Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1871-09-09
Good Sense.

dress Of MR. VIZ. 7. TINsLEY before the New
York Editorial Association; but our space al.
lows only the following extract
The successful publisher mist study
his business, as suepessful merchants aud
lawyers study theirs. No man can mail-
age this business successfully on the
elght-hour or ten-liour plan and oftener
we find the successful publisher
working twelve or even fourteen hours
day, week in and week out. The pub
fisher who is content with what be can
earn in ten hours day will usually be
poorer than hireling all his life, unless
he marries rich vile, gets fat Office,
or draws prize in lottery and this
principle applies to all departments OF
effort equally With ourg. Publishing
tact is at higher premium than edito-
rial talent, as is manifest from the fail
ures that meet us on every hand; and
nearly all the successes in country Jour
nalism are attributable to good business
management rather than able editing.
The publisher, to be successful, should
be above begging for patronage. | do
not mean " thig that Big sheuld not
push his business--tbat he should not,
at proper times and on proper, occasions,
present the advantages a merchant or a
manufacturer might derive from the use
of his columns, nor that it is beneath his
dignity to send out canvasser for his
paper, but he should never urge upon any
man the Guty-mgch less the necessity
of patr"niziHg him. Crhe plea of inher-
ent poverty among country printers was
played out long ago) When asked his
price tor this or that service, he should
State it, and not be wheedled into taking
a smaller one. He must not whine over
the loss of job or an advertisement.
| Though he may feel in his inuermost
soul, the ingralitude or nieanness that
makes him suffer, he must keep his
peace. He must not be afraid Of making
an enemy now and then, nor of his pros
perity provoking envy and detraction.
A man without enemies is not much of
a man, and we shall certainly have them
if we pursue a straightforward course,
mind oIf own business, collect our de bts
and get Oh in the world and really
they do us quite as much good usually as
harB. He must keep his books posted
and make his collections closely, remen-
bering that ''prompt pay wins the day."
and that, cautious as te may be, he will
get taken in sQmetimes. He must care
fully observe the amenities of every day
life, and strive 10 te man among men
aud a business man among business men
as prompt to fulfil his obligations as
to demand that others shgvld fulfil
theirs to him. He must respect himself,
if he would have others respect him. He
must honor his calling, if he would have
men honor it also /; he must do his duty
as he understands it, 'with malice to-
wards none and charity for all, p and not
lie . wax o. nights oyer visions of in
dignant readers visiting him the mex.
day with crumpled newspaper i'll one
hand and cowhide in the other. lie
must be candid in his statements and
impartial in his criticisms. He must 90
over his accounts frequently, and take
financial soundings at least once year,
remembering that the first thing to be
done toward gtopping leaks is to find
them. lie must not be afraid to soil his
hands, or ashamed to be caught IN his
shirt sleeves. He must attend these ed
itorial conyeEti.ons, aud compare notes
with his newspaper retheren-pruiiting
by their experiences, and avoiding theiI
mistakes. He must, ig a word, be hon
est, industrious. painstakipg, economical,
discreet be muet be willing to walk un-
til he can afford to ride; he must let
alone Office hunting, whisky, horse-ra-
cling, irresponsible foreign ADVERTISERS,
and bogus advertising agents, or make
them pay in advance; he should Il had
almost said) be a practical printer, and
have risen trom the ranks-at any rate
he must be familiar with bis business in
all its departments he must work for
time like a quarterhorse, and not be
cast down by an occasional reverse; be
must be as polite to the poor woman
who comes to buy three cents worth of
old exchanges for her pantry shelves as
to the lawyer who brings him tat "le-
gal;" he m4st assume On ipdePendent
bearing, and ii necessary, feign the will
ingness to "watch and watt he does not
feel; he myst neither boast of his pros
perity nor whine oyer his ill-lucR; he
must be man whose word is as good as
his bond, even when asked TO state his
circulation; and if he does not isucceed
after all this, it will be because some
smarter man has got the start of him,
and knows enough to keepit: