The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1864-03-24

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Sometimes, when l. have been s,dured
into attending fashionable pa ties, md es.
pecia'ly was this case in, the olden time long
ago before my rising generation came, into
the world) have become ss,iated with the
Fshow-wtntie r,stling of satin. the glitter
Of jewelry, the tparaphernalsa of fashion the
brilliant nothings of elegant ladies who dis
coursed, eloquently upon "Longfelow's Pa
tagonian Lyrics" or may be, "Tennyson's.
heroic poem on the Feee Islanders the adj
mirable stealings of kil-glovcd, witty gen.
t'emen who may have informed me, misera-
BE sinner and country ei,tor.- of the
beauties Of edgar A. Poe's Rape of the
Lock-" or "Young's midsummer Nights
Dream'--many such, times, say, / have
stolen away from, the hustle and fashion and
enjoyed quiet hour in corner with the
plain, unpretending, but sensible girl loved
best. Who is there who has not done so?
Who is there whose memory does not go
back many a time and oft to those happy
hours, laden with all the sweets Of social
converse, the thoughts that wandered
through eternity, the sparkling sentiments
Of the glorious, girl or glorious widow, a $ the
fact might have been, with a thousand fold
more pleasure, than the memory recalls the
general glare Of the evening. That is the
way it is with what we call country news
papers We remember how we used to
read them to a mother now in the land Of the
redeemed, to father now venerable in years,
to sister now among the angels, to bro.
ther. gone to that undiscovered country
from whose bourne no traveller returns We
remember the country newspaper as we re-
member the old family Bible-with associ-
atoms which make US both wiser and better
men. believe never saw single number
Of a country newspaper which did not have
something in it worth the yearly price--ne.
yer one. And know that The files for
year Of our. most sh,bby papers contain
more entertaining reading than you will find
in any single work Of Dickens aa-
'S' 'SOf"Shts a'ii a'i. DS away iTOn Ho ho
a year or so withou! seeing your home pa
paper, come across one then, and see how
YOU Will devour every word Of it, except,
perhaps, the everlasting advertisement about
the vermifugs for worms, or Mrs. Winslow's. S.
Soothing Syrup for Infants! And you will
pr, badly I've interested even in them if in,
fants in your family are like they are in
mine--reg liar biennial institutions. IN
81 wish could speak in detail about the
country papers Of our State They are, in
The main, worthy Of all commend,tion, bet
ter. think, than the country papers Of any
other State in the u aion.r Whv our Legis-
islature should have treated them so ungen-
erously heretofore never coull exp lain ex
cept upon the theory, that Republics are
ungratefu say il with protound respect
for the legislators we have had, as well as for
those we are likely to have, that the State of
Idowa could get along without serious diff.
Guilty We're the General Assembly TO meet
only once in ten years; but that if the pub
lication Of our newspapers were suspended
for so n long a period, we would scarcely be
hetter than the Mexicsns at the end of it.
| entreat the Legislature to be just to the
press. do not ask for generosty-I sup
pose you do not. am sure, however, the
Legislature intends to do you justice The
trouble is, printing is q science so profound
in its nature, so varied in its functions, SO TO
say, and so wide in its scope, that there ire
precious few members OF the Legislature who
understand it. Nor are they to be blamed
for this auy more than We are to he blamed
by carpenter for not knowing the particu-
lars of his business. although we could
probably tell house from pig pen at sight.
1t is the more difficult, l know, to under
stand the different operations of a printing
office, but i is not impossible to give the
Legislature clear general idea, therefore
and that being done J haye no fear of the re-
suit. This it is your duty to do and I trust
that it viii be done at once.
Gentlemen Elitors. you 1--we in State of
which you may well be proud. and you are
engaged in profession ofwhich you will be
even prouder. You owe il o yourselves you
owe it to your State. you owe it to yonr pro
fession. to labor on as zsalously as you have
labored heretofore, and keep the press of
iowa up to a high standard Of excellence =
You make the public. sentiment Of the State
4 '..|G - 4 - y
you may send men to the deliberate bod.
les thereof or permit them to enjoy the com
forts of-domcstic lie in the bosoms of their
families, as you like. To this end. it is only
necessary that Won should assert vour in
dependence and stand shouldeN to shoulder
| together. Horace Greeiy, to dav, has more
influence in America than the Cabinet Of
i the President; the Chicago Tribune more
than the Illinois delegation IN Congress -
An editor is Speaker OF the House Of Repre.
sentatives, made such hy the press Of the
country, within my certain kno ledge. AMI
it has been many years since We have bad
a better Speaker. Public men are apt to
underrate the influence Of the press. for the
reason, suppose. that it's influences. does
not come all At once. like the Oamanche
hurricane, but is gentle and all spreading
like that of the sun. know OF no better
illustration Of it's influence than / can tel.
from my own observation.
A g'od many years ago, you will rcmem
Der. Clay, Jackson. Adams and Crawford
ran for the Presidency. At that time was