The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1872-02-28
The Circulation of the Press
and Banner in Abbeville
County is five times greater
than that of any other
journal.
THE COUNTY ADVERTISING OUR
.a. POSITION.

It is always unpleasant to obtrude
nersoual matters before the public, but
that to which we refer, affects the public
as we'll as ourselves, since it concerns the
conduct of public officials, and refers to
to the county advertising, i'll which our
readers are all interested.
The readers of the Press and Banner
and of the Medium cannot have failed to
observe that since the establishment OF
that paper, it has secured the entire ad-
vcrtising from tho offices of'the school
Commissioner, the County Commits
sioners, the Judge of Probate, and the
Auditor, whilst the Sheriff and the
County Treasurer, have alone shared
their advertising between the two Coun-
ty papers. In so doing, we are prepared
to show that the first-named officers
have acted counter to the uniform prac-
tice of their predecessors, and in disre-
gard Of the interests of the general pub
lie Of which they are the legally constl-
tuted trustees.
What has been the uniform, practice
with regard to the County advertising?
weare prepared to show that the uniform
practice from the first establishment OF
the. County papers, has been to award
the. advertising to the old established
paper. until the new candidate for public
favor, had made good its position and
secured its circulation; and then to dl-
vide tho advertising between the two
papers. Such was the case when the
Press was established, and for twelve
months thereafter The Banner retained
the entire advertising against the siren
nous efforts and earnest protests OF the
Press; andit was only when the latlor
paper rivaled, if 1t did not exceed the
circulation of the former, and had estab-
lished its claim upon the public patron
ape. that it was allowed to share in the
County advertising. ,ANoycd to share
we saw, for never did the Press prefer SO
preposterous claim, nor did the public
officers ever dream of sanctioning so un-
reasonable demand, as to monopoilze
the entire official advertising patronage
of the County. Those were days when
public officers recognized their just re-
sponsibilities to the people, and per-
formed their official duty with due re-
gard to the public interests.
II. We are prepared to show that IN
giving the entire advertising of their
respective offices to the Abbeville Nc
d;uns, the officers aboye-named have ac-
ted in disregard of the interests of the
general public. We do not suppose that
the Medium wM clain, onc:fourth Of the
circulation of the Press and Banner in the
County. Except at Abbeville c. H., at
Due West, and at Level Land, the paper
Is sscarcely known and has most meaGre
circulation, and yet it aspires, and the
officers named sanction, its claim to be
the sole organ of communication between
the trustees of the public and the public
themselves. Are the citizens of Green
wood not entitled equally with the citi-
zens of Due West to share in the knowl-
edge of all the official acts of County
officers, which the law requires to be
published? Have not the people OF
Lowndesville and Ninety-SiX an equal
claim with the people Of Level Land to
know what Citations are issued, what
Final Discharges are prayed; what No
tices to Contractors are given; what Com
mon School notices are announced? DC
Due West and Level Land and the Tenn
pie of Health represent the whole broad
County of Abbeville, which stretches
from the Saluda to the Savannah
and from Lowndesville to Ninety-Six:
We had supposed Ninety-Six and Green
wood and Cokesbury, and Donaldsville
and Lowndesville had an equal voice i'll
electing the County officers and con-
tributea at least an equal share of their
business, and sustained at least an equal
proportion of the burdens of their main
tenance? Why then should their exis-
tence not be recognized, and their just
CLAIMS 10 huOWleuSc VI tlle lCts VI tuS
County officials, through the legalized
channels of publication, not be conce-
ded? Legal notices are required to be
published for the information of the
people and of the whole people, and
when public officers ignore the claims OF
a widely circulated journal and select as
the sole medium of publication paper
of limited circulation, they defeat the in
tention of the law, and disregarding the
rights, prejudice the interests of the
people, whose servants they are. Such
conduct has no precedent in the past
history of thepublic officials of Abbeville,
and to find parallel you must 60 into
some of the adjoining counties, where
legal notices are inserted I'VE will not
say publishedD ina paper established,
and with q circulation (if circulation
there bel entirely outside Of those
counties. Do our public officers JUS
tify such a course, and propose to en-
ulate that example? Does the Medium
pretend to have one-fourth the circula-
ton of the Press and Banner in the
County, Gan it even equal its circnla-