Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1866-10-30
Confidential Chat with the Subscribers to a
Newspaper.
From the Petersburg Index.

GapadentiaI Chat with the Subscribers to a
Newspaper.
From the Petersburg Index.
nWher the venerable Thomas Ritchie, the
,oo.t laborious. sagacious, and, in many re-
.oarts, the most successful editor who ever
lived IN this c0untry-a grand, noble soul
likewise, ,a3 We say with honest reverence when
orar we mention his honorable name-re,
tired from the control OF the Richmond En-
onirer. and reluctantly accepted the control
af 81 organ" in Washington, he said, at
nnbic dinner given in his honor, that there
raro or the books Of the Enquirer, unpaid
debts amounting to the enormous aggregate OF
ro hpldyed thousand dollars; Of which, il
hs had even one fourth, he might be able to
,pcnd the declining years of a hard working
rGs in the competent repose he so much needed.
Such is little scrap Of history regarding
the ablest paperpycr published in Virginia
the one Of widest Influence and OF most dlttuSed
circulation. Such is the story Of a past editor.
There is published, every morning, at the
head Of the editorial columns Of the Richmond
Whig-a paper considered, among the craft,
financially, the best managed political paper
aver published in RichmOuG--a statement,
designed as just praise of that journal as an
Investment that its nett profits Tor many years
og is existence amounted to six thousand dol
lars. Now, we undertake TO say that the same
amount Of capital, energy and talent employed
in no other business in Richmond would have
been content to divide among three proprletors
% small Il sum.
IN every direction, throughout the South
especially, We hear OF newspapers suSpendlng,
Of tsgusted pr0prctors selling out, Of failure,
in word.
There is 30 secret iii any OF this. The cause
les on the Suriace Il is not want OF talent, tor
We can lay our hand on dozen papers III VIZ
sina which burned swiftly out in the last ten
wears, althought conducted by some Of the
fyst men in the State Nor is it want Of hard
work. for, as 2 class, newspaper men though
Ue say it who should not are the most con-
auNoaly Industrious men VINO lead professional
lives 1t is simply and exclusively b0d dcdtS.
The farmer who would laugh in ouE face, II
We asked him to cOn>i ign crop after crop to u,
although wc rendered him 10 account sales
oj any-the grocer who would laugh IN our
2co i We desired him to continue this year to
end Us supplies, although we sad nothing
about having for last ycay's-the shoemaker
who wonId janrh in u1r face If We supgestcu
boots for the winter oi &c. while those we
wore during the winter OF G5 were unl aid
0T-alI consider thar il s.vOrs Of cXt0rtlon, II
moi OF absolute impcrtncnce, II q publisher
declines to continue to iulNish his wares aud
his services when his past bills are unsettled
Bur. saws an indignant correspondent, Il
rbnl i v6nIA not have embarrassed YOUR fnan-
,ss ~ consumed vour nyoGfs to have continued
he nancr for month or ,wo, until | should
have the opnortnnity OF >cn9iur or delivering
in ocrsor nv su}scyiptioD.'
Pe(ectlv true: but suppose a thousand men
reqs]n the same way. and obtain the same in
iuge9ec, and five hundred deceived US Ell
I:,r1 ISlIoJ,, 'i'>J "V"'U' n 49, Iocn ~ wa c,n,in
ned the aame 49,
Now, we confidently assure GU: friends that
We cannot afford that cutie.
Itis q trjfing matter in the case Of each in
iNdua!. truly; and. therefore, we think there
i,css excuse in the individual neglect of it.
End here we beg, as this is free talk. to
>3ya word rs to the general topic of taking a
aswsraper We have known men who could
not afford 10 take copr of this paper, costing
Aem, delivered st their doors. twenty-five
cents week. who could afford to take two
dgamS 4 day, costing thcm three dollars week,
and spend is much more in cigars
Dove do these men anv Injustice in affirm
Inv fb9t tI;s - vow. ,, contny,nt;Gle niece Of
>eIishncss? Their wives anG daughters do
not triok wbiSkev and smoke cigars, but they
TO desire 10 read a daily paper. to lcarn what
The world Is doing. to read what the world is
thinking, to keep abreast OF the improvements
and discoveries of the times. to know the ten
thousand things that make a good newspaper
Their pleasures are not so varied as yours their
sources Of endowment are more limited, and yet