Daily American telegraph. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1852, 1852-04-20
THE DAILY AMERICAN TELEGRAPH.
our sECONDTYEARt


One wear ago this day was issued the first
number of the AMERICAN TELEGRAPH we were
then assured by many intelligent citizens OF WASH
ington that it had already been f'liiy demon
strated that such paper could not lNe mere,
and that Ours could not exist three months ;
| while cautious men Of business assured us that
! If VIC should succeed in sustaining il, 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. III
Cut of from all hopes of the kind of patronage
on which other papers of this city fatten-en-
countering the overwhelming competition of Wash
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--proscribed in othclal places
avoided by timid men in ofhce-opposed by the
concerted influence of a portion of q respect,
able religious communion, upon pretext en-
tirely baseless-without the influence IN the
community of connexions and friends to defend
US from the adroit opposition Of interested COM
petitors,--we have yet maintained our position,
and to-day stand before our fellowcitizens 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-
nity and intend to merit theirs in return. But
we shall not do this by tattering 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 fail 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 a community of forty
thousand people who do their shopping in BALI
morei f.tts vy#os iats
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
papers contain Baltimore advertisements; and the
people of Washington compile their memoranda
from such advertisements, send their orders to
Baltimore, obtain their goods there, and thus
make orr own storekeepers pay ell-merited
penalty.
Would we prescribe the papers of Baltimore
By no means. We regard the morning as fat and
willing to encourage their circulation here. They
should bring light and knowledge to every home
and place Of business throughout our whole city.
Every one should rejoice in the facilities
they afford. But the extensive circulation
Of O Washington afternoon paper, with the
advertisements Of Washington business peo-
pie, 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 APP
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 (calI it egotism if
you will y that there is another man in Washing
ton who would have chung to 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 transitory public misrepresentation of his
I 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 revengcs-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 our 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 good return for all the benefits we
shall receive at their hands, and preserve them
from all future regrets that such has been their
course.
MARCH "a, 1852