The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1873-05-08

spent when the company separated to NEE
at Masonic Hail, At eight O'Clock, 70
THE EVENING EXERCISES.
The bal is suppose. TO seat, comfortably
six hundred persons, but as almost ever,
| inch of available space vas occupied, an(
scores Of people were turned away for wan
| of room, there must have been nearly q
| thousand persons in attendance, 9 yer,
| large proportion bsing ladies, attracted
| doubtless by a desire to hear Mrs. Merri
wether's poem. and a more intelligent. attrac
/ tive, well dressed, handsome and charming
gathering of ladies was never witnessed in
Lebanon, or any other city. The news
paper men are a unit upon this point, and
they say, further, that it is a very rare thing
for an audience Of that size to be seen,
" ere such coed order Is observed through
out the entire evening. The exercises were
necessarily long but the closest attention
was paid by those present throug-
out. the entire programme.
Thos, B. Kirby, President Of the Chatt&-
nooga Times, being introduced by the SEC
retary,aR. L. c.. White of the Lebanon
Herald; delivered the following address on
the subject of
s-s7r:70 NEWSPAPER SUCCESS.
= Rhe.eiements of success in publishing a news
paper Hrefew and simple, and yet not many men
a stin smaller number have been able to keep
them constantly in mind.
The first and most important element is news.
The daily morning paper should be complete
photographs Of yesterday. The weekly paper
should be a photograph Of the week, showing
each event in its proper perspective and relations
to others. The successful metropolitan papers
The London Times, New York Herald, Cincinnati
Commercial, and, others whose names readily
suggest themselves. are daily photographs of
the world Successful papers in smaller cities
and country towns are successful only il SO far
as they photograph the daily and weekly events
of their immediate LOCALITY.
And by this mean not only that they faith
fully record actual occurrences, but that they
represent the tone of public sentiment. In the
effort TO grasp this element of success, however,
turks the greatest danger of failure. Popular
sentiment is not always right, and when a COM
munity RECEIVERS from temporary delusiOn it is
apt to inhict vicarious punishment upon new
paper which follows in the wrong, instead OF
judi0ioRsly striving to set it right. Only expe-
rience can teach how TO avoid such errors and
that experience is costly.
To be successful we must have absorbing
love for work, and devotion to our profession.
Law is not half so jealous a mistress as journal
ism, and those of US who have given hostages to
fortune can testify how hard it is to reconcile
our chosen work with our domestic duties.
Nor have we the stimulus OF personal fame
fervUT. In journalism most truly the ''1ndiv1d-
ual withers but the World IS more and more"
Outside the ranks of the profession who knows
or even cares to know the name OF the unknown
manager OF the New York Herald or the London
Times. The paper is all in all. The individual
is nothing. Horace Greeley is dead, but the
Tribune IS no less power in the land Bennett
is dead but the Herald is still the greatest news
paper of the world. Generations of Walters
have lived and died, but the London Times is
still the Thunderer and its unknown editor yet
Yields power before which dynaties tremble
When we seek personal fame We destroy in our
journals their power for good. When we are
felt to represent the people we can create or
When the personality of the editor is obtruded,
the paper utters only the sentiment of an indi-
vidual, and not the voice of the people.
Like the coral insects, we work deep belowsthe
slrfacey buildingup the foundations for glorious
scruebnFes in the future. Like them, We and
our works p rish If drawn from our chosen OBJ
s.nrity and exposed to the bright sunlight OF
We have but one permitted pleasure-the
sense. of pOwer-a yet the moment that we
boast of this power it vanshes, because it is not
ours ibut is of the people whom We serve
There are other essentials OF success 50 long
sOrt1id type founders and paper makers and
hungry printers persist in demanding filthy iu-
for their wares and services, and until We
ourselves can solve the problem OF living without
eating, and society shall dispense with the ne
cessity for clothing, no newspaper, however ably
edited, can succeed until its receipts shall equal
and exceed its outlay.
been devoted to magnifying the sentimental
aspect of our profession and too little work has
been done in protecting our business interests.
