Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1852-10-02
Editorial Convention.

1U1LUl1o4
We sometime since made a few remarks res-
p~ecting the propriety if not necessity of an
editorial Convention in this State, to remedy
if possible many of the evils, socially and Pc
cuniarily, which at present cramps and embar-
rasses the profession in no ordinary degree
Those evils are more prominent in the country
than in the city, and are somewhat Of a differ
ent nature. That they are evident to every
publisher, without the necessity of a detailed
enumeration by any one of us, there can be no
question; and each at the same time must be
equally aware that any attempted reform indi-
vidualIy would be worse than useless, it would
be suicidal.
There is probably no description Of business
so vaguely understood and appreciated as that
of printing and publishing newspapers; and to
this widespread ignorance must, in a great
measure, be attributed the gross wrongs under
which we labor and this ignorance is not
confined to those who are subscribers merely,
or those whose business brings them in contact
with the editor and publisher, but it is exhibited
more prominently and with greater injustice
in our Legislative halls, in attempts to fix a
standard Of rates for work performed, and with
an evident continued desire to depreciate the
value, and Importance, and necessity of news
papers--admitted by the world to be the bull
wark, the safeguard, the hope of a Republican
people--and this injustice done perhaps by the
very men whose political power was obtained
through the influence of the press.
The lawyer and physician fixes his price for
services performed principally from the educa.
ton and study requisite to become a respecta.
Bile member of either profession, graduated
of course according to the importance of the
case or suit--and this is q just rule, To car
ry on Il newspaper successfully it not only re-
quires education and study, but it is almost in
dispensable to certain and continued success
that the editor should himself be a printer, and
mot often the CASEY not ashamed to work.
The boy who commences the printing business
and has the ambition Gas he ought which char.
acterized the apprenticeship days of GALES,
RlTcHrE, GREELEY, and other eminent editors'
has more intellectual labor to perform, more
difficulties to thrawt, than the jurist, the states
man or the divine, but how vastly different, in
a social or pecuniary sense, are their fortunes.
After struggling through his apprenticeship,
acquiring a respectable education by the prac-
tice of his art and by hard study, and then work.
ing to obtain the large sum of money necessary
to m and establish a newspaper, some
consideration should assuredly be given to the
rights, at least, of such individual and such
PROFESSIONALS social position and Importance
Iibe rally and intelligent'y considered, and his
rates of charges, made in accordance with his
expenses and the work physically and mentally
to capacitate him for his profession,
appreciated in their proper light.
Who, then, is in favor of an Editorial Con-
to remedy the evils partially alluded
to above, and to destroy in a. great measure, if
the accursed credit system, the great
est of errors, perhaps, and the worst of evils
have become established IN connection
with the newspaper business?
We would be glad if our contemporaries
the State would express their opin-
ions upon this subject and if such Conven-
be approved, we would suggest that it
in New Orleans on the second Monday
in December next.