Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1861-09-06
A Distinction.

A Distinction.
Some institutions can be sustained in COM
munity by simply the laws Of trade Such are
stores. and most kinds of business There are
other institutions however, which are essential
to the wel-being Of society which cannot be
sustained in this way, such, for instance, as
churches and colleges. When a man sub
scribes to sustain the ministry on which he at
tends he does not act from simply pee,nj0ry
stand paint, expecting to make money by the OPP
Grafton as is the case when he pays out money
for most other purposes. On the contrary, he
feels that a higher, nobler motive prompts
him. Thus when a man who has no child to
be educated. pays money to support schools,
he feels bat it is nobler act than when he
buys a horse house, or a GOWN the former
case he aims at the good of the mass Of his
fellow beings and hence is benevolent. in the
latter case he is actuuted by motives pertaining
alone to self The distinction we make we pre-
sumo is understood.
We wish to speak of an institution. thought Of
too little all-powerful in its influence in mould
ing and forming society. which has been too
much neglected and wrongfully left to the
pinching effects of mere private speculation,
when it should have been placed on the broad
est basis of benevolence. We allude to the To-
cal periodical Press. Since rebellion has rear
ed its brazen crest and war has been Inaugural
ted matters of ordinary interest have lost their
| attraction. and those journals mainly sought
u +n1n l. ,tcl,o
| from the camp. and trategetic and battle fields
| The man who formerly felt a strong desire to
read the city or village weekly. now seeks on
! ly the remote daily. from which he can derive
| the latest war news. Hence he is stro ely
! tempted to discontinue his local paper and
subscribe for the daily. Before doing So be
! should pause. and consider what win be the
| tendency of such an act-no conscientious and
good citizen can rashly act in manner which.
should his example be generally initiated,
would be produc i've of evil to community
/ The result of Withdrawing or Withholding sup
port from local presses must be to suspend
them and leave community without these pow
erlul auxliaries to every Cd cause. The city
daily. published at distance, cannot do the
particular work which is needed in every To-
| cality, although it may furnish daily news. and
serve general purposes. Every community has
peculiar phaze of its own a thousand little
matters of its own upon due attention TO which
! its prosperity very much depends and which
| cannot be duly attended to without a press at
home. Political parties find that distant lead
! ing papers belonging to their side do
not fully answer the purpose, that they need
local paper, and this conviction often leads par
tizans to contribute large to establish To-
! Cal presses. Business men Of all parties have
so highly appreciated the advantages and in
portance of local presses, in merely pecuni-
airy point of view that they have frequently
given large to induce publisher to start
a paper in their midst All this shows the truth
of what we have said viz that a local press is
an important public institution essential to the
weli-bcing. and growing and permanent pros
perity of the whole community, and hence no
man should act toward the local press from
simply the motives and principles which he us
ulliy applies to mere private Establishments
Every man should contribute to the support.
efficiency and nermanency of the local press,
by taking land paying for. the paper, because
like a church, it is a public institution, which
may not be dispensed with without public loss
When man is tempted to stop his paper he
should reflect that, probably, nine tenths Of its
subscribers have as good reasons for doing the
same thing as he has. and that were they to
act in the same manner, the result would be
the loss of the press. Hence he should ask
himself the pertinent question whether. simply
to save twelve shillings year he ought to al
low himself to do what, were the same course
of conduct to become general, would cause
such bad results.
A publisher of political paper may reason
ably expect that politicians of his party viii
take his paper to not do it is to neglect du-
ty, because in establishing his paper, the pub
Usher was encouraged TO expect their support
moreover political character which will net
open the hear enough to take the local polIti-
cal paper on the same side. must be very self
ish and lean of public good, the voter rcdu-
| cling the question to the mere puryiew of few
shilings and pence If man is rirfuous
politician, he feels an interest in the success of
his principles and party, believing it would
promote the general good, and hence desires to
aid and support the party press, as the great
| lever for securing the success he desires.
We conclude this article with few words
pertinent to the Republican, All men must
/ agree that there never was a time at which it
was more proper or important to utter those
/ great and universal principles of Human Rights
which underlie our institutions and are the qist
of the whole matter at stake between the con-
federdte rebels and the Constitutional Govern
ment. We have ever spoken from first princi-
ples-the political tez non ScTipta seen in Hu-
man Relations and in all creation we have re-
Corded full as much as human enactments-
Hence we have always spoken of the inherent
enormity and sin of slavery. and boldly utter
ed what we have believed the whole truth.
which, we fear, is more than can be said of some
pres es in the country Such presses as the
REPUBLICAN have great work to do in sus-
tanning the government, and constitution, and
war, while 80 many ps.ude politicians and