The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1871-06-15

Why was bound but half to Theei
Fixed upon the shore of Time,
Fated both to curse and bless,
Wherefore do moil for crime
And the Lord of Righteousness!
A mystery and monster in the earth,
thing Satanic half, and half Of Heavenly birth.
MINNESOTA:
EDIT0HS' AND PUBLISHERS ASSOCI.
ALTON.
Fifth Annual Meeting.
THE LOCAL PRESS.
An Address Delivered Before the MIN
nesota EditOrs' and PublisherB' Asso-
ciatiOn, June 9Th, 1871, by Hon. j.
A. Leonard, Editor OF the Rochester
J. Post.
l need scarcely tell you that the news
paper has become co.extensive With
civilization itself, and he who essays to
address convention Of editors has "a
charter vide as the wind" There is ~
limit to the vast range Of topics includ.
ed within that short but comprehensive
term, "The Press" shall, however,
restrict myself tonight, to a single
branch Of the great subject, being tempt
ed to do so by the fact that my pre-
decessors-who have 1t three successive
annual conventions interested you more
than l may hope to-bave left almost
unnoticed the especial topic 30 familiar
to all Of ne, and yet, may I not hope,
none the less interesting on that account,
the Local OF Country Press.
"One star differetb from another star
in glory" no more than does one news
paper differ another in character. Not
only is every paper surely stamped, in
many ways, with the imprint of its edi-
tor, but it is modified in its character
and entire tone by the place of the pub
lication, and the objects for which it is
issued.
The time is almost within our re-
collection when the local paper Of the
present day had not being. The news
paper Of fifty years ago was of the same
generic character, wherever or however
published. Then the daily differed
from the weekly only in being issued
oftener but nowadays the city paper
that does not bear in every column the
| marks distinguishing it from its coun-
try contemporary, or the country week.
ly that is but duplicate or abridge-
ment OF the city daily, are both to be
congratulated upon the possession Of
mutually stupid editors.
There stray into our sanctums every
once in while, occasional copies of the
old-fashioned paper, and what impresses
US most, is their uniformity ; how much
alike they were in their quaint regular
itv, and sameness of dryness and dull
ness.
But the times have changed and pa
pers have changed with them. The
telegraph has touched the dailies with
a more potent than IthuriePs spear,
and the most ucwsy is, to-day, the best
city paper, while the development of
new States and town has pushed and
crowded new lite into the local or
country payers, and they are becoming
the especial advocates and advertisers
of the places OF their publication.
1t We divide papers into the two
great classes Of journals. devoted to
srecial'ies, the literary, religious and
scientific journals, (w,th which we have,
just now, nothing to do,) and the news
papers, We may again divide the latter,
into the great dailies that CLEAN the
news of the world, and deal it out to
their readers, aud the weeklics that
pick up the events, greater or less, of
their locality, and sen them out to the
world. The daily aud the weekly are
exerting the same power in different
directions. They are centrlpstal and
centrifugal forces Of journalism; aud,
like: those great forces Of nature,
we never find them entirely separated :;
the greatest Of the dailies is not with
ont it's important local features, and the
smallest country paper cannot entirely
ignore those more universal issues and
items for which We look, first, to the
great dailles.
Great are the uses of the daily pa
pers, and one of the greatest of all
those uses, as we have all found it, is to
condense news items into convenient
shape for country editors to appropri-
ate.
IT is the to interest of the local press
taat its sphere within the province of
journalism should be established and
understood. The brief limits Of this
occasion will not permit the statement
of title of the many relations that
the local paper should bear to the COM
munity in which it is published. It
must suffice to say that it ought to be,
in the largest sense, the vehicle through
which tho local business Of that com
munity is transacted ,, aud the repertory
of the laws, land exponent aud advocate
Of all the public, aud not a few OF the
private, affairs and Interests of its To-
cality.
1t is, every day, becoming more ap-
parent to publishers and readers that
the most local is the best l,cal paper.