The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-11-25
WASHINGTON, ID. G..
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER IS, 1852.
A TALK WITH OUR SUBSCRIBERS ALONE

A TALK WITH OUR SUBSCRIBERS ALONE.
As The year is drawing to a close, we may a
we'll have "promiscuous talk with ou
readers
The local agents to whom we addressed
circular on the LIST inst are responding hand
somely They seem determined not only tC
keep up, but increase the lists of subscribers
they have sent us Some say the Era ought
to have $4,000 subscribers, some 100000. As
you please, friends We should like to deserve
the highest number possible
The general circular we enclosed last week
we would have every subscriber consider as ad-
dressed to him specially to her. Ono Of our
fair countrywomen sends us several subscri
bers, and hopes we are willing to recognise
agents among the ladies, Heaven bless them
We should have little hope, if our paper lack
cd their influence. The position they hold in
the corps Of our contributors, shows the estimate
we place on the women Of America.
As usual, some of our friends intent on null
tplying Anti-Savery readers, are anxious for
us to reduce our terms How we should like
to please them But we dare not We can
not bring down the Era to the one dollar price
of the Tribune. That concern publishes dali
ly, tri-weekly semi-weekly, weekly. The cost
of composition-the heavy itcm--is more than
paid for by the advertisements in the daily
The same matter is hashed up for the weekly,
which costs only the paper and press-work,
We publish Il wcckly-the matter is set up for
that alone-it is fresh and arranged exclusive
ly for it. Besides printing is far higher in
Washington than in any Eastern or Western
city. Journeymen printers fix their own wages,
and are better paid. Need We say that it costs
us a great deal for literary contributions We
must do what we can on the terms named
in our circular. At one dollar year the pa
per would break down. But, were this not the
case, justice to the State Anti-Savery papers
would forbid us to undersell them
Occasionally, a subscriber is annoyed by the
irregularity of his papcr-or he may not have
received the credit to which he is fairly emit
which he attributes to us Be patient" is
good motto for everybody. Surely it is our
interest to have the paper mailed with strict
regularity, and to deal fairly by every subscri-
Der If there be anything wrong, let us know
it. We make it rule to accept the dis
tinct, positive statement of subscriber as true,
if there be no positive evidence that he is mis-
taken, and we are always prompt to correct
any error.
An irritable gentleman wrote to us some
time ago that although he had paid for his
paper, he could not get it; he had written
about it once before, and still it did not reach
him; so he had come to the conclusion that al
we wanted was to get his money and he might
whistle for his paper 1t never entered hi
wise head that such notable scheme as thai
would soon leave us without any money at all
We again direct attention to the matter o
postage A subscriber tells us that we were il
error in excepting California and Oregon from
the benefit OF the 20 cents rate paid in advance
That is true The postage on the Era, for al
distances within the United States, is 26 cent
year, if paid in adyance-tho payment beinl
made at the Office where the Era is printed, o
at the office where the subscriber receives il
We must decline receiving it at our Office
will be easier, better every way, for the sui
scriber to pay in advance, by the month"; tn
quarter, or the year, at the Office where he re
ceives the paper
Our many contributors of prose and poctr
are, ON the whole, good-tcmpered, and it is we
that they are so. contribution sometime
fails to appear, because it is too long, or to
badly written or because it is not suited to tn
occasion, or contains some language or sentimen
that would counterfeit its good tendencies, o
because something else seems preferable at tn
moment or because it is simply lost sight of il
a crowd Here are explanations enough Il
save the self-love of every one
Sometimes communication of great meri
comes in throng of business letters 1t i
long we put it aside for examination at GU
leisure it slips out of sight and out Of mind
The other day, examining file of poems, q
dates ranging back more than year, we ioun
several excellent ones-among them, one fror
Cincinnati, on the Fourth of July. We read
for the irst time, and were cbagrined that
had escaped our notice.
We are now receiving communications ever
day-good, bad and iDdiflerent-more thai
we can examine at one sitting. Some will az
pear-some will not If any feel disposed b
take offence, let them assuage their irritation
by reading Jain what We have just said Rec
ollect we are but one man, have paper c