North Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1867-current, 1868-12-16
Pride.

u newspaper, VIC tnlnk we nave w
.crved that journalists are more frequent
y sustained In business by Pride than iy
Money. Whether those who employ the
press come up to their obligations or not,
the paper is expected to make its appear
sncc regularly, the hands are always re.
quircd to be on hand to do up a job, the
local matters relating to a town, village
or ncighborhood arc expected to be dishcd
up and prepared for the taste of the read
er. the carrier is slightly cursed if he does
not deliver the paper promptly, the odver.
tsemcnts are looked 1T with closeness Of
scrutiny which sometimes seems unkinl,
and if word Is out Of order or display line
in place not agreeable to the taste Of the
employer, Nthe deril is to pay" sure
enough. There is no business where
greater amount of promptitude and care
is exacted by patronizing public, and
yet there is none that is SO universally
neglected by those who boast of furnish
ing it support. A gentleman steps into
your Office and after passing the time OF
day, he blandly informs you that he has
concluded ITO take your paper" for which
conclusion he expects you to be extremely
grateful. His name is entered, Post Of
flee, County and State duly recorded, and
after common place or two your patron
retires. For whole year you write his
name and address every week on sheet
that costs you over one cet before it was
printed on, and your pay for the whole
work is less than cents week! If you
get the money at the end Of the year, you
may count yourself lucky-the more gen.
eral style is to keep on sending it until
the account becomes too large to collect
without suit-about this time the Office
is insolvent, the printer abandons it, and
it is sold by the sheriff to new man who
can muster means or credit enough to run
it through second series with like results.
As it is in subscriptions, so is it in Jobs
and Advertisements. They are ordered
with magnanimous libcrality, but in very
many cases all the profits they bring are
sel6shly appropriated to private use, and
the printer is remembered only as some
thing which it is the duty Of the town and
county :'to support" lie is thought Of
possibly as a ''irst rate fellow" and the
patron hardly knows how to dispense with
him, but that important thought show
much do owe him" and its more import
ant consequence, the payment Of the debt,
rarely interferes with the general tenor Of
his reflections on Stock, and Lands and
Trade, &c., &c.
Now when the paper appears regularly,
tie jobs are executed promptly, and your
advertisements occupy space to the exclu'
sion Of mater public interest, and if you
fail to pay for any Of 1t, whether is il
Pride, or Money, that keeps that Office up
True, the Printer may have money to be
gin with and some credit to continue, tu
it has been truly said that "always taking
ont and never putting in, soon comes to
the BOTTOM and after the means neces.
sary to set press agoins are run out, the
only sensible course would be to stop and
wind up; but here comes in Pride. The
Proprietor has obtained little notoliety-
his name is familiar to the general reade,
in his section, and known to his ''breth-
ern in distress throughout the State
The reputation of the paper and, by iden
tifcation, his own character, is at stake
and rather than ''stop the press" he strug
giles on through difficulties, borrows lit
tie money here, little paper there, beg
the hands in his employ to be patient, sucl
and such patrons will certainly pay VI
shortly-until, like the soul spoken of b,
some poet, he
Graves round the walls Of his INxY tenement
Till forced ut last to the trt mensous verge
He sinks at last to verylastins ruiu."
1--WE don't know if the lines are correctl,
quoted, but the idea is there and that i
all we are after.)
Do not understand us as applying thes
reflections to our own case, or taking thi
method to wake up our patrons. AS
body of men we do not believe the name
Of better paying crowd can be found o.
the books of any Office in America, but "
have noticed within few weeks that owe
twenty Of our Western contemporaries hav
expired or announced themselves in til
last gasp, and seeing this going on aroun'
us, set us to thinking the subject over. !
newspaper can not be sustained it is vii
famous to induce its establishment to brin
locality into notice at the expense Of tn
time and means of class of men who ar
generally disposed to rely upon the promis
Is Of the public. If you have urged
printer to come among you on pledges {
support, it is your duty to work for hi
interest, or at all events 10 pay him 70
what he does. If his business is one tn,
ysu can not dispense with, do not reap a
the advantages resulting from it's prosect
tien--the increased value Of your lands
your lots, the iustruction Of your familie
tho enhancement Of your profits in bus
ness Of all kinds, and leave him to retil
pauper or 10 he overwhelmed with deb
contracted for material to secure you tho.
blessings. "Right is right and the prin
CT is as much entitled to his pay as ii
Grocer, the Blacksmith or TIE Farmc
Our printers get their pay whenever the
ask for it,-tho reason is that our custom
ers do not require US to run paper Q
Pride. When that gets to be the fashio
with the readers aud patrons Of the Non1
Iowa TINES, our pride will not permit