many Of them remem-
Der that such journal can be kept up by
only great outlay of time and money !;
how many enjoy the result of this outlay
without contributing one cent towards de-
fraying the expense; how many, instead
of subscribing his share towards remun-
Grating the editor and proprietor for their
toll and labor, 60gr0lc their reighbor's pa
per, aud reap instruction and profit from
the labor and expense of others, without
paying for it2 Have our borrowing read
/ ers ever looked at the matter in this light ?
Have they ever thought that every time
they reada 50rrOuea paper printedin their
own vicinity, they are enjoying the fruit
of other persons labor, aud contributing
nothing in return If not, we hope that
they viii be induced to do so, and then
to Act U'eSfcIcstey Gazette