1t is less Important to glorify the of1ce OF the
press as great moral engine, than To vindicate
It's honor as a legitimate busin pursuit. For
much of the popular miscOnception on this point
we are ourselves re pOnsible.
We did well at our last meeting to abolish the
excursion system. The greatest drawback to
our business success the popular belief iostere
by these excursions, that an editor IS q kind OF
pagPeru dependent upon the charities OF the
community, who expects to be "dead headed"
everywhere We can never occupy our proper
position until we pay for what we get and com
pei those whom we benefit to pay for our seryi-
ces
our editorial utterances should be uupurchase-
able They should represent the MODEST senti-
ments OF free people jealous of their liberties;
Every time that en- editor publishes an item
aboutthe poverty Of printers, the delinquency OF
subscribers; or appeals to the public for support
in any manper other than would be CONSIDERED
legitimate in one OF his mercantile advisers, he
degrAdes the profession and contributes TO his
own destruction.
Itfs certainly time that the p ress, of all pro-
fessions stopped pleading the baby act" If a
man cannot conquer success let him waste no
time.in whining, but either gracefully surrender
or try again. The public has 10 sympathy for
unsuccessful men, and the surest way not to get
their Support is to let them think that we cannot
the fact that they cannot thrive without our as
sistanee. To plead poverty and beg for symPa-
thy Is simply to admit that we can do the public
no good and thus insure our own failure.
Power and wealth crown the successful jour
naliss, and above all the consciousness Of having
done good work for mankind. Success Is worth
trying for, bat is only grasped by those whom no
difIiculties can discourage and no failures can
daunt, loud applause1
ADDRESS BY COL. JNO. c. BURcH.
A selection of music was then played,
when Col. John g. BuTch, Of the UNION
AND AMERICAN, was introduced and deliv-
cred the following address;
Gentlemen OF the Association: The demands
of professional duty, by day and by night, have
been such that I have, until the last moment,
hesitated TO accept your very hatterlng invita-
ton to address You on this occasion. In app ar
ing before you, sincerely feel that l am, from
lack Of preparation, doing injustice TO your
courtesy, and TO myself. | greatly dtstTust my
ability to meet your reasonable expectations.
learn from your Constitution that ''The OBJ
iects of this Association are the preser VatOn OF
a thorough and homogeneous organization OF the
members of the Press in the State tor better
promotion of those common and individual in
terests which only be subserved by syste-
matte and intelligent co-operatonj the cultiVa-
tiOh OF the amenities of the profession by secur-
ing personal intercourse and interchange OF
opinion among its members at stated periods
and the consequent kind and fraternal feeling
which can only result from an actual acquaint-
ance, and the proper and persistent inaliteIahee
of the dignity of journalism in the State OF
Tennessee" 1 also learn, from circular letter
Of the Secretary of the Association, that one OF
its objects sis 20 endeavor to arouse mat esprit
aited 2rofessiOli you must feel" TO secure the
Accomplishment Of these objects, this circular
further informs rs that "such soeletles exist II
almost every ether State, and there Is no reaso@
why the journalists OF Tennessee, equal IN abllty
and influence to those Of any commonwealth,
should not be. associated together in compact
and Homogeneous body, whose status shall be
the most elevated, and whose power shall be II
resstiblc. As 1t Is, We are wasting our strength
If indeed We are aware of it at all Like the
reeds III tire fable, we are dlsun1ted and eotse-
quertfv weak and impOtent; like them, We might
Be, did bond Of sympathy maternity ana CT
aani Zattcn unite Us, Of invinctbie pOwer-a pow
or wniehwonM compel respect ana DC ol s9eh
dignity that no petty legislator would nave the
eifrontery, as has been the case within our re-
naerabrahce, to sneer st our demand Of simple
justice, as an unnecessary gr9fnlty proPOseu l'E
the beuefit of stbem printers"
In the extract from the Constitution we have,
fully stated, the objects of the Association IN