The Placer herald., 1873-07-26
DIsGUSTED WITH EDITING A PAPER.

From late number of the A,Isona Cih-
zen, published at Tucson, "A. T., we clip
the following, from the pen of r. G. Brown,
typo, who formerly worked in this office,
but who in his ramblngs afterward brought
up in Arizona, and went to work in the
Citizen office. The editor was compelled
to absent himself for awhile, and placed
Brown in charge of the paper. The latter
gives faint idea of the perpleSities Of an
editor, and his disgust ,thereat; but we as
sure our readers the half is not told:
y. a 4 dispatch from the editor and proprietor
formed us that he would return to his post
of duty by Saturday of this week. We
have had charge of The. Citizen little
over two months; and while we think we
have done our duty to the public, and know
that we have clear conscience, we are
nevertheless glad to quit the business and
turn over the powers, vexations, liabilities
and profits to our boss. Since our brief
connection with The Citizen we have uni
formly been treated and spoken of kindly
and courteously by the press, and we have
heard but very little complaint from the
public generally. No one has threatened
to blow the top of our head of, or cut out our
bread-basket, but we have been very eau
tious to give no cause for so serious an
operation on our person. We have seen
Just enough of the business and vexation of
a country nespaper TO satify us that we do
not want to invest IN such an institution
and we shall feel moro kindly and chari-
table all the balance of our lives to ali those
who have by misfortune or otherwise been
placed in so unfortunate a position We
think, hereafter, if called upon we can and
will go before any tribunal and defend any
country editor who may be charged with
any ordinary crime or vice as follows; 1t
charged with stealing, we shall plead he has
spent bis time and means for an ungratetul
community, that had lured him into the be-
lief that he should be supported, but after
they had induced him TO spend all he had
for their good, they were starving him to
death; hence it was no crime TO appropriate
what they justly owed him for bis services.
Ir charged with lying, we should say that
he had brought upon himself more diff
culties and curses by telling the truth than
in any other way, hence to get along
smoothly and retain any standing III the
community lying became necessary. AT
best he will be cursed. If he is not the
first to report news then he is not enterpris-
ing; if he reports news as he first receives
it and afterwards his report Is round to be
incorrect, he is cursed for bis misrepresen-
tations. If he speaks out boldly against
bad men and measures as he sees them,
then he is a villifer and lowdown black
guard. If he don't do it he is coward
and lacks spirit. The man who pays SIS
and gets ffty-two copies of the paper in re-
turn for his money thinks he is very lib
errl patron and of course ought TO have a
large influence in shaping the tone of the
paper, and when he finds out he has not he
considers himself sold and declares that
the paprr is not worth dime. The paper
must lie made interesting out of matter
purely local, because the big papers attend
to all outside matters and we get the news
earlier and better frCm them than from our
local paper 1t costs great deal OF time,
patience and money to make local paper
interesting, and yet those who vii! criticlse
it the most harshly are not even subscribers,
but poach upon their neighbors TO read their
local paper in order to find fault with the
manner in which it is conducted. Now,
we have so far no cause to complain. We
have not been in the business long enough
to become misanthropic, but we begin to
feel it coming on, and we throw down the
quill entertaining the belief that more is
expected of country editor for less money
than from any other person o. earth. And
if in the course of human events he grows
sordid, morose, cross, cussed and mean, it
is not his fault, but the fault of those who
receive the benefits Of his toll and labor,
and then abuse him for it. So kind readers
adieu, and may the good Lord have mercy
on your souls.