Daily American telegraph. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1852, 1852-04-08
THE DAILY AMERICAN TELEGRAPH
ouR sH,CoNp YEAH

One year ago this day was issued the first
number of the AMERICAN TELEGRAPH We were
tn en- assured by mary intelligent citizens OF Wash
in gton that II had already been fully demon
strated that such paper could not live here,
, rnd that ours could not exist three months |;
while cautious men of business assured US that
if we should succeed in sustaining it, then they
would give us their support The predictions
} of the former have proved baseless--the wish
that was father to the thought has not been re-
allied and the promises of the latter have not
been redeemed
Cut off from all hopes Of the kind of patronage
on which other papers Of this city fatten-en-
countering the overwhelming competition ofWash-
ington papers supported by the government pa
tronage, and the newspapers of Baltimore, that
derive their support from commercial and man
/ ufacturing population of one hundred and eighty
thousand persons-proscrib0d in official places
| av oided by timid men in ofice--opposed by the
| con certed influence of portion of n respect
abb g religious communion, upon pretext en-
tire ly baseless-without the influence in the
com munity of connexions and friends to defend
us rom the adroit opposition of interested COM
pet tors,-we have yet maintained our position,
and to-day stand before fellow-citizens pre-
pared to serve them faithfully, fearlessly and
| independently.
We have no favors to ask. We have respect
and goodwill toward the people of this commu-
nifty, and intend to merit theirs in return. But
we shall not do this by flattering their follies or
appealing to their sympathies. When such
course as this becomes necessary to insure sue
cess we shall not be ashamed to fail. But until
| it does, our path shall lie onward and upward.
| We will neither iail nor falter.
Now for few familiar words Why do we not
sell our paper as cheap as the Baltimore papers
are sold? is the frequent question. We reply,
Because we are not in Baltimore-because COM
mercial city Of one hundred and eighty thousand
people can yield an amount of advertising Gus
tom not to be obtained in community of forty
thousand people who do their shopping in Balti-
more!
Do their shopping in Baltimore Yes, by a
wilful and unreasonable opposition to the only
cheap paper of their own that ever could survive
their sights, the business men of Washington give
all the aid in their power to promote the interests
of Baltimore merchants here. The Baltimore
people of Washington compile their memoranda
from such advertisements, send their orders to
Baltimore, obtain their goods there, and thus
I make our own storekeepers pay a wel-merted
penalty.
Would we prescribe the papers of Baltimore?
By no means We regard the morning as fat and
dull that does not bring them to us. We are
wiling to enc ourage their circulation here They
should bring light and knowledge to every home
and place of business throughout whole city.
Every one should rejoice in the facilities
they afford. But the extensive circulation
of a Washington afternoon paper, with the
advertisements Of Washington business peo-
ple should preserve US from the temptation of
sending to Baltimore for those commodities which
! can as well be obtained in Washington. 1t was
with special reference to this that we commenced
| an afternoon paper. We knew the advantages
offered by the penny press of Baltimore-we ap-
preciated them fully; we did not wish to come
in conflict with them. We intended not to cross
the path of those journals; and we believed our
purposes would be approved by our own people.
By many they have; but not by all. SO far
from this, we seriously doubt (call it egotism if
you will y that there is another man in Washing
ton who would have chung to an enterprise as
the writer of this has adhered to that upon which
he had embarked-laboring without present re-
compense, and with but feeble hope for the fu-
ture and even, from bitter necessity, submitting
| to q transitory public misapprehension of his
true position in particulars Of the most serious
moment.
| But away with the past. The present around
us, and the prospect before, are what now con-
Germ us. We have no reyenges-no regrets. We
have no enemies that we know of and care not
dime for any that are unknown. We intend to
labor on, to improve with increasing MEANS to
stand by our friends, to make them many, to
stihe no sentiment, to sacrifice no opinion, to
conciliate no bigot, to fatter no money-worship-
per, to bow before no official upstart, to sanction
no public or private wrong and in general to live
honestly, soberly, Economically, and peaceably,
and die only when our time shall have come
If, therefore, any of fellow citizens shall
feel inclined to give US kind words Of encourage
ment, and to render us kindly aid, at the COM
mencement of this our second year, we cordially
invite them to our Office. We will greet them at
the threshold with friendly welcome, endeavor
to make n good return for all the benefits we
shall receive ut their hands, and preserve them
from all future regrets that such has been their
course.
MARcH "a, 1852.
.