New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1852-03-10

Newspapers, remarks the NewY ork Tribune, are
designed to furnish information to the public
and livelihood to those employed in producing
them Their income is derived from two sour
ces first, from sale or subscriptions secondly,
from the charges paid by those who see fit to
use them as means of communicating with the
public for their own advantage or profit There
is probably not a daily paper in the world, GER
tanly none in America, that could live year
without that large portion of its revenue de-
rived from advertising, nor, indeed, could the
publicity now secured by advertisers be OBJ
tained for twenty times the present cost in any
other form than that of the sum paid for news
paper.
If a man applies to lawyer, Il doctor, n tav
ern keeper, a merchant, for any Of the commodi-
ties whereby the latter makes his living, he ex-
poets to pay therefor. He never says, IF you
want pay for this, you can have it !" paying is
Il matter of course But if he goes to an editor
to get his axe ground, he generally pays when
he can't help it, but he seems to think it rather
mean that payment is expected.
Publicity is {; vital element of success in
almost every business. If man were to-mor-
row to invent Il machine which would do the
work of fortyhorse steam engine for one
eighth the cost, whether in building or running
of such n steam engine, he would be long in
making a fortune of it if there was no press.
By the aid of the journals, he might acquire
wealth from his invention in the course of two
years, while in their absence he would very GER
tainly 90 down to his grave in poverty, though
some future generation would not fail to profit
by his labors. The press is to business what
the electric telegraph is to intellgence--it con-
denses years into minutes.
Editors are generally helping this or that fell
low citizen make his fortune every day Very
often they are compelled to throw gold into the
low nft tbot iryap pl,fn atu
property holder, etc, in the naked fulflment OF
their duty to their readers Thus we have all
been helping Mr.. Mccormick make his fortune
with his reaper this year; but we did not do it
at his request nor for his sake, and he need not
thank us But if he had asked any of us to
| mako his reaper known to every body, he ought
| TO (and we will trust would) have insisted on
paying for the service, no matter how much we
benefited our readers at the same time.
| Here is one great cause of general obtuscation
On this subject 'sYou did so and so, which
helped Jones in his business; why not do as
much for me p Why, sir, if a farmer chose to
give his right hand neighbor half his farm
would that give his left hand neighbor Il claim
TO tie other half? If | did him Il good turr
without asking any odds of him, that is my
business il you make money, pay me for th'
service you require! The fact that chose t.
help A. B. for nothing gives G. D. no lien on m.
| purse, anu no fiSht W eoniiiaho my lupoi ~
nothing.
There is many Il journalist now languishin
in poverty while dozens to whose success in busi
ness he gave the first impulse roll by him i
their carriages, and have forgotten his yer
existence.
There is no country save ours in the worl
where journalists are expected to do so muc
work for the special benefit of others, withou
recompense. Generally, out of this country
editors are inaccessible, if not anonymous; the
may let you know what they think, but not VIII
thinks it. You can not walk into an editor
room in London or Paris, and ask him to de
vote his time and his columns to your own ad
vancement or profit Here this is done ever
day, even by utter strangers Half an editor
time--sometimes his whole day, throwing owe
his proper work into the nights given up
receiving the calls, listening to the stories, an
% obeying the requests of one good natnred trien
:. after another, who drops in to try his chance
Y of getting ten times as valuable an advertise