Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1865-02-16
A Plea for the Country Press.

That tho country press has never received
the patronage to which it is justly entitled
even in the most favorable localities. is fact
we believe, universally admitted. How to in.
crease its patronage, and thereby enlarge the
sphere of its usefulness, is II problem which
after stating a few propositions, we shall leave
those Of our numerous readers who do not
take the paper" to solve:
|. a County paper is a local necessity, and
MS such more valuable to every citizen OF the
County than any other The truth OF this
proposition should be too obvious to require
comment 1t is not the size the amonnt of
general news contained, or the editorial abil-
lty displayed, or all these combined, that III
talbly determine the value of paper, which,
, like every other article Of commerce, is sub
icct to the laws Of trade The New York
Tribune, for instance, is much larger and
ADLER paper than the Jeiirrgonlan Democrat,
| though we submit that the disparity in sizr
and resources between them is not 80 great
as between the two places in which they ar
respectively published but there are many
others, such as the Times, the Evening Post
the independent, &C. that can supply Tie
place Of the former, while there is but one thai
can perform the o.lice of the latter. As re
, cards all matters of mere local or personal
concern, the County paper alone is indispcn-
sable to the community. 1t is the sole gene
raj medium of public communication among
the citizens of the several townships, and be.
tween them and the world at large. 1t is,
then, in its appropriate sphere, Of more value
| than any other, and no citizen who would pro-
mote the interests of the County can reasona-
bly, object to paying a living price iorit, whcth-
cr it be more or less than that charged for the
city weeklies Money saved at its expense is
money lost with interest in the end; for those
who will not take their County paper must de-
pend upon borrowing it OF their neighbors, Or
bc subjected to almost constant Inconvenience
and expense, from ignorance of its contepts.
They are liable to lose, every year, ten times
the amount asked for the paper, by starting
with their daughters for the Teachers Eyami-
nation on the wrong day; by ncgccting to
pay their taxes unit charged with penalty,
and perhaps until their property is sold opay
dclinqnencies; by failing to receive the premiT
ums to which the annually published list If
our Agricultural Societies might show them
to be entitled; and in various other ways
II, 1t is the duty of all those citizens who
habitualy avail themselves of the columns of
their County paber to advance their interests
or crafty their pride, to subscribe and pay for
it,, We say this, not as a suppliant for unner-
tied favor, but because justice to both publish
er and subscribers demands that it should be
said We have no peculiar reason to COM
plain, our patronage being as large, if not
larger, than that Of County papers in general
yet we entertain no doubt that, if all citizens
Of the class above, mentioned SHOULD favor US
with their support, our subscription, list would
contain at least two thousand names. And
why should it not? Every man who, seeks a
hearing through the prsss, in so doing gives
good evidence that it is Of some value to him,
and why should he not aid in supporting i?
BY refusing tr neglectipg to do SO, be stands
IN, the light of u consumer but non-producer
Does he ever ask himself how the paper which
heralds his name, thoughts and actions to the
world, without money and without price" is
sustained We can assure all such that it
does not sustain itself, that it requires patron
age and that if everybody should follow their
example, it could not exist ..r-. g.s .',,...
Ill. Better patronage will make better pa
pers We are aware that. it may be truly said
that County papers are not all asgood as they
might be made. The country press can never
compete with the city press in the publication
Of general news; It is idle to attempt it, and no
intelligent reader exspectssit; but, within its
own sphere and for!i own particular objects,
it can and should be made as interesting and
useful In the vsriety and character of its Sc
lected articles, it should excel and, in the abi-
ty of its original articles, fully equal, the city
press. As intelligence is no more abundant in
the city than in the country, there is no valid
reason why the tone of the country press should
not be as elevated as that of the city press
But, to enable country publishers to make bet
ter papers, they must be more generally and
literally patronized. To such persons as may
seek to establish their own wisdom and acute.
ness by decrying everything useful in
their own community and who, while read